More than a Story!

I recently finished a book by James Alexander Thom (who lives in Bloomington, IN) entitled From Sea to Shining Sea. It was a fabulous historical fiction book based on the lives of the Clark family. (Like Lewis and Clark who went West over the great mountains to find the ocean.) I generally only read non-fiction books, being that if I am going to spend my time reading I might as well learn something. O.k., so this book is historical fiction. Thom does a ton of background work and presents a storyline from that knowledge. Much of that knowledge comes from journals and diaries written by the Clark family 200+ years ago. I am intrigued by the amount of detail we get into their lives.

Changing thoughts for a moment, Kid's Sunday is coming up at our church in a few weeks. The elementary age kids "take over" the morning services for that day. I am using the theme, "More than a Story." I am reminded about how many stories are passed down from generation to generation. I'm talking nursery rhymes, fairy tales (Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, The Three Little Pigs, Alice in Wonderland, etc...). I did a little research, some of those stories were written hundreds of years ago. We are still telling them to our kids. That ties into Kid's Sunday for two reasons. First, we have a Bible that has stories dating back thousands of years. Those stories are still being passed down from generation to generation. These stories aren't fairy tales, though. They are real people with real stories that are applicable today. That's pretty cool! Second, though our Bible is complete, stories are still being written about our lives today. Each of us has a story to tell and share with someone else.

We may never be as famous as the Clark family, and thousands of people may never hear our story or read our journal, but we still have a story to tell. You have stories of courage, triumph, defeat, hope, struggles, victories, faith, love and more. Will you share your story?

Nothing!

Have your ever asked a guy what he's thinking about and the response is "Nothing!" I just can not comprehend that. How can you be thinking about NOTHING? I really have come to understand that when they say "nothing," they really mean nothing.

Oh, how I wish I could think about nothing for just once. There is always SOMETHING rolling through my mind. Normally, there are many somethings racing through at the same time. I can't get to sleep at night, because there are some many things to process. Things from the previous days or weeks, thoughts about the upcoming days and the many things on my to do lists. I love that my husband has learned to patiently listen as I verbally run through the many scattered things rolling through my head. It must be really difficult for him to ask me, "Honey, how was your day?" There's no telling what or how long my answer may be!

Growth

Spring time is one of my favorite times of the year. I love to see everything come back to life, the trees getting leaves again, the birds singing, the flowers blooming, the warmth of the sunshine, etc... There is new growth all around. I just feel alive!

More than in past years, I feel a new growth within me. I feel like this growth is sprung from a renewed faith and trust in God to bring me through the challenges in my life. It seems like right now I am being thrown some very real challenges. In years past, I may have looked at these with great dislike, worry and angst. (I'm not saying I still don't revert to worrying about these things, but...) Now, I am reminded of the contradictory words of James to consider our trials and troubles pure joy. That is so foreign and odd! Troubles pure joy? It is only through these troubles that we can learn to rely on God and not ourselves. So, bring it on! I feel ready to tackle a new day's troubles, for it only brings me joy and closer to my Maker!

"Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing." James 1:2-4 NLT

Peace

Oh my, the last few weeks have been a whirlwind. But today I am struck by the word PEACE. I get weary and saddened by all the terrible things in the news, school shootings, the continued war on terror in Iraq, murders, rapists, the homeless, the hungry, friends in jail, failed marriages, and on and on and on... The sooner I comprehend that there will never be peace on earth, the easier it will be to begin dealing with these things. Jesus promises us peace, but never peace on earth. The war I need to be more concerned about is the war going on inside me every day. The war between God and me. The war between my choices and whether I do what I want or what God wants. Am I going to be selfish or selfless? I am beginning to understand that I can have peace in my life when I give control over to God. He frees me from the war within me. I am set free!

Happy Easter!

Wishing you all (at least the 1-2 faithful blog viewers) a very Happy Easter! I couldn't resist showing off my dogs! On the left is Grace, our 2 year old Brittany Spaniel, and on the right is Haus, our 9 year old Chocolate Mutt! The bunny ears are compliments of our youngest son.