"Warning: Avoid Death" the sign on the farm equipment warned at the Walworth county fair. I remember my dear friend Heather thinking this was so funny that she made t-shirts with it imprinted on them for our husbands. We all had a good laugh over this straight-forward advice. But not all dangers are obvious.
If you google "dangerous" it says:
dan·ger·ous
Dictionary result for dangerous
/ˈdānj(ə)rəs/
adjective
- able or likely to cause harm or injury.
likely to cause problems or to have adverse consequences.
"it is dangerous to underestimate an enemy"After 18 years of marriage, 14+ with offspring, we've stumbled our way through many things no pastor or parenting book warned us about. So I humbly (read: humorously) submit my own list for your reading amusement.
Dangers to Avoid: |
- asking your wife if she has PMS (hubby wants it noted he has NOT done this)
- eating mom's secret goood chocolate stash
- leaving the TP roll empty
- a tween with Axe body spray
- shopping with an over-tired toddler and no snacks
- someone waking said toddler before naptime is done
- someone waking pregnant-tired mom before naptime is done
- the clearance rack at Target (sometimes good and bad are two sides of the same coin)
- 3 hours alone in Target (ditto)
- walking into Target
- driving by Target (ahem...)
- the REI garage sale
- skipping a pill
- a momentarily unattended child with hair and scissors
- permament markers and boys
- Natural Family Planning
- eating a tiny sliver of your delicously smelling chocolate b-day cake before it is decorated that your husband asked you to take out of the oven but didn't tell you NOT to eat a tiny sliver of it
- buying her an appliance for any special occasion (again, hubby has avoided this bc we have a rule about not buying me anything with a cord unless I specifically ask for it)
- happy hour at Starbucks
- miscommunicating with your hairdresser (okay, not directly marriage or parenting related but impactful on both nonetheless. Hence an emergency mid-week consolation lunch date with hubby after I accidentally became a red-head. oops.)
- dogs with IBS (so long carpet)
- potty training (ditto)
- thinking "I've got this" about anything
- boys being quiet (RUN!!!)
- not returning the kitchen drawer scissors (scotch tape, etc.)
- sending your son into 7/11 without SPECIFIC instructions as to what size slurpee to purchase
- sneaking black beans into the brownies (sorry again, hon)
- walking barefoot through the toy room
- legos hidden in the shag rug
- walking into a pet store with your child
- looking at puppy pictures
- diaper blow-outs
- feeding a toddler too many fruit snacks to keep him quite during the Christmas Eve service (so. much. vomit.)
- letting a boy chug a soda and candy during intermission at the play (ditto. what goes down too fast comes up wayyyyy too fast and wide)
- comparison
- spending too much time on social media
- living, schooling, parenting, etc. to meet outside expectations
- telling yourself a story about "them"
- looking to them to fulfill you
- believing your not _______ enough
- not asking for help
- not taking care of yourself (put your own oxygen mask on first!)
- believing lies about yourself, them, God
- taking them for granted
- not soaking up enough TRUTH, LOVE and HOPE
My Jesus once told me,
A thief (read: our dangerous enemy) is only there to steal and kill and destroy.
I came so they can have real and eternal life,
more and better life than they ever
dreamed of.
(Jn.10:10 - MSG)
We all want that abundant life. Some dangers we can avoid and some we need to trust Him through. I hope this list brought a smile of recognition and encouragement on the journey.
A thief (read: our dangerous enemy) is only there to steal and kill and destroy.
I came so they can have real and eternal life,
more and better life than they ever
dreamed of.
(Jn.10:10 - MSG)
We all want that abundant life. Some dangers we can avoid and some we need to trust Him through. I hope this list brought a smile of recognition and encouragement on the journey.
Blessings!
