It's been one heck of a ride lately and I'm growing weary. The tears flow more easily and I feel the physical pain of waiting. Seems dramatic but it's true.
I'm clinging to God's promises and most recently am clinging to (parenthesis by Tina):
Phil 4:4 - "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again rejoice! The Lord is near. (I am not alone.) Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything (even this circumstance), by prayer and petition, WITH THANKSGIVING, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think on such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me - put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."
Here's my deduction -
Step 1 - Rejoice in the Lord
Step 2 - Be gentle, You are not alone!
Step 3 - Be thankful and present your requests to the Big Guy
Step 4 - Peace that transcends will fill me, my heart and mind will be safe
Step 5 - Think on right things (see list above)
Step 6 - Put this all into practice (by God's power) and the God of peace will reign in my life.
So, after this long recap, here's my list of gratitude:
1. God is powerful and transcends every circumstance
2. Reese saying "I'll love you happy"
3. Georgia comparing marsh mellow textures
4. A new vacuum cleaner
5. Home made chicken stock
6. $7.99 birthday balloons that last 1.5 weeks!
7. My 2000 Honda that runs great
8. Friends who want honest and meaningful friendships
9. Parents who love and support
10. My husband making coffee and putting a cup by my bed every a.m.
11. A fun part-time job to fill in the cracks
12. The ability to know exceptional people that challenge me
13. The library
14. My deep freeze
15. A God who knows me better than I know myself
16. A husband who knows and seeks Him
17. Georgia cutting paper repeating, "Thumb always up, thumb always up..."
18. My brother buying me flowers
19. A full life that I have to get to now!
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Georgia had her kindergarten testing and seemed to really enjoy it. Whew.
Today is a day filled with kids (mine and my niece Finley), baking/cooking and pj's. I actually sat on the couch and watched Nemo with the girls. They were very happy to snuggle.
Chris is spending the day praying about our future. Our verse for today - "I am praying to you because I know you will answer, O God. Bend down and listen as I pray." --Psalm 17:6, NLT
What a blessing to have a man who seeks the Lord.
Today is a day filled with kids (mine and my niece Finley), baking/cooking and pj's. I actually sat on the couch and watched Nemo with the girls. They were very happy to snuggle.
Chris is spending the day praying about our future. Our verse for today - "I am praying to you because I know you will answer, O God. Bend down and listen as I pray." --Psalm 17:6, NLT
What a blessing to have a man who seeks the Lord.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Pointers?
Georgia has become disenchanted with school and I'm getting nervous. She has her Kindergarten placement testing and doesn't want to go to school let alone cooperate with school testing.
Any pointers on getting your kid back in the groove?!?
Any pointers on getting your kid back in the groove?!?
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Today, I choose...
Chris' job, scheduled to start Monday the 19th, has been indefinitely postponed. Yesterday we clung to Psalm 42:11 - "But O my soul, don't be discouraged. Don't be upset. Expect God to act. For I know that I shall again have plenty of reason to praise him for all that he will do. He is my help. He is my God."
Today I woke up feeling very discouraged. I feel like I could better cope and slough off the yuck by working out very hard and having some space to breathe but I have two kids, a house, a husband who needs a positive wife and work to do for Linda. I feel trapped and like I can't manage my pain/anger very well today.
So, of course, I do what I can and read Hebrews 12. Check it - "Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles (over-eating, drinking, yelling at my husband), and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and PERFECTER of our faith." (not by my power or effort but His).
Today I will discipline my mind and meditate on what's true. Point blank, God has provided for us and blessed us and He will again. Maybe not how we expect him to provide but, really, what He has for us is better than anything we could ever dream up. Jesus take the wheel!
Today I woke up feeling very discouraged. I feel like I could better cope and slough off the yuck by working out very hard and having some space to breathe but I have two kids, a house, a husband who needs a positive wife and work to do for Linda. I feel trapped and like I can't manage my pain/anger very well today.
So, of course, I do what I can and read Hebrews 12. Check it - "Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles (over-eating, drinking, yelling at my husband), and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and PERFECTER of our faith." (not by my power or effort but His).
Today I will discipline my mind and meditate on what's true. Point blank, God has provided for us and blessed us and He will again. Maybe not how we expect him to provide but, really, what He has for us is better than anything we could ever dream up. Jesus take the wheel!
Monday, January 12, 2009
Insane in the Membrane!
Funny day today. Not funny "ha-ha"; funny "weird".
I've gone from praising God for Chris' solid start date with the new job (yep, you read right, he officially starts the 19th at 8am!) to crying from my gut and being so frustrated with my life, back to praising God for a 2000 Honda that still runs without any problems.
Today I've become friendly with tears. They're like my evil, pride-killing twin. (Example? - Crying while talking to G's pre-K teacher...yikes!)
So, now I'm heading to bed to read a vegan cookbook and reflect on my inner-most need and desire to purchase spelt flour and nutritional yeast.
Now don't you feel sane?
I've gone from praising God for Chris' solid start date with the new job (yep, you read right, he officially starts the 19th at 8am!) to crying from my gut and being so frustrated with my life, back to praising God for a 2000 Honda that still runs without any problems.
Today I've become friendly with tears. They're like my evil, pride-killing twin. (Example? - Crying while talking to G's pre-K teacher...yikes!)
So, now I'm heading to bed to read a vegan cookbook and reflect on my inner-most need and desire to purchase spelt flour and nutritional yeast.
Now don't you feel sane?
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Food for thought...
...Interesting to think about.
The Stranger
A few years after I was born, my Dad met a stranger who was new to oursmall Texas town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with thisenchanting newcomer and soon invited him to live with our family. Thestranger was quickly accepted and was around from then on.
As I grew up, I never questioned his place in my family. In my youngmind, he had a special niche. My parents were complementaryinstructors: Mom taught me good from evil, and Dad taught me to obey.But the stranger...he was our storyteller. He would keep usspellbound for hours on end with Adventures, mysteries and comedies.
If I wanted to know anything about politics, history or science, healways knew the answers about the past, understood the present andeven seemed able to predict the future! He took my family to theirfirst major league ball game. He made me laugh, and he made me cry.The stranger never stopped talking, but Dad didn't seem to mind.
Sometimes, Mom would get up quietly while the rest of us were shushingeach other to listen to what he had to say, and she would go to thekitchen for peace and quiet. (I wonder now if she ever prayed for thestranger to leave.)
Dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions, but thestranger never felt obligated to honor them. Profanity, for example,was not allowed in our home... Not from us, our friends or anyvisitors. Our longtime visitor, however, got away with four-letterwords that burned my ears and made my dad squirm and my mother blush.My Dad didn't permit the liberal use of alcohol. But the strangerencouraged us to try it on a regular basis. He made cigarettes lookcool, cigars manly and pipes distinguished.
He talked freely (much too freely!) about sex. His comments weresometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing.
I now know that my early concepts about relationships were influencedstrongly by the stranger. Time after time, he opposed the values ofmy parents, yet he was seldom rebuked... And NEVER asked to leave.
More than fifty years have passed since the stranger moved in with ourfamily. He has blended right in and is not nearly as fascinating ashe was at first. Still, if you could walk into my parents' den today,you would still find him sitting over in his corner, waiting forsomeone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures.
His name?.... .. .We just call him 'TV'.
He has a wife now...We call her 'Computer.'
The Stranger
A few years after I was born, my Dad met a stranger who was new to oursmall Texas town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with thisenchanting newcomer and soon invited him to live with our family. Thestranger was quickly accepted and was around from then on.
As I grew up, I never questioned his place in my family. In my youngmind, he had a special niche. My parents were complementaryinstructors: Mom taught me good from evil, and Dad taught me to obey.But the stranger...he was our storyteller. He would keep usspellbound for hours on end with Adventures, mysteries and comedies.
If I wanted to know anything about politics, history or science, healways knew the answers about the past, understood the present andeven seemed able to predict the future! He took my family to theirfirst major league ball game. He made me laugh, and he made me cry.The stranger never stopped talking, but Dad didn't seem to mind.
Sometimes, Mom would get up quietly while the rest of us were shushingeach other to listen to what he had to say, and she would go to thekitchen for peace and quiet. (I wonder now if she ever prayed for thestranger to leave.)
Dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions, but thestranger never felt obligated to honor them. Profanity, for example,was not allowed in our home... Not from us, our friends or anyvisitors. Our longtime visitor, however, got away with four-letterwords that burned my ears and made my dad squirm and my mother blush.My Dad didn't permit the liberal use of alcohol. But the strangerencouraged us to try it on a regular basis. He made cigarettes lookcool, cigars manly and pipes distinguished.
He talked freely (much too freely!) about sex. His comments weresometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing.
I now know that my early concepts about relationships were influencedstrongly by the stranger. Time after time, he opposed the values ofmy parents, yet he was seldom rebuked... And NEVER asked to leave.
More than fifty years have passed since the stranger moved in with ourfamily. He has blended right in and is not nearly as fascinating ashe was at first. Still, if you could walk into my parents' den today,you would still find him sitting over in his corner, waiting forsomeone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures.
His name?.... .. .We just call him 'TV'.
He has a wife now...We call her 'Computer.'
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Woo Hoo!
God is on the move! We have received our first bit of good news about Chris' contracting job (not the full-time job but the job that will bring significant financial relief before starting the steady job) and he will start working on the 3 day job end of this week. Now that we have this news, we can (and have) contacted King Systems (the full time job) and requested they solify Chris' start date some-time in mid-Janauary.
Keep praying for Chris to have confidence and wisdom with this short-term job and for King Systems to confirm Chris' start date sooner than later!!
God has proved himself faithful yet again. He is faithful to complete that which He has begun. We're holding on for the ride of our lives and today we're smiling.
Keep praying for Chris to have confidence and wisdom with this short-term job and for King Systems to confirm Chris' start date sooner than later!!
God has proved himself faithful yet again. He is faithful to complete that which He has begun. We're holding on for the ride of our lives and today we're smiling.
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