Living the good life

I had an amazing weekend.  Something happened that has not happened in a very long time.  I was home alone. For several hours. Two days in a row.  It was so nice!  I spent some time reading on the deck with the dogs on Saturday afternoon.  And on Sunday......I took an afternoon nap!  Talk about luxury.

Sunday was such an awesome day.  It is amazing how energizing it can be to be in a room filled with people truly worshipping the Lord.  I felt Him moving so much Sunday morning.  I had goose bumps all up and down my arms and tears in my eyes during a couple of praise songs.  It was a great feeling! 

The high from the weekend has continued through the week.  We got the privilege of having some friends over Monday night.  I love watching 4 adorable boys play and interact with each other, even if sometimes that interaction is figuring out new ways to torture your younger brother.  It was such a beautiful night we were able to sit out on the deck until dark for the first time this spring. 

Then Tuesday brought some more possible new beginnings and answers to prayer.  I am certainly keeping my fingers crossed at least.  God is so good and so faithful.  I am ready for whatever new beginnings (or old ones) He has for me right now.  It is exciting and nerve wracking all at the same time!  But oh so worth it in the end.

Counting Gifts from the Lord!

It has been a really awesome week.  The week started out with such promise visiting a new church.  Spent some time with a woman who is becoming a great friend to me.  The excitement of starting things new.  These were just a few of the gifts God has given me this week. 

I am currently reading One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are by Ann Voskamp.  It is undoubtedly one of the best most life changing books I have ever read.  If you haven't read it yet I definitely suggest it.  This book has prompted me to keep a gratitude journal.  To seek out all of the little gifts in life and to focus on them.  The foundation of the book is eucharisteo - to see the grace, give thanks for it and receive the joy.  It is a book about counting amazing gifts in the every day.

So today I spent some time looking over the gifts of the week in my journal before moving on to the next chapter.  There were so many gifts, many which were never even written down (I admit I'm not quite in the groove of making this habit yet).  But there was one gift which was BY FAR the best gift.  I got to see my husband pray for the first time ever!  Yes it was short, awkward and a little jumbled.  But my husband talked to God. out loud. with witnesses.  How cool is that?!?!?!

It all started with a new Bible study at my current church that has begun on Wednesday nights.  I kinda wanted to go.  But Wednesday is Ron and my day off together.  So I asked him (probably about 100 times) if he would go with me.  And I think I kinda lured him in when I reminded him that it would be quieter than our house.......MUCH quieter;)  So we went!  And the Bible study ended with prayer time in small groups.  I never thought he would take his turn.  I was shocked when he did.  I was smiling like an idiot from ear to ear.  I probably almost cried.  And I REALLY hope it is not the last time.  Actually I want it to happen ALL. THE. TIME. 

I can't wait to see if that is on my list of gifts next week too.  And I can't wait to spend another week counting amazingly precious gifts from my Saviour!  I hope you all had an awesome week too filled with loads of little precious gifts.

Why do we let life get in the way?

Humans are generally lazy.  Especially when it comes to other people and relationships.  We settle into our comfort zones, into what is easy, what is routine.  We make excuses about our jobs and our families and there not being enough hours in the day.  So many times we are more concerned about ourselves, what we want and our own feelings that we simply forget about others.  Even the people we truly care about, we just decide we can't worry about their needs or their feelings.  We get into the routine of not having enough time, of staying home wasting hours entertaining ourselves every day, of losing ourselves in day to day life.

I believe that all of these things are a choice.  We can choose to care about others or to be wrapped up in ourselves.  We can choose to give others our time, our true friendship, our love and compassion.  We can choose to be servants of the Lord and live out His commands or we can choose ourselves and what is easier.  We can choose to passively say "please remember I care about you" without showing any evidence of it and believing that that is enough, or we can ACT.

Do we think Jesus ever said to anyone "I'm just too tired.  Life is too hard and I work too much.  I simply don't have time for you."  Or "you know I have those 12 disciples who are like my family?  Well they just take up so much of my time.  I mean we have to do this and this and then this is going on.  I really want to do blank but I just don't see how I can make the time." 

Don't get me wrong family is important.  Raising children in the Lord is the most important job anyone can ever have.  But if that is all we do, if we only have time for that, what kind of an impact are we having?  How can we reach others for the Lord?  How can we support our fellow believers in their walk?  How can we build strong churches that impact the community if we just do what we must and not what we should?

We so easily forget the impact strong, supportive, active friendships and serving and giving to others has on us.  How it energizes and relieves stress; how it blesses us more than it blesses the person we are serving.  We forget just how worthwhile it is.  When it happens we say "we need to do this more often" but when it's over we so quickly go back to our everyday lives and forget. 

I can be as guilty of this as anyone else.  But I am trying to change it.  I want deep active relationships with people.  I want so much more than quick text messages and fast interrupted Sunday morning conversations.  I want to have people in my life that I can count on time and time again.  That I can call and know that I will get a response.  And I want to be that person for other people.  I am ready to let people in, to truly let them in and I am hoping to find people who will do the same with me.  I want to give even when I don't feel like I can give anymore.  And most of all I want to be used and I want to be effective.  I'm ready Lord, just show me where to go and what you would have me to do.