A Monday of New Mercies

 

Today is the first day of a two week "staycation" for us. It seems like every year is a "stay at home and do local things" vacation, but it's just the reality that we face. I could be tempted (and do at times) whine about it, but I'm choosing to embrace the convenience of meals at home and sleeping in my own bed. It will be nice to be able to wake up and decide what we want to do each day without being driven by a schedule and meetings. 

Dan and I decided that we were going to work hard on reconnecting these next two weeks. We are both busy and it feels like we are lost in our own thoughts a lot of the time as we go about our days. Add some stressors to that and it's easy to start to feel disconnected. So we definitely need time to focus on our relationship.

I want to start out the week with my weekly Multitude Monday post. I woke up at 4 a.m. and didn't feel particularly thankful or joyful! However, after tossing a turning for about 15 minutes, I got up, made myself a cup of coffee and came downstairs and opened my Bible to the passage in Lamentations 1-3. After 2 1/2 chapters of laments, the prophet, Jeremiah, says the following:

Lamentations 3:21-24 ~

Yet I call this to mind,

and therefore I have hope:

Because of the Lord’s faithful love

we do not perish,

for his mercies never end.

They are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness!

I say, “The Lord is my portion,

therefore I will put my hope in him.”

No matter how bleak the situation nor how stressful something may be, there is always hope. And that is something that brings me comfort on a regular basis. I am so thankful for the Lord's mercies and faithful love for me.

This morning I'm thankful for the following:

💓 After years of trying, my son, Nathan, got a full-time job and starts on August 15th. I'm so thankful for the wonderful services he receives from the agencies here.

💓 I was able to get my entire to-do list done last week which included some hefty items. 

💓 Dan got to go to a baseball game on Saturday night with our daughter, Emily. She bought him tickets for Father's Day back in June and the game was this weekend.

💓 An unexpected gift in the mail which will allow us to do some fun things without having to pinch pennies. 

💓 Coming to the realization that so many things are beyond my control and yet, nothing is a surprise to God and He can work in any situation. I just need to trust and let go.

💓 An absolutely wonderful worship service yesterday. We had a different type of service which included extended worship, a baby dedication and a short devotional rather than a full-blown sermon. It was beautiful!

💓 An enjoyable afternoon with friends at church.

💓 A sweet phone conversation with our son yesterday.

💓 The incredible peace I felt about a situation that normally would cause great turmoil in me. 

and finally...

💓 A new day with fresh hope!