Let the sun rise on a new day

One day I woke up and all I could think of was "Let the sun rise on a new day".  Simple, I know.   So, I posted it as a facebook status, not thinking much more about it, until I couldn't stop hearing that phrase in my head.  So I'm going with it. It is a new day in my life, let the sun rise, and let me be all that God wants me to be in this new day.  I am believing for new things in my life, new and improved methods of doing life, new outlooks, new attitudes, new energy.  This  comes with a letting go and a letting God be 100% in control of all the new he wants to bring for me.  It was a hot summer, many sunrises and sunsets, but now it's a new day, let the sun rise. I'm looking forward to living it to the fullest!

Life is a Marathon

I was reflecting today on the concept of life as a marathon.  It's not a sprint.  It's not a 5K. It's 26.2 miles of pacing oneself so that he/she can finish with at least a heartbeat and some tears of joy and relief to cry with his/her spouse.  That being said, I am constantly working on my pace in life.  It seems to be an important thing.  I can't burn out. I don't want to risk the casualities that come along with that. Therefore I must be careful in all things.  I know myself, my limits, my strengths, my weak areas, my body clock, my energy level and sometimes the lack thereof.  Summers for me tend toward times of refueling my system, like a Gatorade, or maybe for you marathon runners a Carb Boom energy gel.  I need this next few months to reflect, regain strength, and fill myself up. Since for eighteen years summers marked the end of another homeschool year, I used summers to build myself up and read things about why I did it--homeschooling--that is.  That way when the middle of August rolled around, vacation was over, I was ready to go.  I could do it with a full tank of gas, since I had spent a summer getting that tank full.  This brings me to what I have been thinking about blogging.  I am filling myself up and can't seem to figure out what I want to say on a blog right now. I believe it may be because I am to take some time off.  Refuel, Reflect, Fill up my tank, so that when I'm rounding the stretch and have to push a little more to get down the road further, I'll have what it takes to do so.  So that's what I'm up to this summer.  Have a good one. It may be awhile. . .

The seasons of life

Ecclesiastes is hard for me to read since I never know whether or not to read the wisdom as Solomon's wisdom from God or if it is one of those things he changes and says that there is no meaning to this.  It's kind of like reading Job and taking the counsel from the friends of Job and saying it is good and then realizing it was not good and that his friends were misled.  All that to say, even though I have to be a bit careful to read it in context, I have always liked what Solomon said in Eccl. about the times and the seasons.  Since I began this walk with God, I have embraced the whole thing about all things are perfect in God's time and that there are seasons in life.  It has helped me time and time again to be content with where I'm at in life, realizing that not everything in my life on this earth happens at one time, but over the span of my life.  It has helped me to embrace the present and live it with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength for the Lord and His glory.  I thank the Lord that when I was a young mother I could be just that, a young mother with  young children.  Now I am in a new season, I am older and have older children, and I am content with that as well .  Since I have always valued the wisdom of God in Ecclesiastes about the times and seasons, I have known that this new season was coming and  I have been prepared for the change of seasons in my life.  There is peace in knowing a God who is Lord of the various seasons of our lives. Thanking Him today that He has been  with me through the changing of the seasons! He knows what He is doing and has a plan that continues to unfold.

Ecc. 3:1  There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven.
Eccl.3:11  He has made everything appropriate in its time.
Eccl. 8: 5-6 He who keeps a royal command experiences no trouble, for a wise heart knows the proper time and procedure. For there is a proper time and procedure for every delight, though a man's trouble is heavy upon him. (This verse is good to me, because it acknowledges that it is not easy and that the troubles can still be heavy on us, but even with this, there is a proper procedure and time. It always seems to come back to trusting Him to bring it about).

Even when you think all is lost, it's not.

Boy, do I have a parallel to share. I had the most upsetting experience in a long time the other night. No, it was not life or death, even though when my children heard me crying (and such) downstairs, they both were scared to come down to see who had died. They were convinced that for mom to be that upset someone had died.  That sets the stage for my story.  I had worked and worked on a practicum notebook for my class, which was a 17 page document that I had finally finshed with everything in it ready to submit online and when I did, it encripted itself and shut down and acted like it was lost.  I fell apart. (million pieces, not pretty) You get the picture.  Well, long story short, I called my husband (from a meeting, which he had to leave and tell those with him that he had an emergency, again you get the picture of how upset I was). Well, after two hours of help from son James and husband Mike, my file was recovered. Not perfect, but I could retrieve it and piece it back together. Here is the parallel, when we think all is lost, it's not and when we think there is no hope, there is.  My life has actually come back together again after that draining night last week. When I knew all was lost, it wasn't. I'll remember that night for the rest of my life. I know there are lessons that  I am still going to get from this as I ponder the "what was that all about " side of my experience. If you're wondering do I wish I hadn't gotten that upset, Yes, I wish I hadn't, but I did and life goes on.

Once again, when I am weak, He is strong and therefore so am I.

2 Cor. 12:1-10
Well, after a lousy night of sleep, I awake this morning feeling pretty weak.  But I am so used to that, since sleeping is not my specialty (wish it were).  Anyway, if I were to have a thorn in the flesh sleeping poorly  would be mine for sure, a messenger of Satan (that's what Paul called his in 2Cor 12:7), and yes, I have prayed like Paul at least three hundred times(not just three that's for sure) and pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.  But just as He told Paul, I feel like the Lord tells me.  "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness(vs. 9)." . . ."For when I am weak, then I am strong (vs. 10)". So once again I reread that portion of scripture this morning. It has ministered to me time and time again.

Addisyn Faith Feyer

What I focus on. . .

I read a pretty neat little article last night in Charisma about Breaking the Worry Habit by Dondi Scumasi.  It got me thinking that I know better than to worry. I know that what I meditate on and roll over and over in my head is just going to get worse in there.  That's how mole hills are turned into mountains. (Not that that is how that making a mountain out of a mole hill expression is usually used, but it applies.) Anyway,  Here's what she said in the article,  "What we focus on we feed, and what we feed grows.  When we feed our problems with worry, they become giants, and in comparison we feel small and vulnerable."  I needed to be reminded to magnify the Lord and meditate on Him.  So that my image of Him grows and not all the negative thoughts, like worry. So I plan to catch my thoughts more often and when I 'm not thinking a good one, tear it down, and say no to it and focus on the Great God that I serve. What a Mighty God He is. Able and Strong.  He holds my life in His hand and carries the loads I give Him.