How's your control board?

Several weeks ago we began having some problems with our refrigerator. Instead of just keeping things cold at the appropriate temperature, the food was actually frozen. Every day we turned down the temperature until the fridge was on the lowest possible setting. Things were still freezing!! Upon further examination by a repairman, it was determined that the control board was malfunctioning and would have to be replaced. A new control board has been ordered from the factory and will, hopefully, be arriving soon.

As I was making my lunch today I started thinking about this situation again. That large appliance in my kitchen was created to fulfill a specific purpose. For the past 5 years it has been doing exactly what it was created to do. But then something happened and the control board started sending the wrong message to the rest of the machine. The machine began making a response to that incorrect message and my food began to freeze.

I, too, was created to fulfill a specific plan and purpose. Yet, how many times does my head send out a wrong message to the rest of me? A message that is contrary to the truth of God's Word for my life? If I am not diligent to take captive these incorrect thoughts, then I can be persuaded to behave in a way that is out of line with my purpose.

As believers we are admonished to constantly renew our minds to the Word of God. Sometimes this is a moment-by-moment exercise for me. If I allow myself to consider my circumstances for too long, I can easily experience an operating glitch! But the truth of the Word is able to bring correction and soon I am functioning the way my Creator intended. Thankfully, my warranty will never expire and I have a 24-hour on-call Repairman!

"For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." Romans 12:2

November...already?

And when October goes
The snow begins to fly
Above the smokey roofs
I watch the planes go by
The children running home
Beneath a twilight sky
Oh, for the fun of them
When I was one of them...


This Barry Manilow song has been echoing through my brain for the past few days. I'm trying to come to terms with the fact that it is already November, I suppose.


I should have prefaced this all by stating that autumn is my favorite season of the year. For as long as I can remember I have always looked forward to fall. School starting, football games, leaves changing color, warmish days with cool, crisp evenings, fresh apples, all things having to do with pumpkins...I just love this time of year!


A good friend of mine once chided me saying, "Your favorite season is when everything starts to die?" Until that moment, I had never thought of it in those terms. That just seemed sooooo depressing. But autumn is definitely a season of dramatic change. Days get shorter, temperatures cool down, and the leaves fall from the trees.


I am in a season of life that is challenging me to my very core. Like the trees, I find myself being called upon to release things that have been attached to me for quite some time. Old attitudes, habits, material desires. At times I feel quite bare, just like the trees in my yard. What will happen next? What will the next season in my life bring? I don't have any answers.

As October goes, November arrives. Traditionally a time to express thanks for all of our blessings. An attitude of gratitude. A thankful heart overflowing with the abundance of God's grace and mercy. While I'm waiting for the next season, I think I will take some time to enjoy where I am and count my blessings.

We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures. ~Thornton Wilder

Rainy Days & Mondays

When I got up this morning and saw that it had been raining, these lyrics popped into my head-


"Hangin' around,
Nothing to do but frown,
Rainy days and Mondays always get me down."


This old song was originally recorded by The Carpenters, one of my favorite groups when I was growing up. As a moody pre-teen and teen, this song often expressed how I was feeling every Monday as I got ready for school. It's funny how my brain can pair a song with so many vivid memories of teenage angst, but I can't really remember much of what happened yesterday!


As my morning progressed, I found myself thinking about the lyrics and chuckling to myself. Mondays can be a little hectic sometimes, but should I really be discriminating against this particular day of the week? And, to be quite honest, I actually really like rainy days. Maybe this song no longer holds the sentiment for me that it did so many years ago.


You see, now I understand that happiness is a choice. I can choose to enjoy each moment regardless of the circumstances in my life. Granted, I don't always make that choice, but learning is a process and I'm trying- okay?! My flesh naturally wants to gravitate towards negativity, so I have to coach myself through the process of looking at the bright side. An attitude of gratitude will turn my frown upside down!


Rainy days and Mondays... they just provide me with more chances to enjoy my life.


If you want to be happy, be. - Leo Tolstoy

Waiting...

Lately it seems that I have spent most of my time waiting. Waiting at stoplights. Waiting in lines. Waiting for something to start. Waiting for something to end. Waiting for cold syptoms to subside and for my body to completely heal. Waiting for answers to prayer. Waiting for a miracle regarding a circumstance in my life. Waiting to hear what God has for me.

It's hard to be patient while waiting. I find myself trying to figure out ways to speed up the process, only to realize that all of my striving is in vain and I'm back where I started. Many of the situations in this season of my life are now out of my control. There isn't anything more I can do. I've exhausted all of my own resources and now I must wait. (sigh)

I stumbled across these song lyrics a couple of weeks ago. This is my confession for today.

While I'm Waiting John Waller

I'm waiting

I'm waiting on You, Lord

And I am hopeful

I'm waiting on You, Lord

Though it is painful

But patiently, I will wait.

I will move ahead, bold and confident

Taking every step in obedience

While I'm waiting

I will serve You

While I'm waiting

I will worship

While I'm waiting
I will not faint

I'll be running the race

Even while I wait.

I'm waiting

I'm waiting on You, Lord

And I am peaceful

I'm waiting on You, Lord

Though it's not easy

But faithfully, I will wait

Yes, I will wait.

I will serve You while I'm waiting

I will worship while I'm waiting

I will serve You while I'm waiting

I will worship while I'm waiting

I will serve You while I'm waiting

I will worship while I'm waiting on You, Lord.

09.09.09

In honor and celebration of today's date and the number nine, the following is my list of "Top 9 Simple Pleasures I Enjoy."

9. Biting into a fresh, crisp, ripe slice of apple...preferably one dipped in caramel.

8. Falling into the cool, crisp sheets of a freshly-made bed.

7. Sitting on my patio in the cool of the evening.

6. Harvesting veggies from my very own backyard garden.

5. Reading a really great book- you know, the kind of story that you never want to end!

4. Drinking the perfect cup of coffee.

3. Snuggling with my dog Baxter while watching a favorite show.

2. Talking and laughing with my girls.

1. Holding hands with my sweetie!


*"We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures."- Thornton Wilder

My Mother's Hands

Almost from the time a baby is born, family members will often try to determine which characteristics of the child should be attributed to what side of the family. "She has her mother's eyes." "He has his father's smile." "She's stubborn, just like Great Aunt Lulu." Over the years I have been told that I am a pretty even mix of my parents. Sometimes this is a compliment, other times it is a great source of frustration! There have been many mornings I have looked in the mirror and saw my mother's face looking back at me. Creepy!

Lately I have been thinking about one area of striking resemblance...I have my mother's hands. My fingers are a tad bit longer than hers were, otherwise they are very similar. Fingernails, knuckles, even the lines in my palms are almost the same. My mother passed away 18 years ago, but I can still vividly recall her hands.

When I was very young, my mother would entertain me during a long church service by drawing pictures for me on the back of the church bulletin. She would often start by drawing a house, complete with landscaping and puffs of smoke rising from the chimney. She would trace around my hand and then let me trace around hers. Then we would decorate our "hands" with elaborate jewelry and small pictures on the fingernails. I thought that my mom was the most wonderful artist in the whole world! She probably didn't give much thought to what she was doing. She was just happy I was being quiet during church.

I am now the age that my mother was when I was small. So when I look at my hands and see how they are ageing (sigh), I can see her hands in my mind's eye. I can picture how she filed her nails and put on lotion. I can also distinctly remember her hands anxiously clenched in her lap while riding with me when I was learning to drive!

Looking back now, I can really appreciate all that she did with her hands. Hands that cared for numerous children- changing diapers, wiping noses, caring for "owies," doing finger plays. Hands that made delicious meals and washed countless dishes. Hands that gestured wildly while she talked. Hands that wrote many letters to family and friends. Hands that cared for the sick and brought comfort to those in need. She wasn't perfect, but she did care a lot about people. I learned a lot about servanthood just by watching her serve her family, neighbors, and community. What a tremendous legacy!

Although I vowed as an angry adolescent that I would never be like my mother, I am quite pleased now to consider that I might share some of her attributes. In those moments when I miss her, I often look down at my own hands and think about all that her hands did for me. And then I wonder...are my hands helping others?

"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for Me.'" Matthew 25: 35-40

The Simple Life

I didn't intend to have a complicated life. Honest. In fact, I thought that my life would be easier since I had been "downsized" from my job. Yet I found myself with an overcrowded calendar, a home bursting at the seams with "stuff," and an incredibly cranky family. Not to mention an incredibly cranky me! That old saying, "If mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!" is so true. How did it all get so crazy?

Piano lessons, sports team practices and games, homework, church activities, music performances, parent-teacher organization meetings, my husband's overloaded schedule...on and on and on. Added to the chaos was the growing mountain of clutter in my home. Have you every noticed that when you are never at home, you never have time to clean? More stuff= more to clean, organize, put away, and maintain. At the end of the day I was exhausted, but didn't really feel productive. As my stress and anxiety levels began to rise, so did my blood pressure. My heart began to beat out the mantra, "slow down, slow down, slow down." But how?

I knew that I needed to simplify my life in order to preserve my sanity and my health. Moving to a cabin in the woods, cut off from civilization was tempting, but not practical. So I did what I always do when I need wisdom. I spent some time alone with God, praying and reading His Word. Quiet time has always been rejuvenating for me. Even soft music in the background is often too much noise when I am feeling overwhelmed. This is a mystery to my family who seem to enjoy having every electronic noise-producing device in the house operating all at the same time. But I digress... It was during this time of solitude that God directed me to Psalm 46:10 "Be still, and know that I am God." After meditating on this scripture for a few days, I committed to myself, and to my Father God that I would simplify my life and "be still." Stop worrying. Stop striving to please others. Refuse to equate busyness with productivity. Engage in mindful living, and give priority to those things that feed my soul. Instead of surviving, I would seek to enjoy each day that I am given.

I researched practical ways to improve time management. I read a book full of helpful hints on how to purge the clutter from my home. With the help of my sweet husband, we cleaned out the attic, the garage, every cupboard and every closet in the house. I reviewed the list of last year's activities with my kids and helped them make some tough choices about what they would pursue during this school year.

Is my life more simple now? In many ways, yes...but it's an ongoing process. Our culture invites us to live chaotic, complicated lives. I am easily distracted and need constant redirection to focus on my objectives. This blog developed out of my need to remind myself to slow down and really enjoy life. But I am slowly beginning to reap the benefits of simplifying. My blood pressure has gone down, I have less "stuff" to care for, and I am finding it easier to stay in the moment and appreciate life as it happens.

"It is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all." Laura Ingalls Wilder