We are a big sports family. We watch 99% of the sports that are on. I have my favorite teams, drivers, mascots, etc. We will switch between a Baseball Game, A Race and a Golf Tournament. You get the picture. There are times though when I just get tired of watching sports. I just want to sit somewhere and not be in the middle of the sport roar.
When those times happen I usually head to my room and relax. I like my room. Craig though will come back and ask me if I am going to stay in my room all night. So I finally had a talk with him. A talk that says I don’t want to stay in my room to punish him. I want a comfortable place to relax. A retreat to read or cuddle with my cat that isn’t in front of a TV.
This is what he came up with………
Do you have a place for Peaceful Relaxation?
Meet Our Tree
This tree is Huge. It is hard to tell from the pictures.
It is 14 feet around. That is like 2 Yao Mings laying in a circle touching hands to feet.
Well there is a problem with the tree.
Actually two problems.
Here is a visual of the 1st issue.
It is 6 inches from our roof.
Thankfully there is no visual of the second.
We have been informned that it is about to kill us. If the wind blows hard it could all be over.
Sadly it has to come down.
Join us in mourning this 135+ year old tree.
Craig has asked the tree guy to leave the stump 3 feet tall. He is going to carve a stump out of it. I thought that was a great idea.
I receive a Newsletter from a family of Missionaries. They live in Africa. They are getting ready to head back to the United States for a year. In their newsletter they always include a prayer request section. This was on of their requests…..
” For our transition back to the States. I’ve never done “this phase in life” with my kids before, in a culture where you fear for your kids’ safety, influence at school, peer acceptance, and availability of high fat/sugar food. Making new friends, figuring out where to shop, finding doctors…”
I had a WOW moment when I read this. I sat back and thought about the culture she was describing. It is the culture that I raise my teens in. It is the way I live everyday when Hope gets on the bus and Ryan drives off for the day. I do fear for their safety, peer pressure and all of their influences. I take steps to make sure that they eat and enjoy real foods. I don’t fill my house with processed dinners and I have organic produce delivered to the house weekly.
I didn’t realize the extreme of what she describes as being my “normal”. But sadly it is.
Please don’t get me wrong. I am not bringing this up in a bad way. I was not and am not upset by the prayer request. It was just a moment where I wondered which would be better for the raising of kids. Africa or Here?
Part of me is thinking Africa.
I was gone for 56 hours.
2 days 8 hours.
It seemed like forever.
I missed Them.
I missed Hugs.
I missed Kisses.
I missed Their Laughter.
I missed Craig’s Lattes.
I missed Ryan getting his Driver’s License.
I missed Hope’s Special Presentaion.
I missed Them.
I use to travel alot alone. I had to for work.
I would go, have a nice time and come home.
This time all I could think about was getting home.
So blessed to have had the opportunity to receive amazing training.
So blessed to be home safe and sound.
Amazing what you can miss in life….In just 56 hours.
Pity and Questioning to Praise and Gratefulness
How do you react on your Pity Pot?
Or when you are Questioning Life?
Do you cry out to God?
Do you wonder how or why?
Do you have problems sleeping, Shutting your mind down?
Do you feel that God has
-Rejected You
-Taken His Unfailing Love Away From You
-That He Will Never Be Kind to You Again
-That He Has Slammed the Door on His Compassion
The enemy has taken me on this ride before and I rode shotgun. Shotgun on a Pity Pot.
As I read Psalm 77 the above questions were ones asked there.
In verse 11 the whole theme changes…
It reads
BUT THEN…..I recall all you have done O Lord.
BUT THEN … What a Turn Around!! I love this!!!
The Psalmist got off his Pity Pot of
“Where is God?”
“Why God?”
“When God?”
and REMEMBERED God’s
-Holy Ways
-Mighty Works
-Awesome Power
-Strong Arms
He remembered all that God had done.
Do you ever meditate on all the good things that God has done?
Sometimes it is hard to pry our butts off the pity pot.
I am deciding to be Grateful and Praise Him for His greatness!
“You are the God of great wonders!” -Psalm 77:14a
This is just One of my Thoughts.
