Each week we will provide you with

new words of encouragement

that will help you, and us, to see

the markers that Christ has set out before us.

Consignment Sale, Garage Sale, Chocolate Cake...
                                                                    and a little bit of Jack 3/13/11

First, I want to say, that my prayers are with all the people in Japan.  There is no nice way to say that the the "stuff" of this world sucks.  Pain is pain.  Heart break is heart break.  God feels all the pain and heart break.  (Picture is "Japan Tribute" by Just Creative Design.)

THE Consignment Sale is Saturday, March 19th!  This is it!  This is the BIG one! The biggest one I choose to know about! 

Please be in prayer for all of the people, ministries, and unknown God things that will happen this coming weekend.  He is AWE-some!

Ams is having a yard sale to help raise money to bring Natasha over from Belarus again this summer.  The program that we work with is the American Belarussian Relief Organization.  Live in the Matthews area and would like to help?  We need more stuff to sell!

Chocolate cake is always good.  Even if it is a bit "fallen."  But it is especially sweet when a good friend makes it for you!  (Even when you are on a no carb diet!)

Just tell me I am crazy on the next one.  It is ok.  I'm good with it.  This is Jack.  Jack, Ginger and Rusty are getting along well so far.  Yes.  That is 3 kids.  3 dogs.  2 guinea pigs.  My house is full.  All done!

The irony of Falling...   3/11/11

It seems that each month I have a writing, journaling, reading "theme."  Many of these are not planned, they happen.  So a few months ago I decided to embrace what was happening and go with it. 

December was praise for the Savior. 

January was renewel.

February was love.

And here we are in March and most reading and writing that I do, conversations I have, and now life experiences, surround tripping, stumbling, falling, and picking myself or someone else up.  It actually began in February, when I hurt my back (Trailmarker for 3/1). 

March has been absolutely crazy and we are not even half way through!  Yesterday I decided to take some pictures so that you can see what I mean.  These are just from ONE day.

Ams sitting with ice on her foot.  We don't know what she did.  Maybe when running relays in PE. 

J. on his way to the "big" band concert.  Extreme pressure and he isn't succumbing!  Luckily Mike is chaperoning today and not me.

Ams on her way back from the 1st set of xrays.  Yes, that means that there was a second set later!

Learning how to put on her boot that she will wear for the next 4 - 6 weeks.

Ams backstage at the 5th grade production of Wonka Jr.  She is one of the Student Directors.   Two productions today, one during school and one in the evening. 

My good friend Susie who came over to add some fun to the boot.  Ams said she could NOT go back to school until the boot had some fun on it.

N. Joseph on the couch with a 102 degree temp and yucky cough. 

The irony is...

I'm sure we have all said or heard someone say that, once one crazy, difficult, or hard thing happens you should prepare yourself for the next because it is coming and coming soon. 

And that is just what has happened to me for the past few weeks.  I don't dare ask "What is next?" because I really don't want to think about it.  I am choosing to live by the philosophy that "Life is Short," and "This too shall pass." 

One of my favorite verses from the Bible for times like this is James 4:7.  One version of the Bible, the Message, says it nicely ~ "Yell a loud NO to the Devil and watch him scamper."  I'm yelling!  He is scampering. 

Crash and go to bed or...

As you can see, there were a lot of trips, spills, and falls today.  The trick to keeping joy in my heart came from looking to God for guidance and confidence along the way.  When I felt overwhelmed by information, I said a little prayer.  When Ams' tears came about what to tell people when they asked what happened, I silently prayed to God for strength. 

When I worried that J would panic at the band concert, I gave it to God.   

N. Joseph was just along for the ride.  He slept some in the car.  Got a fast food treat for lunch; medicine to make him comfortable and I'll work on making him better today. 

God's grace came with the sunshine that peeked through the rain mid-afternoon; the grass that is now emerald green and smells so fresh; the outstanding ratings that the 8th grade band got at the concert/competition. 

God is good.  He walks along the trail with you.   All you have to do is invite Him.  Ask Him to walk with you, carry you, hold your hand, or dust off the dirt when you fall.

Like this post?  Please share it! 

And we would love to hear from you!

Comment   Share   Tweet

"The bows of the warriors are broken but those who stumbled are armed with strength." 

1 Samuel 2:4 NIV

Tripping over obstacles leads to …  3/1/11

Have you ever noticed that sometimes when you are having a bad day, it leads to a bad week, which leads to a bad month?

Stumbling

Me, I hurt my back the week that there was a full moon.  Exercise had to cease according to my chiropractor for at least another week.  Quitting exercise led me to feeling all sorts of doom and gloom because I know myself.  And I know that typically if I break my routine, it is no longer a routine, and I will seldom go back to a routine that is no longer a routine.  (Did that make sense?)

Tripping

 So when I HAD TO STOP EXERCISING, and, yes, I really had to, I started getting angry with myself.  Anger leads to self-doubt and pessimism.  Pessimism leads to weird, out there, thoughts about self.  My crazy thoughts went something like this ~ I will never loose this last 20 pounds.  What have I accomplished in my life anyways?  Who does God want me to be?  Why does He want me anyways, clearly I am a failure?  There must be more to life than what I am doing.  What is happening to me?  (And this went on and on and on…)

  You are probably thinking that I need medicine now?  Well, I’m here to tell you that MANY, MANY, MANY people go down this same sort of path in their lives on a regular basis.  We trip over obstacles in our paths every day and some of those obstacles take us down to our knees.  And isn’t that where we should be?

Falling to your knees

Quite often I find my self looking forward, down the length of the path, searching for the next obvious trail blaze (also called trailmarker) without checking out what is right at my feet.  I’m often so anxious to get to the next BIG marker in my life that I forget the here and now.  I forget that there are obstacles in my path today that I need to trip on, climb over, or, if I’m watching carefully, walk around.  I forget that my trail is marked with thousands of blazes, hundreds of opportunities, but some just don’t stand out as much as others. 

Then I stumble and fall to my knees.  I certainly don’t plan on falling and I don’t really like falling; it hurts.   And if I am honest with myself, I realize that it is my pride that hurts the most.  Eventually I realize that that is where God wants me.  He doesn’t want to hurt me.  He doesn’t want me in pain.  But He does want me watching, listening, and doing for Him, with Him, all the time.  He wants to crawl, walk, jog, and run with me down my trail; hopefully the trail that He has laid before me.  And quite often that means that I need to be down on my knees crawling so that I remember to look up to Him.

Like this post?  Please share it! 

And we would love to hear from you!

Comment   Share   Tweet

LeaveaTrace.net, Leave a Trace, O.A.K.s, and Whispers are Trademarks of Leave a Trace.  All images ©2010 - 2011, Leave a Trace. All Rights Reserved.

All writing published on www.leaveatrace.net is meant for inspiration.  Any similarities found with personal experiences are considered a "God Thing."