So many things to be thankful for, and yet it takes very little for bitterness to creep into the cracks. So I am trying today to just be at rest. True rest, not just curl up in a ball and tell the world to go away, which is my gut instinct today. To be rested in the moment. To remember Paul's exhortation to the Thessalonians: "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." (I Thessalonians 5:16-18). 


my list is only at #125: thankful for love and support of family and friends.
If I keep going:
#126: Beautiful sunshine today. Enjoying the warmth before the leaves fall and the frost finishes off what the drought hasn't burned.
#127: For seasons that teach us to be grateful.
#128: For authors who heed God's urgings and write words that uplift others. (Like dear Ann!)
#129:  For electricity so that I can read those words daily in my emails.    
#130: For my youngest's ability to still swallow and drink even though her tonsils are swollen and mono is draining! (We WILL overcome this!)
#131: For recent affirmation that our oldest's immune system is working--and that she HAS immunity against the Epstein-Barr Virus that causes mono.




Hebrews 12:1

Pure Emotion

I'm emotional. I've been called overly emotional, difficult, over-reactive, cry baby, and that's just for starters. So when I saw Susan Lawrence's "Pure Emotions" bible study over at Internet Cafe, I was hooked. Immediately. Doing an online study will let me do something that's been on my heart for a long time. I have difficulty attending group studies because of my working hours--for some reason, people are not interested in getting together between the hours of 11 pm and 5 a.m.! I'm thankful that God laid this on Susan's heart to write, and am including the trackback in case anyone happens by my blog and wants to join as well:

http://internetcafedevotions.com/2011/09/our-study-begins-today/trackback/

Praying that God joins our hearts in a community of prayer.

Blessed and Digging

Just sharing a link to Alisa's post today. She talks about the parable in Matthew where the man has to sell all that he has to buy property that has buried treasure and about how God provides us with treasures, but sometimes we have to sacrifice a lot and cultivate the land to find it. Very timely and thought-provoking in a time of people seeking more, but often in the wrong places or the wrong manner. Hope you will browse on over to her post at Faith Imagined--you will be blessed.

http://faithimagined.com/2011/08/buying-land

(If this link hiccups or doesn't work right, I also have a link to her blog over here on the right.)

Have a blessed week, and happy treasure hunting!

"For where your heart is, there will be your treasure also." Matthew 6:21

Changes and Inspiration

Well, I am taking another plunge. My mentor in the Apprentice course, Deborah Christensen, recommended me to the CWG for the Journeyman course. After much debating and prayer, I signed up today (and requested Debbie as my mentor again.) There have been a lot of changes in my job this past year, and my hours are changing again, but I think it may be a good thing after all. (This is after much "wailing and gnashing of teeth," of course, because I really dislike change.)
So, I am making a renewed commitment to my writing and to keeping up on my blog. First step: I managed to update the link to Faith Imagined from my blog. (That is exciting to me since I'm not really very adept at computer stuff. But I'm learning!) Now to figure out how to get the other links I've added to actually show up! I think it's rather like the perpetual construction on our local roadways--there may be road blocks, narrowed lanes of travel, and some delays, but eventually I will get this upgraded.

So thankful for the opportunities God has given me and for the faithful servants whose words inspire me daily. Like Ann over at Holy Experience. Her words truly struck a chord inside of me. (Yes, metaphor intended.)



Now, if my copy and paste effort just worked so you can visit her blog. (She was also the guest post at (in)courage if my link did not work.)

Frustrations

Ok. I'm posting publicly on my own blog because I can't reply to a poster's comment. This.drives.me.crazy. Have read other bloggers' complaints but haven't had the issue myself until now. I've signed in countless times, typed my reply, typed the "word verification" word at least 3 times if not 4, was asked to sign in again. STILL cannot post on my own blog in reply to another poster's comment. What in the world...

So, Alisa, thank you for your kind words. Once you've lived in Kansas, I suppose you either love it or hate it. I've never lived anywhere else, although the thought has occurred that there's life outside the state borders. I have visited many places, and find them enjoyable, but I'm always glad to return home. Guess I must like the wide open spaces and the blowing dust (which we've had quite a bit of this year.)

My parents both grew up in rural areas, and when they built the house I grew up in, Daddy wanted to be in the country. So, he still had a little acreage to plow and sow wheat seed in. Later, when wheat was rather expensive to plant unless you had a really large field to make any return from, he switched to brome grass and sold the hay. But it still didn't compare to looking out the kitchen window in the summer and seeing the waves of gold shining in the sun.

Practicing Love

Thunderstorms rattle the nighttime sky, an almost foreign sound in these last few weeks of blasting heat and drought. I raise my hands to the sparkling drops falling from the eaves, say thank you to the Giver of all things good, and jump at the almost immediate flash of lightning crossing the sky--it was as if He was saying "You're welcome." I retreat into the safety of our home, listening to the comforting sounds of friends giggling at an impromptu sleep-over. The wind and heavy rains had kept our friend's mother at home, rather than brave the elements in a small vehicle not meant for navigating suddenly flooded streets. Early morning practice for a new year of our local high school marching band means no more all-nighters for these two giggling teenagers, who soon get their giggles out and settle down for a good rest.

Another phone call. This time it is my husband's supervisor. The lightning has struck havoc with certain areas at our place of employment, and my talented husband is needed to assure continued safety and functioning of medical equipment. "Don't wait up, it's going to be a long night," he says as he redresses in his work uniform, grabs keys and heads out the door. Love exemplified in duty.

Unable to settle down myself, I search for words of comfort. I read posts from other bloggers who are much more consistent than I am. Their posts show true dedication, true love for God calling to them and coaxing words onto the page for other believers to draw strength from. And this word-filled wednesday smoothly rolls into a Thankful Thursday. Thankful for memories of wheat fields in the midwestern US and combines and truck beds filled with golden seeds, young sons behind the wheel learning their father's trade. Those memories now distant, the family farm no belonging to someone else as sons left for cities and daughters married nonfarmers. But thankful to see that somewhere this year, SOMEONE had a wonderful harvest that was not parched and burned or drenched with too much rain. I reflect on other different memories that our own immediate family has made: two goofy girls pulling their hair across their faces to make mustaches in the back seat, sharing sisterly love in what at the time was a rare moment of cooperation without coercion.

I love the blessings in my life. God is good, ALL the time.

This weekend has been a joy. I feel rejuvenated to face the week at work because I did nothing this weekend. Oh, there was laundry, the usual weekend stuff, but we didn't set alarm clocks or have to be anywhere at any given time. That in itself was refreshing. Our Sabbath was truly a day of rest; after church and lunch with Mom, we came home and while my family napped, I spent some much needed devotional time by myself. Well, not entirely--God was with me. Remember that still small voice that Elijah talks about? I spent today listening for that voice. I spent time pondering, memorizing, and reviewing verses I've memorized in the past. Psalm 27:14 keeps popping up: "Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord." Jeremiah 17:7 "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD And whose trust is the LORD." Romans 8:28 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose." Isaiah 43:19 "See, I am doing a new thing!"

And I am. I'm working on my own list of 1,000 gifts that I am thankful for, embarking on a 7-day Doubt Diet (courtesy of blog-hopping from a Holy Experience to Proverbs31 Ministries), and dedicating myself to truly making a change. To become more positive, to put off doubts and fears, and to think before speaking when the ride gets a bit bumpy. I have decisions to make about what to do with my writing next since I complete the Apprentice Course, and need to carefully consider my next step.