June 17 2014

June 17 2014 Greetings My Friend, My breathing is under control, prayers have been said and I am ready to take on the rest of this day. My daily walk did me in today. I am overcoming bronchitis which means my breathing is a bit of a struggle. Still I was able to get out and do a few minutes and for that I am grateful. The quietness of prayer time and now writing is giving me the energy to do more of this day. I will go to Circle at church in a little bit and associate with other women, believers. Again I find having a church family is so important. Sometimes we hang out and are the women we are. Sometimes we encourage one another in the work the Lord has called us to do. Sometimes we help a struggling believer to stay strong. Going to church and Sunday school help. I also find that being in a group or two also gives me an added boost throughout the month. I had two walkers and last week I remembered a friend who doesn’t have great insurance so I took her the extra walker. It felt good to be able to help her out. Today on my FB page I wrote about being an encourager. I wrote about Junior having such a hard shell at times that people aren’t sure of him. Underneath that shell though is one precious man who loves Jesus with all he has. In Jesus’ love I have met a man who truly loves me and seeks God’s guidance as to the way he should treat me. The more I commit to God the more ways I find to be about God’s business for my life. I am a writer. At one point journaling was what helped me face day to day life. In that I found a depth to my personality that longed to share what I learn. These days I do that with my writing. God has walked me through a long process and now I am about the work He wants me to do. By doing what I feel God wants me to do I find life to be rather pleasant. There are the deep hurts of life that still crop up. These days though I don’t feel so alone and I have a strength to face trials because I am not alone. It is awesome. When I began this journey I recalled a passage that God wants “all” of me. How I wondered can I begin to do this. God in His wisdom has taken me step by step and today I marvel at how much I turn to God all day most days. He is my first thought when I wake up. He is on my mind during the day and He is the last thought I have at night. I spend a bit of time in prayer once or twice a day. The rest of my prayer life seems to be what I call popcorn prayers. If I am feeling extremely thankful I might spend a bit of time just saying “thank you”. Sometimes I list different things I am thankful for and sometimes it is an overall awe of thankfulness I was sick so I could not go with Junior to the audiologist yesterday. I did pray for him as he was gone that he would be safe, that the doctor would find what is wrong. When Junior came home safe and had some answers I found myself in that thankful mode again. Now we can work on what needs to be done. As I take my walks along the country lane out here I marvel at creation. Today the house down the road has been abandoned. A boat and a car has been left behind. The greenery is growing all around these items and only the tops are seen at present. God reclaims what man discards, including the lost and lonely of this world. He reclaimed me when I felt used up,worthless and of no value to man. God said “I love you and I have a job for you.” He has taken me step by step to teach me what I needed to do the work he called me to do. Today my life revolves around writing, being a housewife, loving my children, my husband and grandchildren. Life is full and sweet. My life is not the way I imagined it would turn out to be. At one point I would have been depressed to no end. Through the last few years as I felt rejected over and over slowly God taught me to keep turning to Him. As I trusted God with more and more I found myself being content. People came into my life that enjoyed me, loved me and encouraged me. My life still isn’t what I had wanted it to be. Frankly at this point I have more than I ever imagined. I have a healthy marriage, my husband is my best friend (after Jesus of course). The house we live in is amazing to me. It isn’t a designer home but it fits Junior and I so well our needs and our tastes. We have so many fur children I am amazed. All of them are good kids….so they drag the oatmeal box off the shelf and rip it open and it is all over. Sometimes I get irritated but soon I am laughing at their antics and I learn to put things up higher. I’ll take this faith journey any day, the hard days and the days of blessings. I’ll learn the lessons and find I am grateful. May God bless you and keep you make His face shine on you. Love Janet