17 ¶ Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life.

18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field.

19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.”  Genesis 3:17-19 (NKJV)

“Christmas Carols Every Day�

By Bro. John L. Cash, “Country Preacher Dad�

On Sunday nights at our little country church, the people sitting in the pews take turns calling out requests for songs that they want the congregation to sing. People pick out songs they like, and we sing them until it’s time for me to preach. My older son, Spencer, usually picks out “It Is Well With My Soul” or a Christmas carol–even if it’s the middle of July. I guess he just likes Christmas carols. And that’s OK with me, especially if he wants to sing “Joy to the World”.

Did you know that, in some ways, “Joy to the World” is not a Christmas carol? Most of the other Christmas carols are taken from the New Testament and tell of the Gospel account of the birth of the Christ child.

But  “Joy to the World” is not a New Testament song. It’s actually based on an Old Testament text–Psalm 98 to be exact. And when Isaac Watts wrote the hymn, he wasn’t writing a song about baby Jesus being born in the manger. Instead, he wrote of  the coming of Jesus Christ to set up His kingdom at the end of the age. So while this song is an excellent carol for Christmas, it’s also a wonderful choice for all other seasons of the year.

My favorite stanza of “Joy to the World” goes like this:

No more let sins and sorrows grow,

Nor thorns infest the ground;

He comes to make His blessings flow

Far as the Curse is found.

It always makes me feel joyful to sing that verse, because it’s such a clear explanation of the nature of our suffering in this life. When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden of Eden (in response to the lie of Satan), sin and death entered the world. Because of this, Genesis 3 tells us that this present world is fallen, and ruined by “The Curse”. But Jesus Christ has died on the cross and risen from the grave to redeem and restore all things. “He comes to make His blessings flow far as the curse is found.”

So, here’s what I have come to realize: Very often when people have troubles, they shake their fist in the wrong direction. God is not the cause of our suffering. He created the world in perfection. We need to rightly place our blame and anger. We need to blame Adam, not the Almighty. We must hate the Devil, not the Deliverer. Our suffering comes because of sin, not the Saviour. The fault lies with the Curse, not with the Cross.

Several years ago, an older friend of mine was suffering terribly with an awful head cold. He said, “Brother John, I prayed this morning and asked the Lord to take this cold and give it to the devil.â€� Now that’s what I call understanding where to place the blame! Dear mamas, this fallen world has its share of trouble and sadness. Draw near to the Lord this week, and He will strengthen you and deliver you from the evil one.

Dr. John L. Cash is the “Country Preacher Dad.� He was raised in Stuttgart, Arkansas, and is in the middle of his 25th year of being a country preacher in the piney woods five miles south of the little town of Hickory, Mississippi.  He and his lovely wife, Susan, and his sons, Spencer (age 18) and Seth (age 15) live in the parsonage next door to the Antioch Christian Church (where Walter, the pup in the picture at right with Spencer, now weighs close to 100 pounds!) He would love to hear from you in an email sent to extramailbox@juno.com.

By Gwen Rockwood, newspaper columnist and mama of 3

This morning I woke up, shuffled downstairs for caffeine and glanced out the kitchen window. What I saw woke me up faster than the Diet Dr. Pepper. It was snow. Let me rephrase that. It was MORE SNOW!

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,� I said to no one. But if it was a joke, Mother Nature was the only one snickering.

I turned on the small TV in the kitchen to catch a local forecast. The weatherman said the snow flurries wouldn’t accumulate and would, at worst, leave only a dusting on the ground. But the wind chills, he added, would be brutal.

“Ugh,� I said, exasperated at the thought of dressing in layers once again. By the time I get the kids dressed warmly enough to go outside these days, they look like three little Michelin men in varying heights.

Even though we’ve only had 56 official days of winter so far, it feels more like, oh, I don’t know, 56,000 or so? Experts say this is the coldest, snowiest winter on record for most of the country. One day last week, there was snow on the ground in 49 states, with Hawaii being the lone hold-out. (Is it just me, or does a trip to Hawaii sound fabulous right about now?)

It’s not that I have anything against snow. I love snow – the first two or three times it happens. After that, I’m over it. I want to run an errand without wearing a parka. I want to stop driving down slushy streets that re-freeze overnight. I want to see the sun!

Perhaps the worst part about the unusually cold weather and the all-too-frequent snowfall is what it’s doing to my energy level. The gray skies and bitter winds make me gravitate to the sofa across from the fireplace. I spent a few hours lying there last Sunday afternoon, dozing while the kids watched the Winter Olympics.

(By the way, at the time of this writing, it is 24 degrees warmer in Vancouver, Canada than it is here at my house – in the SOUTH. There’s something very wrong about that.)

After I’d been lying there a while, 8-year-old Adam nudged me awake and said, “Mom, are you going to wake up from your nap now?� He was clearly a little irritated with the day’s lazy agenda and he was ready to do something, anything. His impatience gave me the strongest sense of déjà vu. Suddenly I remembered feeling the exact same irritation when I was that age. Why were my parents so tired, I wondered. I didn’t understand why they’d want to spend their day off doing something as boring as reading the big, fat Sunday newspaper and sleeping on the sofa. It was SO boring. I swore I’d never be like that when I was a grown-up.

(Note to all 8-year-olds: Never swear that you won’t ever be like your parents because it’s the quickest way to ensure you will be.)

Reliving that memory was one of those full-circle moments that made me realize I’ve now become the boring grown-up – the one who wants to be left alone long enough to read the newspaper, the one who falls asleep if she’s given a semi-quiet room and a chance to get horizontal. No wonder the kids were miffed.

Perhaps my motivation will increase when the temperatures do. Many of us just need some reassurance that spring will come again. We need to see a tulip poke its pretty head out of the ground. We need a few sunny days in a row and temperatures warmer than those at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

The good news is that there are only 33 days to go until the first official day of spring. And when it does, the kids and I are going to shoot hoops on the driveway and plant flowers and eat popsicles on the front steps. And I promise I won’t waste one minute of the summer complaining about the heat.

But until then, I’m nothing more than a sleepy Mama bear, hibernating in her warm, dark cave.

Wake me when it’s spring.

Gwen Rockwood is a mom to three great kids, a newspaper columnist and co-owner of nwaMotherlode.com. To read previously published installments of The Rockwood Files, click here. 

Editor’s note: Comments closed, chicks. We’ve got a winner! Congrats to Sara Schmidt, a work-at-home graphic and web designer and mom to Elijah and Morgan.

We’ve got a bundle of gift certificates to give away, and all you need to do to throw your name in the hat is tell us what you think. The gift certificates come from our buddies at NWArestaurants.com, which has the most up-to-date, comprehensive info on restaurants in Northwest Arkansas. (They also own the website NWAMovies.com, which is super helpful as well.) Today’s gift certificates come from Cold Stone Creamery, O’Charley’s and Fast Lane Entertainment.

We’ll let you in on a little secret that won’t be secret much longer: NWArestaurants.com offers gift certificates (called Penguin Bills, pictured right) for lots of different restaurants, and the gift certificates are HALF-OFF! Even better, this is the only program of its kind that helps local charities. As an example, you might find a $20 gift certificate for Chili’s that you can buy for only $10. All net proceeds of this sale will go to a nonprofit group in Northwest Arkansas. We love this program because everybody wins: Mama gets to eat out for a change. We don’t blow the budget. And local charities get desperately-needed funding.

The Penguin Bills and restaurant selection are constantly changing, so you’ll need to check back often to see what kinds of deals you can snag. Click here to check it out and bookmark the site for future reference, so you can check it out before your next dinner on the town.

Now, back to today’s giveaway: The winner will receive three different gift certificates — one from Fast Lane Entertainment, one from O’Charley’s, and one from Cold Stone Creamery. YUM! The gift certificates total $50!

Here’s the question we’d like you to consider: “When you’re ‘grandma-age,’ what do you hope your adult children remember most about you?

To throw your name in the drawing for the bundle of gift certificates, click the big orange button below and let us know what you think. You may also e-mail us your thoughts at giveaways@nwaMotherlode.com.

Increase your odds of winning by sending your friends a note about the giveaway. Just be sure to put giveaways@nwaMotherlode.com on the CC line of your e-mail so we can give you proper credit. We’ll give you an extra chance to win for every person you tell.

By Michelle Thompson, nwaMotherlode fashion editor

My first choice that I just must share with you is a website that I am completely in love with. It is Ideeli.com and it features majorly discounted items from top designers. We are talking Michael Kors, Dolce & Gabbana, Betsey Johnson, and Tahari just to name a few.

These items are marked down usually 60% to 75%. I do recommend making sure that you check the Eligibility for Return on the item you wish to purchase. They even have children’s fashion on the site as well from time to time. I ordered my oldest daughter, Macy, a pair of leopard and cherry print rain boots that were off-the-charts cute.  So ENJOY!!!!!!!!

These shoes (below) are the perfect Girl’s Night Out shoe!!! In fact I just wore them out last Friday night with my favorite girls. They are BCBG and you can get them at Belk’s in Rogers for $89.99. I dream about these shoes I love them so much. They are platforms too, so they really are comfortable; not volunteer at your child’s school all day comfortable, but hang out with your friends at a fabulous restaurant comfortable. 

Okay, I know this favorite might be too much for some, but I do love this trend, and I think there are sooooo many options available for each and every body type. THE ROMPER!!!!!!!

Every summer I pick a specific clothing item, usually a sundress of a certain flattering style, and buy several of them. I call it my “uniform”, which as all of you moms know, things run the smoothest when you don’t have to over think every little decision, especially getting dressed in the morning. I pick these cute little numbers, which I call my uniforms, so I can optimize my summertime with the kiddos.

The most important thing to do when you pick an item and buy several of them is ACCESSORIZE!!! Change it up with fun, bold necklaces, scarves, bracelets or bohemian earrings. This year I think the Romper is my summer uniform pick. They are soooo cute on! My best friend, who is anti-romper, actually said that she would wear this cute cheetah print romper from Victoria’s Secret. The other romper from my fashion floor came from Target. Have fun with this one, and keep an open mind. 

This little trio from NY and Co. just screams, Spring is here!!!!  The bracelet is just gorgeous with all of it’s ornate detail, and the ring is just a globe of flowers and fun. The earrings are perfect petals to adorn your ears. Also, at NY and Co., the jewelry is Buy One get the second piece at 75% off. What a steal!!!!!!

I couldn’t resist adding these adorable leopard, twinkly-toed, high-tops for girls from Paris Blues. My daughter and I first saw them at Marshall’s in Tulsa, but they didn’t have her size. She was, of course, devastated (ha!), so I went on the hunt and found them at Sears.com for $19.99.  They have grosgrain ribbon shoelaces and leopard jewels on the toes…it just doesn’t get much cuter than that.  

Michelle Thompson is mom to two beautiful daughters, Macy and Brooklyn, and is nwaMotherlode’s new Fashion Mama editor. Look for new articles from Michelle on the last Friday of the month. To read more about this local fashionista/mom/marathon runner, click here.