In my weakness, He is made strong

Hebrews 4:15-16 "This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same temptations we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it."

As I read that passage, it was easy to list my weaknesses, those many many times when I give into my flesh. Yet the last verse made me pause: if I come boldly to the throne of my gracious God, I will receive his mercy and grace to help me when I need it.

What a comfort to know that God is so tender and merciful. In our Sunday School class this past week, our teacher shared a thought. What if when we went to sleep at night, we prayed as we fell asleep, as if we were falling asleep in God' arms? I love the idea of falling asleep in God's arms. Like a little girl cuddling on her daddy's lap.

Fall Fun

I love the fall. Carving pumpkins, jumping in leaves, trunk-or-treat... Yes, I did say "trunk"- or-treat. This is the fifth year our church has sponsored this event. People decorate their car, van or truck trunks with a theme and we pass out candy in the church parking lot. Anyway, it is a great outreach to our community. This year I was blessed, as a non-christian co-worker who I invited to bring her son asked if she could decorate her car trunk with her son. Of course our youth pastor (who organizes this event) was excited to have her, and I was excited to be able to have a fun event to be able to witness through, and I was pleased that several of our ladies went up to her and made her feel welcome. It just goes to show you that witnessing opportunites do not always have to be super-spiritual events. Often it's the fun stuff that reaches out to our unchurched friends. Our pastor says building relationships is probably the most effective thing we can do to build God's kingdom.

to do list

My to do list looks more like a book than a list. I feel as though I'm drowning and no matter how hard I work, I can't seem to get any closer to the top.

In times like these, I need to look at what I've accomplished, and the things that I've done that will count for eternity:

Yesterday I...

I spent quality time with my daughter - baking cupcakes for a special activity for our toddlers at church and later doing a puzzle.

I had an opportunity to have lunch (even thought it was McD's) with my husband and have some "alone" time to chat and laugh

did 7 loads of laundry (ok, I know that one doesn't count for eternity, but it makes me feel a little less stressed)

visited with my parents for a little while on our deck when they brought the kids back from their outing, enjoying the beautiful fall day.

ate a (pretend) meal meticulously prepared by my son and enjoyed every bite...to which he laughed and squealed with delight.

Father God,

Today give me a desire to do the things that really matter to you, and let the rest just "be".

Amen

Teamwork

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to participate in a Teambuilding session with some coworkers. I must admit, at first I was not looking forward to it. After all, I had plenty of paperwork to catch up on instead of "wasting" time. However, at the end of the day, I felt it had been a great day. A group of us had to work together to balance a "boat" in the woods, transfer a can of "hazardous" liquid using a spiderweb like contraption, tossing as many koosh balls as we could around the circle without dropping, and get as many points as we could by tossing tennis balls into buckets - the catch being we couldn't move our feet from where we initially placed them. I learned that I have grown a lot. I used to not speak up in a group at all, but yesterday I found myself offering ideas to help our group complete the task at hand, and making a fool of myself lying down in the back to block tennis balls from rolling off of our carpet. Needless to say, today I'm a little sore.

God does not call us to spirit of fear and timidity. I am sometimes fearful of what others think of me, critical words that may be said behind my back, fear of not fitting in. When I find myself feeling fearful, I try to remember that God's opinion is the only thing that matters. When I am doing things He calls me to, I cannot do them alone. I need my brothers and sisters in Christ and I need to be able to work cooperatively with them to achieve our task at hand. I also need to speak up when I have an idea that I think might help us achieve that task more effectively, without worrying what others might think.

created beautiful

Wow! I've posted 2 days in a row! Our Women's Bible Study started back last night after a summer break. This session we will be focusing on how we as women are created beautiful by God. Last night we played a game in which we had to give ourselves a point for each "mindless" thing we've done. Such as locking ouselves out of the house, the car, leaving the iron on, forgot an appointment...and so on. There were 18 items and the winner had only ever done 9 of those things. In fact, most of us were up around 14 or 15. This just goes to show that we are all human. We make mistakes and it is only by God's grace and mercy that we are saved.

Make Every Effort

I read a devotional that said: "scripture tells us 8 times in the New Testament to 'make every effort'. This means that we have to do what takes effort even when we don't feel like it."

I don't know about you, but that spoke to me. I sometimes don't feel like doing something (i.e. folding laundry, cleaning, etc.) so it just doesn't get done. However, God has been teaching me that doing these little, mundane tasks blesses my family. I try to tell myself that, if I can keep up with them, and not procrasinate, it does make the task a little easier. (i.e. if I go ahead and fold that laundry it won't sit in the basket for 2 weeks waiting to be ironed.)

Some things I (try to) do to stay ahead:

Empty the clean dishwasher first thing in the morning, dirty dishes get rinsed and go straight into the dishwasher

On nights before evenings out (Tuesday night before church on Wednesday) when packing my daughters lunch, I double up. Pack 2 sandwich bags of chips, 2 containers of fruit,... so all I need to do on a busier night is pack the sandwich and the lunch bag.

plan my menu for the week on monday, making one grocery list. I only go to the store 1 time during the week.

In the morning

Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, so we may sing for joy to he ned of our lives - Psalm 90:14

Things have been busy, and I've been struggling to get back into a routine. Our usual school year routine has had a major shake-up My oldest started Kindergarten and I am responsible for getting her on and off the bus at a designated time. My hours and job location changed (even though I am still part time). I am now working 10:45:2:30, which is great in that I can get aforementioned kindergartner on and off the bus, but I no longer have that 1 1/2 hour nap/rest time to catch up on stuff and my brain is dead by the time we get the kids in bed at 8:00. I was getting a little down, and even let my quiet time with God slip through the cracks a few mornings. I should know from experience that's not a good idea So this week I set my alarm a little earlier so I could have longer uninterrupted times with my best friend (God) before the craziness of life came upon me. I can't say my to do list is any shorter, but I have a peace in my heart that only comes from time with my Lord. I subscribe to online devotions through Proverbs 31, and many times will read the blogs of the wonderful ladies who write them, This morning I was encouraged by the September 1st (yes, I know I'm a little behind) post of Renee Swope. Check it out http://reneeswope.blogspot.com/