Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Where is my hope?

"Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God."
Psalms 42:5

There are many days when I find myself easily getting frustrated. There are many days that seem like I do a lot of hauling children around from one place to another to "entertain" them and keep them busy, especially during the summer. Sometimes I can get to the end of those days and not feel like I accomplished very much.I can even find myself looking ahead at some weeks and I can allow discouragement to creep in...I feel more like an event planner than I do a woman seeking after the Lord.

Put my hope in God. The Psalmist says that twice in Psalms 42. I don't often find myself putting my hope solely in God. Rather, I put my hope in circumstances, in things I am looking forward to, a fun trip, girls nights out, dates with my husband, and naptime! It is not that those are bad things in and of themselves(especially naptime (-:)...but even those things can become idols if I put my hope in them. Circumstances change, people change, relationships change, but GOD does not change!!! I can put my HOPE in Him. I can look to Him to give me eternal moments in the midst of the mundane. I can praise Him during the loads and loads of laundry. I do believe it is possible, and I also believe it takes action on my part- to turn my eyes upon the Lord and to see above the routines of the day to find God and to hear Him.

God, help me today to put my hope in YOU!

Friday, June 26, 2009

Seriously, is it just me????

Sometimes I just have to laugh, or else I will cry!!! Today, yep, it has been one of those days. I have realized something that has happened to me and I need to be willing to just accept it...I just don't have as much brain space as I used to! Since having two children, I have REALLY noticed a difference.Also, another thing I am much more aware of is this...things RARELY turn out as I plan.

Let me give an account of my day...

1) Woke up and planned to get out of the house to go to the gym with children fed and ready to go by 9am-easy enough right?(-:

2) 9:30 am- just getting off the phone from an unexpected call, have tried to pick up around the house (yeah, right!), will get the kids and head out the door, but...

3) 9:45am-decide I should take a shower at the gym while the kids are still being watched so then we can more quickly get to our next destination following the gym, which is a play place for kids
called Encouragym. So, I head upstairs to pack a bag for the shower.

4) 10am -pull out of the driveway to go to the gym..get two streets away and remember, I did not pack a towel for my shower at the gym!!So, I turn back around....

5) Get to the gym around 10:15 am for my workout that was supposed to begin at 9'ish.

6) Get on treadmill #1- begin to increase the speed and it sounds like a sick cow. So I get off that treadmill.

7) Get on treadmill #2 and begin to increase speed-but guess what? The speed does not increase! Treadmill #2 does not work...of course.

8) Get on treadmill #3 and have my work out...while taking my headphones off at least 5 times to tell other people who tried to get on treadmill #2 that it did not work.

9) Finish workout, shower, leave the gym and head to Encouragym with the kids...Taylor whining on the way there that she does not want to go..but I was going anyway because I had a coupon to go there free for two hours($10 value) that would expire at the end of this month and I can not let a coupon like that go unused!!

So, you get the picture? The only other thing that has happened today that has not gone as planned is my Target trip. I have a dear friend, Pam Sharp, who volunteered to come over to watch the kids for me while I get out for a couple of hours. Is that a good friend or what??? Anyway, I put the kids down for a nap and Pam arrived. I left the house and headed straight to Target because I needed to get some pictures printed as a bday gift. I go to the closest Target, which happens to be a nightmare to get in and out of due to a complete remodel, park at least a mile away (or so it seemed), and walk briskly through the parking lot because this time is like GOLD! I head to the photo lab, and I am greeted with signs on all the printers that say "DUE TO TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES, WE ARE UNABLE TO PROCESS ANY FILM AT THIS TIME. SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE." I said out loud "You have GOT to be kidding!"and then just laughed and walked my mile back to my car in the construction covered parking lot.

Now anyone who knows me knows that I am a planner!! Well, as you can see, this day has not gone completely as planned. There have been a few bumps in the road for sure.

I am reminded of the Scripture that says "THIS is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." (Psalm 118:24) So, that is where I will turn my focus. THIS is the day that God has made. He is teaching me flexibility today. He is teaching me that even in the midst of forgotten towels, broken treadmills, and non working photo machines, He has given me this day and this day is a gift!! There are many things I can give thanks for, in the midst of these small, but significant to me, frustrations. I am thankful today that I even have a gym membership,that I have two wonderful, healthy children,that I have a dear friend who would be so thoughtful as to VOLUNTEER her time so that I can get a couple of hours of filling my tanks today, and I have a God who loves me, as I am, and slows me down long enough to give me some much needed perspective!!!

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

I caved!!

How do I start my very first post???? I am officially entering new territory...blogging! This is something I did not think I would ever do, but I want to begin to empty my mind somehow and blogging seems like a good avenue to do so!

I know I will battle "blogging envy" and other sins that come with the territory, but I am willing to give this a shot! I have enjoyed reading other people's blogs and getting to know more about people through reading their thoughts and musings. Maybe I will be able to get to bed earlier if I spend some time emptying my mind of all the thoughts that seem to keep me up at night! Or will I just stay up later blogging???? TBD!

I am guessing this will be a way to process what the Lord is teaching me, rant and rave about different things that occur on any given day, and also give me a place to share all the funny things that Taylor is doing and saying these days.

So, here I go...and I am excited to see who will end up following me on this new blogging journey!