March 31, 2011
Interesting how life can present you with little "gifts" for your b-day. I was enjoying my rest last night and behold, my "aging" body decided I needed a mid-night trip to relieve my bladder and I could NOT return to sleep. Alas, the gift of aging. What happened to the day that I could sleep ALL night without waking up? Those days are a part of my past. At first, I was irritated that I could not get back to sleep, but then I was reminded that "it gives me the blessing of an opportunity to blog"...now that is a thought that I enjoy and a very special gift on this b-day:) As I mentioned during my last blog (3 weeks ago), life has moved to fast paced mode here in my house. Mainly due to the fact that I have a daughter graduating from H.S. in 5 weeks and a husband that is going on a duty assignment for a year in about 90 days! So many things to get completed, details to finalize...this is the reason I decided to leave my job at the end of last school year. I knew this time was coming and I wanted to be able to savor every moment, not feel "rushed" to complete things, etc...
Update on what has been happening in my life. Well the second full week in March-we had a week long gospel meeting with brother Simon Harris from Jonesboro, Arkansas. We started the week with a potluck for all members of the church that Sunday at my friend Jen's. On Thursday night, my family hosted brother Harris/his family for dinner before the evening service. It was a joy to meet/get to know this family better. So many blessings in being able to spend time not only listening to brother Harris speak the words of truth from God's word-but also to hear of his mission work overseas, as well as their daughter, Kelsey's story. The last night they were with us, brother Harris wore a tie that said, "Life is more interesting when you're happy." I admired the tie, most especially the sentiment. It was at that point that he gave me a business card with a website that they have designed to honor their daughter Kelsey's memory. You see, the sentiment contained on the tie was Kelsey's life theme. It was discovered that Kelsey had an inoperable aggressive malignant brain tumor in Feb of '08(age 14) and she left this life to be with God in April '09 (age 16). Her story is an amazing one...one of courage, strength, faith, definitely an example for all of us "older" folks as well as younger. Her message was one that reminds us all that no matter what we are going through, we can choose to be happy-we don't have to allow unpleasant circumstances dictate our ability to enjoy this life. Kelsey enjoyed every moment-though I never met her, I feel as though I know her through the writings she left behind and the testimonies about her from her family. Check out the website at http://www.lifeismoreinteresting.org/, I think you will find Kelsey's story to be very encouraging!
The Saturday following the meeting, we drove 3 hours to Missouri (and back, in the same day) to enjoy celebrating my lovely niece, Bayleigh's, 6th b-day. I love that sweet girl-both of my nieces are absolutely precious and priceless treasures to me. They are my pseudo grandchildren-as I pray not to have any of my own "real" grandchildren for at least 6 more years-so I enjoy these girls immensely. It's so hard to believe sweet Bayleigh is 6, she has grown up so fast. She is absolutely a joy. So smart, funny, loving and it was SO worth the 3 hour trip just to have her spot us across the room and run/jump into our arms to hug our necks:) I understand/realize how quickly this time passes in Bayleigh's life. I don't want to miss any of those "special" moments in her life. I do all that I can to "make" the time to spend with her. It's worth any small inconvenience to me-because I know that in a few years, it won't mean as much to her that I am there. She will "grow up" and having peers at her parties will be more important. Then someday, she'll have a family/life of her own to celebrate with. Right now, it is important to her, and I feel blessed to spend time just watching her "be a child" and know that she understands that by my presence, I care for her/love her. Though she certainly can't fully understand it now-in a few years she will look back and realize that we traveled many miles to just "be" with her. These are the types of memories that are forever etched in a child's memory. Who was it that made the time to spend with them? I had a most excellent example in my mother as she was a g'mother to my own girls. My mom was working 2 jobs and had 6 foster children-but she always "made" the time to spend with my girls when they were young. I respect that/appreciate that about her. I am trying to honor her memory by "being there" and "making time" to spend with her grandchildren-Bayleigh and Brylea-that she never had the blessing to know/meet. Mom would have SO loved spoiling these girls, just like she did my own. Bayleigh/Brylea deserve that type of love/attention/affection. They cannot help the fact that they never had the blessing of having my Mom in their lives, this situation is out of their control. But, it doesn't mean that they can't enjoy the same type of love/devotion from me. I know that a person can't be replaced and I will never "try" to replace my Mom. I merely desire for these young precious girls to know that they are loved, they are a joy, and their company is always desired by me.
Last week was Spring Break. The girls/I just spent the first 3 days hanging out, going to the gym, going to the movies, going to lunch, did a bit of shopping, etc... These days in our life together as mother/daughters are quickly drawing to a close. The thought occurred to me that it is likely that next spring break (2012) will be the last one that the 3 of us spend together. It is unlikely that Michaela's spring break (once we move to Arizona) will coincide with Rebecca's while she's in college. So, I soaked it UP! We had some fun days-laughed a lot and made some great memories. At the end of last week, we were able to go "as a family" to Dallas, Texas for 4 days. Dallas was enjoyable. We enjoyed a real Texas steakhouse with the most delectable steak EVER, went to the Medieval Times dinner theater, watched a real live cattle drive (longhorns) down the streets of historic Ft. Worth, enjoyed an entire day on roller coasters at 6 flags, and enjoyed worshipping with/meeting some fine brethren in the area before returning back home on Sunday night. It was a good trip. We had a "few" treats for ourselves-we all shared a HUGE (yes, everything really is "bigger" in Texas) piece of cheesecake after our steak dinner (which Rebecca and I shared). We enjoyed some "fudge" at a specialty shop in Ft. Worth. We delighted in a serving of Cold Stone Ice Cream at 6 flags on Saturday. I'm happy to say that we actually also worked out at the hotel fitness center ALL 3 nights that we were there:) We're hoping that it helped us "maintain" our weight last week-but none of us got on the scales to find out!lol We decided to wait til the end of this week (after we'd returned home to normal routine) to find out what kind of damage was done!
All of this talk about "eating/fitness" reminds me that I need to update my current status with my "word of the year"-health. To date, I have lost 32 pounds since the beginning of the year. I have added the powerpump class on M/W/FR mornings to my weekly workout regiment at the gym. I had to proceed slowly with adding that in due to the fact that I overdid it the first time I went to that class and ended up with pneumonia:( Physically-I continue toward my goals for health. I now have "new" motivation for continuing on this journey-our move to Phoenix, Arizona next summer. I pray that I will be able to continue progressing in my fitness so that I will be able to do a lot of trails/hiking in the desert mountains once we arrive there. Too much beauty to miss out on just because you're not in good physical condition. I don't intend to miss out...I intend to continue to push myself toward better physical conditioning so that I can fully enjoy each moment of our 3 years in the lovely sunshine/heat of Arizona:) Also, in regards to "health", my spiritual health is prospering. It was such a faith boosting experience to watch/wait for God to work in our lives with regard to our new duty assignment next summer. At first, there was disappointment because we weren't going to be able to get the assignment in Missouri or Illinois so that we could be "close" to my sister/her girls:( However, I am not one to question God-we had prayed, God had answered-it was not the right time for that move. So, we considered other options-where could we/would we want to go (in the U.S.) on a 3 year adventure? John has always wanted to live out west-given that Louis Lamour is the ONLY author he reads, you can easily understand why! So, after considering several factors-namely finding a place with several local congregations of the church to choose from, decent schools for Michaela, lower cost of living, new travel opportunities, and finally opportunities for college for Michaela. Alas, we chose Phoenix and God said, "yes"! We feel doubly blessed because some very dear God peeps-the Harper's-live in the Phoenix area and Steven preaches at one of the congregations there. They have 4 children-their 2 daughters are in the "middle" and they are in the same age group as Michaela. They were all good childhood friends and we've been blessed to visit with them in '09 while Steven was holding a special meeting here in Arkansas-of course there is also facebook which they are "friends" on:) So, we feel so incredibly blessed to be going to a place where Michaela will "know" someone and have some things in common! We knew this move would be very different for all of us. Rebecca will be staying behind here in Arkansas going to college, Michaela will be moving (for the first time) without her "built in" friend (her sister), and this will be our "final" military assignment...it is during this time that we have to decide where we will live/what we want to do with the rest of our lives. Once again, we are humbled by the blessings of God's provision for our family. We look forward to the 3 years we'll spend in Arizona and the new opportunities it brings us with regard to the work of the church, new relationships w/brethren, renewing old relationships, new opportunities for travel, and possibly future opportunities after John's AF retirement.
This brings me to this week-what a whirlwind it has been! Of course doing laundry after a trip is always a half day chore! I've spent a LOT of time doing some final prep for this end of H.S. time for Rebecca. Graduation invites designed/ordered, invitations to a graduation/reception printed, mailing labels printed, name cards printed, and a graduation party/potluck for all of our Christian H.S. Sr.'s and College Sr.s planned/invites ready to get out. Also, trying to help Rebecca get all of her info together for summer hire program at the base. Had to get her H.S. transcript so I can go pick up her acceptance letter at the college. Which brings me to a "proud mommy" moment...when I picked up her transcript, the counselor asked me if I'd like to see it before she sealed it. Of course I did. One of the things on the transcript is the "position" she holds in class ranking. I am SO proud of Rebecca...she is number 28 of 629 graduating Sr.'s this year-top 5%! Wow-what an excellent testimony it is to the hard work she has put in for the last 4 years. This will go a long way to boosting her confidence in college! It is no easy feat to place in top 5% of any class-the competition here is EXTRA tough! It is not uncommon to have several straight A students that have strictly AP classes! Rebecca has taken several AP classes and they were the "tough ones",but she worked hard and did the best she could. She learned a lot about "studying" and habits for study in those classes. They were not enjoyable for her, she struggled through a few of them. Even after that, she is in the top 5%-I could not be more pleased for her! I have tried to encourage my girls to always "do their best" in whatever they do in life I don't expect them to be perfect, I've never expected them to be straight A students, just do their best and "learn" some things along the way. I have also never tried to "pressure" my girls into pursuing a college education. I want them to understand that while education/book learning has it's place, it is not the end all of all. The most important thing I want for them is that they learn to serve/love God better each day. To always put His will above their own wants/desires. I have encouraged them to understand that being a Christian is the highest calling on their life and the most blessed privilege of all. Anything else they do, is optional. I know that if you put God first in your life, the other stuff falls easily in line. This would mean they would "do well" in school, academically. This would mean they will "do well" in life as an adult, whether they choose to complete a college education or get out of H.S. and work a job to support themselves. I pray each day for my girls to find a Christian mate and have grandchildren for me one day. Not because it's what "I" want, but because it is what they say they desire. If they choose to remain single and serve the Lord all of their days-it is their decision-and I will support/love them. I have tried to impress upon them that God created women to be a "help meet" for a husband and to bear children to honor/serve Him. Besides their own salvation, being a wife/mom is the greatest blessing they'll ever receive from God. However, I also remind them that if they don't have a close relationship with the Lord, they will struggle in the calling of being a wife/mother. If they are confident/secure/maturing in the Lord-these other roles will be much more of a joy. I also try to present a "realistic" picture for them. Life has it's struggles-most especially for the Christian. It is through the trials/tribulations of this life that God proves us, that our faith increases, our dependance upon ourselves/others decreases while our ever growing dependancy upon God increases. We would not want to live life without the struggles-they are what help us appreciate and long for the goal of Heaven! So, wherever this life leads my hubby/I after retirement and our girls after H.S.-I know that as long as we are all "fighting the good fight" and "running the race" toward Heaven-we will all be reunited again in that great home above! In the meantime, we will just each enjoy the journey here below.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
March-the month of new beginnings
I realized this a.m. that it had been 2 weeks since I last blogged. Isn't it amazing how quickly time can pass sometimes? I am ever amazed at the quick passage of my life, minutes turn to days, then to years,etc... I am glad to say that as of today-March 9th, I am remaining faithful to my word of the year, "health". That is the reason for my delay in blogging recently. Focusing on "health" has taken much of the last 2 weeks of my life. That is a good thing. It helps me know that I am reaching my true heart's desire in obtaining better health in various facets of my life. Let me share some insights as to the ways my time has been spent focusing on health over the last couple of weeks.
First, the most important area of my life...spiritual health. I have been very blessed over the last couple of weeks to have "extra" opportunities to grow spiritually. I had the blessing of spending an entire day w/sisters in Christ in Conway (about 45 minutes drive) while engaging in a look into the book of Proverbs (wisdom literature) contained in God's word. After the study, my God peep-Laura-and I went to lunch together to talk about spiritual matters, things on our hearts/minds that we could pray about for one another, etc...It was while I was with these dear sisters that I received a text/phone call to inform me that a past coworker and dear friend from HIPPY, Jackie, had passed away very suddenly from a heart attack. Jackie was not "old", she was middle aged, still had a college aged daughter living at home w/her and her husband. Jackie had not been "sick". Jackie's "vapor" of life just disappeared at an earlier point than most. I was so humbled by God's provision for me at the moment I received this shocking news...I was in the presence of my sisters that I knew would share their compassionate spirit, prayers, and grief with me even though none of them even knew Jackie. That's the beauty of relationships with other Christians...they didn't have/need to know Jackie. They know me and they saw me with the eyes of Jesus at that moment-they were sad for the hurt that I was experiencing as well as all those that knew/loved Jackie. Such a blessing indeed and certainly one that I took time to thank God for that day. I also had the spiritual blessing of beginning a bible study for young Christians here in my home. An opportunity to "mentor" a young Christian woman in the congregation here came to my attention and we have been studying basic bible principles together. My 2 daughters are here during this study as well. The purpose of the study is to help these young women understand the importance of the commitment they've made to Christ. To help them search the scriptures for themselves so that they will have the information they need to make wise spiritual decisions for themselves in the future. The study has been very encouraging for me. Encouraging to see the "interest" in spiritual matters from youth, particularly with regard to seeing/knowing for themselves what the bible has to say about various matters-not just "listening" to me speak or give my opinion, but indeed letting the Word convict their hearts and move them to action. I pray each day for wisdom as I continue with this study, that I will merely be an instrument/vessel that God uses to help these young women as they are entering adulthood. I take seriously my responsibility to "teach the younger women" as the scriptures teach me to do. Last night, I had the blessing of attending a special meeting series at a congregation in Conway. The lesson was on "slander" and I have to say that it was a very convicting lesson. It was during that sermon that I realized that to my recollection, until last night, I had never heard an entire sermon on this subject since I became a Christian 23 years ago. Yes, I have heard various passages quoted "about" slander, but never an entire lesson devoted to this subject. I began to ask myself, "WHY?" Why is such a devestating/condemning sin not spoken of from the pulpit? After evaluation I came to the conclusion that perhaps it is because it would hit way too many of us "where it hurts" so to speak! I know that I was convicted during the lesson. I have been guilty of slander-I am not proud of it, I am ashamed. One of the "weaknesses" that extroverted communicators, like myself, face and often struggle with is that which involves the tongue. However, being an extrovert does NOT give me an excuse to sin. I cannot just say, "well, that's just the way I am." To do so would be to cast blame on God for "making me this way". But I know that instead, God created me as an extrovert to use that gift in ways that will reflect/bring glory to Him and He expects me to manage this gift by using self-control and by praying/asking for His wisdom/guidance. I realize that I have the ability to either "build up or tear down" with my tongue. I am growing in my ability to use my tongue to build others up in the ways of God/encourage them to want to know/love God w/all their heart, mind and soul. However, I have been guilty of slander. Knowing this and realizing this, what will I do with this new information? I am humbled by the fact that because I am God's child and I have confessed the sin to Him with a heart of repentance, God forgives me. I will truly try to bear "fruits worthy of repentance" by being more aware of what I say, how I say it, etc... Slander is such a far reaching subject of great biblical importance-the Word of God says that those that slander will NOT inherit eternal life. I do not want to be counted among those that slander. My focus/that which I live my life for, is the goal of Heaven. I want to meet God in the day of judgement and hear Him say, "Well done thou good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of the Lord."
I am thankful for this lesson on "slander", for it has indeed helped me to grow more spiritually healthy.
Mental health-wow, lots of opportunities to grow in that way as well. Over the last 2 weeks I have come to new mental realizations about upcoming changes in my life. First, my husband is leaving in just 4 short months and the time truly is passing very quickly. In order to make these moments together count, we will need to spend as much time together as possible. I'm thankful that he is finished with his college courses and will not be resuming them until he arrives at his new duty station this summer. This has helped me readjust some of my previous "goals" for the upcoming months that I had originally made at the beginning of the year. I am working on our schedules so that we may spend as much family time together as possible. Have as many meals together as possible, spend time in recreation together, etc...I spent much time over the last couple of weeks planning some "mental health" vacations. First, I planned the graduation trip for Rebecca/I to NYC the week following graduation. This trip is important for so many reasons. This will be the only strictly mother/daughter trip she/I have ever taken together. She is leaving home this fall and going to live in the college dorms. She is becoming a young woman and we are entering a new zone of "friendship" that we've never had the opportunity to explore before because I was given the responsibility to "train her up in the way she should go" as God's word dictates. I will always be her parent, be available to help/guide her as she needs that assistance-but I will no longer be "responsible" for her in the same way. I am looking forward to experiencing NYC w/Rebecca, but more than the sights, I am looking forward to watching our adult mother/daughter relationship evolve during this trip-that is good for my mental health. Second, I spent time planning my annual girls trip w/my bff Jen. This annual trip will have a new meaning for me this year-it will be a "prep" trip for the upcoming year. Always before, this trip has been a "refreshing" celebration to end my work year. This year, it will be preparing me for the year that lies ahead. A year without my spouse or my oldest child at home with me. A year when it will just be Michaela/I forging ahead in new ways-building our own relationship as mother/daughter, sharing meals just the 2 of us, making plans/dreams for the future, etc... I will need this trip to help me prepare, mentally, for the year that lies ahead. We are going to D.C.-my first ever trip to the capitol of our nation. We had originally planned to go to Victoria, Canada-but alas, we changed course due to the expense of the airline tickets. Yesterday this thought occured to me, "Perhaps I am being blessed by God to go to D.C. I can gain a renewed perspective for the year-the fact that my husband will be away from me defending our great nation just like the testimony I will see in D.C. of those that have gone before him." Last, I spent the last 2 weeks planning our final "family" trip together before John leaves for the year and Rebecca goes away to college. Rebecca will work this summer to earn money for college this fall-John will be busy outprocessing the base and preparing for his new assignment. This is a needed vacation for all of us. We are going to just have some "fun" together, in Dallas. We are going to the Medieval Times dinner theatre. We all love the Dixie Stampede...this is similar but has the "knight/jousting" theme. We're hoping it will bring back all of those pleasant memories we shared with so many brethren of such outings while we lived in England. Living in England has been come to be known as "the glory days" of our family life. Sometimes things just fall into place and everything is just "right", that's how it felt during our time in England as a family. So many blessings w/brethren, the girls were GREAT ages for traveling/truly enjoying themselves in foreign lands/cultures we visited, such a beautiful home/farm we got to live in/on for 3 years...indeed it was like a fairy tale-but it was real! We're hoping to recapture just a glimpse of that at the Medieval Times dinner theatre. We're going to have a blast at an amusement park! Our family also has a history of enjoying amusement parks together. We all enjoy just goofing off for the day and being a "kid" again. Only a few short days for this vacation-but it will be what carries us through until January when our family is reunited to hopefully share more time together.
Physical health-wow, there is so much I can say here. The biggest change that has occurred over the last 2 weeks is that I am fully recovered from the pneumonia I had the beginning of February. This has allowed me to finally be back at the gym on a regular basis. I have enjoyed it so much and have even added some extra gym time in my daily routine. Another biggie-I resumed working for my bff cleaning her industrial business office/showroom. This is HUGE for me physically. I performed these tasks for 4 years when we lived in Cabot before, but due to working for HIPPY full time, did not resume the position since my return. Last weekend was my second week, "on the job", WOW-it literally wiped me out! I got to thinking, "man, am I really in that bad of condition?" Then I realized, it's been 7 years since I last did that type of hard/physical work! I am 7 years older! Boy am I glad that I had been going to the gym, I don't know if I could have taken the job if I hadn't been working out prior to this. Apparently it is the "jump start/jolt" my body needed in order to move forward in better physical health. I finally got off the 1 pd. weight loss/week plateau and lost 3 pounds last week! I have no doubt it is because of the "extra" physical activity the cleaning job is providing. So, I will continue to do this job until we move from here summer '12-it will go a long way to helping me obtain better health. This a.m., I actually "cleaned out" my clothes closet/drawers. I threw away an entire large bag full of clothes that I do not intend to EVER go back into! Now, I must go out and buy just a couple of new pair of pants to help me make it until I reach the next size down-then those will be thrown out-this is a process I intend to continue until I reach full optimum health for me and start to maintain. Who knows, maybe I will actually "enjoy" shopping for a new wardrobe when I get to maintenance mode? I doubt it, never been much of a shopper of any type, but it will feel good to just have all of the old "unhealthy" me stuff removed from my closets/drawers.
So, as you see, I've been quite busy focusing on my "word of the year" over the last couple of weeks:) My apologies to all of those that are following this blog looking for daily inspiration. I will type of couple of things that have caught my attention in my daily readings over the last couple of weeks and hope that you find them to be helpful.
Restore Serenity-Serene women do not become sidetracked. Today, concentrate slowly on completing one task at a time, each hour of the day until the day is over. Inner peace can come from living fully in the present moment. This is where you will experience serenity.
Meditation-Retreat to a quiet place where you can sit/lie down in comfortable position to relax your body. Close your eyes and breath slow and steady. Take 20 minutes a day to concentrate, intentionally, on one thing of importance to you. This is what meditation is.
Personal Sabbath-One day/week when you can rest, renew, rejuvenate, recreate, rejoice, count blessings, say "thank you". This is not a day for strenuous household chores, catching up on work from week or getting head start for next week, no shopping, etc... If God, the Creator, can take a day of rest...surely we can!
First, the most important area of my life...spiritual health. I have been very blessed over the last couple of weeks to have "extra" opportunities to grow spiritually. I had the blessing of spending an entire day w/sisters in Christ in Conway (about 45 minutes drive) while engaging in a look into the book of Proverbs (wisdom literature) contained in God's word. After the study, my God peep-Laura-and I went to lunch together to talk about spiritual matters, things on our hearts/minds that we could pray about for one another, etc...It was while I was with these dear sisters that I received a text/phone call to inform me that a past coworker and dear friend from HIPPY, Jackie, had passed away very suddenly from a heart attack. Jackie was not "old", she was middle aged, still had a college aged daughter living at home w/her and her husband. Jackie had not been "sick". Jackie's "vapor" of life just disappeared at an earlier point than most. I was so humbled by God's provision for me at the moment I received this shocking news...I was in the presence of my sisters that I knew would share their compassionate spirit, prayers, and grief with me even though none of them even knew Jackie. That's the beauty of relationships with other Christians...they didn't have/need to know Jackie. They know me and they saw me with the eyes of Jesus at that moment-they were sad for the hurt that I was experiencing as well as all those that knew/loved Jackie. Such a blessing indeed and certainly one that I took time to thank God for that day. I also had the spiritual blessing of beginning a bible study for young Christians here in my home. An opportunity to "mentor" a young Christian woman in the congregation here came to my attention and we have been studying basic bible principles together. My 2 daughters are here during this study as well. The purpose of the study is to help these young women understand the importance of the commitment they've made to Christ. To help them search the scriptures for themselves so that they will have the information they need to make wise spiritual decisions for themselves in the future. The study has been very encouraging for me. Encouraging to see the "interest" in spiritual matters from youth, particularly with regard to seeing/knowing for themselves what the bible has to say about various matters-not just "listening" to me speak or give my opinion, but indeed letting the Word convict their hearts and move them to action. I pray each day for wisdom as I continue with this study, that I will merely be an instrument/vessel that God uses to help these young women as they are entering adulthood. I take seriously my responsibility to "teach the younger women" as the scriptures teach me to do. Last night, I had the blessing of attending a special meeting series at a congregation in Conway. The lesson was on "slander" and I have to say that it was a very convicting lesson. It was during that sermon that I realized that to my recollection, until last night, I had never heard an entire sermon on this subject since I became a Christian 23 years ago. Yes, I have heard various passages quoted "about" slander, but never an entire lesson devoted to this subject. I began to ask myself, "WHY?" Why is such a devestating/condemning sin not spoken of from the pulpit? After evaluation I came to the conclusion that perhaps it is because it would hit way too many of us "where it hurts" so to speak! I know that I was convicted during the lesson. I have been guilty of slander-I am not proud of it, I am ashamed. One of the "weaknesses" that extroverted communicators, like myself, face and often struggle with is that which involves the tongue. However, being an extrovert does NOT give me an excuse to sin. I cannot just say, "well, that's just the way I am." To do so would be to cast blame on God for "making me this way". But I know that instead, God created me as an extrovert to use that gift in ways that will reflect/bring glory to Him and He expects me to manage this gift by using self-control and by praying/asking for His wisdom/guidance. I realize that I have the ability to either "build up or tear down" with my tongue. I am growing in my ability to use my tongue to build others up in the ways of God/encourage them to want to know/love God w/all their heart, mind and soul. However, I have been guilty of slander. Knowing this and realizing this, what will I do with this new information? I am humbled by the fact that because I am God's child and I have confessed the sin to Him with a heart of repentance, God forgives me. I will truly try to bear "fruits worthy of repentance" by being more aware of what I say, how I say it, etc... Slander is such a far reaching subject of great biblical importance-the Word of God says that those that slander will NOT inherit eternal life. I do not want to be counted among those that slander. My focus/that which I live my life for, is the goal of Heaven. I want to meet God in the day of judgement and hear Him say, "Well done thou good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of the Lord."
I am thankful for this lesson on "slander", for it has indeed helped me to grow more spiritually healthy.
Mental health-wow, lots of opportunities to grow in that way as well. Over the last 2 weeks I have come to new mental realizations about upcoming changes in my life. First, my husband is leaving in just 4 short months and the time truly is passing very quickly. In order to make these moments together count, we will need to spend as much time together as possible. I'm thankful that he is finished with his college courses and will not be resuming them until he arrives at his new duty station this summer. This has helped me readjust some of my previous "goals" for the upcoming months that I had originally made at the beginning of the year. I am working on our schedules so that we may spend as much family time together as possible. Have as many meals together as possible, spend time in recreation together, etc...I spent much time over the last couple of weeks planning some "mental health" vacations. First, I planned the graduation trip for Rebecca/I to NYC the week following graduation. This trip is important for so many reasons. This will be the only strictly mother/daughter trip she/I have ever taken together. She is leaving home this fall and going to live in the college dorms. She is becoming a young woman and we are entering a new zone of "friendship" that we've never had the opportunity to explore before because I was given the responsibility to "train her up in the way she should go" as God's word dictates. I will always be her parent, be available to help/guide her as she needs that assistance-but I will no longer be "responsible" for her in the same way. I am looking forward to experiencing NYC w/Rebecca, but more than the sights, I am looking forward to watching our adult mother/daughter relationship evolve during this trip-that is good for my mental health. Second, I spent time planning my annual girls trip w/my bff Jen. This annual trip will have a new meaning for me this year-it will be a "prep" trip for the upcoming year. Always before, this trip has been a "refreshing" celebration to end my work year. This year, it will be preparing me for the year that lies ahead. A year without my spouse or my oldest child at home with me. A year when it will just be Michaela/I forging ahead in new ways-building our own relationship as mother/daughter, sharing meals just the 2 of us, making plans/dreams for the future, etc... I will need this trip to help me prepare, mentally, for the year that lies ahead. We are going to D.C.-my first ever trip to the capitol of our nation. We had originally planned to go to Victoria, Canada-but alas, we changed course due to the expense of the airline tickets. Yesterday this thought occured to me, "Perhaps I am being blessed by God to go to D.C. I can gain a renewed perspective for the year-the fact that my husband will be away from me defending our great nation just like the testimony I will see in D.C. of those that have gone before him." Last, I spent the last 2 weeks planning our final "family" trip together before John leaves for the year and Rebecca goes away to college. Rebecca will work this summer to earn money for college this fall-John will be busy outprocessing the base and preparing for his new assignment. This is a needed vacation for all of us. We are going to just have some "fun" together, in Dallas. We are going to the Medieval Times dinner theatre. We all love the Dixie Stampede...this is similar but has the "knight/jousting" theme. We're hoping it will bring back all of those pleasant memories we shared with so many brethren of such outings while we lived in England. Living in England has been come to be known as "the glory days" of our family life. Sometimes things just fall into place and everything is just "right", that's how it felt during our time in England as a family. So many blessings w/brethren, the girls were GREAT ages for traveling/truly enjoying themselves in foreign lands/cultures we visited, such a beautiful home/farm we got to live in/on for 3 years...indeed it was like a fairy tale-but it was real! We're hoping to recapture just a glimpse of that at the Medieval Times dinner theatre. We're going to have a blast at an amusement park! Our family also has a history of enjoying amusement parks together. We all enjoy just goofing off for the day and being a "kid" again. Only a few short days for this vacation-but it will be what carries us through until January when our family is reunited to hopefully share more time together.
Physical health-wow, there is so much I can say here. The biggest change that has occurred over the last 2 weeks is that I am fully recovered from the pneumonia I had the beginning of February. This has allowed me to finally be back at the gym on a regular basis. I have enjoyed it so much and have even added some extra gym time in my daily routine. Another biggie-I resumed working for my bff cleaning her industrial business office/showroom. This is HUGE for me physically. I performed these tasks for 4 years when we lived in Cabot before, but due to working for HIPPY full time, did not resume the position since my return. Last weekend was my second week, "on the job", WOW-it literally wiped me out! I got to thinking, "man, am I really in that bad of condition?" Then I realized, it's been 7 years since I last did that type of hard/physical work! I am 7 years older! Boy am I glad that I had been going to the gym, I don't know if I could have taken the job if I hadn't been working out prior to this. Apparently it is the "jump start/jolt" my body needed in order to move forward in better physical health. I finally got off the 1 pd. weight loss/week plateau and lost 3 pounds last week! I have no doubt it is because of the "extra" physical activity the cleaning job is providing. So, I will continue to do this job until we move from here summer '12-it will go a long way to helping me obtain better health. This a.m., I actually "cleaned out" my clothes closet/drawers. I threw away an entire large bag full of clothes that I do not intend to EVER go back into! Now, I must go out and buy just a couple of new pair of pants to help me make it until I reach the next size down-then those will be thrown out-this is a process I intend to continue until I reach full optimum health for me and start to maintain. Who knows, maybe I will actually "enjoy" shopping for a new wardrobe when I get to maintenance mode? I doubt it, never been much of a shopper of any type, but it will feel good to just have all of the old "unhealthy" me stuff removed from my closets/drawers.
So, as you see, I've been quite busy focusing on my "word of the year" over the last couple of weeks:) My apologies to all of those that are following this blog looking for daily inspiration. I will type of couple of things that have caught my attention in my daily readings over the last couple of weeks and hope that you find them to be helpful.
Restore Serenity-Serene women do not become sidetracked. Today, concentrate slowly on completing one task at a time, each hour of the day until the day is over. Inner peace can come from living fully in the present moment. This is where you will experience serenity.
Meditation-Retreat to a quiet place where you can sit/lie down in comfortable position to relax your body. Close your eyes and breath slow and steady. Take 20 minutes a day to concentrate, intentionally, on one thing of importance to you. This is what meditation is.
Personal Sabbath-One day/week when you can rest, renew, rejuvenate, recreate, rejoice, count blessings, say "thank you". This is not a day for strenuous household chores, catching up on work from week or getting head start for next week, no shopping, etc... If God, the Creator, can take a day of rest...surely we can!
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