Sunday's message

The Scripture reading from Sunday's service really caught my attention this week. The entire passage was Romans 8: 1-17 (NIV)
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,
because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.
For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man,
in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.
Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.
The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace;
the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so.
Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.
You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.
But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.
And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.
Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation--but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it.
For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live,
because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father."
The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.
Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

I think what stood out to me the most was the part about having your mind set upon what nature desires versus what the Spirit desires. I often ask God for what I want, not waiting to listen to what He wants for me. My focus is generally selfish and I justify that with the catch all of "we are, by nature, a sinful people"; but really, I shouldn't let myself get away with that.

Then, we all sang How Deep the Father's Love for Us which always gets me. Its simple, straighforward truth - no holds barred is always knee-buckling:

How deep the Father's love for us, how vast beyond all measure,
that He should give His only Son to make a wretch His treasure.
How great the pain of searing loss; the Father turns His face away,
as wounds which mar the Chosen One bring many sons to glory.
Behold the Man upon a cross, my sin upon His shoulders;
ashamed I hear my mocking voice call out among the scoffers.
It was my sin that help Him there until it was accomplished; (this is the line that always gets me!)
His dying breath has brought me life, I know that it is finished.
I will not boast in anything, no gifts, no pow'r, no widsom;
but I will boast in Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection.
Why should I gain from his reward? I cannot give an answer.
But this I know with all my heart: His wounds have paid my ransom.

An uneventful day

Today was a relatively uneventful day. Other than starting insanely early (6:15, Abby comes out of her room, "Mommy, where are you?") Ugh. By 7:30 we were all up dressed and heading out the door. I decided it was high time to get my butt back to the gym. My initial motivation behind joining the gym was 1) free child care and 2) getting a shower! Today was no exception - I went to take a shower. Yes, I did do some workout as well; but I am so far out of shape that I'm not sure it even did any good. Hopefully, since Abby had an enjoyable time this trip, we can make this a regular part of our mornings.

Anyway, by 9:30 we were home again; Josh was in bed sleeping, Abby wanted to watch Boz (again), so I snoozed on the couch while that was playing. We played in the play room for a while and had an uneventful (read: boring) lunch and then the kids went down for their afternoon naps. I got into bed, but started reading my book and never took my nap. I got to within 10 pages of the end when Abby decided it was time to get up. Frustrating! Once Josh got up, we all headed out again - this time to BJ's for our cheap snack (and to pick up some Animal Crackers). Then we went to the mall for a "Stroner Ride" (stroller ride) and did a little shopping. Home by 5:00; Josh back in bed, Abby watched Franklin and Little Bear and I got dinner ready and finished my book.

After dinner we all went up to DQ for ice cream (yeah, and I wonder why I can't lose any weight!) Daddy and Abby walked home from the far end of the street; Josh and I came home and played on the floor. Now the kids are in bed and I am not going to be too far behind them.

Two are better than one

I now know, first hand, why every child needs two parents. The little things that drive me absolutely bonkers during the week days don't bother me at all when done to my spouse. And when I start to loose my temper over something that Abby does, hubby steps in with a well timed intervention or distraction. Today, when she was doing something that normally would have made me pretty frustrated, when I saw that it was frustrating hubby, I was able to stay calm. It occurred to me then that this was why every kid needs two parents and that I am so grateful that my spouse is a good daddy.

Days 3, 4 and 5

So, I got a little busy and haven't had time to post my recent daily activities. Let me see if I can remember everything:
Day 3 - Wednesday. Started out pretty normal - up earlier that I wanted, kids fed and watching tv by 7:30. I noticed I had a coupon for Kohl's that expired Wednesday, so I decided, since I needed something from Michael's and a Starbuck's hit never hurt, we would all run up to Carlise Crossing before my mom came. So, everyone into the car by 7:45 and off we went. Went to the drive through at Starbucks (twice, because I missed the order box the first time (I'm actually kid of embarrassed to admit that, but oh well)), then went shopping at Kohl's for a bit. Got some good deals and saved 15% on top of that. Then went to Michael's to get items necessary for ongoing crafts. Home by 10:00. Put Josh down for his nap. Mom came around 10:30 and I was painting the bathroom by 10:45. Naive that I am, I thought that doing this bathroom would be a fairly simple task - WAS I EVER WRONG! I could go into great detail about how and why I was wrong, but frankly, I'm too lazy right now. Anyway. It was all done by 12:45. We all had some lunch and the kids were both in bed by 2:15. Then I attempted one other project I've had on the back burner for a while and was unsucessful at that. So, mom and I just sat around and chatted until the kids got up around 3:45. I made dinner (meatloaf and sweet potatoes - YUM!) and we were eating when hubby got home (BAD, BAD traffic!). I finally took my shower and then I went out to the local pub with a friend of mine and had a very nice evening out. Was home about 10:45 and in bed by 11:00. A very productive day!

Day 4 - Thursday. Um, yeah, we didn't do much on Thursday. It must have been rather uneventful, becauase I truely can't remember anything we did during the day. I know I took the kids to Wendy's for dinner, because hubby was in Baltimore. After the kids went to bed, I sat and read my book in the peace and quiet for about an hour - very enjoyable and much needed!

Day 5 - Friday. Cleaning lady came in the morning. We have nice clean stairs now!! I HATE doing the steps! Me and the kids went to the grocery store after she left - it looked like rain when we got to the store, and it sure did rain hard while we were there. So hard, in fact, that I decided we would just eat lunch there! Chicken and macaroni and cheese for the kids, Chinese for me. Then home for naps. Thankfully, both kids slept at the same time (the first time in over a week) and I got to rest for about an hour. Then, last minute clean up before company came for dinner. Had one of Mike's co-workers and his family over for dinner. It was a really nice evening.

And thus ends my brief attempt and trying to document my daily routine. We have all learned now that I am not good at posting every day, so future publications of my day will be less frequent!

Attitude

There once was a woman who woke up one morning, looked in the mirror, and noticed she had only three hairs on her head."Well," she said, "I think I'll braid my hair today". So she did and she had a wonderful day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and saw that she had only two hairs on her head."H-M-M, " she said, "I think I'll part my hair down the middle today." So she did and she had a grand day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that she had only one hair on her head."Well," she said, "Today I'm going to wear my hair in a pony tail." So she did and she had a fun, fun day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that there wasn't a single hair on her head."YEAH!" she exclaimed, "I don't have to fix my hair today!"

Attitude is everything.
Have a Good Day!
Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.