Growing up a good Catholic girl was filled with rules.
Clasp your hands a certain way to pray, sit down, kneel, stand, make the sign of the cross, light a candle, pray to the saints......it was all very confusing, especially since none of it was explained in my home.
I've always felt as if you have to do things a certain way.
I like lists and rules and knowing exactly what is expected of me, but the one area in my life that is still not settled is my daily time with God.
I tried reading the One Year Bible, but then I would miss a day here and there and, well, I never picked it back up. I was too far behind and hadn't "done it right."
I started writing my prayers to God in a journal on January 1st. Some days have gone by, and I failed, yet again.
I got up early everyday to spend quiet time with God, then I started staying up later and 5:30 am would come and go.
What works best for you?
Today I Am Thankful For:
1. old sitcoms
2. gift cards
3. piles of folded clothes
4. frayed blankets
5. my Crocs flip flops
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
Time With God - part 1
"When you forego your time with God each morning, you act on the belief that you can do life by yourself - self centeredness instead of God centeredness."
First Place for Health Daily Calendar
Today I Am Thankful For:
1. ground beef
2. hearing from old friends
3. occupational therapy
4. a good day of work
5. smell good candles
First Place for Health Daily Calendar
Today I Am Thankful For:
1. ground beef
2. hearing from old friends
3. occupational therapy
4. a good day of work
5. smell good candles
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Being Stuck
I am stuck.
My job as a member of a national healthcare team (we care for folks with bleeding disorders) is great. Hours are flexible, I can work in my jammies if I want to (I never do), and the traveling is minimal. I work from my home office, but 90% of the time I work from my office at the church. It allows me to be around people and have a "place to go."
It can be a lonely place….working from home. You also have to be a self starter and a self motivator. Satan can sure play with me on this one.
My team has a daily, morning, conference call and we tell each other what our "top three" for the day will be. It keeps us accountable and we know where everyone is physically at, since most of the team travels quite a bit.
It's just hard to feel connected sometimes.
I am finding that I need to rely on God and the Word more, but Satan has other plans. He gets hold of me and keeps God at bay. I hear things such as, "You could be doing more, You are not performing to the best of your potential, etc."
I just need to be stronger.
When Satan gets in my head and starts speaking those untruths, I find myself saying out loud, "Get away, Satan! Stop it!"
It's amazing how that helps :)
Today I Am Thankful For:
1. The sounds of video games
2. Building bridges and forts out of blankets in the living room
3. Empty air fresheners
4. Apple juice
5. Crushed ice
My job as a member of a national healthcare team (we care for folks with bleeding disorders) is great. Hours are flexible, I can work in my jammies if I want to (I never do), and the traveling is minimal. I work from my home office, but 90% of the time I work from my office at the church. It allows me to be around people and have a "place to go."
It can be a lonely place….working from home. You also have to be a self starter and a self motivator. Satan can sure play with me on this one.
My team has a daily, morning, conference call and we tell each other what our "top three" for the day will be. It keeps us accountable and we know where everyone is physically at, since most of the team travels quite a bit.
It's just hard to feel connected sometimes.
I am finding that I need to rely on God and the Word more, but Satan has other plans. He gets hold of me and keeps God at bay. I hear things such as, "You could be doing more, You are not performing to the best of your potential, etc."
I just need to be stronger.
When Satan gets in my head and starts speaking those untruths, I find myself saying out loud, "Get away, Satan! Stop it!"
It's amazing how that helps :)
Today I Am Thankful For:
1. The sounds of video games
2. Building bridges and forts out of blankets in the living room
3. Empty air fresheners
4. Apple juice
5. Crushed ice
Monday, August 23, 2010
The Luxury of Babysitting
When you live a life in ministry, far away from family, the luxury of calling for a babysitter is gone. That help with the kids that you always relied on is hard to come by, and I find it difficult to ask for help. Does that make sense?
My husband and I wanted to volunteer at the hemophilia golf tournament in Albuquerque (2 hrs away) last Friday, but I knew picking up my littlest one would be an issue. Never fear, my friends "B" and "T" agreed to help us out. They picked up Christian, made sure he ate, and let him play. They watched him for about three hours on Friday evening.
They don't realize how much of a gift they gave us by offering that act of kindness to us. Simply put, they were the "hands and feet of Christ" to us.
I find it very easy to offer help. To cook a meal, to watch someone's kids or pets, to put up the bulletin boards at church, etc. but when it comes to asking for help….it is so incredibly difficult for me. It's like buying presents at Christmas. I love giving, but receiving is almost embarrassing for me.
Perhaps the greatest gift we have received is God sending his only Son. Christ came for all of us. Not just a select few. I believe He came for every living, breathing person on the planet.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." John 3:16-17 (NIV)
Thank you, to all of you who help out your pastor's family. It's the little things that mean so much.
Today I Am Thankful For:
1. Good friends
2. A sleeping puppy
3. A desk piled with papers
4. Maria…who cleans every other Monday :)
5. tape
My husband and I wanted to volunteer at the hemophilia golf tournament in Albuquerque (2 hrs away) last Friday, but I knew picking up my littlest one would be an issue. Never fear, my friends "B" and "T" agreed to help us out. They picked up Christian, made sure he ate, and let him play. They watched him for about three hours on Friday evening.
They don't realize how much of a gift they gave us by offering that act of kindness to us. Simply put, they were the "hands and feet of Christ" to us.
I find it very easy to offer help. To cook a meal, to watch someone's kids or pets, to put up the bulletin boards at church, etc. but when it comes to asking for help….it is so incredibly difficult for me. It's like buying presents at Christmas. I love giving, but receiving is almost embarrassing for me.
Perhaps the greatest gift we have received is God sending his only Son. Christ came for all of us. Not just a select few. I believe He came for every living, breathing person on the planet.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." John 3:16-17 (NIV)
Thank you, to all of you who help out your pastor's family. It's the little things that mean so much.
Today I Am Thankful For:
1. Good friends
2. A sleeping puppy
3. A desk piled with papers
4. Maria…who cleans every other Monday :)
5. tape
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Stepping Out in Faith
I had heard of people "stepping out in faith" or being encouraged to and never understood what it really meant until we packed up everything we owned and moved from Houston, Texas to Deming, New Mexico. We left Houston without even knowing where we were going to live, but God provided for us like I had never seen during that time four years ago.
We left Deming a year ago for my husband's first appointment as pastor at the Methodist church in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. It's been a good year. A year of transition, a year of new things and new faces and friendships and a year of listening to God.
Sometimes I wonder if we made the right move. Did we move too early? Are we where we are supposed to be in the grand scheme of it all according to God?
We went to Deming Saturday and I attended a ladies event. It was so good to see my old friends! But I knew I was not "home" anymore. Not in a bad way, but I knew that I was there for a visit. That our time there had passed. It was a tug on my heart telling me that we indeed were where we needed to be.
Stepping out in faith is scary, but when you do it….when you truly do what God is leading you to do and go where He wants you to go, it's absolutely amazing.
Today I Am Thankful For:
1. Iced tea
2. Sunday afternoons (no electronics!)
3. Hat boxes
4. nails
5. buzzers
We left Deming a year ago for my husband's first appointment as pastor at the Methodist church in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. It's been a good year. A year of transition, a year of new things and new faces and friendships and a year of listening to God.
Sometimes I wonder if we made the right move. Did we move too early? Are we where we are supposed to be in the grand scheme of it all according to God?
We went to Deming Saturday and I attended a ladies event. It was so good to see my old friends! But I knew I was not "home" anymore. Not in a bad way, but I knew that I was there for a visit. That our time there had passed. It was a tug on my heart telling me that we indeed were where we needed to be.
Stepping out in faith is scary, but when you do it….when you truly do what God is leading you to do and go where He wants you to go, it's absolutely amazing.
Today I Am Thankful For:
1. Iced tea
2. Sunday afternoons (no electronics!)
3. Hat boxes
4. nails
5. buzzers
Monday, August 16, 2010
The "Fish"
Lance started his freshman year of High School today! I can't believe I have a child in High School (am I really getting older?). He won't admit it, but he's pretty nervous. I am thankful that his first period class is band…so hopefully this will put him at ease by seeing some friends right at the beginning of the day.
Yesterday in church we celebrated the "Blessing of the Backpacks." It was a great liturgy that was put together to bless our children as they start a new school year.
My hope and prayer is that all of our children have a school year filled with blessings and not bullies. Filled with learning and no doubt. Filled with excitement and no despair.
It's rough being a kid. Let's remember the struggles we each had in school and be sensitive and open to our children. Let's remember to talk openly and not ignore their feelings. Their problems and concerns are equally as important in the realm of their lives as our problems are in ours.
Today I Am Thankful For:
1. The first day of school
2. Fat, spiral notebooks
3. Tower fans
4. A barking puppy
5. Washing clothes
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
A Big Year
This is a big year for our family. One son starts High School and the other Pre-K! To say that the range of our parenting issues is vast is an understatement!
I am watching my oldest turn into a man. He is one of the best things I ever did in my life. I do worry about him and his fears of high school, but it takes me back to my first day of high school. I was scared to death! But after first period was over, all was well. I just pray that he has a great year. That he makes friends, enjoys his classes and finds his place.
Isn't that what it's all about? Finding your place.
Then there's my little one. He is so excited about school (especially about riding the bus)! I want him to have fun and fit in with his little friends. To play like he's never played before and hopefully learn a few things while he's at it. And I especially pray that his hemophilia does not keep him from too many things.
Sometimes I feel like I'm still trying to "find my place." To fit in as the wife of a pastor in a small town, to fit in at Iliff as a new student (whose husband was very well known), to fit into the corporate world in a position I was not "trained" in school to do. Am I really qualified to be where I am?
But the truth is that God has put us in many different places in our lives. To play different parts, even when we didn't feel qualified. And when we are in those uncomfortable places, is when we especially need to have the heart of an "oozer." To exude the light of Christ in every thing we do and every word we speak. That's not easy.
Are you in a comfortable place right now?
Remember, "God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called."
Today I Am Thankful For:
1. hangers
2. too many sandals
3. the smell of new school supplies
4. incense
5. power shopping
I am watching my oldest turn into a man. He is one of the best things I ever did in my life. I do worry about him and his fears of high school, but it takes me back to my first day of high school. I was scared to death! But after first period was over, all was well. I just pray that he has a great year. That he makes friends, enjoys his classes and finds his place.
Isn't that what it's all about? Finding your place.
Then there's my little one. He is so excited about school (especially about riding the bus)! I want him to have fun and fit in with his little friends. To play like he's never played before and hopefully learn a few things while he's at it. And I especially pray that his hemophilia does not keep him from too many things.
Sometimes I feel like I'm still trying to "find my place." To fit in as the wife of a pastor in a small town, to fit in at Iliff as a new student (whose husband was very well known), to fit into the corporate world in a position I was not "trained" in school to do. Am I really qualified to be where I am?
But the truth is that God has put us in many different places in our lives. To play different parts, even when we didn't feel qualified. And when we are in those uncomfortable places, is when we especially need to have the heart of an "oozer." To exude the light of Christ in every thing we do and every word we speak. That's not easy.
Are you in a comfortable place right now?
Remember, "God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called."
Today I Am Thankful For:
1. hangers
2. too many sandals
3. the smell of new school supplies
4. incense
5. power shopping
Wednesday, August 04, 2010
Presence
Today I've been at the bedside of my little one as he has undergone, yet, another surgery. All is well! He is doing great.
I've been present to him. Even when there was nothing I could do, but comfort him and pray for him and all else was out of my hands, I was present for him.
"Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God's presence." Ephesians 3:12 (NLT)
God is always present in my life. Even when God is not making himself "known" to me in a huge way, I know He is always there. It's like holding the hand of my spouse on a quiet walk. Feeling the warmth of his hand in mine and knowing he is always there, someone I can always count on.
That's how it is with God. He is ever present. But when we are in times that are "crisis free"....we tend to forget and go along our merry way without thinking about His presence in our lives.
Are you present for someone in your life? Have you acknowledged God's presence in your life lately?
Today I Am Thankful For:
1. special blankets
2. text messages of praise
3. skillful doctors
4. plums
5. the sounds of hospital monitors whirring
Monday, August 02, 2010
I'm Going to Start Monday
Have you ever said that?
I'm going to start my diet on Monday!
I'm going to start exercising, on Monday!
I'm going to start my devotional time...on Monday!
I'm going to...........on Monday!
But what looks different in our week? What are we doing differently throughout our week compared to the previous weeks that will help us not say the old saying...I'm going to start on Monday?
I always have great plans. Plans to eat well, to cook meals every night of the week, to walk the track and so on. But those plans go awry pretty early in the week.
Why is it that once we "mess up" we figure the week is wasted and we'll just wait till Monday to start again?
I am battling this craziness. Yes, I have good excuses as my summer has been filled with hospitalizations with Christian and traveling to school, but enough is enough! This is going to be a great week....Christian's surgery and all!
Let's not get to the point where we await Monday with a bit of dread. Let's rejoice that we have yet another day and make it our best :)
Today I Am Thankful For:
1. beautiful notecards
2. little boys
3. boiling chicken for our puppy (Yes, I actually did this....)
4. short fingernails
5. getting caught up
I'm going to start my diet on Monday!
I'm going to start exercising, on Monday!
I'm going to start my devotional time...on Monday!
I'm going to...........on Monday!
But what looks different in our week? What are we doing differently throughout our week compared to the previous weeks that will help us not say the old saying...I'm going to start on Monday?
I always have great plans. Plans to eat well, to cook meals every night of the week, to walk the track and so on. But those plans go awry pretty early in the week.
Why is it that once we "mess up" we figure the week is wasted and we'll just wait till Monday to start again?
I am battling this craziness. Yes, I have good excuses as my summer has been filled with hospitalizations with Christian and traveling to school, but enough is enough! This is going to be a great week....Christian's surgery and all!
Let's not get to the point where we await Monday with a bit of dread. Let's rejoice that we have yet another day and make it our best :)
Today I Am Thankful For:
1. beautiful notecards
2. little boys
3. boiling chicken for our puppy (Yes, I actually did this....)
4. short fingernails
5. getting caught up
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