Hearts in Service

I try to have my quiet time on my deck each morning. If the weather allows, I head out there with my cup of coffee, my Bible and journal. It's peaceful and quiet and I also get a glimpse every now and then of a "visitor." This was today's little one who came to visit. As I was sitting there this morning and finishing up praying, my heart was full of thankfulness for the way God uses all the things in my life to shape and mold me to become more like Him. This poem basically flew out of my brain and onto paper and I thought I'd share it here this morning. Thank You by Terri A. Groh The sun on my face The breeze lifting my hair The birds singing so cheerfully And sweet smells in the air These things remind me  that Your hand created it all, You care for each creature No matter how big or how small. Lord, help me to take pleasure In each moment You bring. To bow my head and give thanks, And Your praises to s

One of the biggest issues I have in my life is the tendency to get so involved in whatever I'm doing that all else gets neglected. So if I'm working on ministry items, I'll spend hours doing it and nothing else happens. If I'm sewing that is all I'll do to the detriment of housework. And on and on it goes. So one thing I've been trying to do lately is break up these activities into half hour or one hour segments, depending on what it is. Rather than spend 4 hours straight doing computer work, I'll do it for an hour then set it aside and go on to something else. I'm finding I get more accomplished that way without it being an "all or nothing" type of mentality. I try to switch up a sitting activity with an activity that involves more movement because it doesn't help my back or my knee to be hunched over a laptop or sewing machine for hours. It also allows me to do some of the activities I enjoy but always feel I never have time

This has been a week of anxiety and stress. I've had issue after issue arise and cause the churning in my stomach, sleepless nights and a dull, throbbing headache throughout the day. Some of these anxieties are regarding the well-being of my children, some are major financial hurdles and others are ministry concerns. No matter, what they are, it's a battle in my mind and spirit to turn them over to the Lord and then keep my mind from going over and over them. I've struggled with not trying to find solutions in my own strength when I've heard God say, "Trust me." The Lord is good because two days in a row He spoke very clearly to me. Yesterday morning I was sitting on the deck having my quiet time and praying that the Lord would provide what we needed and I was asking and also praying He would give me peace. Suddenly, my eyes settled on a mourning dove, that was sitting on the roof.  It sat there for a very long time. I loved that God sent me a visual re

"Just do it" is the famous slogan of Nike and I'm realizing without a plan and the resolve to "just do it" not much will happen around here. The humidity has been terrible and at 6:30 this morning it already felt like a sauna before the sun even peeked its head from the clouds.There will be more of this tomorrow before it breaks, s o my resolve to get things done will only go as far as the coolness from the air-conditioning can reach. Here is my weekly plan and since my list generally starts on Monday, some of this has been completed: Spiritual/Personal Development 1. Bible reading and prayer (5 out of 7 days) 2. Required reading for consecration - There are two tiers of reading and I just completed all of the tier I books so I'm way ahead of the game. 3. Begin work on the second of two required projects Husband and Marriage 1. Breakfast or lunch out one day this week - if we don't make a conscious effort to connect like this, it's easy

The last week of August has arrived. This has been a full and productive summer, but not in the usual sense. Normally I spend my summers sewing, crafting and canning. I have rows and rows of jars filled with wonderful things to get us through the winter. Other than a few pickles, I haven't canned a thing. Instead I have written 4 papers and completed a project. Instead of reading fiction books or books just for pleasure, I have read systematic theology books. This was the summer we went on a "real" vacation. A summer of surgery and recovery. A summer of air travel and car travel. A summer of peace and relaxation. A good summer! Now I need to turn my mind to the autumn. A missions conference, a retreat, another conference, kid's programs, women's programs and on and on it goes. And this is my absolute favorite season of the year!  My mind will start going to decorations in shades of red, orange and yellow, pumpkins, apple-picking, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg

Today was a low key day. We took our time this morning before leaving and then went to a state park we've been to before. There are mineral deposits in the water that make it a beautiful bluish-green color.  It was a pleasant walk and I was able to go 2 miles. My knee does hurt so I have to walk slowly, but at the same time just sitting makes it stiffen up and difficult to move. So I keep plugging away.  One of the reasons I truly missed walking was because Dan and I have our best talks while we walk. So the past few weeks have been wonderful because I feel like we are reconnecting in a way we haven't been able to do in a while. We stopped on the way home and picked up paint so I can start painting Emily's neon green, seizure-causing (not really) room a different color. I came home and spent the afternoon working on my talk and discussion tomorrow. A church invited me to come to their leadership retreat and lead them in some discussion and goal

  Umm......this would have been a nice piece of information to know ahead of time! Part of me really wanted to see a bear and part of me did not!         Today was a gorgeous day! Bright blue skies, puffy white clouds, low humidity and temperatures in the 70s. I wish summer weather was like this all the time. We headed out to a place about an hour and a half away called Whetstone Gulf State Park. There are 5 miles of hiking trails that circle a 300 foot gorge. We had never been there and thought we'd check it out. I packed up a picnic lunch and we were headed out the door by 8:30. We set out along the north trail which immediately started a steep climb. I was thinking that maybe I shouldn't be doing this when it leveled off fairly quickly. I had my Fitbit app on my phone and had already decided I was going to monitor how far I went with my knee.  We ended up walking a half mile up into the gorge and then the half mile back down. Once I got

I took a stroll around my yard the other night and while I was doing so I noticed a few things. The normally abundant blackberry bushes had about only a handful of small, underdeveloped berries. The apple trees which produce a number of apples only has a few on them this year. Even the grapes we found on yesterday's walk were tiny. I think much of it has to do with the fact that we've had very little rain this summer and it's been extremely hot. The bushes, trees and vines are pretty fruitless. Unfortunately, the same can be said for some believers. They come to a saving faith and accept Christ in their life, they experience regeneration and receive the Holy Spirit, but their spiritual growth is stunted. They never grow much beyond the initial belief. They do not have spiritual health and are not experiencing the fullness of Christ.  Sanctification is the process where believers become more like Christ in their attitudes, actions, motives, and will. There is a divide

We are on our last week of vacation for this year and it is looking a bit different.  Dan's father had hip replacement surgery on Monday and because he is 83, Dan was feeling like he needed to go hang out with his mom and be there for his family.  He wasn't sure which day he was coming home, but ended up getting here last night. So today we headed out to a place we've been before called Montezuma Wildlife Refuge. There are walking trails there that we couldn't go to the last time because it was before my surgery. I liked the fact that they were fairly flat and easy and I ended up walking a mile and a half. My knee is actually feeling okay after that so woot! The trail walks along a marsh, but because the trail was a bit lower than the reeds it was hard to see much of anything in the water. But there was a cool-ISH breeze and plenty of wildflowers. There was a wonderful scent of grapes on the vine. Just as we got back to the car the skies opened

I've spent the 3 years doing nothing but sitting due to multiple injuries. And the more I sit the more the lbs. have crept on. At this point I'm about 60 lbs. overweight. I don't necessarily look like it's that much because I have a larger frame and carry it differently, but I certainly feel it. And lately, I am not at all happy at the way I look. There is a reason you do not see many photos of me. When I've gotten to the point that I don't want to go out because of the way I look I know that I need to get it together. So I've decided that I need to get serious about getting my weight under control. Now that I can exercise, albeit slowly, I am working at making some changes. I'm pre-diabetic, my blood pressure has crept up a bit and I am out of shape! We live right on top of a state highway. The shoulder along the road is minimal and I really am not comfortable walking on it. There are not a lot of walking trails around here and to get to th

I had great plans of getting up early this morning and accomplishing much. I did not plan on a 2 hour wide awake time in the middle of the night and then oversleeping. We are on "vacation" this week so I guess I shouldn't stress about it too much.  I put the word vacation in quotes because it really doesn't feel like one. We were going to do a staycation and do some fun activities each day, but Dan felt like he needed to go be with his parents for a couple of days as his dad is having hip replacement surgery. His father is 83 and a heart patient so he really felt the need to be there and I totally understand. I stayed behind with Nathan who was supposed to have an appointment this afternoon, but that just got canceled.  I have two speaking engagements on Saturday and Sunday which I need to work on so will be doing that over the next two days. I was telling Dan the other day that in hindsight, we probably shouldn't have taken a vacation this time of the year