Where have I been?

Where have I been?  Hmmmm well, you wouldn’t think that’s such a complicated question to answer, but hmmm.  Ok I’ll start with blaming the 2^nd man on this one.  It all started when he preached a nifty little sermon a few weeks ago about murmuring and complaining.  To be exact it was on Philippians 2:14 “Do all things without murmurings and disputings.”  Need I even say more?  You know where I’m going already don’t ya?  My first fleshly response to this marvelous message was “Well fantastic!  I don’t sing, play piano, or any other good preachers wife kind of things.  The one thing I do great in life is murmur and complain and now that’s taken away!”  Just kidding…sort of ahem.    However, summer and the youth pastor’s wife don’t always agree with each other and I had found myself in a wonderful tizzy of disliking people, luggage, yards that needed mowing, flowers that needed watering, our falling apart house and cars, and pretty much anything else that was set in front of me.  To be perfectly honest, I was kind of disliking ministry too.  Now don’t give me that tsk tsk.  I love my Lord and savior.  I love my husband and family, it’s just that everything else was,well…a lot to ask of a worn out melancholy.  So, needless to say, though he didn’t intend on the message being just for me, it was.  I needed a good spiritual Bible slap to knock some sense and love back into this ole girl. 

            With that being said, a small battle of getting my mind and spirit straight ensued and I just couldn’t think of a thing to say on this blog that wouldn’t sound negative.  I’m coming out of the funk now.  School has started and routines are now getting back to our regular abnormal normal (whatever that means). The patience level is rising and the desire to strangle people with stupid questions is waning.  My respect for the Lord Jesus and his earthly ministry is once again full of a renewed awe.  How in the world he puts up with all of us (yes, myself included) is flabbergasting.

            Here’s the negative that’s happened since my last post about our Chicago trip in early July:

·        Another 3 day youth conference (also on the positive list)

·        A bug infested hotel room at the 3 day youth conference

·        My Grandma in Ohio passed away

·        No money to go to Grandma’s funeral

·        Feeling like the worst daughter in the world because of the funeral no go

·        Had to purchase glasses for daughter #1 with no insurance

·        Getting braces on daughter #2 with no insurance

·        It’s been like 105 + degrees for months now

·        No garden production due to the aforementioned heat and drought

·        Our pool finally gave up and collapsed

·        The schedule has been grueling and non stop

·        I’m dealing with some crazy physical pain and extreme fatigue in the midst of all of this

I’d expand and explain, but that would be crossing over more into the murmuring/complaining realm if I haven’t already.

 However, life isn’t all negative and God is good all of the time.  There have been some pretty special positives occur as well in the last month or so.  Here are a few:

·        Another 3 day youth conference filled with wonderful preaching and laughter filled memories with the teens.

·        We were given a non-bug infested room the 2^nd night of the conference

·        I’ve talked with my parents more in the last week than in the past two months.

·        My daddy still loves me even though I couldn’t get to Ohio.

·        The church gave 2^nd man a very generous raise this year, since last year there were no raises due to the economy.

·        We forgot to cancel our homeowners insurance when we switched insurance companies last year.  Therefore we received a very nice and unexpected check in the mail that will help to cover, glasses, braces and home schooling supplies!! Woot woot!

·        Since there’s such a drought, I haven’t really spent the time caring so much about the garden…even mowed some of it down.

·        The pool finally gave up and collapsed (yes this is a positive from the pool maintenance girl’s point of view)

·        The schedule is now getting more manageable

·        2^nd man has started a running program with me to try to break through this pain barrier and get fit.

·        2^nd man and I celebrated 14 years of marriage and were able to use hotel points (no cash!) to get away for a day or so.

·        Let’s face it the positives far outweigh the negatives and there are numerous more I could name and I know there are even more I don’t know about this side of Heaven.  Thank you Jesus for taking such good care of us!

Nobody reading this blog probably cares too much about my little lists.  But they are at least started for my benefit to look back on in thankfulness.  I’ve been away, but I’m ready to put on my Christian girl skirt and behave a little better now.  I really do love the people in our church and am grateful for them all.  Yes, really, all of them even the weird ones and the ones with stupid questions because, I’m probably that kind of person to someone else.