Hearts in Service

  It's been a very strange week and nothing went as planned. We set out on Monday afternoon to deliver food to my in-laws and visit with them a bit. When we arrived they weren't home and there was a pile of bloody towels in the garage. Yikes! After calling around to different places we discovered that my father-in-law was in the emergency room with a broken nose and broken cheek bone. He was doing what he wasn't supposed to be doing (yard work) and fell flat on his face on pavement. He's on the mend, but that was an unpleasant afternoon. The rest of the week went from there. It's been a week of meetings, work and trying to get things done around the house as I get ready to leave for a week long trip on Saturday night. I am thankful that Dan and I were able to squeeze in a walk a few times.  When I'm out in nature, peace descends on me almost immediately.  It's just one of the ways I feel God's presence the most and hear His voice. So I'm always happi...

I woke at 4 a.m. this morning and as I stumbled my way into the kitchen and grabbed some coffee I was feeling grumpy. I had not intended on being up this early, but my internal clock decided I needed to get out of bed. It's easy to grumble and complain when I'm tired. And even easier to see everything through a negative lens. However, as I spent time in God's word and prayer this morning I was reminded of the many things I'm thankful for and the ways He has blessed me.  In the dawn's early light, I recalled the following blessings. 💗 I'm thankful I live in a beautiful area with lots of places to get out and hike.  💗 I'm thankful for this time of year when everything in blooming. 💗 I'm thankful for reminder that God isn't done with me yet. 💗 I'm thankful for milestones and celebrations.  💗 I'm thankful for the joyful laughter of little ones at church. 💗 I'm thankful for bits of beauty in my home.  💗 I'm grateful that I am meetin...

There are days when discouragement settles in like a dark cloud and it seems as if my responses to everything are not what I want them to be.  I feel irritable and defensive, prickly and ready to snap or weepy and sensitive to everything. Those are the days when I feel like I'm barely keeping my head above the surface of life. My desire to walk like Christ does not line up with my real and imagined failings as His child. I feel frustrated that the path chosen for me has not been a walk through the meadow, but one of hard things and struggle. On those hard days of bad attitudes, whining, prickliness and striving, I'm tempted to ask the Lord, "What in the world were you thinking?" "I am not cut out for this." "I feel like a weed." I look at others and wonder why they have it so easy. I can fall into the thought pattern of "I'm a failure," but then I remember Philippians 1:6. " I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in y...

This week was about family. It was a good week which ended with a 50th birthday celebration for my brother-in-law. That was followed by a very nice Mother's Day. I gave the message at church and then later in the day my husband and children took me out to dinner and showered me with flowers and cards. Today is the day I normally go back over the previous week and find the many ways I've seen God's hand and list my thankful things.  The main thing I'm thankful for is the family God has given me. And it's so very easy to paint a picture that seems as if everything is perfect.  My life is NOT perfect; not even close. I am a work in progress as are all of the people in my life. My family struggles often. We get irritated with one another and sometimes angry. But at the end of the day, we love one another. We say "I'm sorry."  One of the reasons Mother's Day is a hard day for many is that you can look at someone else's family and only see the lackin...

  Work, clean, cook, prepare, do, hurry! Racing from one thing to the next is what I'm good at.  Checking things off my list, in time to add more things to the list. And the list stretches on and on. Run here, run there. I'll slow down tomorrow, next week, next month. But in the tomorrow and next week and next month there is always something else to do. I'm skilled at working my "to-do" list, but  often inept at stopping at  "to-day." “Martha, Martha,”  the Lord answered,  “you are worried and upset about many things,   but few things are needed—or indeed only one. " (Luke 10) Many times this is me. When I stop to read and pray, I have a difficult time shutting off the thousand thoughts buzzing in my head. It's hard to focus on  the task of listening . The worries and concerns drown out God's voice at times. I read a verse and a word reminds me of something I need to do.  Or a concern I have. The next thing I know, my mind is a million m...

When I was working a full-time job, Wednesday was known as hump day as it began the descent to the weekend. It was a day when the count down began towards the days when I could focus on my home.  Now each day is pretty much the same in the sense of being able to pick and choose what I want to do each day. Today is Wednesday and it feels like I fit an entire week into two days! I tried my hand at homemade mozzarella and it turned out perfectly! I used it in lasagna and it was delcious.  I went to the flower shop and picked up flowers so I can finally start on my yard for the summer season. I hadn't been on my back patio all winter and when I went out on Monday this is what I discovered. The nest was empty so I'm not sure if mama bird hadn't laid her eggs yet or if the babies had already flown away. I did take the nest down and moved it onto some shelving I have. It makes a natural decoration! I spent quite a bit of time in the kitchen the past two days. One of the things I m...

I'm an impatient person by nature. I move fast and want things done quickly and I'm not always wanting to take my time to do something. But this weekend I was reminded of the importance of slowing down and being patient. As I've gotten older I definitely see the value in these things.  It's been such a rainy, cold and dreary spring so it was nice to wake up to warm temperatures and bright sunshine on Saturday. I got an early start on the day and ran quite a few errands before I headed to a friend's house to pick her dandelions. Each year she has let me come and get them because most of the yards are sprayed around here. I wanted to find an unsprayed source so I can turn them into jelly. I spent an enjoyable 45 minutes, wandering around her yard and plucking the flowers. I ended up with two baskets full and after church yesterday I made the jelly. I always think the color is so beautiful. Golden and delicious! I was also able to make a large pot of spaghetti sauce wh...