July 20, 2017

Greetings My Friend,

I have been on a good sleep routine for a few weeks now, my new Parkinson's medication, chamomile tea and lavender essential oils is helping me get to sleep at night. With this more regulated wake up time Junior and I are doing our Sunday school lesson and we are in prayer most days together most days now. It is wonderful as we have been reading our Sunday school lesson we are hearing a direction from God about our home. The main work God is telling us to do is to clean up the front yard and porch which is what Junior is doing. I don't know what this has to do with the construction projects although I admit I have longed for the porch to look "homey" with less construction clutter and the yard being cleaned up is an added bonus for me. The more the yard and porch are cleaned the more I am able to move about more freely with my walker. I have few less things to trip over which entices me out the front door and off the porch for my walks. I am grateful beyond words. I don't know how this will relate to doing our bedroom if it even will but I trust God's timing. The Sunday school lesson is teaching us how Israel wound up deciding to work on their homes after they returned from captivity instead of the Temple. God tells them that is why the harvests are bare is because they are putting their own needs ahead of building the Temple. When we first moved into the house we started watching DIY and HGTV, renovating programs for homes. At first I thought I wanted a walk in closet, 2 sinks in the bathroom, a beautiful bedroom with a ton of room and deep soaking tubs with a shower next to the tub. Slowly though I realized that is not what I really wanted, I want a comfortable sized bedroom, enough room for comfortable chairs, a bathroom right off the bedroom with a deep tub and a roll in shower as we get older. I have decided I want a small closet so I don't have room to keep excess clothing and drawers in the closet to save room in the bedroom with no dresser. I want the rustic simplicity that this house was built like. We may not get the bedroom bathroom we have wanted, we may although if we don't I am okay with not getting it. God knows what our needs will be and I am learning to trust His will not my desire. The cleaning may be for us to put our priorities in order or it may be something totally different, time will tell. Learning to keep God at the center of our marriage is an ongoing lesson and I am grateful that He is teachnig us to regroup, refocus before we move forward. God also may be preparing us to move in another direction completely and this period of refocusing will help us to transition our goals and desires to align with His will. I am grateful that God is speaking to our hearts with love and with correction. May God bless you and keep you make His face shine on you. Love Janet