Thursday, March 01, 2012

Of Determination and Focus

Aw, a special thanks to those of you who sent me encouraging emails recently. I so appreciated them and I thank you for understanding my feelings about simply enjoying interacting with other flesh-and-blood folks in my comment box.

One person didn't get it and sent me a long lecture, but I didn't finish reading it. We do have choices, you know, and don't have to accept negativity from people who criticize us (or make things a bigger deal than they were) because they don't understand what God's doing in our own hearts. Oh, the good ol' delete button---don't you wish sometimes that we had one of those during certain conversations in Real Life? :)

Again, thanks.


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My, my, my... Life Before Cats was certainly simpler.

That Daniel The Cat...... Smart as a two-year-old child and just as mischievous! We'll need to replace the accordion door at the top of our basement steps with a real one, for Daniel can push through the bottom of it and that could be dangerous should he try to push it to come back up. Sigh. But last night at the small going away dinner party we had for Naomi, one of her friends said her husband could install a door for us. So that was cool.

But Daniel is a good snuggler and lap cat and an answer to Tom's prayers, especially. He is fun when he's not being the most stubborn thing God put on the planet.

Sammy is loosening up slowly. Until he and Daniel can get along he mostly stays in Tom's room behind a closed door. And right now Naomi's staying in there, too, along with her two other cats--she handed in the keys to her apartment yesterday and will live here until Saturday, she and her stuff in Tom's office, the kitchen and the basement, some of which will remain here.

I'm making all this sound much simpler than it's been in reality, though. And I've a feeling much of the complication stems from the fact that I decided to return to 'God College' last week. You know what happens when you make those kind of determined decisions, don't you? Satan sends out little armies to distract and discourage you, to make you think, "Wow! Life was easier before I made this decision to grow. Perhaps I should quit so things will be feel normal again."

But of course, if you quit, you regret it, even when the pressure does get removed. And then you start having other problems stemming from the lack of growth and preparation in the areas God wanted you to study/die to/learn and then you're whining and acting like a Cranky Frankie over tiny things, etc. Blah, blah, blah. Anyone else been there, done that?

Or it's like when I began this blog in 2004--oh my! Our computer suddenly had tons of weird (weird!) problems and too, I'd be writing a post and would feel all these pesky attacks against my brain to where words would zoom! Go away in the middle of my sentences and I'd have to sit here trying to recall what I'd begun writing. Or I'd get mean comments from people who just didn't understand, etc.

But you know what to do in situations such as those, right? You press on. You do not quit and you do not go running away, crying like a little girl. You pray for help, you double your focus and determination and then satan's little army moves on to someplace else. And then you keep walking toward the light which is God-- He with that huge smile which comes after our obedience.

And oh, that smile!



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"To obey is better than sacrifice..."   ... I Samuel 15:22

"Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand."  ... Ephesians 6:13



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