Simple, Not Easy

I long to return to a simpler life. Don't think for a minute that translates to "easier" life. Simple living is time consuming, physically hard and exhausting, but it is also very fulfilling. I do get a "taste" of that life now and then...

Today, I am thankful or the past several weeks during which I've enjoyed the simple life by:

     Spending hours outdoors with my man,
          tracking deer,
               using my senses fully,
                    appreciating the beautiful handiwork of God
                         in the sparkling starry skies,
                              feeling the crisp autumn air against my warm
                              cheeks,
                                   listening to the sound of dry leaves still
                                   rustling on the trees
                                        and the crunch of them under my
                                        boots.

I'm thankful that my husband's hobbies bring him enjoyment and relaxation
     and also provide food for our family;
          for his skill with his weapons whether a fishing rod and reel,
          bow and arrows or a muzzleloader;
               for his knowledge of the hunt - scouting, preparing,
               patiently waiting, harvesting,
                    for all the hours and care he puts into cleaning and
                    packaging the meat.

I am thankful for friends who share God's bountiful provision through the toil of their hands in their land.
     My hands gratefully receive their overflow, and after many hours
     of post harvest work
            their offerings are now providing vegetables
            for our winter meals:
               green beans, zucchini, peppers and tomatoes.

This longing for the simpler life reminded me of this song by 4Him:

     “And if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God ... And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the LORD your God. Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out." (Deuteronomy 28:1a..2-6 ESV)

I have been overtaken by blessings.
     A grateful, thankful heart.
          Blessed beyond measure this Thanksgiving.

Packing Up Suitcases and Moving On

I've been in a "funk" for quite some time. I can't even remember when it started. It has something to do with life changes and resisting where God has me at this point in my life. I know - you've heard this before, but it seems it's a process. One moment, I think I've overcome the "slump", but then something creeps up and pulls me down.

Over the last couple days, God has been gracious to reveal some things to me regarding my clinging ways. There really isn't anything left to grasp. It's time for me to stop looking back, longing for what was. It's time to pack up those suitcases and move on. Like a wonderful vacation, it was great and I have lots of precious memories, but I can't stay. Life goes on. It's tough moving forward when I'm carrying suitcases full of burdens. I'm packing up those cares, concerns, worries and dropping them off at the foot of the cross. I'm ready to run, to dance again, to laugh, and to sing with my Lord!


   "...I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content..." (Philippians 4:11 ESV)

It's a new day, and I have a new attitude. Lord, help me to make it last. 

Many Paths Lead to the Same Destination

No, I've not gone liberal on you. There is only one way to God, by grace through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. This post is about the path we take as we follow His call in our lives, accomplishing His purpose and plan.

How did I get where I am today? I have been asking that question a lot during the past year. This is definitely not the plan I had for my life, but it is God's plan for me and my life...much better than my own, and what an adventure it has been! I would have never dreamed that I would be back at GM, as an engineer after 20 years "retirement" fulfilling my dream of being a "stay at home" mom.

*FLASHBACK*

When I was a little girl, I loved school (yeah, weird, huh?) When I got home from school, I would "play" school. I was always the teacher, and when I couldn't pull my sister away from her Barbie dolls, or fort building, I lined up my dolls and stuffed animals. They were the perfect students. You see, my mom was a teacher, and I admired my mom. I wanted to be like my mom. That was my dream...I wanted to be a teacher when I grew up.

But God had other plans for me. My favorite high school teachers (Ms. Rem - Calculus and Mr. Wellever - Chemistry and Physics) along with both of my parents talked me out of teaching. My teachers and my engineer dad encouraged me along the engineering path since I did so well in math and science, and as a woman, I could pretty much go anywhere with such a degree. Dad wanted me to be independent, able to support myself. Even my mom explained that teaching wasn't what it used to be. There are so many other social issues to deal with, these days.

Since I was a compliant child, I followed the advice of these influential adults in my life and pursued an engineering degree at UofM, graduated, and landed a job at General Motors...

So much happened in the 26 years since...I married an amazing man, raised to wonderful children who make me a proud mama, and through it all, God actually gave me the desires of my heart - to be a teacher, after all:

• *subbing at the kids' private school...which led me to homeschool from 3rd grade through high school.
• *as a Sunday school and children's church teacher
• *training teachers and volunteers
• *leading Bible Studies for children, youth and women.

And now, I'm able to be my husband's helpmate in new ways - yes, different than my ideas, once again.

I had my ideas of what I wanted to do with my life, but God had other plans.

    "The heart of man plans his way,  but the LORD establishes his steps." (Proverbs 16:9 ESV)

God knows the deepest desires of our hearts and sometimes he fulfills those desires in ways completely different than we could ever imagine.

Always an adventure, so hold on, keep your eyes and ears wide open and attentive so you don't miss what He is doing.

Be Happy!

Working on "The Happiness Project"

I liked this quote: 

"As put forth by the Second Splendid Truth:

One of the best ways to make yourself happy is to make other people happy;

One of the best ways to make other people happy is to be happy yourself."

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

It's true.
     Being around happy people makes me happy.
          Making other people happy makes me happy.
               I need to be happy to be happy - LOL!

Sounds a lot like circular reasoning, but I'm working on it! :)

I tend to be a worrier, but have improved over the years. For whatever reason, this song came to mind yesterday. It made me happy! ;-)



Happiness is:

Hearing your son's happy voice over the phone.
Seeing your daughter's happy smile every Monday.
Spending time with your happy sister while taking a break on the job.
Getting an e-mail from your happy parents' ipod while on their River Cruise Vacation
IMing sweet nothings to your silly happy husband at work...how many people get to do that?

Thank you for taking care of all my needs. Lord, because of who you are and what you've done, I don't worry and can be happy.

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
(Matthew 6:25-34 ESV)

Work is a Gift

"Behold what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil - this is the gift of God." Ecclesiastes 5:18-19

How fitting that I was in Ecclesiastes through the Labor Day weekend. Though I've studied the book before, I read it this weekend with a different attitude and gained much insight by reading it straight through. There is so much wisdom from Solomon about so many things relevant in my life: about striving, about priorities, about trusting His timing, about wealth, about things I cannot control...

I pouted a bit because I was not able to "fellowship" and camp-out with my church family. This was truly a family LABOR Day weekend filled with Labor and I wish I could say that I rejoiced in it. God is still working on me. :) I did enjoy having Cristin around for the first time in four years. *sigh* :

Cristin worked with Dad to clear brush and set tree stands for hunting season.

Craig was irritated because he couldn't find the keys to the right vehicle. The engineer in me: Encounter a problem, find a solution and fix the problem!

I labeled the key holders AND each set of keys! (My OBC Friends - remember this VBS craft?)

We moved Great Grandma O'Briens piano from Grandpa O'Briens garage where it has rested for the past 10 years -  summers, winters, falls, and springs. It's amazingly in great shape and still quite tuned. INCREDIBLE!

Grandpa's antler collection laid out for pics to post on Craig's list/amazon/ebay. (I have Craig's set to take care of as well!)

I washed the old van inside and out. 

She looks pretty darn good for 13 years and 197K miles!

The shrubbery got a "haircut".

We did take time out to play in the evenings...

I organized my knitting projects and started on my goal of finishing projects... 

Lord, 

Thank you for ALL the work you've given me - at home, at GM, in my marriage. Help me work as if working for you!

No Pain - No Gain

Growing up, I was my dad's buddy. He taught me how to ride a bike, windmill a softball pitch, shoot a basketball, and swing a hammer like the guys. He was my trainer in the off-season, and during every training season I would often grumble and complain. Of course, I was just echoing what my muscles were screaming at me. There were times, I just thought the pain and discomfort was too much to bear. I wanted to quit; I didn't think the pain was worth going through. Dad's cheer would always be..."No pain, no gain!" and I would grit my teeth, set my jaw and push on. "You're building character!' He would say.

Dad never made me do more than I could handle; amazingly, I never broke; I survived. Through the pain of training, I grew stronger. I never realized that Dad was really giving me an object lesson from Scripture...

More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." Romans 5:3-5 (See also 1Peter 1:6 and James 1:2-4)

"...Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe." 1 Timothy 4:7b-10

Dad also would encourage me with  "Train don't strain." I know the Lord, who is allowing these trials to train me, will only allow enough training to make me into the woman He desires for the work He has prepared.


So I press on to the goal...

"But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:13b-14

When Right Keep Going Wrong - MOVE!

Craig and I have been feeling like we're living under a dark cloud, and haven't been able to shake the gloominess, for whatever reason. This week, I've been reading through Job, which has really put our life into perspective.

This song has helped me to get a right attitude on every morning and look to the Hope He promises.

This is for all of my friends who are going through hard times; I am praying for you:

you who have lost loved ones -
     a spouse
        a child,
           a niece,
              a nephew,
                 a father,
                    a mother,
                       a grandparent;

you who have lost your health,
     been given a devastating diagnosis;

you who have suffered shattered marriages,
     broken relationships,
          severed friendships;

you who have lost a job,
     a home,
          dreams...



Whatever trial you are facing, don't lose hope...look forward to brighter days!

'"My tears have been my food

day and night,

while they say to me all the day long,

“Where is your God?”...

...Why are you cast down, O my soul,

and why are you in turmoil within me?

Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,

my salvation  and my God.' Psalm 42:3, 5