More joy

All day yesterday I had one word on my mind, Joy. Choosing joy, that is what I did yesterday, and it worked! I made it through my day with a minimum of fuss and frustration. Mind you, I wasn't all over the top cheerful, but I did my best to keep a smile on my face and to pay attention to my surroundings.

For me, part of choosing joy is about connecting with the world around me, which is something I am not really good at. I tend to be an introvert, pulling into myself and disconnecting from my environment. Heck, I have lived in the same town for the last 30 years and I can't tell you any local gossip! Same with work, been there forever and I never know anything that is going on (which, truthfully, is usually for the best). But here's the thing about joy, you can't have it and not want to share it. If you have joy in your heart, it finds a way out. It wants to be shared!

All day long my mind kept drawing the connection between faithfulness and joy. Joy is an act of faith after all. It is our spirit saying that despite whatever we may face, we have confidence in our Savior and Father. We know that He will provide, that He is with us and will bring us through our trials. So today, once again I am choosing Joy. I choose joy because I do have faith, whatever this day holds God has already seen it and has arranged my way through it. Good day or bad, I am not alone in it. I have the master of all creation in my heart and by my side, how can I not be joyful??

Monday morning: choosing joy

Last night the belt on my dryer broke. Of course, this happened with a load of pants in the dryer and more clothes in the washer. Clothes that I really need to be dry so that I can be appropriately clothed for work. This is on top of the dishwasher that died last week. I have spent the last week re-discovering exactly how spoiled I am to the ease and luxury of putting dirty dishes in a machine and having them come out clean! I know that these are very "1st word" problems, but they are my problems and frankly pretty dang important to my daily life. But not, I am realizing, to my joy.

There is a song we sing in church from time to time that talks about bringing the "sacrifice of praise" to God. "We bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord. And we offer up to you the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and we offer up to you, the sacrifices of joy". Sacrifice of joy. Sometimes it really is a sacrifice, because in order to be joyful, I have to sacrifice my frustration, anger, or hurt. And there are times when all I want is to cling to those things with all my strength. To wallow, just a bit, in bitterness and frustration. "Why me???" I want to scream to the heavens. "Why does my life have to be so difficult all the time??"....

The truth is, my life is hard. Sometimes it is very unfair. Everyone's is. There is nothing unique in that. What makes each of our lives unique is how we choose to react to life. Today I am choosing joy.

Friday Funnies!

Halleluiah! It's Friday! And since this week is National Pharmacy Week, today is a fun day at work. We are having a 50's themed lunch complete with a soda fountain for root beer floats and a twist-off. I have been looking forward to this all week!  

______________________

hahahaha!

The scale is a big part of my life right now, I can really relate to this!!

Oh, the irony.....

right????

please...

___________________

I hope you found something to make you smile and that you can share that smile with the world today! After all, the world could really use more smiles. :)

Ugh!

I am really falling down on the blogging job. My 31 day challenge is pretty much toast. Really? Will I ever learn? I haven't completed a challenge in months. Why would this one be different?

Part of my problem lately is that I am trying to get too much done in the morning, which is my usual writing time. I am trying to exercise more and do morning devotional and such and I just can't cram it all into the time I have allotted. All this faithfulness is cutting into my writing time! LOL!

I will find my balance, and when I do, I'll be back. Bare with me, okay? :-)

Monday evening and I'm lazy

I am really lacking in the faithfulness. Maybe I shouldn't have taken on the 31 days challenge, since I am not really living up to it. I seem to have a terminal case of the lazies.

I took the weekend off to recharge but when Monday morning came around I found myself completely uninterested in even opening my computer. If it were closer to Christmas I would say "bahumbug"!

Despite my blahs I did manage to find a little nugget to share, just a reminder for us all. I hope you like it. :-)

I'll try again tomorrow morning. See you there.

Friday Funnies

Good morning! I am once again posting from my phone, though this time it's because my laptop doesn't want to connect to the Internet and my in house IT guy is asleep (aka the hubby). I just finished a 3 mile walk, all of which took place in my living room (Thank God for the DVR!) And I think I may be ready to face the day. I am feeling pretty good, even though I gained a pound yesterday. ANYWAY!

How about a little humor to get us on our way? I wish I could caption these (especially the first one, which I hope you get!), but I have not been able to work out how to do that from my phone, so make up your own please. ;-)

I hope you find a chuckle or 2 here and I hope you have a beautiful day!

Sometimes trying to be faithful is frustrating

As part of my focus on faithfulness this month I have been paying close attention to my diet, exercise and blood sugar. May I just say that it is a very frustrating process? I have been very careful, monitoring every move I make and every scrap of food that I eat. My blood sugar was wonky at first but is starting to level out, and that is wonderful. But the rest of it, well it is slow going. Very slow.

My phone has an app on it that tracks my steps over the course of the day and I have been working to increase them since I realized that I was only walking about 2500 to 3000 steps in a day. Since I started I have been averaging between 8000 and 10,000 steps daily. Along with that I have seriously cut back on my calorie and carb intake. The result? I have lost 2 lbs. Well, it was 4, but 2 came back, I guess they missed me.

This is why I hate to diet. HATE it. Every since pound I lose is an effort. And let's face it, I am lazy. If I am putting forth the effort, I want some impressive results! Still, I am going to stick with it. I am going to do my best to stay faithful to this process. Speaking of, I have to go, I have to get in at least 2000 steps before work and I have 23 so far. Fun times!

Have a great day!

Faith is Encouraging

Grace increases

Grace and sin. Forgiveness. It is at the core of what I believe. I can face each day because in the deepest part of me I KNOW that His grace covers me. I am forgiven because he was forsaken to the cross and to my sin. I am blessed, any nothing can remove that blessing. Because his grace is infinite.

Monday morning mercy

Well, this weekend was a wash. First, I blew my diet and now I am back to square one. Second, I didn't post anything here, completely ignoring my "31 Days of Faithfulness" challenge. So, I pretty much feel like a loser. But I know the only thing to do is to start again.

I believe completely in new beginnings. Lamentations 3:22-23 says it clearly.

 Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
    for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.

Thank God for new beginnings, because this morning I really need one! Time to start fresh, to forgive myself for my failures and begin again. 

 

Friday Funnies

Happy Friday! Today I am trying out the blogger app on my phone so if things look a little strange, that's why!

I feel like I should have something witty and wise to say about Faith to go in this post, but my brain just can't come up with anything. Sometimes it's stubborn like that. Good thing He loves me anyway! 

Faith is trusting

Complaining

I woke up this morning feeling like crap. It started yesterday, the headache and sore throat, the congestion and coughing. I am trying had to do the right thing here, starting a new diet and trying to exercise more. Monitoring my blood sugar religiously. And what do I get? Sick, again. Ugh!!

And that ladies and gentlemen is what I was thinking this morning when I picked up my copy of "Jesus Calling" and turned to today's entry. And got a wake up call. I won't type out the whole entry because I am lazy, but here are the parts that spoke to me:

"I am pleased with your desire to stay close to Me. There is one thing, however, that displeases Me: your tendency to complain. You may talk to Me as much as you want about the difficulty of the path we are following.....You can ventilate safely to Me, because talking with Me tempers your thoughts and helps you see things from My perspective.

Complaining to others is another matter altogether. It opens the door to deadly sins such as self-pity and rage."

Ouch. Now I have to think about this for a minute. I'm not a big complainer (at least I don't think I am). I tend to be a "glass 1/2 full" kind of girl. But sometimes (like today) I just want to have a pity party. Is that really so bad? Maybe not, when it's just once. But I have people in my life who complain about everything, who can never see the bright side. And I recognize that I am really only a pity party or two away from being like that. Because that is how it starts. Giving in to the negative, one day at a time, until all you can see is the negative and you lose sight of Him. And I do not want to do that. So, I will try to remember this lesson, to keep it close to my heart. And to watch my words.



"Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you will shine like stars in the universe." Philippians 2:14-15

We are the body

Casting Crowns, If we are the Body. I love the message in this song. I think that all to often those of us who have the confidence of faith forget our true purpose here. We get so busy, so wrapped up in our own life and our own journey that we lose sight of all those around us who are desperately searching for someone to show them His love. To draw them into His healing embrace. This song is a beautiful reminder.

Monday morning

Good morning. Although frankly, I am not so sure yet. I am sitting here on my couch and all I want is to go back to bed. How can it be Monday already?? But the day awaits and I have places to go and people to see.

Today's devotional in "Jesus Calling" says "Accept each day just as it comes to you, remembering that I am sovereign in your life. Rejoice in this day that I have made, trusting that I am abundantly present in it. Instead of regretting or resenting the way things are, thank Me in all circumstances." Even on Monday's.

My friend Rennata over at Growing Unique posted a picture of a diary that belonged to her grandmother. It was a 5 year diary and in it every morning she had written "Morning Worship". Every single morning for 5 years. And I can't help but think if I could develop that habit my mornings would be so much more fulfilling. More often than not I find myself sitting here with a glass of tea or a Diet Dr. Pepper just sort of staring off into space or watching TV. Unfocused. That's me. But it doesn't have to be. I can change that, if I want it bad enough.


This is the day the Lord has made for me, I think I will rejoice and be glad in it!

Sunday thoughts and snail mail

I almost let Sunday get away from me! If I don't do this first thing in the morning, it probably isn't going to happen most days. I just let myself get too distracted by other things and before I know it, it's time to start another day! But since I am participating in the 31 Days Challenge, I thought I better make the effort! :)

Today was actually a pretty good day, I woke up to cooler temperatures thanks to a nice cool front that blew in late the night before. Before church I went out to visit my grandtoy, Becca, and her mommy. Mommy is recovering from gallbladder surgery so she is staying with family until she has the all clear from the doctor to resume full-time baby duty. For me this means some extra snuggling time and I could not pass that up!

Isn't she the cutest thing!


After church I came back home and was very lazy. Well, I did manage to get my laundry done, but that's about it. And all the while I was thinking about this post and how I needed to sit down and do it. Have I mentioned before that I am a master procrastinator?? (They do say the first step to overcoming is admitting that you have a problem...)

It's really a good thing I already had an idea what I wanted to write about today: snail mail. See, two of my favorite bloggers wrote posts this week about the lost art of sending and receiving actual mail. You remember the stuff I'm talking about, right? Paper and pen. Sometime a pretty or funny card. Something personal written inside. That kind of thing. First I saw this post over at "My Antidepressant Life" about Reverse birthday letters. What is a reverse birthday letter? Well, basically instead of sitting around checking her mailbox for birthday cards every year, Jerimi writes letters to people who have touched her life in some way and sends them out on her birthday. One letter for each year of her life. Now, I won't tell you how many letters that is, but it's more than a handful. Needless to say, I was impressed and inspired by her post. And if I am honest, a little grateful my birthday had already passed!

But you want to know the best part? The very same day I read that post I got a letter in the mail from Jerimi! I felt so blessed and special, to think that she would take the time to write to me on her birthday! Later in the week I found another post along the same line at "Cathy's Voice Now". Her post is titled Save an empty mailbox. Cathy to is interested in recapturing the thrill of sending and receiving actual mail. At the end of her post she offered up a challenge to her readers to write a letter or send a card to someone special.


Both these ladies reminded me of a commitment I made at the first of the year to send out snail mail. I even wrote a post about it. And at first I did pretty well. But as with most of my plans, I hit a snag. Life got in the way and I started thinking "I'll do that next week". Well, I think it's next week. And I am going to write and send out some snail mail. What about you? Join the fun and send someone special a note or a card. I guarantee it will make their day!

What is Faith?

Friday Funnies

Well, it's Friday again! And it's October, which for those of you in "the know" means that 31 Days of Faithfulness is taking place in my little corner of the blogosphere. Now, you might be asking yourself "Self, how is she going to work Faithfulness into Friday Funnies??" Well Self, let me tell you. God has a sense of humor. I know, I know, it seems impossible. I mean, so many of our leaders in the religious world have painted Him as such a serious and brooding judge. But really people, He created us! If that doesn't speak to a seriously twisted and fun sense of humor, what does???

I started Friday Funnies as a easy way to close out the week and maybe increase my readership a bit. I kept it up even on the bad days because it never fails to make me smile (and because I know of at least 2 people in the blogosphere that might come out swinging if I abandoned it). But now that I give it some thought, I think I will continue it as an act of faith. Faith in His sense of humor, faith that bad times pass, and that He is always with me. And I think that maybe He enjoys my Funnies too!

no kidding!!

haha

all my cats think this

:)

I know, I know. Christian blog. But this Christian happens to watch this show and thinks this is hilarious!

Okay, that's all folks! Now, let's get out there and make this day great!!

It's all about the numbers

Back at the first of the year when I was considering my "One Word" one of the things that I decided was that I needed to be more faithful in dealing with my health. I am an overweight, middle aged diabetic, I really needed to be more faithful about my diet and exercise. Uh Huh.....That worked for all of 5 minutes. I have 0 staying power when it comes to this aspect of my life. I have been really fortunate in the years since I was diagnosed that my diabetes has remained fairly stable. No major swings in my levels, no major health concerns arising from it. But that doesn't mean I shouldn't be vigilante.

So, with this new month and the return of my focus on Faithfulness I decided to get really proactive. I have an app on my smartphone that tracks my steps per day and allows me to add additional exercise. It also tracks my calorie intake. I started using it. And I started walking more, adding extra steps into my daily routine. I also started eating smaller meals more often throughout the day and more closely monitoring my blood sugar. And it is working. My blood sugar is staying lower over the course of the day. In fact, last night it was almost too low. After having a fairly high calorie and carb dinner of homemade pepperoni pizza I was walking in my bedroom (this is what you do when you can't afford a gym membership or a treadmill) when I started feeling light headed and dizzy. When I checked my blood sugar, it was 87. Now, for a "normal" person this is a great number. For me, this is low. And my body doesn't like low. I am crazy sensitive to anything outside of my usual normal range of 100-140. End result of this 87? I had to stop the exercise (which naturally lowers blood sugar) and eat a small serving of ice cream (not a real hardship) which brought my numbers up to 106. End result, I did not reach my step goal I had set for myself, but this morning my blood sugar is right back in my normal range at 134.

Really the whole incident is just frustrating! I am trying to do the right thing here, I really need my body to cooperate! It is so hard for me to do this, to be so aware of my diet and exercise. I would much rather just ignore it, to eat what I want and sit here in front of this computer, rather than getting up and moving. But I know I can't do that. With diabetes you have to stay aware. The complications of ignoring it tend to creep up on you and by the time you realize it, it is too late to reverse the process. So, I will stick with it. I will be faithful. One day at a time.

______________________

I suppose this is a rather odd post for a faith based blog. But I do have a strong belief that God wants me to be faithful in all things. The practical, physical things as well as the spiritual. He care about more than just my soul. Yes, it is his primary focus, my heart and my soul. But he gave me this human body, it is designed by his hand. So, I think it is safe to assume he would like for me to take better care of his gift. Don't you? 

soul fishers

I absolutely love this translation of the "fishers of men" scripture. It speaks to the heart of our calling as followers of Christ. His mission, his goal is to capture the human soul with his love and grace. Not to convert us to a cause, but to change us deep within, to fill us with mercy and joy that we then take into our daily lives and use to touch others. To make a difference in the lives and hearts of others, leading them into his beautiful net. What is better than that? Yes Lord, teach me to be a fisher of the human soul.

defining my faith

Hebrews 11:1 defines faith as "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen". This is the very first scripture I remember learning as a new Christian, many moons ago. It has always stuck with me, it is so beautiful and eloquent. But what does it really mean?

When I was a new Christian I thought it meant following the rules. It has only been in recent years that I began the process of growing out of this line of thinking. I have begun to see that faith is so much more than just following a set list of rules. Faith isn't so black and white. It is all about relationship, about the color and vibrancy of a life lived in reliance on God. Some days are bright and cheery, full of lovely lights and sounds. Some days are more subdued, gray and dark. Because that is life, it changes every day. But no matter what the each day brings, my relationship with my creator, my Father, is always available to me. And for me, that is the essence of my faith, relationship. Not rules, not sin or righteousness. Relationship. Love.

Think about it, when you love someone, it gives you strength. Loving opens your eyes to a new world all around you. And in your heart you know that despite what lies ahead, as long as you have your love you can face anything. Isn't that faith? Believing and hoping, despite what the world says? Love is "the evidence of things not seen". Loving, being in a relationship, is faith in action. And for me, the ultimate relationship is the one I choose to maintain daily with my Heavenly Father.

My hope for this month is to spend some time examining my relationships, my faith walk, and sharing some of what inspires me every day. Some days will be deep and insightful (I hope), some will be more lighthearted. My prayer is that this process will bless those who stop by to read my words and that it will deepen and strengthen my personal relationships with friends, family, and of course, my Father.