Phase 2 of The House Behind The Trees ~ The downstairs #TeelsBuildaHouse

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So we are starting the downstairs ... I HATE to say basement because we had a basement in our old home, where you opened a door and went down stairs separated from anything else. It was a finished basement complete with a bedroom, craft room, family/game room and we spent a lot of time there ~ our oldest son moved down there in jr high and stayed through high school ... until we finished the master suite in the attic then he moved back up to the bedroom floor with his brother and sister.  So here our downstairs is open to the rest of the house, you can see through to the outside from the top of the stairs going down because we have a wall of windows down there as well.  We really didn't plan to have a kiddo down there but since we are having to do a switch-a-roo with rooms (I'll explain later) he is moving home soon and will be downstairs. Anyhoo, our downstairs will house our main family room, our middle sons room, a full bath and kitchenette.  I thought it would be fun ...
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6 Signs You Need to Stop Talking

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Have you ever wished you’d stopped talking about five minutes before you actually did? Well I’ve been there... A LOT and want to share with you signs to know when it’s time to stop talking before the embarrassment or hurtfulness is unleashed from our lips.

Sign 1: You’re Complaining, Not Explaining
There’s a subtle difference. Explaining is simply telling someone about your situation and complaining is when you have an attitude that says “I’m being inconvenienced.” Philippians 2:14-15.

There are times when keeping quiet in order to avoid complaining seems so hard I almost can’t stand it, but God will always give us the grace to do it. If we ever want to arrive at our Promised Land, we need to stop complaining about the way God’s getting us there.

Sign 2: You’re Criticizing Somebody
Picture this. Someone says or does something we think they shouldn’t have done and all of a sudden, we’ve got about a hundred opinions about them that we want to talk about!

First Thessalonians 4:9 says, “But concerning brotherly love [for all other Christians], you have no need to have anyone write you, for you yourselves have been [personally] taught by God to love one another”. In other words, sharing our critical opinions about other people is always a mistake. We need to cover one another with love, instead of uncovering their weaknesses and pointing out their flaws.

Sign 3: Your "thinking" God Is Too Small
Whenever we say, “I can’t do this” or “It’s too much for me to take,” we’re actually defeating ourselves and we’re not trusting God to get us through it.What we need to say is, “God is bigger than every issue I will ever have to face, and I can do whatever I need to do through Christ who strengthens me.”

The Bible says that David ran quickly toward the battle line to face the giant Goliath. Sometimes we stare at our circumstances too long and end up scaring ourselves half to death instead of believing God will give us the victory when we face our giants.

Sign 4: You’re Self-Inflated
We like to boast about what we’ve done, what we can do, and what we’re going to do. If we’re not careful, we can even take credit for things God did!

"Everything we do, we should do it as unto the Lord." Colossians 3:23. I don’t think we can even begin to know what God would do for us and the things He would allow us to participate in if we would learn to keep our successes a secret between us and God, unless He specifically gives us permission to share them.

Sign 5: You’re Standing in Judgment
Matthew 7:1 (NLT) says, “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged.” I think this is really important for Christians because we can get our religious, snooty noses up in the air. And if somebody does something wrong, they’re out of the group.

We can look at everybody else through a magnifying glass when we’re a mess ourselves and can’t even see it. So we need to remain humble before God and before others.

Sign 6: You’re Just Being Negative
The world is full of negativity ~ instead of adding to that negativity, Christians need to be positive about the problems and circumstances we face.

We may not get everything we want, the way we want it, when we want it, but God will take care of us and give us grace to have joy and be positive in the midst of any situation, AND that’s an awesome way to live!

Dear Heavenly Father, Help me know when to stop talking! Thank you for holding my right hand and putting the other over my month. I ask that you help me to only speak Christ-like words so that you will be reflected everything that I say. In your precious name I pray, Amen.

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