Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Rainy Days and Mondays...

I don't know about rainy days, but Mondays seem to be my stumbling block. OK, one of my stumbling blocks! Mondays have always been a difficult day for me --- unless it's a holiday. (My working buddy and I love holidays!) I don't know why that particular day is so difficult for me. Things seem to magnify on Mondays - I am much more irritated (and can I say, irritating!) about little things. I believe my co-workers might even support a work from home day for me on Mondays!

God took me to the proverbial "wood shed" today when I read 1 Peter 2:1, "Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy and slander of every kind." Ouch! I asked God this morning, "How do I do this?" His answer to me, 1 Peter 2:2, "Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good." Two verses - that's all I needed for my morning devotion. There was so much there for me to chew on, that I didn't need to go any further.

I heard His plea to me to "GROW UP!" I was acting like a "b-a-b-y" and I needed a little spiritual nourishment. God's Word will do that to me - He will jerk a knot in my tail when I need it. And praise be to God that He does. I need a little head-straightening sometimes. I am blessed, people. Why do I let my attitude get so out of control? I imagine that we all do. There are days when it would be better to just stay in the bed, but that's not an option.

God is always there for us. If we will crave the pure spiritual milk of His Word and His presence, we will taste and see that the Lord is good. I realized this morning what I should have done yesterday. I should have gotten on my knees in prayer and then pulled out my Bible for a drink of that spiritual milk. I pray that next time I'm feeling a little blue for no particular reason, I'll do just that.

"Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man (or woman) who takes refuge in Him." (Psalm 34:8)

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Letting Go

Do you have trouble letting go of things? I do. Seems there are times I obsess over things that are not that big in the grand scheme of things. But when they're happening, they seem to be huge. My current (OK, let's be honest, on-going) struggle is letting go of the homework responsibility. Now to give myself some credit, I don't generally get involved until there's a project due. D has 2 projects due this week, and I have once again turned into the "Homework Nazi."

As I was sitting and praying about it this morning, I began to realize that I'm making a mountain out of a mole-hill. And I'm trying to be king (or queen) of this mountain. It's not mine...it's Drew's. He will never learn the consequences of procrastination if I'm staying on him. At the same time, letting go of the responsibility of homework does not mean that I let go of the parenting responsibilities. What I'm trying to say, I think, is that I'm in charge of certain consequences when/if things fall through. But I need to let the original responsibility fall on D.

In the grand scheme of things, this season of homework and grades is short. Let's be honest, how many of us remember all that we learned in school? Only if it's part of our job, right? The schools want a higher level because it makes them look good. I'm not saying they don't care about our kids, but, as in most things in life, it comes down to how it impacts them. D has to be who and what he is - which is a wonderful, well-rounded, young man. To be honest, for me, that's much more important than if he makes an A or a C. He'll go to college - maybe not Harvard, but that's not who he is, anyway. It's much more important to let him learn the hard way than for me to make sure he doesn't fail. That's one of the hardest parts of parenting - letting your children make mistakes. We naturally want the best for them, but sometimes it's better to let them learn the hard way than to always give them the best.

So...my job is to provide the guidelines for D. Then let go and let him work within those rules. If it fails, he will work his way back up. Isn't that what life is all about...learning from our mistakes. It won't be easy for me, but it will be best for D.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Don't Give Up...

Easy to do...give up. Lately I’ve had visions of just giving up—work, responsibilities, church. Death, illness, depression will do that to you, at least for just a little while. It will take the wind right out of your sails. Since my grandmother died about a week ago, I’ve wanted to do nothing but sit in front of the TV and watch re-runs of House and Chuck waiting for the new shows to start!

But we can’t just give up. God calls us to abundant living, to go, to make disciples, to teach, to love. To do...not to sit! I know, I know, we need a little relaxing, too. But not 24/7!

The writer of Hebrews encourages us, “Let us not give up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Heb. 10:25)

Today I encourage you not to give up...and in encouraging you, I'm encouraging myself. So, don’t give up meeting, don’t give up being creative, don’t give up on your dreams, don’t give up on your work, your home or your loved-ones. Because the Day is approaching. Encourage one another, pray for one another, love one another, forgive one another. Never give up!

Thursday, September 18, 2008

What in the world?

Did you ever have one of those "What in the World?" kind of days? It can be a good WITW or not so good. Lately a not so good one has settled on me. It's like a grey cloud surrounds you...there's really no reason to be grey, you just are. As I was driving this morning, I asked God, "What in the world is the matter with me? Why do I feel blue for no apparent reason?" Of course, no answer came to me.

I think women are more prone to this than men - mainly because of hormones. You may never know why all of a sudden things just don't feel right. All you can do is work through it, and hope that you don't hurt some one's feelings in the process! Of course, chocolate usually helps...at least for a little while, until you remember how many calories are involved in that treatment! Another remedy is staying home and in bed with a good book or a lot of chick flicks. However, I'm not sure that would qualify as a sick day!

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Inquire...Inquire...Require

I randomly opened my Bible the other day to Zephaniah 2:3, "Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, you who do what he commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the Lord's anger." NIV

Then I read it in the Amplified Bible, "Seek the Lord [inquire for Him, inquire of Him and require Him as the foremost necessity of your life]..." If I would just start each day that way - Ask for God's presence in my life, Ask for God's guidance throughout my life, and make HIM the most important thing every day of my life - wouldn't my day go much better? So many times the pressures of life get in the way, bring me down, make me feel out of control. Which is so funny, because I never had the control in the first place!

I wrote this verse down on an index card - the NIV version and the Amplified version on the other. My goal this week is to remember to "inquire for...inquire of...and require" God as most important in my life. Who knows what wonders we might see if we truly did this!

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Faith is Now Sight

I guess Nanny is no longer humming, my guess is that she's singing! I prayed for Jesus to take her hand this morning, because the way she was living was not life, it was existing. I asked that if it was His will and His time, to just take her hand and bring her home to Him. About an hour and a half later, Mom called.

Her faith is now sight. 2 Corinthians 5 talks about our heavenly dwelling ... how we long to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling. Well, Chessie Maybelle Woodward Lee now has a new home with new clothes. Her failing earthly sight has now become new heavenly sight, and I would just love to hear her describe it! Her deafness is now reborn with sounds that I can hardly imagine! The hymns she was humming yesterday, I bet she's belting out today!

We live by faith and not by sight. (2 Cor. 5:7) But now she is home with the Lord, and she knows...she knows...SHE KNOWS!

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Waiting...

I know there's no marriage in Heaven. But I can't help but think this is what my grandfather is doing.

Humming Her Hymns

My grandmother is in the final stages of death. It's not a pretty sight when someone lingers from the effects of the body just wearing out. See, she's 93 and has been having some mini-strokes for several years. It had affected her memory - minuscule at first, but eventually to the point that the last time Drew and I visited, she didn't know who we were.

When Mom called on Monday evening to say that Nanny had deteriorated over the weekend, I knew the end was approaching. K and I went yesterday to more or less say goodbye...not really knowing how long she will hang on in this state. She has defied doctors predictions many times. See, she's a strong-willed woman.

Memories...I remember that strong woman as someone who expected you to do the right thing. Who expected you to act like a lady. Who wore a hat to church. Who taught the ladies in Sunday School. Who never gave you an option on Sunday mornings - you went to church. Who also enjoyed taking me to new places in South Carolina. Who would cook me French fries for breakfast. Who could smell up a home with a wonderful Sunday roast. Who came up during a time when there was little money and hard work. We would hang laundry out on the clothes line together. Who wasn't afraid of snakes, hornets or bees. Who tried to teach me not to show my fear. Who tried to put a little "country" into this "city" girl.

She will be missed. But this life she's living now is no life at all. Mom said this morning that she's humming her hymns. Now I call that a strong woman. When memory is gone, when this life is ebbing away, when all is said and done - we have our hymns. The hymns that connect us to our Jesus. Our HOPE, our COMFORT, our true LIFE. May God give me the grace to have at least a thimble-full of this woman's genes inside of me. For when all is said and done, I want to cling to Jesus.

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Underdog!

I'm dating myself, but I used to love the cartoon Underdog...before I really understood what an underdog is. I don't know about you, but unless I have a favorite team, I usually pull for the underdog in sporting competitions. Well, as I'm checking on football scores, I see that East Carolina is beating West Virginia today by 21 points after beating Virginia Tech last week. Who would have thought that? I was excited when Appalachian State beat Michigan last year.

Why do I feel this way? I really don't know why. Maybe it's because I have experienced being the underdog many times. When Drew first started playing baseball, believe you me, they were the underdogs. We had fun playing, but we hardly ever won.

I think we're all underdogs...ever since Adam and Eve made their choices in the garden. Looks to me like God pulls for the underdog, too. He even loves the underdog - us. He sent His Son to save us from ourselves. What wondrous love is this, oh my soul!

Friday, September 5, 2008

My Dream!

Why is it that the days I do very little cleaning, someone stops by unexpectedly? Of course, if you know me, I usually do very little cleaning! I've been struggling with sinus drainage this week and woke up this morning with a sinus headache. (It probably won't go away until a good night's sleep.) All this to say, I only hit the high spots today. On top of everything, we're redoing the garage so all that stuff has to go somewhere while the work is being done. Some's on the front porch, some's on the screened-in porch. Also located on the back porch are hunting clothes so they won't get the cooking smells on them. Then someone stops by! YIKES. Too late now! You have to like me for me...it certainly won't be for my clean house!

Of course my fantasy is that when the garage is done, and the tools are back in there place, I'll be able to get a room back to organize some things. I hope to clean out and throw out all kinds of things, organize books and pictures, and cut back on clutter. I can always dream! But maybe this one will come true!

Thursday, September 4, 2008

This Just In!

This week I received my Siesta Fiesta Cookbook in the mail. HOW WONDERFUL! Holly did a GREAT job compiling all kinds of recipes, pictures, and quotes into one book. I haven't had a chance to look through the whole book, yet. However, I found several recipes I want to try out, and told my family "get ready" I'm about to cook something new! That can be good and bad.

Isn't it fun to try out a new recipe. There's something about trying something new - excitement, anticipation. As I get older, I think I miss that in life. For some reason, I get overly cautious (I'm not very adventurous anyway). I get stuck in the same old, same old, and life becomes boring. If I change something - even something small - life becomes a little more colorful.

This past week I've been able to slip outside in the mornings and sit under my beautiful Dogwood Tree. I noticed a leaf that was beginning to get a redish tint to it. Fall is coming! I love to watch the changes in "my" tree...from summer, to fall, to winter, to spring. Maybe we all need that at times - a small change. Get up earlier, stay up later, rearrange a piece of furniture, park somewhere different, try a new recipe. Who knows, it may be a keeper!