Self-discipline

–noun
discipline and training of oneself, usually for improvement

Please pray that I would have this, in healthy balance, in reality, and in all parts of my life.

Amen

Prayer and Survival

I know I am blessed. I survived the week of sisterhood, loving the end of the day when I would be at home alone, able to sleep in peace.

Prayer abounds for so many, but these are on my list: Judy--she keeps herself really, really, really busy--and I still don't think she's taken time to grieve. Daniel, LeeAnn, Damascus, and baby D--for continued trust and hope in the Lord's provision. My friend Ever--just left home for the first time and did it with gumption (!)--that she also trusts that the Lord provide what He knows she needs. For the families of the missing in Minneapolis after the bridge collapse--the waiting is the worst. For Erika, Jeremy, Sara, Jason, and any others I may have forgotten--that their time serving the Lord in the far corners of the world is fruitful. For David in the hospital down in San Antonio--that he continues to heal and his family & friends continue to bravely believe that this too, is the Lord's plan & timing for him.

Amen & amen.

vacation

So, I'm on vacation this week. So far, so good. I have a long list of not very fun things to do--write a budget for next year, pay bills, do home repairs, etc. I also have a list of very fun things to do.

One of those things is spend time with my sisters, one who's local & one who came down from Missouri. The Missouri girl brought our 18 year old niece with her, along with 4 of her own kids, ranging in age from 5 to 12. I had forgotten, until today, how noisy a house can be with the following ages in only two rooms:
2 moms
1 @ 18
2 @ 12
2 @ 10
2 @ 8
1 @ 5
and one aunt who is aging gracefully.

Pray for us all, that we would enjoy our time together, and treasure this rare visit. Pray particularly that I would bear well with the noise and not get frustrated by it. Thanks!

Footnote

I've been in an ongoing discussion with a friend who doesn't quite believe what I do about church, society, and humanity. I have been struggling with the right way to talk to this friend without offense, and just today found this footnote to 2 Corinthians 12:21

"...We must live differently from unbelievers, not letting secular society dictate how we are to treat others. Don't let culture invade your practices at church."

Plus, I got a good reminder from Julie, something along the lines of "A Christian makes man small, and God big, not the other way around."

Interesting...

anyone?

I am changing my mind about my house. I still want to keep it, but I am drastically changing my plan with the floors. My new plan is to rid the house of all existing floor covering (yucky laminate tiles, old carpet, and padding-ick) then either do a concrete/acid stain or just paint the floors.

Problem is, I don't know anything about any of that (I can probably figure out removing the old stuff). Does anyone have any best bets on how to get all this done on a budget? If you do, I'd appreciate any help.

No comment

I've been trying to figure out something fascinating to post here, but alas, no luck. Life is just humming along normally. I am praying that we won't need to build an ark to get up I-35. I visited Chicago for a weekend (very cool city). Some of my friends & family came over to watch the highly-anticipated fireworks provided by the city of Temple. Still working out about 5 days a week. A mockingbird has decided to pick on my dog. I eliminated about half the jungle of my backyard today by mowing the knee-high grass while it was actually raining. I don't recommend it.

If I were creative, each of those could be a story, but that is for another day. I'm outta here (gotta be up for work in about 5 hours). Peace

Update

I have a tendency to see my life in extremes, so I wanted to update when I was feeling more centered in reality.

My sister joined Weight Watchers. I thought about it, but when she shared her program with me, I realized I had already made most of the changes she was starting to make to my own diet. Then she had the brilliant idea that we should work out together, so...we joined a women's only gym!

I am loving life. 4 days a week, I am up early to work out before 7am. I sleep like a baby, and I have energy for days. It's amazing. I only recently wandered into the couch potato zone, so getting out of it has made me see how much I love getting up & moving. Honestly, I think I've watched less than 2 hours of TV this week, and for me, that is record-breaking.

There are some other moves I'm making to get over myself & my blue mood of late. As I'm ready, I'll share those with you, too. (And now I'm sad that Lee Ann is without a computer, because she'd be the one with an interest...oh well.) Those of you who know & love me, keep on praying that my heart's desire will be what the Lord has for me (and, you know, that it is the same as what I want!)

A shout out here to my g'ville buddies--Tracey, Greg, Tonya G--it's time you get your own blog! Thanks for the great visit this weekend...love you all. Hug Chipper for me.