That Little Thing Called Pride

Ooh, not a fun subject! I've never liked discussions on pride, mostly because it was too painful for me to listen! I am one that can be become prideful if I'm not careful.  I'm not super self confident, so if several people comment on how nice my hair looks, or how blue my eyes are, or something like that, I can become quite prideful in those things.  I think that many people suffer from the "péché d'orgueil" French for "Sin of Pride".  If you translate the French part there into English, you get the word Hubris- "excessive pride or self-confidence; arrogance."

Thankfully, I think many of us are aware of how pride can sneak in. More than likely you have a couple of family members who can come smack you if you start to become too prideful or arrogant. (I've found that this is the best method for getting that stubborn pride out! ;-)

Now I'll let you know that this blog post isn't even about THAT kind of pride.  Didn't know there was more than one kind of pride, did ya? ;-) Well, there is, unfortunately. I'm calling it Puffer the Sneaky.  Yes, this type of pride is VERY sneaky.  In fact, many people wouldn't even call it 'pride'. It typically goes under the name of 'a good feeling', or 'spiritual growth' (when you are talking about yourself, not others), etc.  It comes in many forms and sizes. Puffer the Sneaky isn't one to give up easily, either.

It all begins when you are very humble about something.  To give an example, I'll use the one that gave me the idea to write up this post in the first place (though, I'm sad to say, it isn't the only one I've suffered with!). We had just finished a movie.  It was late at night, we were all tired, emotions were high, etc.  I was feeling rather upset because I was so afraid that I would become like this one girl in the movie. I DID NOT want to become like her. She married for selfish reasons, and pretty much tore her husband down because she wasn't willing to support him in the tough times of life and only thought about her own comfort.  It made my blood boil watching her on the screen.  Well, I began thinking about how I could become like that if I wasn't careful.  I sometimes give way to little fits of selfishness. I get angry at my siblings for little things that don't matter.  I get upset with my parents when they don't say the right thing, and, I hope I'm not the only one that does that! =P

Mom happened to come in and was talking a bit with me about the movie and whatnot. I started crying and telling her about how I thought I could become like So-and-So in the movie, etc, etc, etc.  When she left to go to bed, she just said, "If you feel like you could become like her, then I'm proud of you for realizing that." (Or something to that extent).  I later went into her room to ask her what time she was setting her alarm and then said sorry for blubbering the way I did. ;-)  She said that she didn't mind at all, and then she said, "Sarah, I want you to know that I am proud of you for realizing what you could possibly become-even though I don't think you'd ever become like that. Here's why: you've realized that it could be a possibility, so you'll be able to avoid it."  Basically, if you know your weakness, you're not going to show that side to the enemy, right?

Well, I went to bed feeling much better. And I started thinking, "Wow, I guess I've come a long way in my walk with the Lord! I'm starting to realize my own weaknesses before they get me in trouble. I guess I'm doing pretty good... etc, etc, etc"

Enter Puffer the Sneaky.

Now, all those thoughts that were running through my head were positive ones about myself, right? It's good to have self confidence, right? I mean, we're children of the King! We should be proud of ourselves!
Hmm. Did ya catch that one word I slipped in there? "Proud". The only problem was that I was using it in a good way! Yet, it can easily be turned into the bad kind of pride. The Mr. Sneaky kind of pride.  Here I was all 'humble' about not wanting to become like that character in the movie, and yet I then went on to become prideful ABOUT my HUMBLENESS!!!  It's like an oxymoron, really. How can you be prideful about being humble?? Well, I think I pulled it off quite well, don't you?  Satan just slipped those 'positive thoughts' into my head and I let my mind run with them.

Thankfully, the Lord put His hand in and made me think about it from the other side.  I realized what I was doing and had to chuckle at myself.  Really, who would've thought that you could become prideful about being humble?  It's kind of absurd, isn't it?
So, since we usually pick up on the Puffer the Bold kind of pride (the one that is rather obvious), let's not forget his little brother Puffer the Sneaky.  Because if you don't stop Mr. Sneaky when he tries to enter your heart, it's quite likely that he will get on the phone and invite his good pal Mr. Arrogance over. Once that happens... well, you'll probably need your relatives to smack you upside the head. :-)

In Christ's Service,
Sarah

All pictures via Pinterest. And I know they don't exactly fit with my post, but I wanted some kind of pics up there.. but they do go in order.  Sunrise, daytime, and sunset! ;-)

Ducklings, Goslings, and Chicklings-Oh My!

Ok, "chicklings" isn't a real word, but in my dictionary it is. ;-)  So, I just had to share a few pictures with y'all of the new adorable members of the ranch that we got.

We've had chicks and ducks before, but never geese! So, we're very excited about them. :-)  Supposedly they are very mean unless you really handle them while they are goslings. We've been making sure we spend time with them every day if possible.  Right now they are friendly enough that you can stroke their chests and they don't move away.  However, even though they will be nice to us, I guess that we've heard that they might still be mean to others who haven't handled them. That would mean all of our friends. And because most of our friends have little ones still, we never did get geese before for that very reason.  This year, however, we are making a chicken coop and we will keep all of the fowl in.  Great way to keep the coyotes away, too. Paws off! ;-)

Ok, enough talk, onto the pictures!

 Sorry, had to share a few pictures of our adorable pups!! Oreo (the black one. See his white stripe?) just came and settled right in my lap. He's a darling. :-) No, I'm not biased.... 

 Bandit, or as we sometimes call him, Bandito! ;-) 

 Psst! Oreo you need to smile at the camera!!! 

 I guess the looks on both our faces are pretty funny. :-)

 Ha, I just noticed that the ducks and geese separated themselves for the picture! The three on the very far left (two greyish and one yellow) are the three goslings. The rest are ducks, except for the little chick right there on the far right. :-) Doesn't she look so small next to the ducks? And she is actually bigger, compared to the chicks! 

 Gotta love how they tilt their heads to look at you!! ;-) Becs had her MP3 playing in her pocket, so when she stepped outside, all of the ducks started look around. It was funny. :-)

My Lil' Bud.  This guy follows me everywhere! I actually picked him out because he was the one guy that really bonded with me out of all the other puppies. Course, I would have kept all of them if I could! :-) In fact, we are getting kittens today. I would have loved to have gone and helped pick them out, but I figured it would be wisest if I stayed home because otherwise I would take all of them home. =D

Ok, now for a few pictures from Monday on our way into town.  The storm was rolling in, and it just looked BEAUTIFUL!!! 

 The thin clouds (not sure I could call it a mist because it wasn't rain) rolling down the hills on the ranch. Yes, that's overlooking the corrals.

Our huge guard dog unconcerned with the coming storm. :-)

Reflections in the mirror...

 Don't we have some of the coolest clouds??

This is my favorite picture.  It's like the calm before the storm, the last ray of sunshine.... That is, by the way, a view of headquarters from the road.

 And this is what came of it... snow!  Thankfully it was warm enough that it melted very quickly and just let all the moisture soak into the ground. I'm just hoping my lilacs will bloom! They had started to bud right before this storm came in.. so far they look OK, but I'm just prayin' hard that they will finally bloom. They haven't bloomed for 3 years now, and it's rather sad. :-(

Oh, I will say that the drive back home at 10 pm was NOT a picnic, let me tell you.  It was just awful! Several times we couldn't see the road, the lines on the road, anything! and the semi trucks would just zoom by.  No wonder you see so many overturned semi trucks.. or semi trucks getting pulled over for speeding!

And, last but not least, I guess I'll show you a few pictures from Tuesday! Quiet, ROLL 'EM!

 Cindy Lou talkin' on the telephone.

"Call for Gram? It's for you, Gram."

"I don't know nobody what uses a telephone..."

 Cousin Clem is definitely eavesdropping... ;-)

 "Just because I'll be rich... and probably famous, doesn't mean I'm not your friend anymore."

"Oh Thank you Matilda. The bonds of friendship are strong indeed."

 So, do you think I look very matronly? I mean, I'm a proprietor, run the general store, and everyone loves me. ;-) Just imagine me with grey/white hair, and maybe glasses. :-)

 This is a good friend of mine. We have a blast trying to make each other laugh during practice. We can get pretty mean sometimes, too! ;-)

 I'm not really sure what was going on with my face at the time....

 Copycat....

 And, of course, our adorable Mascot!!!! Isn't she the CUTEST!! She has the bluest eyes ever. Blond hair and blue eyes.. *sigh* could it get any better??? ;-)

On a final note, Here is a picture of the delicious, heavenly, superb crepes we had this morning. :-) YUM!!! 

Ok, well, I guess this ended up being a big picture post!! haha! Well, I think most of y'all enjoy seeing pictures.  Drop me a line in the comment box! I surely do enjoy readin' 'em! (Ooops, slipping back into my Gram dialect.. ;-)

Hope y'all are having a wonderful Thursday!!!  Is anyone celebrating the Passover this weekend?

In Christ's Service,

Sarah

A great giveaway!

Hey Ladies!

This giveaway is definitely for you gals.  Samantha over at her Sunshine blog is hosting a giveaway! She has reviewed a couple of items from MadisonStreetBeauty (an Etsy shop). MSB sells homemade, all-natural, vegan makeup products! Who couldn't like that.  Not only are you NOT putting terrible chemicals on your face that could eventually harm your skin, but you're also giving yourself a more natural look.  Mineral makeups don't give you that weird "make-up look" that many of us tend to have once we've applied makeup products. Instead, it will give you a more glowing, natural look.

So, I strong encourage you to go over and enter. Wait, what am I saying? Don't enter because it will lessen my chance! ;-) Ok, just kidding. So, click HERE to check it out!!

In Him,
Sarah