The Next Right Thing

I am in my second class of seminary and it's my first online class. (I was fortunate enough to be able to go to Denver this summer and take my first class "in person" and it was a fantastic experience).

But now I am entering the world of online education.

It's amazing how a class can be structured online. Forums, chats, email, postings....it's a new world! Quite different than my last class 20 years ago at Houston Baptist University :)

I will admit, I was beyond overwhelmed last night. I was to the point where I thought, "What was I thinking? I can't do this! Who was I kidding? I'm too old to go back to school!"

But, my wonderful husband said something to me...

"Do the next right thing."

He was right.

I did the next right thing. I took my assignment step by step, I didn't worry about the whole picture, and now I am where I need to be for the week!

It's so easy to get overwhelmed. Maybe it's school, a project at work, a house to clean before company arrives, a PTA meeting at the same time as soccer practice, and let's not forget the laundry!

Sometimes we get in such a hurry to get things done. I find that if I take a breath and think about the next right thing to do, my day is better and the end result is exactly what I was looking for.


Today I Am Thankful For:

1. wise words
2. an empty email inbox
3. boxes
4. my new laptop
5. my upcoming trip to Dallas

Transformed

Congratulations to Pam for winning my first giveaway ($25 iTunes card)! Pam, email me at cazandramacdonald@yahoo.com with your mailing information :)

I preached yesterday morning! I love when I have the opportunity to study and share God's word. It was the most comfortable I have ever been in the pulpit. The words just came to me and the message was truly on my heart. I preached on Matthew 5:13-16....being the salt of the earth and light of the world. I truly felt God's arms around me as I delivered the message. I just feel transformed when I preach.

This sermon helped me come to a realization. Something I hadn't been able to "admit" out loud. Now that I've started Seminary, I feel like I am being called to become a Deacon in the church. I want to serve a community and especially be involved in the ministry of women. There. I've said it.

I never dreamed my life would be what it is right now. Being the wife of a preacher in a small town, working for the healthcare industry, and being a seminary student. I was "supposed" to teach middle school band until I retired! So I thought!

When we make plans God just gets a great belly laugh, don't you think?

I'm so glad my "plans" have changed.

Today I Am Thankful For:

1. Dinner in Santa Fe
2. Seeing old friends
3. a ripe peach
4. our congregation
5. salt and light

100 Days (and a giveaway)!

Do you realize that when midnight strikes, there will be 100 days until the New Year?

I'm not kidding....100 Days!

Why should we wait for January 1st to make those crazy resolutions that we make?

Why not make a sensible resolution right now and follow through for the next 100 days?

What can we do in 100 days?

Read 100 chapters in the Bible (or 50), lose 10 pounds, make amends to a friend, make a plan to sit with your family several times a week to dinner, watch less television, journal daily, have a devotional time with God......

What can you do with these 100 days?

I want to hear from you! In honor of the "Final 100 Days of 2010," I am going to have a giveaway! My first ever!

Post a comment by midnight, Saturday the 25th and let us know what you will be doing with your 100 Days.

I will randomly select a winner of a $25 iTunes gift card and announce the winner Monday the 27th.

Today I Am Thankful For:

1. shampoo
2. Tuesday night pizza
3. preaching this coming Sunday
4. Mason jars
5. a good day at work

Dragging

I'm so tired! I flew up to Cedar Rapids on Friday and back Saturday night to speak at a local Hemophilia Chapter Event. It went great! The room was full and great discussion took place throughout the session.

I've been preparing a sermon for 9/26 and I have some great things to share with you.

I'll be back with more tomorrow. I just need more coffee right now :)

Today I Am Thankful For:

1. Coffee!
2. great travel
3. morning meetings
4. getting to know a colleague better this weekend
5. Coffee!

Opening Doors

When you live in a small town, there are not tons of opportunities in the performing arts. Band and choir programs are teeny tiny, drama is something that comes together, hopefully yearly to put on a musical.

And for a young man, gifted in music, it's hard to meet peers who "get him."

We found something….The Albuquerque Boys Choir! Lance auditioned, made the group and is fitting in with this group of boys as if he'd known them all their lives. It's where he needs to be.

My husband drives him to Albuquerque once a week (4 hr round trip) for a two hour rehearsal and they get home at 11 pm . But Lance comes home pumped up and wired! This is after singing classical music!

I am so incredibly grateful for the opportunity that we can give our Lance. We are in this as a family and it is going to take all of us committing to getting him there when he needs to be.

But when passion drives you to excel at something you are meant to do, finding a way is that much easier.

If an opportunity is not knocking at your door, sometimes you have to open the door and start looking for new ones.

Today I Am Thankful For:

1. A fulfilling day of work
2. Pretty hand towels
3. Frozen grapes
4. An upcoming speaking engagement in Iowa
5. Chipped toenail polish

New Things

I tried something completely new and out of my box this weekend…I made fresh red, chile sauce. It is a very "New Mexican" thing to do! It's a long process, but if you have the right music playing, it goes by fast :)

I have struggled for many years because of what someone said to me…that the only reason I could cook was because "she" gave me the recipe. It was never because I actually did something on my own well.

I've been finding my stride over the past few years, not just in the kitchen, but in life in general and I've been trying to rid my thoughts of what others think.

When someone plants a seed of doubt, it is hard to shake it loose from your brain. You can easily get lost in what someone else thinks of you instead of what God thinks of you.

That you are indeed his Beloved.

That everything you do is a gift.

That you are precious in His sight.

That you are forgiven.

"Father, God, I pray that we all remember whose we really are. We don't belong to the world, but to You. In all that we do, we do it for your glory. Amen"

Today I Am Thankful For:

1. Fresh enchiladas
2. Stained hands from chile
3. Christian recovering from his ankle bleed
4. Our new computer
5. clumsy dogs

Speak to Me Sunday

<

"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men." Matthew 5:13 (NIV)

Twenty Two Years Ago

In high school I was not the girl with boyfriends. I longed to be her. I had the occasional crush and high school "love", but was never part of a couple. I desperately wanted to be part of a couple. I heard time and time again, "Just wait, the man you do fall in love with will be special. He may even be 'the one'."

Sure enough, I met him in college and twenty two years ago today we went on our first date.

We had a four year courtship before we married and broke up more times than I can remember, but we always came back together. I absolutely adore him. Here are a few reasons why I love him:

The Top 22 Reasons I Love Joe

1. The moccasins he wears until they have holes in the soles
2. His computer expertise
3. The crazy lyrics he makes up to a favorite song
4. The music he sings as he walks through the house (at any hour of the day)
5. Insisting we have "date night" at the hot springs every Sunday
6. The way he assembles things
7. His determination to make it through Seminary
8. The passion he has for preaching
9. Accepting hemophilia in our lives from the very beginning
10. His cold toes and fingers
11. His love for trivia (Jeopardy)
12. The way he puts our little one to bed with a "tickle fest"
13. He always wears a sweatshirt at the first hint of cool weather (even if it warms up to 90)!
14. For committing to driving 4 hours round trip, once a week to get our oldest to boys choir
15. never complaining when I need him to go get a gallon of milk late at night
16. For his "Wild at Heart" sense of adventure
17. His courage to change careers and follow his heart's desire
18. The way he plays the piano
19. The love he showed to my parents
20. Because he loves our sons more than life itself
21. His faith and belief in God
22. Because he loves me, just the way I am

Joe Keith MacDonald, I adore you, and thank God for you. You have changed my life into something so completely different and better than I ever dreamed it would be. Here's to another 22 years.

Fried Chicken and God

My morning started in the quiet of my house while everyone was still sleeping....making fried chicken! We planned a picnic in the mountains and the guys always expect my fried chicken so there I was at 6 am, frying chicken. But something very unexpected happened while I was frying up our "mess of chicken." I had a wonderful conversation with God. I didn't have a Bible in front of me or my prayer journal, but I just let loose and started talking.

It was great! It was the best "devotional" I've had in quite some time.

I have been so wrapped up in the how's of devotional time that my relationship with God has been suffering. I've let Satan take over my thoughts when those thoughts in my head should always be directed to God.

Instead of that negative self talk that permeates my thoughts, I need to turn those thoughts, not just into positive thoughts, but into a conversation with God.

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Today I Am Thankful For:

1. wildflowers
2. winding roads
3. river rocks
4. deer
5. fried chicken

Speak to Me Sunday

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34

Time With God - part 3

For the longest time I would get up around 5:30 am, get dressed and ready for the day and would spend time alone in the quiet of the house before everyone got up. I would write in my journal my prayers to God and read scripture.

Why did I stop? Did I really think I could "do life" on my own?

As it is I am struggling.

My eating habits are out of control right now, my overall focus is off kilter, and the self talk in my head is taking me places I should not even go. I am even on the cusp of trying to talk myself out of taking the class I am signed up for in Seminary.

I'm just scared.

Scared that I am off track....and it's proving harder to find my way back than I ever thought.

Today I Am Thankful For:

1. being honest
2. the Food Network
3. a stack of clean t-shirts
4. half empty bottles of water
5. my 300th post!