Psalm 73

Truly God is good to Israel,

to those whose hearts are pure.

But as for me, I almost lost my footing.

My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone.

For I envied the proud

when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness.

They seem to live such painless lives;

their bodies are so healthy and strong.

They don't have troubles like other people; 

they're not plagued with problems like everyone else.

They wear pride like a jeweled necklace

and clothe themselves with cruelty.

These fat cats have everything

their hearts could ever wish for!

They scoff and speak only evil; 

in their pride they seek to crush others.

They boast against the very heavens,

and their words strut throughout the earth.

And so the people are dismayed and confused,

drinking in all their words.

"What does God know?" they ask.

"Does the Most High even know what's happening?"

Look at these wicked people-

enjoying a life of ease while their riches multiply.

Did I keep my heart pure for nothing?

Did I keep myself innocent for no reason?

I get nothing but trouble all day long;

every morning brings me pain.

If I had really spoken this way to others,

I would have been a traitor to your people.

So I tried to understand why the wicked prosper.

But what a difficult task it is!

Then I went into your sanctuary, O God,

and I finally understood the destiny of the wicked.

Truly, you put them on a slippery path

and send them sliding over the cliff to destruction.

In an instant they are destroyed,

completely swept away by terrors.

When you arise, O Lord,

you will laugh at their silly ideas

as a person laughs at dreams in the morning.

Then I realized that my heart was bitter,

and I was all torn up inside.

I was so foolish and ignorant-

I must have seemed like a senseless animal to you.

Yet I still belong to you;

you hold my right hand.

You guide me with your counsel,

leading me to a glorious destiny.

Whom have I in heaven but you?

I desire you more than anything on earth.

My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak,

but God remains the strength of my heart;

he is mine forever.

Those who desert him will perish,

for you destroy those who abandon you.

But as for me, how good it is to be near God!

I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter,

and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do.

Update on Son

Ds is home now and some things have gotten better. He is much more responsible with his chores and he 'was' getting along great with his sister. The two started fighting again yesterday, but I think both children were at fault. We will see how today goes, as dd is in quite a mood already because she had to get up at 8:30AM on a Spring Break day. Poor baby! 

Her attitude has gotten quite bad lately and it is really starting to wear on me. A lot of the problem stems from me giving her so much free reign with her time. She has been allowed to work on her schoolwork unattended and did well in the beginning, but has gotten increasingly more lazy and many times gets to the weekend with unfinished work. She argues with everything I tell her to do and throws up an attitude when I make her do something-whether chores, schoolwork or helping around the house. I think she has developed a bad case of entitlement-thinking she is in charge and should not be required to do anything unless she feels so inclined. Argh!

We just moved the schoolroom downstairs where I can see her, so that will make it easier to keep an eye on her. Another struggle for her is realizing that her workload is getting larger now that she is moving up in grades. She is used to getting done with her work in such a short time, and hates that some things are now taking longer to complete. Writing is a good example. She 'says' she cannot complete an entire writing assignment in one week because it is too much to do each day. When I told her it is not unreasonable to spend up to 45 minutes per day pre-writing, doing the rough draft and editing, she about had a cow!

Does anyone have any ideas for moving a child from 'easy' elementary work to more 'advanced' middle school work? She is very smart and has no trouble understanding the assignments for the most part, it is just her willingness to give what it takes to do it right.