Hi, Lord

Not to be too informal, dear Lord, but here I am, finally.  I don't know exactly where to start, but as I often told my daughters, and sometimes my clients, just start anywhere.

I am frustrated and angry about my work.  My own work is deeply satisfying and rewarding; it is the crazy, stupid, shortsighted political environment that gets me so annoyed.

(Random stream of consciousness: just drifted over to Haitian Creations, the designers and producers of two of my tote bags--really, my daughters' bags--and discovered they are diversifying and going online!)

So, dear Lord, prayer--remember Malachi's Message from Adventures in Odyssey?  At the end, Malachi offers Whit an answered prayer.  I think Whit asked for inspiration.  I could use that, too.  What I think I need as well, and I believe I have asked You before, is stamina and endurance.  I am getting tired (and I think my husband is, too).  Please keep us going.  There is much work to be done for our daughters, our Junior Church children, our mothers, our families--heck, just about everyone.  Use us!  Keep us focused on hearing from You and following Your leading.

So, back to work.  Is government inherently evil and opposed to Your purposes?  :)  I am not entirely sure that I am joking about that.  I do feel that our efforts (Yours, and mine and the Christians who are working at WRCH) are often suppressed rather than supported.  Still, there is some good work going on in people's lives and therapy.  There is also some stupid stuff happening.  I guess that is the nature of spiritual warfare.  Help me, please, not to get discouraged.  If You still want me there, I will stay there.  And that brings me to...

...applying for the VA job that Judy Lancey forwarded to me.  Why does she keep thinking of me for these kinds of jobs?  :)  I hope it is a vote of confidence.  I shall apply and see what happens.  It may shake me out of these doldrums, and it certainly is enticing because it could pay more though the benefits like vacation may revert to entry-level.  Hmmm.  Well, I don't have to accept.  Let's see what You say.

For now, dear Lord, I want to pray for family and record those prayers.  I love You, too, as I shared the Moms in Prayer International Facebook post today for my children.  "Because You pay attention to [me], [I will] pray to You as long as [I] live." Psalm 116:2

Amen!

Day Off and Busy

Hi, Lord.  I do have a lot of things on my mind, but I have completed a few things on my to-do list already.  I am going to pause here to go put my sheets in the wash.

They're in.

So now, Lord, I need to sit quietly for about 8 minutes and just let my mind settle and listen to Your leading for the next thing to do.  I did check on Mom's cell phone: $40/month, free phone, not a flip but not a smart phone.  We would need to do something like an "assumption agreement" or similar phrase.  It may well be worth it.

I worked in Julie's room a little today.  It is exhausting!  We have so much STUFF.  Which brings me to another thing to put on my to-do list: take some of the unused clothing/gloves/scarves to the Salvation Army before work on Wednesday.  (What time is my podiatry appointment again?)

I really liked the Praying for Your Husband entry for Day 17 for the mind.  Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord look at the heart.  I also liked the part of Tim Keller's The Meaning of Marriage section that I read today.  We are all--no matter how wounded--really self-centered at our core.  Challenging!! How can I apply that to my own life?  It's not very easy to think so radically differently....  The tension between serving and being un-self-centered *and* knowing that my husband (every husband) just may also be self-centered is not an easy tension to manage.  Hmmm....

I think I need a nap.

So, baked chicken breasts tonight?  With rice and salad?