Do You Have Buttons?

The last few months of 2021 I spent learning about anger and how to handle it properly. I was in an unpleasant circumstance which was not easy to deal with, but in hindsight I am so thankful God placed me in that situation because he taught me a lot through it. Perhaps you have heard people use the phrase, "he/she pushes my buttons." This means that the person is probably short fused, their emotions are as breezy as the wind, and they get angry quickly. I’m not talking about righteous anger, or the anger someone feels when they have been wronged. Anger is an emotion everyone experiences and in itself is not wrong. However, it can become sin if we fail to practice self-control and let it get out of hand.  As followers of Christ, we would do well to not even have any "buttons" in the first place that could easily get pushed that cause us to become angry. The Scriptures have quite a bit to say about the topic of anger. Let's look at a few verses. 

 Proverbs 14:17 - "He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly: and a man of wicked devices is hated."

Proverbs 14:29 - "He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly."

Proverbs 15:1 - "A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger."

Proverbs 15: 18 - "A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife."

1 Corinthians 13:5 ~ talking about love: "Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil:"

Galatians 5:20 ~ talking about the works of the flesh: "Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies," 

Ephesians 4:2-3 - "With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."

Ephesians 4:31 - "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:"

Colossians 3:8 - "But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth."

James 1:19-20 - "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God."

1 Peter 2:21-23 - "For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:"

1 Peter 3:8-9 - "Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing."

We are not ignorant of Satan's devices; we know he is out to destroy, and allowing anger to get a foothold in our life will quickly cause us to drift away from God. Being quick to get angry is a work of the flesh that needs to be crucified so the fruits of being filled with the Spirit can be evident. Longsuffering is a trait that needs to mark every Christian. So......Forgive readily. Keep short accounts. Love God, and love the brethren. 

Together let’s become better people and a little more like Christ this year by learning to be slow to wrath. 

❤️ Ashley

Family Vacation December 2021

A cheery hello to you!

Our family was blessed to enjoy a vacation together over Christmas, and this post is chronicling our travels. Enjoy! 

December 21st-29th, Our family took a vacation to Missouri.  Along the way we drove through several new states, Arkansas, Illinois, and Indiana, as well as through the Ozark mountains. The handiwork of God is so magnificent! I never get tired of seeing the beautiful mountains and scenery. 

On Wednesday (the 22nd), we arrived in Branson, Missouri, met our friends, and saw the show JESUS at the Sight and Sound Theater. It was a phenomenal production, and if  you ever get a chance to see one of their plays, I would highly recommend it.

After the show, we joined our friends and ate at a family-owned restaurant called Local Flavor. If you are ever in Branson and looking for great food, check this place out! 

 On Thursday we planned to spend the day at Silver Dollar City. Before the park opened, we ate a yummy lunch at Ozark Mountain Pizza.

At Silver Dollar City...

You can see Sarah and my mom in this picture sitting on the right end in the third row. :) 

 

A lady was playing Christmas carols on the piano and we stopped for a bit to enjoy the music. If you’re viewing this post on email, click on this link and scroll down to listen to the video. 

 

A train ride around the park was the perfect activity for an afternoon break. The train paused for a few minutes as the gentleman in the rocker told the story of Jesus’ birth and the reason for celebrating Christmas.

At night all the lights beautifully illuminated the park.

After leaving the park at closing, we stopped for a sweet snack at Andy’s Frozen Custard.

For the time we spent in Branson, we stayed at a condo. In the picture below, the condos are barely visible on the right side of the sidewalk. A golf course was right behind the condos with a beautiful creek running through it.

 

 

 

  

 

 Friday (Dec. 24th) found us enjoying lunch and a show at the Dixie Stampede. 

 

 

 Saturday was Christmas Day, so we took the opportunity to drive around and explore. We came across Table Rock Dam and just below it is Shepherd of the Hills Fish Hatchery. The day was beautiful so we enjoyed walking along the trails and viewing the amazing riverscape.

There were several men fly fishing for trout.

 

Majestic skies and views from our drive.

 

 

You can see a glimpse of the dam here.

 

 

A breathtaking overlook scene...

 

After the drive, we girls made and decorated gingerbread houses, as is our yearly tradition. :) 

If you are ever in Branson on a Sunday or Wednesday and looking for a church, I’d recommend Calvary Baptist Church of Branson. We attended the Sunday morning and evening services and enjoyed it very much.

Please excuse the bad lighting of this picture, but here is the kitchen/dining/family room of the condo we stayed at. We left on Monday and headed toward Kentucky.

The St. Louis arch in passing. 

Monday evening we stayed in the small, quaint town of La Grange and enjoyed a delicious supper at this restaurant. This town is pretty neat with a train that runs right through the downtown on the main highway where shops are set up along the street.

Tuesday we arrived at our destination: the Ark Encounter. We girls and our mom visited a few years ago, but this was the first time our dad had been there, and it was a pleasure to see it again.  Since I shared a lot of photos in this post from the first time, here’s just a few from this visit. And of course to enlarge any photo, just click on it.

 

 

 

 

 

A new Answers Center has been added since the last time we were there, and it was great to hear Ken Ham speak on the topic of Divided Nation: Culture in Chaos and a Conflicted Church. We also saw an animal show, and a Christmas concert ended our day at the Ark.

This is the view from the porch of Emzara’s Kitchen, the restaurant on site at the Ark.

 

At the zoo...

 

Thus ended a wonderful and relaxing vacation. I am so grateful to the Lord for this trip we got to enjoy as a family.   

"I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." 

~John 10:9-10