A Life Full of Days

Last night was Emily's graduation from high school.  It was a wonderful evening and though there had been an 80% chance of thunderstorms, the weather actually held off long enough to have the ceremony outdoors where it had been originally planned.  There were a few rumbles of thunder, but the rain didn't start until about 15 minutes after the end of graduation.

Of course, there were the normal speeches about dreaming big and going far.  Emily's yearbook is full of sentiments about being successful and all the rest of platitudes that we always say at these type of events. 

But I've been reading in 2 Chronicles the past week and was struck by statements about two different men - Jehoram, the king of Judah, and a priest, Jehoaida.  Both were alive during the same time frame but their ends were very different and what is recorded about their lives are polar opposites.  One did evil in the sight of the Lord and the other, Johoaida, lived his life to do God's will.

2 Chronicles 21:20 ~ "Jehoram was 32 years old when he became king; he reigned for eight years in Jerusalem.  He died to no one's regret and was buried in the city of David but not in the tombs of the kings."

2 Chronicles 24:15 ~ "Jehoiada died when he was old and full of days; he was 130 years old at his death."

The contrast is sobering.  One died and not a soul mourned his passing. To me, that is such a sad statement. The other died with a full and satisfactory life.  It causes one to pause and think about how we are living our lives. 

My desire for my daughter, and all of my children, is to have a full life.  It doesn't have to be one of success or fame.  I want them to look back on their lives and say, "My life was full."  "My life was good."  "My life was spent in following where the Lord is leading." 

Those are things I wish for my children.  As Emily is moving forward into this next stage of her life, my prayer is that she would understand and embrace this truth. 

I want to live my life this way as well.  One day, I want someone to say that I died and I was full of days.

Enjoying the Summer

 

Summer has officially begun!  I love the longer days of these months.  I took a stroll around the yard after dinner last night and just enjoyed the warm breeze, sweet scents and beautiful sounds.  Our blackberry bushes are loaded with berries so it's going to be a good season for them.  I'm going to have to trim them way back at the end of the summer though because they have taken over another 5-6 feet of our yard. 

I've been weeding out, but hurt my other knee so I'm still trying to get them up but moving very slowly.  I may finish by the end of the summer. ;-) 

I want to appreciate these days because here in Central New York they go by quickly.  The winters are long, so I try to be outside as much as possible during the summer and fall. I tend to get involved in my work and forget to look up from the computer screen and enjoy things.

It'll be back to winter before I know it, so I'm trying to enjoy each moment.   

Wednesday Words of Encouragement

Every time I turn around there seems to be some new technology happening.  The message I hear is that I need to upgrade, purchase more or download this new app.  Just when I get one piece of technology mastered, they come along with something new that makes what I have obsolete.

The world is constantly changing, shifting and molding some new concept or ideology into today's culture.  It's enough to make your head spin.

So I'm very thankful for this truth today.

Hebrews 13:8 (HCSB) ~ Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Jesus is the one constant.  He will never let you down, let you go, shift or change.  He is the anchor that holds us secure when all around us is tossing and turning. 

Do you know that today?  If you are feeling lost and tossed and in upheaval, perhaps you've lost Christ as the center of your life.  Or maybe you've never believed that He existed, or just view Him as a nice ideology. 

Cast your anchor onto Him.  He will keep your ship from sinking under those waves.  Life changes, circumstances change, technology changes, and culture changes.  Yet, Jesus Christ remains the same throughout the ages.

Multitude Monday

It's a dreary, rainy day and I had dreams riddled with anxiety last night.  I woke up with a headache and to be honest, quite grouchy.

But I spent some time reading and in prayer and began to feel those anxieties seep away and my Manic Monday has turned into one a Multitude Monday, where God reminded me of the many good things in my life.  And even those things that are not so good, become that way when I remember that He is walking ahead of me and fighting these battles for me. 

Psalm 143:8 (HCSB) ~

Let me experience
Your faithful love
   in the morning,
for I trust in You.
Reveal to me the way
   I should go
because I long for You.

This week I'm thankful for blessings #3020 - 3030.

3020.  Laundry drying in the breeze

3021.  I made good progress on those weeds I mentioned until I did something to my good knee!  But it looks so much better.  Progress!

3022.  Dan got to go climb another high peak in the Adirondacks (there are 46) with the boys.  They had a wonderful time together.

3023.  Lunch out with these two as we picked up a Father's Day gift.

3024.  Good conversations with my husband this week.

3025.  I made some progress on something that's been looming over my head for months.  It requires brain power and I've been procrastinating. 

3026.  Emily received a scholarship the other night at an awards ceremony.

3027.  Beautiful, sunny days.  We are back to rain this week but last week was gorgeous.

3028.  I've been coordinating the high school Baccalaureate service this year and this is the first time we've had the students actually participate and run the program.  They have been wonderful to work with. 

3029.  I'm thankful for my husband, step father and father-in-law.  They are three Godly men who love me and I love them.

and finally...

3030.  My Monday morning pick-me-up!

Pulling Weeds

For the past 3 months, I've been going non-stop with retreat/event planning.  I still have a couple more to go, but there is some space in between, so I  have some time to get to odds and ends around my house. 

Apparently, weeds sprung up overnight in the flower beds around my house and barn and it's a jungle out there!  Totally overwhelming.  And my house feels the same way.  There are piles of papers and "stuff" sitting everywhere. 

So I'm weeding out both inside and out.  It kind of reminds me of my life.  If I'm not attentive weeds begin to spring up - bad habits and attitudes.  If I don't pull them immediately, a jungle of them begin to take over my life and I end up with a giant mess.

I decided the outdoor weeds are too much to tackle all at once so I'm trying to spend about 20-30 minutes a day out there, pulling them up.  Just doing it the past few days has made a difference in some spots.  Obviously, behind the barn is going to need a lot more work, but I'm enjoying being out in the fresh air and getting it done.

As I pull the weeds, it gives me time to reflect on the weeds I may have growing within me too.  I'm working on yanking those out too!  That's a bit more painful, but necessary, if I want those sweet flowers to grow.

Columbus Zoo

One of the things we did when we were in OH at our national conference was take an afternoon off to go to the Columbus Zoo.  I wasn't sure what to expect but was pleasantly surprised at the amount of animals to see.

 

Stephen's friend from college lived about 45 minutes from where we were staying so he joined us for the day. 

The sun was out and the weather was warm and we spent about 4 hours there and still didn't get to see all there was as we ran out of time.  If you are in Columbus, it's definitely worth the visit!

Multitude Monday

Two milestones are happening today.  My husband turns 54 and my youngest, Emily, went to her last day of high school.  There are Regents exams the next two weeks and she doesn't have any this year so she is finished until graduation on June 23rd.  My heart is full and I am thankful.

One of the reasons I blog is to journal some of these milestones.  I love looking back through the posts here and seeing bits and pieces of our life that I have forgotten about.  Time flies by so quickly and I am thankful to have something to remember it by.

This week I'm thankful for blessings #3011-3019.

3011.  It was not a restful week at all.  I had multiple things to do and a retreat to get ready for this past weekend.  I am thankful that I accomplished all I set out to do. 

3012.  I'm thankful for a wonderful leadership training retreat on Friday and Saturday.  It was a good time together with my leadership team and we got much accomplished.  I'm thankful for this group of women who spend time in prayer together.

3013.  We also spend time laughing together.  I was thankful for time around the campfire.

3014.  I'm thankful for a spirit-led worship service yesterday.

3015.  I got home at 5 on Saturday and was exhausted.  It was nice to come home to a dinner prepared by Emily.

3016.  Dan & I went hiking yesterday afternoon and I was so thankful that I was able to go 3 miles and this was the first time I hit rough, hilly terrain.  My knee did great.  I'm so thankful for God's healing.

3017.  I'm thankful for these young men.

3018.  I'm so thankful for my husband.

and finally, as it's supposed to be 90 and humid today...

3019.  I'm very thankful for air-conditioning.  :-)