This weekend brought roaring unsettling "discussions" and also joyful moments of sitting in the back yard making obstacle races with the kids. How does this happen? How in one minute can I feel so deflated and exhausted from the demands of marriage and family and then within a few short hours I feel light and easy.
I have mentioned before that we are following the ABC Scriptures series with Impress Your Kids. Each night my kids and I do phonic activities while we learn scripture. Tonight our scripture was "...we are full of joy in God because of our Lord Jesus Christ." I had to explain to my son that we can still have joy even though we have moments and days where we feel alone or sad. We can have joy because of what Jesus did for us. Even though I spent the previous night crying myself to sleep, and my arms felt like they were an old woven basket ready to give way, I realized that I am full of joy. God has tucked joy in the form of:
obstacle courses
Hy Hope Farm's butter tarts
mothers that cook and care for their children's children
sermons that remind us of the work that has to be done
plans for Christmas baking (already!)
friends that come back from vacations
questions like "Is Jesus God's last name?" (asked by Cohen during scripture time)
homeschooling (I can't believe WE are this excited)
As always our lives are filled with challenges that take us places we want to run from. Yet, God is constantly reminding me to close my eyes and feel the fullness of his joy.
Join Ann Voskamp as she gives thanks.
5 comments:
Christmas baking? Already? Wow. And here I thought I was doing good planning halloween costumes...
Loved your list.
Umm, butter tarts -- yeah! Bring 'em on, I mean over! :)
I'm a bit intimidated that you're already planning for Christmas baking. I love Christmas and all, but, wow!
Full of joy and giving thanks with you for abundant blessings. So great to meet you!
ooh i love to plan for things like christmas baking! i'm already planning for gifts (does that count? i'm trying to figure out who gets handmade and who gets purchased!)
and still excited for you in homeschooling since i'm not quite there yet--i mean doing it, i'm plenty excited! :)
Plans for Christmas baking... oh my word, Girl!!!! You are more organized them moi. I love it! Now you have my mind a racing... but really we are LESS then four months away!
Thank you for your comment on my blog--it was encouraging and I appreciate the time you spent to do it.
It amazes me, too, how quickly our emotions and feelings can change....we are women, after all! Thankfully, the joy of the Lord is our strength....and it's easy to find joy when we're looking for it and that joy makes us strong! Sounds like you have a lot of joy--and a lot to be thankful for.
hope you have a blessed week! It's nice to "meet" you! :)
P.S. It sounds like you are an encourager....I have an Etsy shop where I sell cards with verses, but I need to re-stock...I may consult you on that sometime!
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