Lessons: Sixty-Seven through Seventy-Two

"Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation or distress, or persecution or famine or nakedness, or peril, or sword? But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:35,37-39 (NASB)


Friday, November 5th

67) Good listeners- In my life, I have been blessed with many people who are such good listeners and I am so thankful for each and every one of them- my husband, my parents, my sister, and so many of my friends. So often when I am struggling with a difficult circumstance or debating the benefits of various options, I really need to bounce my ideas or thoughts off someone else. Otherwise I just feel like all my thoughts are spinning around inside my head, going faster and faster. Thanks to all these wonderful listeners, I love the direction life is taking me and I still have my sanity despite some challenging circumstances.

68) Wearing Pre-Baby Jeans- So this morning I pulled out another three pairs of my pre-baby jeans that I can wear. I am now wearing all of my pre-baby bottoms except for the smallest sizes (and most of those are junior sizes which I may never fit into again). Honestly if I think about it, I don't think those bottoms were really fitting me that well before I got pregnant anyway, but that is beside the point. What is so thrilling to me is that there is just something so slimming about fitting into your pre-baby jeans. I really wasn't feeling any skinnier this morning, but when I put on my pre-baby jeans, I suddenly felt slimmer. Kind of crazy, isn't it? I know. It's all just a head game, obviously. I guess I just had a different idea of what my body looked like before I got pregnant, but wow, does it feel good to fit into most of my pre-baby jeans again!


Saturday, November 6th

69) Wheat Thins- Right about now I am thankful for just about any food that our daughter can eat, especially if that food is actually in our house (because it seems like there is a lot in our house that she cannot eat). But even more so, I am thankful for those crackers and cookies that she can eat, and believe me, those are few and far between. Right now, Wheat Thins are the one and only cracker our little girl can eat. (I need to go shopping and see if there are any others.) She usually asks so politely for a cracker, and it really is wonderful to know I have something I can give her.

70) Answered prayers- A few weeks back, I began to pray about this past week because I knew it would hold some challenges for me, so I asked for a specific attribute from God and requested others to pray on my behalf as well. Ha! Do you know how some people say you should never ask for patience unless you really want it because God will always place you in a position where you can LEARN patience? I feel as though the Lord answered my prayer, emphatically, with a very strong lesson. It has not been an easy lesson; I am not even sure I have learned everything yet from the lesson, but I do believe I will come out a stronger, more confident, more able woman on the other side. I also believe that I will be able to draw on the lessons of this past week for years to come. So perhaps my prayer was not answered in the way I imagined, but it was answered as it should be. Of course with God, that is how it always turns out.


Sunday, November 7th

71) Days filled with song- Have you ever had a day where you just felt like music filled your thoughts, your moods and your heart? I had a good friend my first few years of college who just lived life that way. She loved music with a passion and always seemed to have music flowing through her thoughts. Often she would just burst into song. I am not like that all the time, but today I felt like I must have had a small glimpse of what a typical day was like for her. For some odd reason, I woke up, on my own, mind you, at 3:30 this morning. Crazy girl that I am, this seems to becoming a normal thing for me the past few mornings, but the new thing that happened this morning was that I woke up with a song on my mind.

I will lift up mine eyes to the hills
from whence cometh my help,
my help cometh from the Lord,
the Lord which made Heaven and Earth.

He said He will not suffer thy foot,
thy foot to be moved;
the Lord which keepeth thee,
He will not slumber nor sleep.

For the Lord is thy keeper,
the Lord is thy shade
upon thy right hand,
upon thy right hand.

Nor the sun shall not smite thee by day,
nor the moon by night,
He shall preserve thy soul
even forever more.

My help, my help, my help,
all of my help cometh from the Lord.

("My Help" -Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir-- taken directly from Psalms 121)

Then on our way to church, I heard the song "Beautiful" by Mercy Me for the first time. If you haven't heard it, find it on You Tube or some other media and listen to it. The words are amazing and the music that accompanies those words is wonderful as well. It really is a beautiful song with a wonderful message concerning just how special and precious we are to God. Of course, my musical day didn't end there, I found myself humming "Tell Me the Story" during Sunday School and seemed to hum my way straight through the rest of my day. Music really has a way of enriching our lives, but it also has a way of teaching us. It helps us to remember things. (How many of you learned your books of the Bibles by learning a song? I know both Drew and I did.) It comforts us, brings us joy and offers us a way to release emotions. My day filled with song has been like a day floating on air.

72) Second Chances- I am so grateful for second chances.... and third chances.... and fourth chances.... and seventy times seven chances because I am not perfect and I mess up.

"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28 (NASB)