Last year I started composition books with our two youngest. They each have their own. I would write a question and they would answer it. Then they returned it to me with a question. I answered, wrote another question, etc. (A sneaky way to get them to write.)
It was very interesting. They would ask some hard questions. And give some revealing answers.
This year I decided to use the books for math. I will give them problems to work and they will return the favor. I enjoy math but I figured sooner or later they will stump me. Sure enough Christopher went online with the search line, "hard word problems".
He got one for me that went clean over my head. I studied it awhile and decided to see where he got it. No help there except for the info, "Most tricky and tough algebra problems are covered here." Yikes!
Determined to master this, I searched for how to solve algebraic problems. (I'm the person who, if you tell me it isn't likely to be done, I'll master it. I was told in my younger days that, "Girls can't whistle with a blade of grass." Wrong thing to tell ME!)
So I settled down to GET THIS! I followed a couple tutorials online until it finally got through my head. A few simple steps and presto! There was the answer! Christopher said he hasn't seen me so excited in a long time. Well, I was! I can't describe the feeling of empowerment that came from mastering that problem.
And a piece of info I left out above from the "hard problems site"- "If you can solve these, you can probably solve any algebra problems." Obviously there are lots more on that site but to tackle and conquer something that seemed so impossible, was fantastic. Maybe I can do it again.
It was interesting to me how that feeling stayed with me even in other matters. Where something would before look impossible, I'm thinking, "Maybe I could get this!"
Here is the problem in Christopher's handwriting (he writes very faintly in pencil) and also copied and pasted from the site-
The cost of petrol rises by 2 cents a liter. last week a man bought 20 liters at the old price. This week he bought 10 liters at the new price. Altogether, the petrol costs $9.20. What was the old price for 1 liter?
Can you solve it?
Alex of The Frugal Couple was recently posting videos of himself doing push-ups. Twenty-two a day for twenty-two days. Why?
To raise awareness of the twenty-two veterans who kill themselves daily.
President Trump either did or is wanting to declare a national health crisis because of the forty-eight people who daily kill themselves through the use of opioids.
That's seventy people a day, dying because of defeat.
Add to that the destruction of lives in Las Vegas. New York City.
Yesterday 26 people were killed in their country church house in Texas. What makes a man murderous?
Let me ask you some questions.
Did you grow up in a two parent home with no divorce?
Did you have the privilege of being home educated or have you had a good private/public school experience?
Do you have enough food in your house for a week?
Do you have a clean record with the state?
Do you have a home that you do not fear having to move from any day soon?
Do you have a clear conscience?
Is there one person in your life who cares whether you live or die?
Are you debt free?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you have much more than most people.
If you think about these things and realize how much people are hurting throughout this land, what does it do for you?
It makes me cry.
It makes me realize why someone wants to destroy themselves or others.
Pain is pain and too much pain is overwhelming.
We have the answer for these people if we know Jesus. If we know God the Father.
Theirs is a wondrous plan. Jesus came to earth to take all the pain there ever could be and nailed it to His cross.
Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: (Isaiah 53:4)
When we believe in Him, He takes all the pain away and gives peace in its stead. Peace that passes all understanding.
As humans we feel like we need to be angry. Or sad. Hurt. With everything that has happened to me, poor me, how can I have peace? It just isn't fair the things I've suffered.
And that is the truth. Life isn't fair. It also isn't fair that Jesus offers to take all that for us after He lived a sinless life and suffered unbelievably and unjustly. But it's the truth.
And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. (John 8:32)
And once you know that truth and it has set you free, you will have incredible compassion for those who do not know it. You will want to share the truth with them.
They don't need to live in fear. In shame. In hurt. In anger. In hatred. In "control". In depression. In defeat. In destruction.
There is hope. There is peace. There is joy. There is freedom. There is love.
Let us find and apply this truth to all areas of our lives. We are a broken people who face pain daily. What we do with it- carry it or give it to Jesus- makes all the difference.
Is something in the past still painful? Do you still feel awful when you think about it? Jesus will heal that as well, if you allow Him to.
Allow the Son to shine through and bring you light and hope and then spread it to others.
Why would I wish to be all things negative when Jesus gave so much to make my life positive?
Prayer: Jesus, my heart hurts so much when I think about what ___________did. It makes me feel so ___________. I choose to forgive ___________ and I take upon myself all the pain he/she caused me and allow him/her to go free. What is Your truth about this situation?
The amazing thing about this prayer, prayed from the heart, is that Jesus transfers that pain to Himself and we go free, praising Him!
