Elevator, TED, Laughter

Yesterday
We were in the elevator, when I realized I forgot a piece of paper we needed to go to the phone store. We are needing to add long distance calling and use our phones throughout China. When we first got our phones we didn't want to spend more time in the store or spend more money. We just wanted phones that worked. Well, we went to Hubei for Christmas and the phones stopped working as soon as we left Beijing. Back to the elevator, the funniest thing happened. I had seen one of the elevator workers punch the wrong number and to fix it they punched all the numbers between the wrong floor and the right floor. Then all the numbers went from being light to not light. Well, I tried it, only to find that we stopped at every floor on the way down. That was when I decided not to go back to the apartment. We laughed the entire way down. The doors on the elevator opened at every floor and we laughed continuously!

Then we went to the gym. I did 10 minutes on the elliptical and 20 on the bike - mostly because I was watching a TED Talks podcast. So I decided every time I go to the gym I will be watching a TED Talks podcast while using the cardio equipment!

The Daily Bible - Genesis 15-17
Ishmael is born to Hagar and Abram, but this is not the son of promise. Ishmael will become a wild donkey of a man, as will his descendants.

Abram becomes Abraham, Sarai becomes Sarah as God shows his plan of blessing them through Isaac, the son soon to be born to Abraham as he is 100 yrs. old and Sarah as she is 90 yrs. old.

Circumcision is the covenantal signature this time.

Boundaries in Marriage - ch. 2 Applying the Ten Laws of Boundaries to Marriage
The laws are like gravity, they are always there. You can deny them, but they are still at work.

Law #1: The Law of Sowing and Reaping
A person should reap what they sow.

Playing an Not Paying
Sometimes people rescue others from their moods, but this shouldn't be. If a person is moody, angry, pouting, or otherwise in a bad mood it is not the spouses job to cheer the person up. One should pay for what the other is doing.

Consequences Grow Spouses Up
The problem must stay with the person. The person with the problem must deal with it, own it, and work through it, or else the individual will remain immature.

Relational and Functional Reaping
Relational - emotional bondage is one example - a wife demands her husband's attention at all times. He can never do his own thing. She sows self-centeredness and bondage, and he reaps resentment, guilt, and a lose of freedom.
Functional - careless housekeeping - a wife may sow careless housekeeping, while the husband reaps discomfort and embarrassment when inviting guests over (In our home, I do the floors and have embarrassed myself on occasion.)

The one who has the problem must face the effects of the problem. This is done by speaking up about the areas needing attention, setting limits, and not bailing out the individual.

Prayer
Lord thank you for laughter. Help me to always laugh at my mistakes and even the struggles and challenges in life. Allow us all to find humor where others turn to anger, give us resilient spirits that are open to your discipline and therefore receive your blessing!