"Be well balanced (temperate, sober of mind), be vigilant and cautious at all times; for that enemy of yours, the devil, roams around like a lion roaring [in fierce hunger], seeking someone to seize upon and devour." ... 1 Peter 5:8
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There is one thing I love about winter.
It's how, after wheeling my groceries from the supermarket and unloading them into the back of our car, I can casually walk to Dollar Tree and shop without pressure. You know, because no meat or frozen vegetables are gonna go bad inside my 4,000 lb. refrigerator on wheels.
And that's what I did Saturday morning at Dollar Tree while that 'playing house' feeling washed over me. All those cute items in the aisles for only a dollar each! The morning was dark grey, but the store shone brightly and nearly empty (customer-wise) and the clerks laughed and chatted (they usually do) and it just felt terrific to be away from home and reminiscent of my 1970's young-bride days when dime store and grocery prices were sane.
I believe we make our own good times, or we can, anyway. In fact, I consider my 'goof-off weekends' a vital part of staying balanced and healthy. The shopping, the watching tv with Tom, the reading, the camping-out upstairs and 'playing books', the hanging-out online. All my time-outs on weekdays--those also, are necessary in not, well, losing my mind.
Stay serious for too long, reason over Life's big questions, meditate upon how bad your/our world is and Life will lose its laughter and paint even good things, dark black. There'll be no cheerful heart to act like a medicine, fixing what threatens to break us.
Each day I try to think and do a variety of things. Some would say that shows a lack of focus, but no; I focus upon (and try to complete) whichever new thing I've chosen to do.
Many people focus on only one area/person/talent and then when that area/person/talent fades or changes or dies (as everything does)? They free fall. Lose their grip, grab onto anything finger-close, average or below, or go crashing through darkness into a myriad of sad and bitter states.
And personally, I'm choosing to prepare now so I'll never be forced into the sad, silent bus which travels to those states.
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A well-developed sense of humor is the pole that adds balance to your steps as you walk the tightrope of life.
"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." ... Matthew 6:33,34
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Any prayers for Naomi would be appreciated. She has some difficult life decisions to make this next month, the first one today, in fact--whether to put down one of her 13(14?)-year-old cats. Thanks so much for thinking of her these next few important weeks.
Update: Naomi took Ginger The Cat to the vet. and is (long story short) going to wait another two weeks before making a decision. The vet was kind and helpful (I'd prayed she would be) and made some suggestions.
Please keep praying if you can--this is just one of a few huge decisions Naomi will need to make this month. (A special thanks to those of you who've already let me know you're praying. It means so much.)
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"Variety is the spice of Life." ... copied
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Free Kindle books:
Sidonia's Thread
Mastering Evernote
The Pickwick Papers
Past Forward: The Beginning
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"The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail." ...Isaiah 58:11
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Back in the years before I really understood anything (yet believed I knew it all), I often became bored.
Oh, mornings felt ok. There were people to see, places to go, floors to mop. But I'd complete those tasks, eat some lunch, then--until Naomi arrived home from school--I'd come, well, undone. Bored, feeling like each hour was three, even though other tasks and activities remained. Always, my brain told me I could be dusting, crafting, reading, washing, walking, repairing, singing, photographing, painting--
--except that 1:00 pm would hit and I'd feel like doing none of it, not even the fun things. It's like a creepy type of numbness cloud draped over me, zapping all my passion. So, to keep my sanity, I'd read a book or watch tv--and settle. Wait for Naomi to come home then drive her places and/or make dinner for a soon-coming-home Tom.
This (sadly) went on for years, till around 1995. Oh, not everyday did that boredom squeeze me, but for too many, it did.
Then finally, beginning in 1994, God shook my whole world, crumbled the flaky, crooked foundation I'd constructed beneath me, Mrs. Good Little Church Lady, and rebuilt me His way. And though it wasn't always pleasant and usually embarrassingly humbling--always--the growing closer to Him parts made The Changing Years simultaneously wonderful.
As long as I felt close to Him, the hardest changes didn't upset me as much. Meeting Him 'in the garden' each day, made up for it all.
And for the past however many years? Oh, the passions which have replaced the boredom! Ask me what makes each day sail by too quickly and I'd give you a list:
God
Meditating
Blogging
Encouraging
Decorating
Couponing
Reading
Watching tv
Researching
Gardening
Grocery shopping
'Tweaking' my house
Giving
Daydreaming
Preparing for the future
Photographing this life ...
... and that was my 'in just one minute' list. Imagine if I gave it two minutes. :)
My point? If today you feel dull/dreadful/sad, please don't believe you'll feel the same in the future. We have a remarkable God who can make ways where there are none. Honest.
Be still and tune into Him, listen to His secrets, obey that still, small voice. And then find yourself infused with a new godly passion for Life that perhaps you thought only happened to other people.
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"God never makes bloodless stoics; He makes no passionless saints." ... Oswald Chambers
"...but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." ... Isaiah 40:31
"Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord..." ... Acts 3:19
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For two Friday freebies, go here.
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Aww... Did you see the video of this little girl teaching her dog to use a hoola hoop?
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Faith Under Construction
In His Steps
New Year's Day is every [person's] birthday. -Charles Lamb
.... and I hope you are celebrating, even if only within the rooms of your own heart. Often those types of parties are just as memorable and important as those surrounded by crowds and loud times.
Happy new year to all my special readers!
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Today is the first blank page of a 365-page book. Write a good one. — Brad Paisley
Approach the New Year with resolve to find the opportunities hidden in each new day. ~Michael Josephson
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A new year also means new coupons (and here)... Hooray! :)
Have some unfulfilled dreams and an extra 20 minutes? This might encourage you as we all begin 2015.
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Free Kindle book:
Undeniably Yours
