things that are true, noble, right...

Philippians 4:4-9

4  Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
5  Let you gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
6  Do not be anxious about anything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests
    to God
7  And the peace of God, which transcends all understand, will guard your hearts and your minds in
    Christ Jesus.
8  Finally, brother and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure,
    whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about
    such things
9  Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me - put it into practice. And
    the God of peace will be with you

This morning in church we heard about joy... true, to-the-bone joy... I have been thinking about this actually for a few days - I was surprised, yet happy to hear that God had placed a similar message on our pastor's heart.

 

Over the last few months, so much has happened around me. I have seen people pass away much too early. A friend of my son's youth was in a horrific car accident, and we are still waiting to see how well he will recover. I have experienced wonderful times and some dark, lonely times. Each instance, I have allowed to effect me... I have chosen to concentrate on things that do not deserve my attention. I have been overly critical of myself and have had pretty negative thoughts about things...

 

not good

 

Another look at the above scripture, but in a different translation... The Good News translation for verses 8-9, are the following:

 

"In conclusion, my brothers and sisters, fill your minds with those things that are good and that deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honourable. Put into practice what you learnt and received from me, both from my words and from my actions. And the God who gives us peace will be with you."

 

Seems as though I have been concentrating on the wrong stuff.

 

I am saved from the depths of hell from a Savior who died for me. I have a good husband. I have three healthy children. I have seen my life change for the better in many ways over the past 6 months. I have a good church with people who love my three kids and look for ways to help each of them weekly. I love my job of 11 years and laugh at the idea of getting paid to play with young children each day. I have a warm home that is more than enough for the five of us.

 

I am a blessed woman who needs to be reminded to concentrate on lifting myself and other UP... the world will drag us down - there is no need to help with the dragging...

 

Let's swim upstream together - fight the negative thoughts and fill yourself with the joy and the knowledge of all that we have in our Lord....

 

some days it is harder than others... but I need to start making an effort every day

 

 



silent mover

My oldest is special... He has always gotten excited by the strangest little things... then seems to be completely unmoved at obvious things...

 

examples 

• At the age of two and a half, he could lay on the front sidewalk for thirty minutes while watching tiny ants... huge smile on his face and would not move

• from his first roller coaster (age 5) to present times, he looks like he may fall asleep on any roller coaster regardless of how many hills, dips, or upside downs... he gets off of the ride saying it was amazing, but looks like he is bored.
• while three years old, he could tight rope walk across the TOP of the swing set, jump off or slide down the pole while screeching or land a flip on a trampoline at age 5
• he could open his window, slide out under the window screen, cross the street, go behind my parents' home, count deer, come back home, slide under screen, close window and get back into bed... he was 8, 9, and 10... it was between 2-4AM... silently
• everyday normal activities are done with big noises, huge movement (like skipping with big hops down the hall to brush teeth), stomping like a herd of cattle when it is time for a meal, hollering like you are calling pigs when feeding the dogs...

My oldest also rarely sleeps. When he was little, he was a sleep-walker. We would find him standing in the middle of the kitchen (his favorite room in the house). He has been known to get up, make a sandwich, eat it, and go to bed - but he never cleaned up the crumbs and knives while asleep. He would stay up for hours coloring, designing things on graph paper, make lists of things he wanted to do, write notes to his father and me, play with legos, put together puzzles on the floor of his closet...etc. At an early age, he learned how to stuff a towel or shirt at the bottom of his door, so we could not see that his light was on.... scary.

 

 

However last night was a first...

I rarely get to say that, so let me say this again...

 

Last night was a first.

 

I last saw him at midnight... then stayed outside his room for at least 15 minutes or so to "make sure" that he was asleep...

 

At 6:15am, I went in to wake him up. I found the ENTIRE room has been re-arranged. Everything from his bed, his rug, his desk, dresser with mirror, tall dresser, 7ft tall bookcase, desk with plastic mat, posters, UNC flags... everything is in a new place. This is heavy furniture people... big stuff... his bed is heavy iron. The dressers are solid wood, well-built heavy pieces that I stained myself 15 year ago. The bookcase is COVERED with books, lego creations, knickknacks, and stuff....

 

He looked up and said, "isn't it cool?"

 

what do you say to that?

 

I have no idea what in the world his future has for him. I can not imagine the job that he will one day hold. I still can not even imagine him living anywhere other than his little cave inside my house. But, I have to say...

 

he is a silent mover... when he wants to be

Happy Birthday to my Sis!

I always wanted a big brother or sister.... I am an only child. It was good and horrible.... sometimes you get lonely, but then again you never had to share... Yet, when my parents would ask if I wanted a sibling, I always answered the same way

 

"I want an OLDER sibling"

 

My parents never gave in to my begging though.

 

So, I had to wait until 1993... When I was married, I was blessed with an older brother and an older sister... I GOT BOTH! Now, we have always lived far away from each other, but it never mattered. I have always felt as though I was a part of their lives. I have learned from them, been counselled by them, loved by them, corrected by them... and so on.

 

This weekend is my sister's birthday... I could make jokes about how she is getting sooooo old, but seriously she is in better shape, younger looking, thinner, more generous, more godly, and much more beautiful than I am - so I will simply say,

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SIS!

 

My sis has been a supportive wife for over 20 years. She has seven children from all over the globe. She is a pastor's wife which is a hard job full of a long list of do's and don'ts. She is busy every night of the week and yet still can fit in "therapy" calls from me regularly.

 

I love her - I admire her - I wish I was more like her

 

Dear, Kimberly,

I pray that this birthday is a true celebration of you. You mean so much to so many - but to me... you are the answer to my childhood dreams/wishes. I love you.

~Amanda