Springtime of the soul

He knows it is scary to be us... that was a statement by Beth Moore in her teachings on TV early this morning (she is on Jame's Robison's Life Today show each Wednesday).  Actually, someone else made that statement to her and she found it to be profound.  As so often is the case, the simplicity of a statement can sink in quickly and I can assure you... this one did with me.  He does know it is scary to be us...

He has walked this path before, having entered Time and History at Advent and living among us in the flesh.  He feels my frustration as I fight through the fatigue of a winter filled with illness to do that which is before me.  Not only the "gotta do's" of home, garden, and lawn work but the "wanna do's" like baking. 

He knows how it feels when life's unexpected "issues" arrive...

Christopher's car is in the shop, waiting for the parts to arrive to fix a front fender smashed in while parked on campus.  Since the other person did not leave a note, we are out a few hundred dollars for the deductible (and the damage was such it had to be fixed). 

The Buick is making noises that will require it to pay a visit to our mechanic as soon as the other car is out of the garage.  Neither of these repairs were in the budget, once again requiring a simple prayer... "HELP!".  :)

But He knows...

I forgot to remove the commuter tag from his car to place on ours so he can't park on campus.  He was able to find other parking on Monday but I had to drive him in on Tuesday.  I stopped by Goodwill on the way home, having a few dollars in my pocket and a need to unwind. 

Nothing interesting was found within my available cash limit until I perused the books and found a copy of Elizabeth George's Loving God With All Your Mind, a book I loved so much I shared it with another (meaning I had no copy at home, anymore).  Even with tax, my total was less than a dollar. 

This book was just what I needed right now.  It never fails to surprise me how I could have read a book at least twice before and it is still new and fresh when read again.  I find most of George's books like that, a reason why they find a place in my quiet time basket quite often.  I used reading it as a reward for a half an hour of yard work (pruning the remainder of the bushes near the air conditioner). 

As I read, the truth of the teaching that we must guard against believing the lies which the enemy of our souls whispers in our mind.  How important it is to ground ourselves in God's Word, especially as we walk through a world that can be... scary.  Peace, He brings real and true peace.  If we are not experiencing that peace, we are believing the wrong words.

We have record setting heat arriving.  I'll take advantage of the sunshine to do a little more lawn work before all the greenery pops.  The daffodils have been blooming, I'm enjoying my second bouquet this week... sitting beside the sink to enjoy as I cook and do dishes.  The warmth will bring out even more new life... a good thing but making it necessary to finish raking dead leaves from the fence line today.

If you are reading from the blog site, you will see I reached another compromise in my blog redecoration... one I can live with.  I combined the original template with a few changes I liked from the newer options.  The Pages section is now on the sidebar instead of underneath the header.  The fonts were increased and some colors tweaked, a picture on the sidebar removed... all to make it appear a little less cluttered.  Not as visually amazing as a couple other options but pretty...  it will stay for awhile.

Now, I must throw a load of laundry in the dryer, do a little dusting, and pick up the rake from the front porch for a little lawn work.  Then I will curl up on the sofa to absorb more wisdom from Loving God With All Your Mind, my Bible at my side, a notebook and pen... feeling the strength return to dry bones. 

Picture: Shady Patio; allposters.com