ThinMint

⭐️ I'm getting all my memes squared away for Comedy Wednesday. We should have a "best meme of the month," or "best meme of the week." If we had one for the year -and this would be extremely hard to judge as y'all are awesome!- I would nominate the following because these really caused the tears to flow as I laughed for a long time:

In case you haven't seen it, here is Trump's deposition taken by the New York attorney General's office August 10, 2022. “Anyone in my position not taking the Fifth Amendment would be a fool, an absolute fool,” Trump said during the deposition.

- 4 of 4 - I am greatly encouraged by the response Jesus gave to Peter when asked how many times we should forgive: “I tell you, not just seven times, but seventy-seven times!" For me, this means the Lord is well aware how often we will stumble, how often we need to be forgiven. God didn’t put a cap on it. This isn’t meant to be taken advantage of; it’s meant to convey that God shows us compassion. He knows us. If He’s made a Way for us to be changed by The One and Only then it stands to reason that only He can take what He made (our personality) and make it better through Christ. He doesn’t want to alter our personality; He wants to utilize it to advance His kingdom. How will you allow Him to use your characteristics for His glory?

- 3 of 4 - Maybe you have, too. Perhaps you have wondered why you can’t be more… quiet, patient, subdued, thoughtful, deliberate, kind, generous –whatever it is you think is most ideal. If you believe that God knitted you together in the womb then you must believe that He chose your personality strands and wove those to complete your tapestry. Yes, we have weaknesses because we are sinners. We are going to lose our cool, blurt gibberish, make immature facial expressions, lash out, be ridiculously impatient. We will be duped, cajoled and taunted into unnecessarily acting before we even think on how God would want us to react. We don’t do this because we have a personality problem; we do it because we have a sin problem. I wish I could offer practical ideas on how best to curb these sinful reactions; the only answer is Jesus. And not one time; all the time. As many times as it takes.

- 2 of 4 - The enemy is quite skillful warping how we perceive ourselves. He wants us to focus on the flaws. He wants us to question why we, “are who we are,” or blurt out angrily, “why am I like this?” He wants us to eschew the personality traits God hand chose for us. He absolutely wants us to forget Whose image we are made in and Who helps us be more Christ-like. As someone who is outspoken, I have struggled with the enemy distorting who God made me to be, occasionally falling for the lie that I need to completely change my personality.

- 1 of 4 - There are some folks in the Bible I am drawn to simply because of their personalities. I get them. Their emotional ups and downs, their knee-jerk reactions, their fiery remarks, their tempers, their passionate responses… Those who know me well are aware that I am authentic in all I do, all I feel, and that I’m not exactly the “strong, silent” kind of person. If you’re close to me, you know exactly how I feel. Of course, this type of forthrightness can bring offense so I continue to work on how to deliver truthfulness in a way that pleases God. This kind of temperament serves me well. Other times, it stirs up trouble, even when I am not the one being the spoon. Sometimes it feels like the madcaps, disrupters and scalawags go out of their way to engage me. Is it me or are they strategically placed so I continuously run into them? I suspect the latter. I call these encounters sandpaper moments. God is using those frustrating occasions and people to smooth out my rough edges.

Have a beautiful Tuesday, friends 🌼

I thought Trump's speech at the New Hampshire GOP on Saturday was really interesting. What stands out to you?

Thanks @Rivulet

Courtesy of @Terri

-3- Perhaps Less Is More is letting go. Letting go of the messes, the inconveniences. Letting go of the what ifs and if onlys. Letting go of the fears. Letting go of frustrations. Letting go of controlling situations and others. Perhaps Less Is More is severing ties with Regret, Guilt. Perhaps Less Is More is letting go so we can have the time for experiments, arts and crafts and visiting parks. Letting go means we’ll have more time for reading, playing and cuddles. If we let go then our arms will be able to embrace Love and Joy. We will have the precious memories to hold because we let go of the things that kept us from having those sweet moments.

-2- That’s what some of us moms do. We second guess, fret, hover, worry, wonder. And sometimes we just don’t. We don’t do the experiments or art projects because we cannot handle one more mess to clean up. We don’t take them to the park because it’s too hot, too cold, too crowded. We don’t read them one more book, give them one more cookie, let them play longer, cuddle longer. Then the next you know you’re watching them in shocked silence as they do something grownup’ish, wondering if you’ve been a miser with parental quantity and quality. As you know, I’ve stepped into a new season, one in which I am determined to bring Less Is More to fruition, and concentrate on What Matters Most. Two weeks ago, this crossed my path:

-1- I think most of us probably agree that living with Regret is one the hardest things to do. Wise people try to minimize that risk. Guilt is probably a more common companion among us. Mom Guilt™ is like regular guilt, but like seven hundred kabillion thousand ten times worse. Our homeschool organization has an annual formal “dance” for high schoolers in early January. I’ve chaperoned this event previously, but this was the first year the twins could be there with me. I ain’t gonna lie: it was a little emotional for me. What happened to my babies?! First, they were there: crawling, wobbling, running; learning how to hold a spoon, ride a bike, do multiplication. Now they are here: bodies and emotions rapidly changing; learning how to make a budget, be more independent, do quadratic equations. You’ve seen where they’ve been, and you see where they are going (even if it is a little murky) and you feel a little panicky. Did I teach them that? Did I do enough? We should’ve done this. Is it too late?

Satisfy us in the morning with Your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days - Psalm 90:14

I mulled over if this should be posted on The Liberty Tavern or here. In case anyone missed it, Trump spoke at the service for Diamond last weekend. It just feels like y'all should have the chance to comment about it. A few things stood out to me, but I really want to know what may have caught your attention.

Thank you for sharing this, Terri. It instantly stirred my heart and filled me with profound relief and hope. I'm sure others need this message as well.

Thank you friends for your authenticity. And for being such Big Fun™ for me 😊