Saturday

This morning I wanted to go out for a walk.



But I cleaned the bathrooms instead. (forcing myself to do something constructive)

It's 2:00 now, and I still want to go for a walk.

The rain has stopped. The sun is out. The mountains are wearing their white hats.

I called my faithful walking friend and she's not home.

I will go alone.

I will think.

I will think about my future.

Will I have a new FT job soon? (but I love my pt job)

Who will my counselor be? (in process of searching for one)

Will my husband get more work?

Will my son pass the background check on his prospective job?

AND I WILL THINK ABOUT GOD'S PROMISES. And try to be quiet....just in case HE wants to say something.

In fact, maybe I will relax and not worry about anything.

That's what God hopes I will do.

And we'll walk side by side.

Quietly.

He—quietly loving.
me—quietly trusting.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I'm back from my walk. I drove 15 minutes toward the western foothills A big river once tumbled out of this canyon, but now it's banks are closer together. Rocks from its violent past are strewn everywhere. It's a rugged place. One has to search out it's beauty. I walked along the river, climbing over the rocks...hoping to find a fossil or something surprising. I've never seen so many kinds of rocks. I stuffed a white one with big black speckles into my backpack.






Click on this picture of the river bed.
Have you ever seen so many rocks?





















Stream crossing







A prickly pear cactus
























Rain clouds are gathering.











I found this quiet path on the way out.











He leads me on the paths of righteousness--He restores my soul...

Words from a Friend

Yesterday I opened an email from a friend who kindly sent me the words below from a book entitled 31 Days of Praise by Ruth Myers.

I think I need to print out the words so I can read them again and again.

Before you begin to read...I must tell you about the weather. It's cold, it's raining, and the mountains are dusted with snow. The sky decorated with all sorts of clouds...very beautiful.

My son has a job interview today!

Here are the words from the book 31 Days of Praise:

"Thank You that You plan to use for good the struggles my loved ones face - including their disappopinting choices, their unwise or even harmful ways of thinking and living, and their sidetracks from going Your way (as I see it -and, Lord, I know I could be wrong!).

I praise you in advance for the part these difficult things are going to play in Your good plan for us - in eventual deliverance and growth and fruitfulness. I'm grateful that in all these things, the battle is not mine by yours . . . and that the final chapter has not yet been written. How good it is that I can call on You to give me wisdom to know what to say or not say, what to do and not do . . . and that You live in me so that I can love with Your love, even when it's hard. Thank You that these trials force me to trust You more!

I worship before You, my King and my God. I'm grateful that You command victories for Your people . . . and that "all things are Your servants." You're a God who acts on behalf of the one who puts his hope in You. Thank You that You are at work to answer my prayers in Your good way and time."

It's nice to be blessed with good friends who come alongside and keep me thinking in the right direction. Thanks Debbie! And I thank God for all of my blogging friends who do the same!

Have a good day, dear friends! We belong to a victorious God.

Wacky Weekend Notes

Drive to Mom and Dad's to help with mom's after-surgery care.

Mom is fine, but Dad's heart speeds up...medication needed. medication taken. He is better.

Mom is doing laps around the house on her new knee--with a walker.
Next morning mom is sick.

Go back and forth to pharmacy to pick up medications.

My husband calls. Big problems at home with eldest son.
Difficult conversation.

Dad and I take mom to hospital.

A dear relative calls on my cell. Needs prayer for a crisis.

Wait forever in emergency room with mom.

Husband calls from home. He just sprained his ankle.

Drive home around 9:00 p.m. after mom is admitted to hospital.

Husband cannot get comfortable and sleeps on couch.

Where is oldest son?
Stay awake.
1:00 a.m. oldest son comes home.

2:00 a.m. loud beeping sound from kitchen. Is it the smoke detector?
2:02 a.m. No....it's youngest son's stop watch.
2:04 p.m. Turn off stop watch and go back to bed.
2:14 a.m. stop watch goes off again.
2:14 a.m. let the stop watch beep!
2:15 p.m. wrap pillow around ears.
3:00 a.m. I hear my husband calling my name.
3:01 p.m. Oh...it's just my husband snoring.

But the morning brought a blessing and answer to prayer. I've been praying for years for my youngest son to use his drumming skills at church. Today was his first "gig"! He played in the worship band in our high school department and did a great job!

Other blessings: Great hospital dinner date with dad.
Diane--the nurse who helped us.
Mom is doing much better and will be released soon.
UPDATE: SHE IS NOW HOME!

A Letter in Your Mailbox

Good morning.

I'm sending you a good old-fashioned letter. Just the kind I would write if I mailed it to you...on flowery stationery with stickers on the back.

Dear Friends,

How are you? I must get over to your blogs soon. My computer is still in the shop. I'm trying to be patient about it.

My mother had a knee replacement on Monday. I'm driving down this weekend to help her out. She came home on Wednesday. She had so much food... (a kind soul brought it over)....that she (mom) decided to have some friends over for dinner. I can't believe she is entertaining--but I'm sure my dad will help her out.

My mother has been invited to go to Austria to represent the USA on a senior women's tennis team in June. So she has a lot of incentive to get well fast! She has a good attitude, however. What ever happens will happen. This will be her second time to go to Austria.

My husband has been busy the last couple of weeks. I'm so glad that his work has picked up, at least for two weeks. He's working on the music for a movie (I don't know the name of it yet). He is also working on the audio for an amusement park. And he is also composing a storm of music for some music libraries.

I'm enjoying my job, although it is a little hectic.

Regarding my oldest son, I've been able to hook up with a counselor at a very large church that offers a counseling ministry. My first session will be coming up soon. I'm not sure if this counselor will be the right one, but I will walk through every door that opens to me. God knows.....he knows I'm walking through doors. I am looking for his guidance.

My youngest son stayed up until 2:30 a.m. last night over at someone's home. He and a group of students are working on their Spanish final--it's a presentation in Spanish about a particular poet. Today is the presentation. My son struggles in Spanish. "I'll pray for you," I said.
"I think I need a miracle." he answered.

The weather has been gorgeous. It's about 45 in the morning, and then it heats up to 74. The sky is blue, and the air has been clean. The mountains look beautiful.

But today I'm driving to the beach...to see my mom.

I'm looking forward to it!

Take care and I will be over to your "blog homes" soon for a visit.

Love,

Sharon

Numbering our Days

I'm in the kitchen.
It's 7:45 a.m.
The youngest is at school.
The oldest is at community service.
Handsome husband is still sleeping.

I am with the Lord, meeting him at the kitchen table for quiet time and a bowl of cereal.

We're looking at II Peter.

A cross-reference brought me to Psalm 90. I was surprised that it related goals. (see yesterday's post)
So I took a quick break to let you know this. This is what it says.

"Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain a heart of
wisdom."

This part wasn't too encouraging...

"The length of our days is seventy years--or eighty,
if we have the strength;
yet their span is but trouble and sorrow,
and they quickly pass,
and we fly away."

Then I had to laugh at this part:

"Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,"

But I loved this part...

"Satisfy us in the morning
with your unfailing love,
that we may sing for joy
and be glad all of our days"

I'm going back to my quiet time now.
I want to wrap myself in his unfailing love.

Do you set Goals?

A friend of mine called the other day and left a message on my machine. She wanted to touch base with me to see how I was doing. Had I made any New Year's resolutions? "Maybe we can exchange goals and pray for each other."

I hadn't really thought about making any new years resolutions. But her call made me think. Goals are good. And I should have them. Now It may happen that I will fall short of my goals, but that doesn't matter. At least I will have begun a journey to meet the goal(s)...and who knows where that will lead me?

Life has been so lifeless lately. I go to work, I come home and do all kinds of paperwork, and housework and errands that must be done. And while I work I worry about the antics of my oldest...and hammer out decisions with my husband on what to do in various situations involving him. This can't be all there is to life. But again, realistically, this IS life for most of us.

Since I may need to go back to work full-time, one of my goals is to take a Word and Excel class to sharpen my skills.

Another goal that comes to mind is: Be less anxious. I'm not sure how to accomplish this goal. There are two types of anxiety that I experience.
Emotional and Physical. For emotional, I need to make sure I'm in the Word. Perhaps get into a Bible Study, or simply get more organized with my reading. I also plan to seek out a counselor for some difficult issues at home. For physical, I need to make sure I get exercise, and perhaps take some time to physically relax (deep breathing?)

I'm still throwing ideas around in my head regarding additional goals. I actually enjoy this exercise, because it gives me a feeling of looking forward to the next year.

I should have a writing goal. I'm praying about that one.

I think that some goals should involve serving others...and not centering every goal around oneself. (still thinking this through)

How 'bout a FUN goal. Maybe I should take a tap dancing class!

Have you made any New Years resolutions?

Oldest son update: Has not gone out looking for a job. The car insurance will be running out soon.
Computer Update; My computer is still at the shop.

Computer Disconnect

My computer would not turn on yesterday. To make a long story short, it's in the shop, and APPLE is going to fix it for free. This is a blessing--that we don't have to pay for it! But it won't be done until the last part of January.
I may not be able to post as often as I'd like...because I'm on my youngest son's computer, and it may not be possible.

In continuation with the last post....my older son decided he didn't want to look for a job on day#2 or day#3. And he didn't attend an appointment he had today.

This morning my writer's critique group was over. I cleaned up the whole house and moved the dining room table over toward our front window. It's a large picture window. I opened all the curtains in the house. Because its raining! And I love to watch the rain. I lit a cozy fire in the fireplace. We did some critiquing and sharing of our lives. I'm blessed to be a part of such a group.

Nice Things

Some nice things happened today.

My 16 year old asked me to give him guitar lessons. I'm only good for about the first year. We went over playing a major scale. I showed him the chords of C G7 and G. He will also be learning to read notes.

Both my sons taught me how to play "guitar hero" which involves holding a small computerized guitar with buttons. Initially I was not impressed with a guitar with buttons--what a silly toy! But after trying it--it's rather fun. They helped me create a band called "The Moms". In the past I have rarely played video games with my sons. But this...I can do. I'm thankful I can enter their world...and talk to them about something besides, "pick up your dishes!"

I picked up and put away my Christmas decorations.

Cleaned the hardwood floor in the living room. (most of its covered by a rug)

I reorganized a cupboard.

I read God's Word. I'm embarking on I and II Peter.

I took my oldest son job-hunting today. We are no longer giving him any gas money...so if he wants to look for a job, he goes with me. I told him I would be available 2 hours every afternoon...and to let me know if he wanted to go out. (with a look that said...you better ask me!) He has been unemployed for months. (For valid reasons and unvalid reasons)

So we went out. I brought a small book and put it in my purse. "Praying God's Will for Your Son." It's full of scripture prayers. I thought I might as well do something constructive (like pray) while waiting in the car. As we backed out the driveway, he let me know that we were only going where HE wanted to go. I said, "Okay." So we went to two pizza places to check out pizza delivery jobs. Then we came home. I didn't get much time to pray or read. I think we were gone for 30 minutes. I'm trying to let him be in control. But if he doesn't have a job pretty soon...the floor is going to drop under him. (He said he needs to put a little more thought into where to go...and tomorrow we would be out longer.)

Believe it or not, no one in our family had seen Spiderman 3. So we all watched it last night. We rarely watch a movie together. And the movie had some good morals... in it's comic-book sort of way. It encouraged forgiveness, and doing good. It demonstrated how lust for power can take over and ruin your life...even kill you.

In my reading this morning: May it encourage your heart, as it did mine.
I Peter 1:6 In this (salvation) you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith...may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed."