It's been TOO long.
Long story short . . . since August, I've had a crazy school year. It's definitely been the most stressful by far. New job, many changes, crappy circumstances at work . . . but I think it's better now.
So, after several months of being rather depressed, I got to participate in an amazing weekend. Our church had a women's retreat in Canaan Valley (during a snow storm no less!). It was much needed on my part. And it exceeded my expectations.
All the women who attended were asked to think about one main point that we took away with us and what our action steps are. Since I wrote my thoughts down in my journal, I'm going to include what I wrote. What’s really cool to me is that my thoughts were reinforced by my quiet time this afternoon. I was reading Jeremiah, and I just have such a hard time getting anything out of much of the Old Testament. I was struggling for the first 20 minutes when I finally just said, “God, please! Speak to me.” And He did! The Scripture I read went right along with what I had learned this weekend and that’s how He spoke. So here goes:
Thoughts about the women's retreat . . .
Amazing!
I assumed it would be an uplifting weekend with an inspirational message. I did not expect to do some serious “soul searching.” It required work and lots of effort. I really had to search my heart.
And of course, as Jeremiah 17:9 says, the heart is basically impossible to understand. At first I had a difficult time searching my heart. It left me more confused. But, as verse 10 says (the very next verse), God can examine my heart. And that’s what He did for me. He examined my heart and revealed some simple truths . . .
One, my life is not my own. It’s not about me! When I give up control, I experience overwhelming freedom! And life. No, not life content or life comfortable, but life ABUNDANT.
The weekend was about focusing on ourselves. Pat Layton, the speaker, frequently told us to remind ourselves that the weekend was all about us. But, I believe that she meant for us to forget about our everyday lives—our husbands, children, jobs—and dig down deep into ourselves and into our past, allowing God to work through the “issues” that have caused our pain or struggles. And in doing so we find that life is actually NOT about us.
Again, it’s not about me! Jeremiah 17:6 describes how I’ve felt all school year. “Like a bush in the wastelands . . . not [seeing] prosperity when it comes . . . [dwelling] in parched places of the desert . . . in a salt land.” And as verse 5 points out, it’s because I depended on my own flesh for my strength.
But thanks be to God (as Paul would say), there is a solution! When I trust in the Lord and put my confidence in Him, I am like a tree planted by the water, I don’t fear when “heat” (or trials) come, my “leaves” are always green, and I never fail to bear fruit.
The problems I’ve experienced this year . . . no . . . the circumstances I’ve experienced this year became problems when I made them about me. Maybe I did cause some, but if I had the attitude “it’s not about me”, they would have not been magnified. That attitude is actually a way to say, “God, it’s in your hands. This is not MY life but YOUR life in me. May the way I respond to this circumstance further your kingdom, God, and draw others to you.”
I pray this attitude changes me. I don’t want to be presumptuous, but I believe it already has. Yes, it’s only been two days, but in those two days, I’ve experienced more life than I have all school year.
Thank you, oh Lord, for the mighty work you’ve begun in me, and may my leaves always be green.
“Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed;
Save me and I will be saved,
for you are the one I praise!”
-Jeremiah 17:14
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Found It--Gauging Our Spiritual Lives
In the last post, I mentioned what Lorrie shared with me from a book she was reading, but I couldn't remember exactly. Well, I just read her blog and found the two questions to ask ourselves so that we can accurately gauge our spiritual health. I just copied and pasted what she had:
1) Am I growing more easily discouraged these days?
2) Am I growing more easily irritated these days?
He goes on to say: At the core of a flourishing soul are the love of God and the peace of God. If peace is growing in me, I am less easily discouraged. If love is growing, I am less easily
irritated.
1) Am I growing more easily discouraged these days?
2) Am I growing more easily irritated these days?
He goes on to say: At the core of a flourishing soul are the love of God and the peace of God. If peace is growing in me, I am less easily discouraged. If love is growing, I am less easily
irritated.
A Product of [Plant] Growth
It just hit me this morning! I guess I always knew this simple truth, but today it clicked for the first time. On my walk, I was thinking about my lack of self-control (when it comes to food, and now shopping may be an area of concern) and how I can work on this “fruit of the Spirit”. For several years now, I have often read Scripture, such as Galatians 5 and 1 Corinthians 13 and have made a sort of checklist. I look at the fruits or qualities of Christ that I’m lacking and figure out ways to work on those.
So as I was thinking about self-control, I wondered how I can truly practice this without relying on myself, since it is called SELF-control. I remembered hearing about how people often speak of willpower and how we stumble because of the reliance on ourselves; instead we should use “Godpower”—letting God’s power work in us. So what about self-control? I always thought self-control stood out from the other fruits, anyway—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness . . . and self-control? I definitely understand it being a fruit, but all the others just seem so . . . lovely. Self-control doesn’t sound as pretty as the other words. I kept thinking, how do I improve self-control? I figured it would turn out like all the other times I’ve tried to improve my other qualities or lack thereof. The process ends up becoming another list (and I love lists, really I do) of strategies for improvement. In the end, I fail.
This is when it hit me. I can’t improve my self-control. I can’t practice it. (I don’t believe you can practice any qualities; the situation arises and you just have to put it in action.) Self-control is exactly what it is called in the Bible—a fruit. Some synonyms of the word fruit: product, result, effect. I like the first definition of fruit on Dictionary.com: “any product of plant growth”. When I stay connected to the vine (John 15) and grow in Christ, I bear fruit. Why can’t I “bear fruit”, or improve in the problem areas (self-control, gentleness, peace), with the other strategies I’ve used? Because I haven’t focused on the source—staying connected to the vine. “No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.” I’ve always known these truths, but my focus was all wrong. Honestly, I feel rather silly for just now making sense of it all. Why has my anxiety worsened in the past several months? Why when I pray for peace, has peace not come? My focus is peace and not the Vine. Peace is a product of growth. The same with self-control. The closer I grow to God and the more I allow His power to work in me and through me, the more I will see fruit.
After thinking all this, I thought it was funny that I even wrote it two Sundays ago in my sermon notebook. Seth had said (word for word or paraphrased—can’t remember), “Fruit of the Spirit is a result of God in us—branches connected to the vine. These demonstrate how deeply we are connected to the vine. We don’t bring the fruits of the Spirit to the table.” I was walking with Lorrie the other day when she brought up a good point. She said we often evaluate our spiritual lives by the type of quiet times we’ve been having. Instead, we should ask ourselves questions like, “Have I been irritable lately?” And there were other good ones, but I forgot. Oops. Basically, we need to look at the fruits of the Spirit. The amount of fruit we’re bearing will be a direct indication of the quality of our spiritual life.
I know there are areas in which I need to improve. At the beginning of my walk this morning, I was a little stressed out thinking of how I will improve. Do I tackle a few at a time? And how do I begin? But now after fully understanding the definition of the word fruit, I can take a deep breath of relief and find peace in the thought that the more I seek God, the more the other things will fall into place.
So as I was thinking about self-control, I wondered how I can truly practice this without relying on myself, since it is called SELF-control. I remembered hearing about how people often speak of willpower and how we stumble because of the reliance on ourselves; instead we should use “Godpower”—letting God’s power work in us. So what about self-control? I always thought self-control stood out from the other fruits, anyway—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness . . . and self-control? I definitely understand it being a fruit, but all the others just seem so . . . lovely. Self-control doesn’t sound as pretty as the other words. I kept thinking, how do I improve self-control? I figured it would turn out like all the other times I’ve tried to improve my other qualities or lack thereof. The process ends up becoming another list (and I love lists, really I do) of strategies for improvement. In the end, I fail.
This is when it hit me. I can’t improve my self-control. I can’t practice it. (I don’t believe you can practice any qualities; the situation arises and you just have to put it in action.) Self-control is exactly what it is called in the Bible—a fruit. Some synonyms of the word fruit: product, result, effect. I like the first definition of fruit on Dictionary.com: “any product of plant growth”. When I stay connected to the vine (John 15) and grow in Christ, I bear fruit. Why can’t I “bear fruit”, or improve in the problem areas (self-control, gentleness, peace), with the other strategies I’ve used? Because I haven’t focused on the source—staying connected to the vine. “No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.” I’ve always known these truths, but my focus was all wrong. Honestly, I feel rather silly for just now making sense of it all. Why has my anxiety worsened in the past several months? Why when I pray for peace, has peace not come? My focus is peace and not the Vine. Peace is a product of growth. The same with self-control. The closer I grow to God and the more I allow His power to work in me and through me, the more I will see fruit.
After thinking all this, I thought it was funny that I even wrote it two Sundays ago in my sermon notebook. Seth had said (word for word or paraphrased—can’t remember), “Fruit of the Spirit is a result of God in us—branches connected to the vine. These demonstrate how deeply we are connected to the vine. We don’t bring the fruits of the Spirit to the table.” I was walking with Lorrie the other day when she brought up a good point. She said we often evaluate our spiritual lives by the type of quiet times we’ve been having. Instead, we should ask ourselves questions like, “Have I been irritable lately?” And there were other good ones, but I forgot. Oops. Basically, we need to look at the fruits of the Spirit. The amount of fruit we’re bearing will be a direct indication of the quality of our spiritual life.
I know there are areas in which I need to improve. At the beginning of my walk this morning, I was a little stressed out thinking of how I will improve. Do I tackle a few at a time? And how do I begin? But now after fully understanding the definition of the word fruit, I can take a deep breath of relief and find peace in the thought that the more I seek God, the more the other things will fall into place.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Our First House
Well, we've finally bought our first house. We're going to put in quite a bit of work before we move in at the end of April. We signed last Tuesday and so far we've torn out a wall and a closet, removed wallpaper from the bathroom, tore out the bathroom floor, painted the vanity, bought bamboo wood floors (for bathroom), bought a new light and handles for the vanity, got a new ceiling fan for the bedroom, got a new vanity mirror, sanded the floors, stained the floors, put the first layer of polyurethane on the floors, tore grape vines from a tree, destroyed a bush (long way to go on that one), and mowed the lawn.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Redeeming Love
One of the saddest moments in life is when I’ve finished an amazing book.
It’s been awhile since I’ve been truly absorbed in a book. Sunday evening held that moment when I had to shut the book in closing to a truly amazing story. That story was Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. And when I shut the book, I couldn’t quit crying. I was in shock over my reaction. So was Dave, who was sitting next to me on the couch. I had to retreat to my quiet place and drop to my knees in prayer. I offered thanksgiving—so very grateful for the love that God has bestowed on me, the love that he gives freely regardless of the ugliness in my heart, regardless of the mistakes I’ve made in the past. The book was a picture of God’s sacrificial love, and I was incredibly touched.
I’m also thankful for good books. Good books make the reader a part of its world. After being immersed in a book’s world for several hours, setting the book down leaves an awkward feeling. It takes a couple minutes for me to come back to reality. And after completing a good book, I spend days still thinking about the characters, as if they’re really a part of my life.
Now that I’m finished with the book (I finished it in one weekend!), I’ve said goodbye to the characters and hello to a new picture of love—love between a man and woman and love between Christ and His bride.
I suggest that you too read Redeeming Love.
It’s been awhile since I’ve been truly absorbed in a book. Sunday evening held that moment when I had to shut the book in closing to a truly amazing story. That story was Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. And when I shut the book, I couldn’t quit crying. I was in shock over my reaction. So was Dave, who was sitting next to me on the couch. I had to retreat to my quiet place and drop to my knees in prayer. I offered thanksgiving—so very grateful for the love that God has bestowed on me, the love that he gives freely regardless of the ugliness in my heart, regardless of the mistakes I’ve made in the past. The book was a picture of God’s sacrificial love, and I was incredibly touched.
I’m also thankful for good books. Good books make the reader a part of its world. After being immersed in a book’s world for several hours, setting the book down leaves an awkward feeling. It takes a couple minutes for me to come back to reality. And after completing a good book, I spend days still thinking about the characters, as if they’re really a part of my life.
Now that I’m finished with the book (I finished it in one weekend!), I’ve said goodbye to the characters and hello to a new picture of love—love between a man and woman and love between Christ and His bride.
I suggest that you too read Redeeming Love.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Going Green--the "Christian" Thing to Do
Sadly, the topic of being environmentally friendly has become very political. In reality, many topics have become political; there are two sides to every issue, and based on your political views, you’re either on one side or the other. Truthfully, I’m starting to find this to be frustrating and rather ridiculous.
Being a Christian, I know many other Christians who could not really care less about being “environmentally friendly”. This topic has been discussed often among my friends, and I must admit that I understand why they show little concern and that I’ve even felt the same. I remember two years ago that the “green” kick started to become big with everyone. I was quite excited about it. I bought the reusable bags, started a recycling project for an elementary school, and taught my kindergarteners “The 3 R’s” by Jack Johnson from the Curious George soundtrack (a fun song for kids). But then it became too much.
I believe “going green” became a huge marketing tool—a great way to make money and win the favor of consumers. Companies announce, “We’re going green”, and stores set up special displays promoting their “green” products. Yes, it may be their way of helping make the world a better place, but many times I feel it is just part of the so-called movement (a movement to make money). I soon lost interest. I don’t like trends for the sake of trends. And actually putting to use my reusable bags was inconvenient—not to me, but apparently to the cashiers at a large, very well-known supercenter.
In recent months, however, I believe the Holy Spirit has convicted me on this issue. It began with my thoughts on the multitude of illnesses, such as cancer, and how our “newer” and “better” products and technology could be playing a huge role in these. What made me sad was the underlying reason why newer and better products were so important to us. It’s the need for more, lack of satisfaction, greed, the desire for convenience, and our must-have luxuries that have led to this mess. And just think what we’ve done to our earth because of it as well as to ourselves. Food is unhealthy, products lack quality, people are taken advantage of, and natural resources are being depleted a little too quickly. Basically, it’s our total depravity (of every human being) that has caused this.
When we Christians are honest with ourselves, we must admit that taking care of the earth is a moral issue; we must set aside the political agenda that people have created. It comes down to something much bigger than that, and it’s done for Someone much bigger. We can’t really read the Bible and not see that it’s our responsibility to take care of what God has given us. Of course there are much bigger issues facing our country today—issues that have much bigger spiritual implications—and we must be concerned about those as well. But God also expects us to be good stewards of His property.
Another thought is this . . . Shouldn’t we as Christians set aside all politics and look for commonalities with unbelievers? Sometimes I’m afraid that we are so concerned with setting ourselves apart (which we should do to become more like Christ, not just to be different) that we become the opponents of the rest of the world. We need to make those connections—to find those commonalities—without comprising Christ. How else are we going to truly reach out to the world?
Showing more concern for the earth and paying attention to how much I waste have become new goals for me, because I have felt convicted. The joy I feel as I walk out of the store with my reusable bags or because I am using a cloth napkin at lunch is not a result of some fad. It’s a result of being obedient to God and knowing that I’m being purposeful about the decisions I make.
Being a Christian, I know many other Christians who could not really care less about being “environmentally friendly”. This topic has been discussed often among my friends, and I must admit that I understand why they show little concern and that I’ve even felt the same. I remember two years ago that the “green” kick started to become big with everyone. I was quite excited about it. I bought the reusable bags, started a recycling project for an elementary school, and taught my kindergarteners “The 3 R’s” by Jack Johnson from the Curious George soundtrack (a fun song for kids). But then it became too much.
I believe “going green” became a huge marketing tool—a great way to make money and win the favor of consumers. Companies announce, “We’re going green”, and stores set up special displays promoting their “green” products. Yes, it may be their way of helping make the world a better place, but many times I feel it is just part of the so-called movement (a movement to make money). I soon lost interest. I don’t like trends for the sake of trends. And actually putting to use my reusable bags was inconvenient—not to me, but apparently to the cashiers at a large, very well-known supercenter.
In recent months, however, I believe the Holy Spirit has convicted me on this issue. It began with my thoughts on the multitude of illnesses, such as cancer, and how our “newer” and “better” products and technology could be playing a huge role in these. What made me sad was the underlying reason why newer and better products were so important to us. It’s the need for more, lack of satisfaction, greed, the desire for convenience, and our must-have luxuries that have led to this mess. And just think what we’ve done to our earth because of it as well as to ourselves. Food is unhealthy, products lack quality, people are taken advantage of, and natural resources are being depleted a little too quickly. Basically, it’s our total depravity (of every human being) that has caused this.
When we Christians are honest with ourselves, we must admit that taking care of the earth is a moral issue; we must set aside the political agenda that people have created. It comes down to something much bigger than that, and it’s done for Someone much bigger. We can’t really read the Bible and not see that it’s our responsibility to take care of what God has given us. Of course there are much bigger issues facing our country today—issues that have much bigger spiritual implications—and we must be concerned about those as well. But God also expects us to be good stewards of His property.
Another thought is this . . . Shouldn’t we as Christians set aside all politics and look for commonalities with unbelievers? Sometimes I’m afraid that we are so concerned with setting ourselves apart (which we should do to become more like Christ, not just to be different) that we become the opponents of the rest of the world. We need to make those connections—to find those commonalities—without comprising Christ. How else are we going to truly reach out to the world?
Showing more concern for the earth and paying attention to how much I waste have become new goals for me, because I have felt convicted. The joy I feel as I walk out of the store with my reusable bags or because I am using a cloth napkin at lunch is not a result of some fad. It’s a result of being obedient to God and knowing that I’m being purposeful about the decisions I make.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Increasing Measure
I was just sitting in the bathtub thinking about 2 Peter 1:5-8. Awhile ago I had spent a long time examining these verses and found it interesting the order the godly qualities were listed. Actually, the qualities are not just listed; they each build on the other. So you know what I’m talking about:
“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
I found the qualities interesting because I believe that is the order in which they develop in the life of a believer. The order is logical. Typically when people turn their life over to Christ, they have a strong desire for goodness. Eventually they become knowledgeable in the Word. It isn’t until after having that knowledge that they want to exhibit self-control; they’ve now learned what pleases and displeases God. Of course perseverance develops after a person learns to continually demonstrate self-control. Again, it makes sense that perseverance in our faith leads to godliness. What is more interesting is that I believe it is after we possess godliness (to some degree) we truly learn what brotherly kindness is; before this it is all out of selfish intentions. And while love seems to be the obvious quality, I think it isn’t until a Christian matures much more that Christianity is stripped down into its ultimate picture—love. It’s after all those qualities that we stop and think, “Oh . . . all of this is because of love. Because He loved us and because we love Him. And because we love others.” (This is what I have found to be true in my life.)
At least that’s my opinion of the verses. I guess the qualities could be in a random order. However, this seems unlikely since Peter describes each one being added to the other.
It was when I was first memorizing and learning these verses that verse 8 really caught my attention. I love it: “For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The words that stand out to me are “ineffective” and “unproductive”. Almost every day now I think about how I want to be an effective and productive follower of Christ. That verse gives me such purpose and drive to live out what I believe.
Okay, to the point . . . Today, as I was taking a relaxing bath, a new perspective took shape. I noticed the words “in increasing measure.” I first thanked God that He doesn’t expect us to have all the qualities right away. That’s part of the growing process. But I mostly looked at the word “increasing”. I first thought of this word as a synonym for “abundant”—like we were to have a large amount of each of those qualities. But that’s not what it means. “Increasing” implies that the qualities should forever be growing. In our lives there are times when we plateau or maybe even “decrease,” but it’s the increase that keeps us effective and productive. Then I think back to verse 5: “make every effort.” I just really like the picture those words create. I am going to make every effort to increase those qualities (goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love) in my life so that I can be an EFFECTIVE and PRODUCTIVE child of God.
“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
I found the qualities interesting because I believe that is the order in which they develop in the life of a believer. The order is logical. Typically when people turn their life over to Christ, they have a strong desire for goodness. Eventually they become knowledgeable in the Word. It isn’t until after having that knowledge that they want to exhibit self-control; they’ve now learned what pleases and displeases God. Of course perseverance develops after a person learns to continually demonstrate self-control. Again, it makes sense that perseverance in our faith leads to godliness. What is more interesting is that I believe it is after we possess godliness (to some degree) we truly learn what brotherly kindness is; before this it is all out of selfish intentions. And while love seems to be the obvious quality, I think it isn’t until a Christian matures much more that Christianity is stripped down into its ultimate picture—love. It’s after all those qualities that we stop and think, “Oh . . . all of this is because of love. Because He loved us and because we love Him. And because we love others.” (This is what I have found to be true in my life.)
At least that’s my opinion of the verses. I guess the qualities could be in a random order. However, this seems unlikely since Peter describes each one being added to the other.
It was when I was first memorizing and learning these verses that verse 8 really caught my attention. I love it: “For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The words that stand out to me are “ineffective” and “unproductive”. Almost every day now I think about how I want to be an effective and productive follower of Christ. That verse gives me such purpose and drive to live out what I believe.
Okay, to the point . . . Today, as I was taking a relaxing bath, a new perspective took shape. I noticed the words “in increasing measure.” I first thanked God that He doesn’t expect us to have all the qualities right away. That’s part of the growing process. But I mostly looked at the word “increasing”. I first thought of this word as a synonym for “abundant”—like we were to have a large amount of each of those qualities. But that’s not what it means. “Increasing” implies that the qualities should forever be growing. In our lives there are times when we plateau or maybe even “decrease,” but it’s the increase that keeps us effective and productive. Then I think back to verse 5: “make every effort.” I just really like the picture those words create. I am going to make every effort to increase those qualities (goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love) in my life so that I can be an EFFECTIVE and PRODUCTIVE child of God.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Haiti
After listening to the radio and looking at photographs online, the devastation and horror of what happened in Haiti has been on my mind. As I was driving to Morgantown today, I heard an interesting story. A woman from North Carolina called in saying that four or so women from her church had gone to Haiti on a mission trip. They arrived at the airport one hour before the earthquake occurred. Needless to say, their church was very concerned, not having heard from them until later today. When the women got in touch with people at home, they informed them that they immediately began helping victims and had already helped deliver two babies! When I heard the story, I began to imagine what it would be like to sit on an airplane for hours in anticipation of a mission trip I'd been planning for a long time--not knowing what was to come. To think that there were so many different times the plane could have arrived that day, and theirs landed only one hour prior. From my understanding, mission trips are very planned out. Those who serve have an idea of what they will be doing. And while they thought they knew how they would serve God, He had a different plan for them. What an amazing thing--for God to choose those women to serve his hurting people in their time of need and in such a crazy way. If I were one of them, I would feel honored to have been chosen to do a mighty work. And of course, there are so many others there who are giving themselves to reach out to the people of Haiti. I believe God will do great things there.
After the story, a man who is involved in a Christian organization already in Haiti was discussing how Christians can specifically pray for Haiti. He explained the inability for travel, meaning that aid may not arrive in a timely manner. They just can't get into the cities. He also explained that the arrival of groups of people helping may only add to the chaos; for at least a few weeks up until a month, people may not be able to get in. Again, this is what I heard on the radio, so hopefully I'm repeating it accurately. Anyway, I find this information helpful while I pray for the people of Haiti. He asked that people pray for roads to open up so that the proper aid can be administered.
After the story, a man who is involved in a Christian organization already in Haiti was discussing how Christians can specifically pray for Haiti. He explained the inability for travel, meaning that aid may not arrive in a timely manner. They just can't get into the cities. He also explained that the arrival of groups of people helping may only add to the chaos; for at least a few weeks up until a month, people may not be able to get in. Again, this is what I heard on the radio, so hopefully I'm repeating it accurately. Anyway, I find this information helpful while I pray for the people of Haiti. He asked that people pray for roads to open up so that the proper aid can be administered.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Quite the Cook
I FINALLY made dinner again! I feel like it's been months. I did well at the beginning. But things got crazy and stressful and it just seemed like an overwhelming task. (I'm sure you can tell by my lack of blog posts since the spring.) My problem is that cooking real meals requires me to sit down at the beginning of the week and plan the menu. That way I can buy the proper ingredients. I finally did that and made dinner tonight. I was afraid that after a long, hard day (ha! It was a day of babysitting; having school when roads are bad means there are a billion absences and you can't teach anything.) I would be too tired to stand in the kitchen a cook. However, I found myself enjoying cooking. And after I ate, I even enjoyed cleaning the kitchen, especially because I got to use my new homemade nontoxic cleaner! I liked the feeling of industriousness. After I cleaned, I didn't stop there. I came upstairs to my "quiet place" and wrote in my prayer journal--something I have a difficult time "squeezing in". And then I thought that it would be a great idea to add a post to my long lost blog.
Being productive makes me joyful. I hope I remember this when I start feeling like a bum. This morning I prayed about this evening and asked God to help me be productive. I truly believe that God took a simple evening at home and blessed it beyond measure.
Being productive makes me joyful. I hope I remember this when I start feeling like a bum. This morning I prayed about this evening and asked God to help me be productive. I truly believe that God took a simple evening at home and blessed it beyond measure.
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