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Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your path. Prov. 3:5 & 6It's the New Year! Time for changes, resolutions, goals! It seems like I get the greatest number of inspirations for making a difference in my world when I'm on my elliptical listening to praise music. I reflect on the greatness of God and how much I want to get "accomplished" with my life to serve Him and to impact the people I love...that He loves. What are some of those aspirations that flood my head at that time? To list a few....learn to play the guitar so that I can sing the good news with my own accompaniment, get into a faithful workout schedule so that I'm healthy and energetic enough to put in long days doing interesting and meaningful activities, like homeschooling and nurturing my kids, writing books, and climbing mountains (this desire surfaced when we visited several national parks this summer and I saw the possibilities). Oh, then there is also learning to be an artistic and skilled quilter like my sister-in-law, and becoming an amateur expert on world history which I find fascinating. Of course, I want to manage my life well-enough to have time to maintain deep friendships, delve into deep Bible study, have a refreshing, lengthy prayer time each day, and take catnaps to avoid sleep deprivation. On top of all of these, I aspire to keep up with paying the bills, keeping the books for our business, and have quantity and quality time with my precious grandbabies. Hmmm....okay, so now that I see the bigger picture in writing, I realize my dilemma is visible for all to see. Why does "doing it all" seem a little easier when I'm dreaming of it on my elliptical? Could it be that the endorphines that are pulsing through my blood while I'm exercising make it seem more feasible to reach for the stars? How am I going to do it all? WHERE DO I BEGIN?
I want to do more and be more, but it seems like the mundane ends up taking so much time that I make very little progress on the path to great accomplishments. Sometimes, my pace seems slow as molasses as I try to get a little closer to where I think I want to be. My priorities, my callings, seem to be those repetitive and sometimes draining activities like laundry, meal preparation, grocery shopping, errand running, phone calls, and toilet cleaning (well, I'd be lying if I said I clean the toilet on a regular basis)! My hourly timeslots are filled with teaching math, resolving sibling conflicts, doing cut and glue activities with my child, sitting on the couch for the fourth time today in answer to the beckoned call of my awesomely talented granddaughter doing her "spinning dance" in the living room to the theme from "Peter Pan". Ughh, my husband is needing me to type an estimate right away or my daughter really needs a little help with her Algebra. Time to wipe up that spilled juice off the floor that I forgot about. Mmm. Wait a minute! It's coming into clearer focus. Now I'm seeing it. It's my perspective....and attitude that count. Am I doing all as "unto the Lord?" Do I "give thanks in all things?" Okay, now I'm remembering (the amazing middle-aged human mind!) that the investments I'm making now, no matter how small and no matter how sacrificial, will bring blessing for the future and even eternity. Keep sowing, sowing, sowing. Watering, watering, watering.
What does the Lord require of me? But to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with my God. (Micah 6:8) Maybe I am getting a little closer to my goals - God's goals - after all. I'm not referring to the external goals, but the internal ones that God so desires and even ordains that I attain. Yes, I suspect He's working very intentionally to get me to where He wants me to be through my daily pressures, disappointments, challenges, and long delays.
I don't know if I'll ever find time to master my strumming and maybe I won't get to go backpacking any time soon, but if I stay in the sweet flow of the Spirit, then all that I'm doing, however unglamorous, will be pleasing to Him, which will fill me with JOY! I think I'll go do something really important right now. Where is that dizzy granddaughter of mine? I may just need to pick her up off the floor again due to all of that spinning!
I want to do more and be more, but it seems like the mundane ends up taking so much time that I make very little progress on the path to great accomplishments. Sometimes, my pace seems slow as molasses as I try to get a little closer to where I think I want to be. My priorities, my callings, seem to be those repetitive and sometimes draining activities like laundry, meal preparation, grocery shopping, errand running, phone calls, and toilet cleaning (well, I'd be lying if I said I clean the toilet on a regular basis)! My hourly timeslots are filled with teaching math, resolving sibling conflicts, doing cut and glue activities with my child, sitting on the couch for the fourth time today in answer to the beckoned call of my awesomely talented granddaughter doing her "spinning dance" in the living room to the theme from "Peter Pan". Ughh, my husband is needing me to type an estimate right away or my daughter really needs a little help with her Algebra. Time to wipe up that spilled juice off the floor that I forgot about. Mmm. Wait a minute! It's coming into clearer focus. Now I'm seeing it. It's my perspective....and attitude that count. Am I doing all as "unto the Lord?" Do I "give thanks in all things?" Okay, now I'm remembering (the amazing middle-aged human mind!) that the investments I'm making now, no matter how small and no matter how sacrificial, will bring blessing for the future and even eternity. Keep sowing, sowing, sowing. Watering, watering, watering.
What does the Lord require of me? But to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with my God. (Micah 6:8) Maybe I am getting a little closer to my goals - God's goals - after all. I'm not referring to the external goals, but the internal ones that God so desires and even ordains that I attain. Yes, I suspect He's working very intentionally to get me to where He wants me to be through my daily pressures, disappointments, challenges, and long delays.
I don't know if I'll ever find time to master my strumming and maybe I won't get to go backpacking any time soon, but if I stay in the sweet flow of the Spirit, then all that I'm doing, however unglamorous, will be pleasing to Him, which will fill me with JOY! I think I'll go do something really important right now. Where is that dizzy granddaughter of mine? I may just need to pick her up off the floor again due to all of that spinning!
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