“[Life by the Spirit] You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.” Galatians 5:13 NIV Humbly in LOVE... HUMBLY in love... Thinking on this today... It is a lot to absorb. Thank you God for your word! Joan

Having a hard week... but God is still bigger!

This is one of those weeks that feels overwhelming. I am tired. I have had illness pestering with me... I have it pestering my kids... My baby is about to graduate 8th grade... WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN! I remember that time of my life. It was a difficult time... This does not have to be a difficult time at all for me and my family. My attitude needs an adjustment. God is bigger then illness and frustration. PUT DOWN THE CRAP and PICK UP THE WORD! I opened it and this is what I got... Isaiah 1:16 - 20 Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. 17 Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed.[a] Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow. 18 “Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. 19 If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land; 20 but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the Lord has spoken. 19 If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land; That sticks out a lot to me... I have been feeling ill because of the way I eat! My doctor is telling me that I might have some issues that can not be instantly changed with diet, but are related to my diet. Time to get serious with this fat thing... Just feeling overwhelmed with all of it. God is bigger and His word is truth. I need to be WILLING and OBEDIENT Up to this point I don't know that I have been. Dear God, I confess that sin in my life of unwillingness and disobedience. Please God help me to stand on your word and the work of your hands! You are BIGGER then my unwillingness and disobedience.. PRAISE YOU GOD that my sin leads me to you. Amen Joan

Joan and Jesus take on the day!

I have a busy busy week... there are lots of prepared in advance activities to do.

Scripture that spoke to me today:

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
—Colossians 2:6-7

I need to be doing everything with a gratitude attitude.

Thankful today for a husband who loves me, and calls just to say hello when he has left for work.

Thankful for my almost 4 year old son who loves to hug!

Thankful for my other 3 kids, and how they have grown so big in such a short time!

Thankful for my job that allows me to work from home.

Thankful for the possible cold that I am getting now, instead of the end of the week so that I am not going to my mom's in Phoenix with a cold in the beginning stages.

Thankful for a miraculous healing of a friend in the hospital.

Thankful for food in my fridge, and the ability to cook said food.. because I am a person who likes to eat out to much...so I need to cook for myself today.

Thankful that my car starts, its old, but it works!

Thankful for my girlfriends who always call me to touch base.

I am also thankful that I am overweight... and I need to learn dependence on God to loose said weight!

I am thinking very seriously about what my year looks like.. continuing the 365 days of worth.. and beyond with intentional prepared in advance things...

This is just where my heart is today.
Thanks for reading my thoughts!

Joan

prepared in advance...

That is the first thought that was on my mind when I woke up today. If I want to live intentionally, (and I do), then I need to be able to think like God does...

Ephesians 2:10
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

What if I prepared in advance... intentionally living as if God had prepared in advance for me... to do good works.. help people, encourage people, and love intentionally, eat healthy, take better care of myself and my family, be more effective in my day, have more grace for my mistakes, (this one hurts) exercise!

If that is the case, I have a lot of work to do on my way of thinking, doing, and being.

Meditating on that one today...
Joan

What Say We Try This Again?

Hmm. We were contributing at a nice, steady pace up through mid-summer and then... well... not a whole lot of blogging action. Behind the scenes, however, has been a different story.

Joan and I have both had some ups and downs this year in our personal lives and we've had a lot to share. I think it's fair to say that this 365 Days of Worth project is still a great idea and one we are absolutely willing to keep trying at. The other day we had a conversation about it and both agreed that finding our worth, discovering what it is that makes us special (to ourselves, to our families, to our friends, to our Lord) is an ongoing process. Every day requires new eyes, renewed vision to see ourselves more clearly.

It's unlikely that we'll write much in the next two weeks. The year of 2010 is screaming to a finish... but 2011 is waiting just around the corner. It promises to be an interesting year. We're planning on how better to blog about this journey of worth.

Have a wonderful Christmas and a safe, happy New Year celebration. Put your thinking cap on and start considering what it is that makes you special. Examine how your year has gone and where you think you might need to go (both figuratively and literally). Spend some time examining your soul and then look at the surface things around you -- do they accurately reflect who you are? If not, why?

Be well! Our prayers are with you during these last weeks of 2010 and our hopes are with you as 2011 dawns. We also hope you'll stick with us in 2011.

Too Many Days Have Gone By

No excuses. I've been busy just generally trying to stay afloat in the USS Busy Life. (That makes my little lifeboat with perpetual leaks sound so much bigger and cooler, doesn't it?)

Before this time in my life, I would have been compelled to spell out at least 15 different valid reasons that I haven't blogged. All those excuses would sound fairly impressive (to me, at least) and act a smoke screen... kind of like the ink screen an octopus squirts to get away. The truth is never as impressive as the busyness is. The truth is boring. But the details of life are found in the boring parts. And the truth is, we all live the boring busy life... so why make excuses?

I read something the other day in a life management book called First Things First. It was a scenario of a company that had the life consultants coming in to help them create a "quadrant II culture" (which is life management lingo for dealing with important, non-urgent business most of the time and creating a purposeful and relaxed atmosphere to do it in). This company was the picture of my life -- exceptional amounts of energy spent on looking busy, but without the results to show for it. It was rather shocking to read and confront that moment of realization. I still haven't actually processed it completely.

So what does this have to do with my worth (because it would be easy to come to the conclusion that all I do is spin my wheels and undermine my own worth)? Well... exactly that. I am worth creating that non-urgent, important atmosphere in my home, in my heart, and in my family. So no excuses, just acceptance of what has been.

Day 250: Whoops!

I was supposed to write something yesterday, but both my idea and my day escaped yesterday. Whoops!

Today was a day of running about. It was something of a "me" day in that I had to run across town to see my naturopath. It was about affirming choices: the choice to exercise; the choice to be careful about what I eat; the choice to try to remember to do things that are fun for me; the choice to pay attention to my health; and so on. It was a day of recommitting to those choices and remembering that I am worth all this effort (and that it's much easier if I don't think about the effort part).

So this evening I ask you to think about the choices you're making. Commit to putting your needs at the top of your to-do list. Remember that you are worth the effort.