JULY 6 ~ Laziness and Waffles (S)

Proverbs 6:6-11
6 Go to the ant, you sluggard;
consider its ways and be wise!
7 It has no commander,
no overseer or ruler,
8 yet it stores its provisions in summer
and gathers its food at harvest.

9 How long will you lie there, you sluggard?
When will you get up from your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest—
11 and poverty will come on you like a thief
and scarcity like an armed man.

I remember our dad quoting these verses when we were growing up...especially on Saturday mornings when we might have stayed up late and were sleeping in longer. It's so weird how much more wonderful bed feels to me in the mornings when I'm supposed to get up, than when I first went to bed the night before...

Now that I'm a wife and mother, especially, I am so thankful for the way my parents trained us.  Fun has its place, but it comes after work.  I cannot imagine trying to run a household and family with these priorities reversed.  God is very clear about what He desires we women do with our lives.  

SO WHAT?  WHAT does He want me to do, so that I'm not a lazy sluggard? 

Here are a few more verses that put "women's feet" to the verses from Proverbs:

Titus 2:3-5
"Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. ⁴ Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, ⁵ to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God."

Proverbs 31:17
"She sets about her work vigorously;
    her arms are strong for her tasks."

BUT HOW?  I'm so tired sometimes...I'm exhausted, in fact!  How can a woman keep up with the laundry, housecleaning, a happy marriage, church/ministries, activities, Bible reading and study, finances, grocery shopping, meal planning, cooking healthy foods, child training, homeschooling, birthday remembering, hospitality, exercise, family time, organizing, de-cluttering, hygiene, and sleep?   

HOW, I ASK THEE?  Truthfully, I don't.  But I know some things about HOW God's Word tells me it can be done:

Hebrews 12:1-3
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

Philippians 4:13
^"I can do all this through him who gives me strength."

Matthew 11:28-30
  “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Isaiah 40:11
"He tends his flock like a shepherd:
    He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
    he gently leads those that have young."

Galatians 6:9
"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."

Isaiah 40:29-31
"He gives strength to the weary 
 and increases the power of the weak.
³⁰ Even youths grow tired and weary,
    and young men stumble and fall;
³¹ but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary, 
   they will walk and not be faint."

Isaiah 48:11-14
"The Lord will guide you always;
    he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
    and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
    like a spring whose waters never fail.
¹² Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
    and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,     
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

¹³ “If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath
    and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight
    and the Lord’s holy day honorable,
and if you honor it by not going your own way
    and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,
¹⁴ then you will find your joy in the Lord,
    and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land
    and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.”For the mouth of the Lord has spoken."

There are many books written on the subject of women, mothers, wives, and other similar topics, but there is ONLY ONE BOOK that has all the answers.  God's Word IS the standard...He created us, therefore, He is the ONLY ONE WHO has the solutions to our problems.  Human wisdom is simply a re-telling of God's Inspired Word.  

SO, to break it down in mathematical equations:

Laziness=bad
Too much sleep=bad
Tired and exhausted=expected
Solution=our walk with Christ

Our Job=throw off junk+run with endurance+fix eyes on Jesus+do it in His strength+don't lose heart+come to Jesus & learn from Him+hope in the Lord+seek His guidance, satisfaction, and strengthening+ keep the Sabbath a delight [a.k.a. Read the Bible, Pray, Worship & honor the Lord]

God's promises=He will give us rest for our souls+gently lead us+we will reap a harvest at the proper time+He will give us strength and increase our power+we will soar on eagle's wings, run and not be weary, walk and not faint+He will guide, satisfy, and strengthen us+we will be like a well-watered garden+repair broken walls & lives+we will find our joy in the Lord and ride in triumph, feasting on the inheritance [a.k.a Philippians 4:19 ~"And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus."]

WHY?  WHY on earth would God give us all we need for free when we're such weak and struggling and fickle creatures?  The apostle Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, sums it up beautifully!

Ephesians 3:14-21
¹⁴ For this reason I kneel before the Father, ¹⁵ from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. ¹⁶ I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸ may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, ¹⁹ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
²⁰ Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."

Amen, indeed!

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Okay, since we're talking about laziness today, I think I can confess that laziness is one of the reasons for my recent weight stall, then beginning to gain.  Sad, I know.  Especially because I have the science and tools at my fingertips.  Thank goodness each day is a new day!  I resolved to eat healthfully for all of July, and since that was kind of a flop for the past few days, I decided to try my best for the rest of the month.  One of the things we did was to make these delicious, lovely "Healthified Protein Waffles"  from Keto Adapted by Maria Mind Body Health.  This is a Trim Healthy Mama S meal, which is served here with grass-fed butter and sugar free syrup.

Print this recipe 

INGREDIENTS you'll need:

The batter:

 In the waffle iron--don't fill it too full, even though it's thick:

 Set the timer for 4 minutes:

 And there you have delicious Belgian waffles!  We ate them for lunch while watching "Leave it to Beaver," and it was awesome!

TIP: Make sure your waffle iron is hot hot hot before adding any batter or it will stick.

“HEALTHIFIED” PROTEIN WAFFLES from http://mariamindbodyhealth.com/new-protein-waffle/

1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup JAY ROBB vanilla egg white or 1 cup THM whey protein powder
1/2 tsp Celtic sea salt
1 TBS aluminum free baking powder
1 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
4 eggs
4 TBS butter or coconut oil, melted
Preheat waffle iron to high. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. Combine the wet ingredients in another bowl. Slowly add the wet ingredients into the dry. Let sit for 5 minutes. Bake according to your waffle iron directions (I spray my waffle iron with THIS Coconut oil spray). Enjoy! Serve with on-plan maple syrup or Nature’s Hollow Xylitol syrup.  Makes 10 waffles.

NUTRITIONAL COMPARISON (per waffle)
Traditional Waffle = 223 calories, 8.5g fat, 5g protein, 27 carbs, 0.7g fiber (26.3 effective)
“Healthified” Waffle = 144 calories, 8g fat, 12.2g protein, 4g carbs, 2.1g fiber (1.9 effective)


~Blessings and Peace from our Home to Yours!