This morning I woke up before the kids, which hasn't happened for me in over a week (and I do much better when I don't wake up to them yelling for me to come get them up!). I was so glad to have time to drink coffee and do my Bible study for a few minutes. Along with my Bible study, most days I also try to list 5 things for which I'm thankful.
But today when I sat down, I literally thought to myself, "I just don't feel thankful today." I don't know why. I just didn't. But then I took a look around at my cute little home, with my husband curled up in his blanket with his Bible, and picked up my coffee. What is there that I don't have to be thankful for?
It's the week of Thanksgiving, for heaven's sake! I asked God to make me thankful. And He did. So in the tradition of many of my facebook friends who are listing one thing each day, here is my list of 30 things all in one day!
I AM THANKFUL:
1. For the incredible, perfect timing of God in each moment of every day - because it's certainly not what I would plan but it always works out for the best.
2. That we sold our house before the baby comes, so I don't have to worry about keeping it clean afterward.
3. That after we're moved out of our house, I get to take a "break" by living between my in-laws' and my parents' for a while, rather than having to worry about setting up a new house while getting used to the baby.
4. For my husband, who is sweet and sensitive, yet very much a man. He loves me, he loves our children, and he is daily growing to be more like Christ as he leads our home.
5. For my beautiful children, who teach me more than I ever thought each day. They are completely opposite of each other, yet equally lovable.
6. For my third child, who should be here in less than a month (I HOPE!!). She is healthy and strong, and reminds me of that at least every few minutes. (kick . . . turn . . . hiccup . . . kick)
7. That God brought us to Williamsburg when He did so that we could learn and grow as a family and as Christians for the past 5 years.
8. For the two Bible studies I've been in - Ladies Bible study each Wednesday and Young Marrieds Bible study every third weekend. What an encouragement each has been to me!
9. Plain and simple . . . for coffee of all sorts, at any time of the day but especially in the mornings.
10. That this is the week of Thanksgiving, which means 4 days with David home, a wonderful feast with the Larsons on Thursday, Christmas decorating at home on Friday, and goodie making day on Saturday!
11. To have my 3-year-old sitting in the office with me "reading" silently because his sister is still asleep. So precious.
12. That my #1 craving during pregnancy has been ice and not ice cream!
13. That so far, we have had gorgeous weather this fall. What a beautiful season to enjoy with my family!
14. For my two best friends from college, Sarah and Heidi, who are always there for me.
15. For my washing machine - a gift from dear friends at church that makes it much more enjoyable to do laundry during the week.
16. For God's Word and the promises He gives in it.
17. That I live in a modern day where we have electricity, running water, etc. because I'm kind of wimpy and doubt that I'd survive well without lights or a bathroom inside.
18. That David is the "nerd" of the family and is willing to crunch numbers each month so we actually have a budget.
19. For my church family, who just keeps blessing us even though they know we will not be here much longer. No one has said "good riddance" or anything; they keep on loving us!
20. That no matter what happens - who is president, where I am physically, what may be going on in the world - I can trust that nothing happens outside of God's knowledge. He has a perfect ultimate plan for each of us and He definitely wins in the end!
21. That both of my kids are at an age where they say really, really funny things. I'll be even more thankful when I remember to write them down!
22. That after I have the baby I get to be in the hospital for a couple of days. I know some people don't like it but, really? I quite enjoy sitting in that hospital bed where they bring me food and take the baby when I'm tired.
23. For meat. Yup, I said meat. Some friends gave us a bunch of burgers, roasts, and chickens, and I am very thankful for each bite.
24. For pens and notebooks. I am that crazy one that loves to write anything and everything, and make tons of lists. I'm glad to have something that makes it happen.
25. That no matter what my physical blessings - and I've listed many - my spiritual blessings are far more and far greater.
26. For evenings spent lately with David, a cup of hot tea, and great conversation.
27. For my crockpot and my bread machine. They certainly make life a lot easier!
28. For our SUV that God arranged for us to buy with cash. It has been a huge blessing in our lives to be able to give rides, haul some things, etc. We always wanted one but never thought we'd be able to afford one!
29. For personal ministry meetings we've been able to have with our pastor.
30. As I finish my list, I'll end with the most important. I am so thankful that God sent His Son Jesus to be born as a man, to live as a human, and to give the ultimate sacrifice so that we might each be saved from our sins. I am thankful that this sacrifice was a gift I only needed to accept, and that Jesus is alive today! I sure can't wait to see Him face to face someday!
Monday, November 19, 2012
Monday, November 5, 2012
Hello, facebook . . . with limits!
Well, I'm at the end of my official facebook sabbatical. I have to admit, I did log on about 4 times, for maybe 5 minutes each, during the month I took off. But in my defense . . . a few of my friends from college were having babies and I just had to check on them!!
To describe the break from facebook, I think I can sum it up in one word: "refreshing".
I knew that facebook had become an idol of sorts to me, but I really didn't have any idea of the extent until I stopped logging on altogether. I still can't believe the amount of time I was spending on the computer and on the Kindle Fire in contrast to the time with my children as well as doing other, more constructive, activities!
Here are a few of the things I got done in the past month that I truly believe wouldn't have happened if I'd spent my normal amount of time on facebook.
*I read books to the kids. And read, and read, and read. Literature has been such a huge part of my life, and I have so enjoyed sharing that with Samuel and Julia. I even set aside a half hour each day after laying Julia down to read more informative, "older" books to Samuel. He absolutely ate them up - all the knowledge, entertainment, imagination, and ideas in each book. It has also been absolutely precious time spent just sitting together on the couch with my quickly-growing 3-year-old that I never would have had because I was always itching to put him to bed and check on everyone else's kids via facebook.
*I spent more time in God's Word. Oh, sure, I did okay before. But once again, I'd rush through any quiet time with God that I may have had so that I could log on to facebook for as much time as possible. But this past month, I was able to truly spend and enjoy that time that I need reading my Bible, studying, and praying.
*The kids and I spent more time outside on walks, playing in the yard, and enjoying parks nearby.
*The house stayed cleaner. I didn't think it'd make a difference, but it certainly did! I wasn't rushing to get one thing done and doing it half-heartedly, but rather spent all the time I needed really cleaning.
*I read a whole bunch of books! As I mentioned earlier, literature has been a huge part of my life, but I just wasn't finding the time to read over the past several months. I think I read about 6 books during the past month, and it was great!
Those things alone made it worth it to take a break from facebook. And now that I'm back on, I've found that if I'm on for 15 minutes, I quickly log off and feel at least somewhat guilty, wondering all the things I may have rather done during those past minutes.
What is fun is being able to continue to see progress with friends as facebook is the primary means for keeping up with people in other towns. So these past few days (and I haven't been on every single day, just a couple), I've just quickly scrolled through the news feed and checked on a few friends specifically who I knew may have changes or may have posted pictures recently.
It is definitely refreshing not to feel so attached. I can see how that could easily become a habit once again, so we've moved our computer back upstairs to the office and out of our living room. I also put up the Kindle Fire and am considering sending it to work with David to prevent me from picking it up on a whim and getting "stuck".
I hope that anyone else who feels he or she might be spending too much time on facebook would consider taking a break. Even after a week, I felt so much less dependent - a month just solidified it for me!
A quick update on other events in our life:
David will be starting his new job working for his dad December 31st. We will be moving in with my in-laws for the time being until we put more of a dent in our student loans and find a place to live.
We are negotiating the sale of our home here, so if our praying friends would oblige, please pray that we could sell it for enough to pay off the mortgage and have a little extra!
The baby is due in 6 weeks. She has finally moved out of my ribs and is sitting much lower, so I am not experiencing so much pain from that at least!
We are continuing to trust God for each step and though it is bittersweet right now, thinking of leaving here after 5 years, we are very excited to see what He has for our family in the future!
To describe the break from facebook, I think I can sum it up in one word: "refreshing".
I knew that facebook had become an idol of sorts to me, but I really didn't have any idea of the extent until I stopped logging on altogether. I still can't believe the amount of time I was spending on the computer and on the Kindle Fire in contrast to the time with my children as well as doing other, more constructive, activities!
Here are a few of the things I got done in the past month that I truly believe wouldn't have happened if I'd spent my normal amount of time on facebook.
*I read books to the kids. And read, and read, and read. Literature has been such a huge part of my life, and I have so enjoyed sharing that with Samuel and Julia. I even set aside a half hour each day after laying Julia down to read more informative, "older" books to Samuel. He absolutely ate them up - all the knowledge, entertainment, imagination, and ideas in each book. It has also been absolutely precious time spent just sitting together on the couch with my quickly-growing 3-year-old that I never would have had because I was always itching to put him to bed and check on everyone else's kids via facebook.
*I spent more time in God's Word. Oh, sure, I did okay before. But once again, I'd rush through any quiet time with God that I may have had so that I could log on to facebook for as much time as possible. But this past month, I was able to truly spend and enjoy that time that I need reading my Bible, studying, and praying.
*The kids and I spent more time outside on walks, playing in the yard, and enjoying parks nearby.
*The house stayed cleaner. I didn't think it'd make a difference, but it certainly did! I wasn't rushing to get one thing done and doing it half-heartedly, but rather spent all the time I needed really cleaning.
*I read a whole bunch of books! As I mentioned earlier, literature has been a huge part of my life, but I just wasn't finding the time to read over the past several months. I think I read about 6 books during the past month, and it was great!
Those things alone made it worth it to take a break from facebook. And now that I'm back on, I've found that if I'm on for 15 minutes, I quickly log off and feel at least somewhat guilty, wondering all the things I may have rather done during those past minutes.
What is fun is being able to continue to see progress with friends as facebook is the primary means for keeping up with people in other towns. So these past few days (and I haven't been on every single day, just a couple), I've just quickly scrolled through the news feed and checked on a few friends specifically who I knew may have changes or may have posted pictures recently.
It is definitely refreshing not to feel so attached. I can see how that could easily become a habit once again, so we've moved our computer back upstairs to the office and out of our living room. I also put up the Kindle Fire and am considering sending it to work with David to prevent me from picking it up on a whim and getting "stuck".
I hope that anyone else who feels he or she might be spending too much time on facebook would consider taking a break. Even after a week, I felt so much less dependent - a month just solidified it for me!
A quick update on other events in our life:
David will be starting his new job working for his dad December 31st. We will be moving in with my in-laws for the time being until we put more of a dent in our student loans and find a place to live.
We are negotiating the sale of our home here, so if our praying friends would oblige, please pray that we could sell it for enough to pay off the mortgage and have a little extra!
The baby is due in 6 weeks. She has finally moved out of my ribs and is sitting much lower, so I am not experiencing so much pain from that at least!
We are continuing to trust God for each step and though it is bittersweet right now, thinking of leaving here after 5 years, we are very excited to see what He has for our family in the future!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
