Am I mindful?

YEA! It has finally happened. I have made it back to life with children...I am starting on Monday to be a pre-school teacher. I can't wait! Back to a life of sniffles, runny noses, potty breaks and nap time But I can't complain, I love every minute of it.
However, I have to remember that everything I say and do will be copycatted again and remembered and taken home to parents' listening ears. But, as a Christian I should be mindful of my choices anyways. I am just more conscious around little ones I think. A good reminder to myself that everyone watches you and critiques you when you are a Christian and we should all be mindful of what we communicate with words and actions. My friend wrote on her Blogg yesterday and quoted Psalm 39 "I said, 'I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin; I will put a muzzle on my mouth'..." vs 1. This is what I will have to do. Muzzle myself. What a great thought...I have been working at that anyways and trying to be more nice to people so this was a challenging thought.

Perfectly Willing?

I have been reading a good book, by Jan Karon called "At home in Mitford" just easy reading...the kind where you don't have to think. It's about Father Tim and his life as a Preist and his parrish, friends, what little love life he has with his new neighbor, his giant dog & a boy named Dooley who continually CRACKS me up! (I recommend this series of books, they are sweet and really good.)

In one of the paragraphs the main character, Father Tim asks his neighbor, Cynthia, "Would you agree that we must be willing to thank God for every trial of our faith no matter how severe for the greater strength it produces?" The neighbor responds, " I'm perfectly willing to say it but I'm continuely unable to do it."

I whole-heartedly agree with her! I am perfectly willing but half-heartedly do it. No matter my intentions on being thankful, I grumble at my trials. Do I grow stronger? Does it increase my faith? Absolutely!!! Thanking God is easy when times are easy. Thanking God during the hard times is at my best effort pathetic. I half-heartedly give thanks if sometimes even at all. I am working on the thankful thing and remembering even when times are hard, God is giving me the strenght to make it through and allowing hard times to strengthen me and my faith. I MUST thank God for everything, accepting it at the same time. No giving thanks out of one side of my mouth while grumbling with the other side of it. We all do it. I just need to put myself in the right place and frame of mind and respect God, submit to God, and realize HE is GOD...not me. He knows best and has put me in the circumstances I am in for a reason. HE knows what He's doing, not me...that's why He's perfect!
As I sit here today I am trying to be thankful. I have much to be thankful for, but am going through a trial and hearing what I definately do not want to hear. It is going to be hard to accept this trial. But accept it I must and trust God that He knows better than what I want. Would I agree to thank God for everything? I am trying my best.

Grrrrrrr.....

Today and yesterday I have really been in a foul mood. Unusual for me but I had a foul weekend and today was even worse. This weekend we painted the room from "hell". It was hot pink with even hotter pink flowers painted in enamel! UH! Five coats of primer and two gallons of paint cannot kill these flowers! We have guests coming this weekend and I want the room to be nice for them, but I still cannot kill the flowers. What to do? Is there a lesson in this for me? Maybe it is just to not ever buy another home with painted walls. The homes previous owner, the man of the house, was an artist...kinda. He painted our room with tiger stripes on one wall and the second bedroom is a safari, on all four walls, the ceiling and the trim. The safari is next to go...The slowly dying pink room was 2 walls pink with the flowers and the other two were a Hawaain scene. One more coat of paint slathered on should kill it for good.

Also our computers at work are not working right. Plus in general I think they just don't like me. They are outdated and still in black and green screens...like from 1980 or so? But they have only added to my tension.

As for the company, that should cheer me up! My best-friend who is surely all cute and pregnant and her hubby are coming for Friday night. Yea! That will put me back into a good mood. For now I think I need a study time in the Bible to set my attitude right.

I keep a nifty little tattered bound notecard book at my desk, it has traveled with me from college then from job to job. Verses are added as often as needed, but its got my favorites...I look at it often at work to change my thoughts...usually not nice, and to put me into a better mood. God only knows what will happen when my little book falls apart? A verse in my book reminds me of why I should be in a better mood...

"Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me. For I am gentle and numble and you will find
rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30

When my burdens are seemingly many...how much more can my burdens be than the ones Jesus was carrying on the day he told his disciples this? His burdens were light? The man was carrying the weight of the sin of the world on His shoulders soon? Light burdens??? Wow, how small all mine really are. See? The bible always puts my life right back in perspective! God is my rest, he will give me strength, even when I'm in a foul mood, God meets me right where I am! Thank God!!!

Blessed art me...

Just counting my blessings today. I try to regroup every now and then and think of how blessed I am. Take check and thank God for all that He provides...which is everything. I have been remembering lately my dependence on Him and trying to put myself where it belongs. Below, way below Him in reverence and submission to Him. I have trouble being reverent, especially the submissive part, to Him and remembering how GREAT He is and how little I am. Counting my blessings does that. "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ." Ephesians 1:2-4 Remembering that Jesus is our greatest blessing of all, what other thing could we ask for? A good friend, Pastor Cheryl, e-mailed me a quote today and I thought it spoke of blessings:

I sense that striving for wholeness is, increasingly, a countercultural goal, as
fragmented people make for better consumers, buying more bits and pieces--two or more cars, two homes and all that fills them-and outfitting one's body for a
wide variety of identities: business person, homebody, amateur athlete, traveler, theater or sports fan. Things excercise a certian tyranny over us. Whenever I am checking bags at an airport, I recall St. Teresa of Avila's wonderful prayer of praise, 'Thank God for the things that I do not own.'"

Cheryl always has a verse at the ready or a good quote. She is such a great woman of God and I could learn alot from her! I think about the quote and am convicted about how whole I do not believe myself to be sometimes. I think of the material items listed in the quote and how I strive for those things and worry about the house, the car, the clothes and am brought back to God's Word and His promise... "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you
will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I
tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and
your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:25-34

What could we ask for other than Jesus? Nothing is the right answer...except to grow closer to Him and the closer we grow the more we find we don't need. He provides all things. AMEN!!!!

I think I can...

I have been thinking lately about life and how precious it is at all times. In easy times and times when I struggle, I strive to remember I am blessed beyond belief at all times! (This is always much easier to remember in the easy times.) Through all things God is there and gives me the strength to make it through. "I can do everything through Him who gives me strength" Philipians 4:13. I need to remember that more and thank Him for this! No matter what happens in my life I have His word to help me and speak to me and of course God Himself to speak with. He is the best listener of all...