Dandelions and Daydreams

Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful — Warren Buffett

From the moment a couple is joined together in the covenant of marriage, Satan is there trying to force himself between those bonds like a splitting maul breaking apart fire wood for kindling.  I am convinced that there is little that Satan delights in more than tearing apart the fabric and foundation of the family.  His attacks take on many faces:  divorce, abortion, gay marriage, premarital sex, children born out of wedlock, rebellious teenagers, strife, discontent, financial hardships (or infidelity), sexual temptations (outside of marriage) and sexual challenges (inside of marriage), there is no area where he will not try to break apart a husband and a wife.

If the husband and wife cling to one another in spite of the attacks, Satan has no qualms about attacking their children and attempting to destroy the relationship between parent and child and in doing so, potentially, tear apart the bond between husband and wife.

He is crafty and determined, constantly testing the fences you have built up around yourself, your marriage, and your family.  He keeps moving from place to pace until he finds a weeks spot, or perhaps he batters one spot in the fence until it gives way.  Then, once an opening is created, the weakness spreads throughout life and Satan goes to work tearing down all the fences while putting you and your family in chains.

What can we do?  Fences need to be checked daily, and repaired as needed.  Ever day, a Christian needs to do the work of mending fences.  The husband and wife cling to one another and cling to God.  Parents build a fence to protect their children and do their best to equip their children to build fences themselves.  All of this must be done while living in the presence of God, clinging to His strength.

The fences must be checked daily, and God is the one to do the mending.  Neglect results in fences that allow the wolves in to devour the sheep.

My silence over the last week has not been because I have nothing to say.  On the contrary, I have had more to say than I could put into words.  With a hundred different thoughts racing around my mind and a baby growing in my belly, I’m afraid that I don’t have the mental capacity left to organize any of those thoughts into a logical, rational article.

As much as I have been fighting the facts, this morning the grass and leaves and everything is all covered in crunchy frost.  Yesterday I noticed the snow is starting to come down the mountains surrounding the town.  Three years ago, we were here for the first dusting of snow.  That was the weekend I fell in love with this little town.

Brenton is convinced that I have lost my mind.  I’ve always been the sort of person who can put something off almost indefinitely, but when it’s time to do something, it’s time to do it now.  I’ve been putting off packing my hospital bag for 3 weeks now.  Tuesday night, at midnight, B was asleep and I was too restless to sleep.  Suddenly the urge to pack my bag hit me.  I needed to pack the bag rightnow!  Now my bag is packed.  I’m sure I’ll find more stuff to add over the next few weeks, but I can sleep easy at night knowing that it’s sitting beside the door.

Speaking of packing, we are packing up the house.  I’ve been putting it off for a few weeks because, well let’s be honest, this isn’t a very convenient time in my life to pack up all our belongings and move.  We are still waiting for the appraisal report, but I feel pretty confident that the house will pass appraisal.  Our tentative close date is November 13 and we would be moving that weekend.  Nothing like total chaos!  At least my mom will be here for a while after the baby is born.  She can help me unpack…again.  We did that last time she was here too.

Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you.
Dr. Seuss

If you never did, you should. These things are fun, and fun is good.
Dr. Seuss

So the writer who breeds more words than he needs, is making a chore for the reader who reads.
Dr. Seuss

October was supposed to be frugal living month here at Dandelions and Daydreams, so what happened?

I wrote a few articles.  I started to winterize the apartment.  I spent a little bit of money on this house and then just as expected…our offer got accepted and we started transitioning into moving.  Perhaps I could say simply, I spent much of October on an adrenaline high trying to keep from tipping over onto the side of panic.

I’ve still got a lot of ideas on frugal living.  I expect that I will soon be writing about budget decorating as well as debt-free remodeling.  Rather than focusing on living frugally for just one month, I plan on incorporating it as a theme into this blog.