Last night when I went to bed I remembered that I had forgotten this...see, day 3 is the hardest.
"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."
Seconds...
...something less then a minute (time)
...the next round, say for a meal (quantity)
...the next time around, for an item (second-hand shop)
The second part of our trip consisted of a transition from one family to another. We first went to Canada to see our daughter and her family...then they drove us to MI to see our son and his family...where they stayed until this morning/afternoon...that time between breakfast and lunch...kind of like dusk or dawn.
My heart is torn and tired. I am sad to see her leave, but I know she has to get back to her normal. I wish my normal included seeing her more often. I'm tired from a long trip of traveling in the winter.
After she left we went on a walk with my son and grandson, leaving my daughter in law (I want to so call her daughter in love, but when I tried I confused my son and he didn't like it too much :) That's ok. All my in law kids hold a very special place in my heart...I love them all so very much) and my other grandson at home to rest. On our way out I saw the hints of spring emerging from their flower bed.
We then went back to the place on the river where we were staying and I saw another remembrance of spring coming. Even in winter with the longest day come and gone, we are now looking forward to spring...the second season of the new year...we start in Jan in winter still...and then comes spring.
Around town there are the remembrances of the Christmas season...it is Frankenmuth, MI the Christmas Capital of the World after-all.
Our second half of the trip will allow us to be part of our son's new normal with their new little one. I am so glad that we were able to come out for this trip to see them. He is the youngest of the grand kids that we've been able to see. We live so far away from all of them that getting to see the new baby right away when they are newborns is not realistic nor possible, but this time it worked out. I am so thankful.
Today I was thinking about contentment. Contentment seems to come between fear and anxiousness and control. When I fear and am anxious I cannot be content, because I am so unsure of what is, what was, and what will come. I worry and fret...What is happening right now is not what I want my reality to be. And then when I am in an uber control mode I am not content either. I am trying to make the reality be the reality that I want it to be with my own power and strength. This is not a good place to be either. Because I can never really be totally in control.
Contentment lies in the middle. It is a place of sure footing without having to be totally in control, nor worrying and fretting about reality. It is taking a realistic view of life as I know it right now and walking in faith with gratitude.
"But godliness with contentment is great gain..." 1 Timothy 6:6 (ESV)
"And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful." Colossians 3:14-15 (ESV)
Today was a wonderful sunny day. Today was a good day to be content.
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope." Romans 15:13 (ESV)
At church today, (Frankenmuth Bible Church) the pastor encouraged us to take another look at reading the Bible all the way through. I love reading the Bible...but plans always make me feel guilty...you see, sometimes I just get stuck on a verse or a piece of a verse and then I get off the plan. I'm still reading every day, or most days, but sometimes it's a little, sometimes it's a lot. And then, there's the days when sometimes its the same thing over and over until it sticks. You know, the kind of sticking that changes your life. This plan looks like something that I'll be able to stick to...well, I'm going to start! I'll see how I do.
Here's a video to start with:
Beginnings:
1) Genesis 1:1 (ESV) The Creation of the World
"In the beginning,
God created the heavens and the earth."
2) Proverbs 1:7 (ESV) The Fear of the Lord
"The fear of the Lord
is the beginning of knowledge;
fools despise wisdom and instruction."
3)Proverbs 4:7 (ESV) Wisdom
"The beginning of wisdom is this:
Get wisdom,
and whatever you get, get insight."
4)John 1:1(ESV) The Word Became Flesh
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
This is the view that I have today. Right now, as I write. As I stay in this quaint little house in MI by the river watching over my little grandson, who was the littlest up to a week ago. Within a week he has become the 3rd from the youngest grandchild. It is amazing what a week will bring. A week ago I was at home in freezing weather on Christmas having lunch with a friend from church. Then I went on to finish preparing the house and myself for our trip. And what a trip it has become! We left just last Monday to go to Canada to see this grandson and his mommy and daddy who all live there. We had grand adventures! We saw a lot of snow! (It was warmer than Idaho though.) Then we drove yesterday from Canada to Michigan to meet our now, 2nd to youngest grandchild (and his daddy and mommy and brother), who only last night still was the youngest...
oh, what adventures early morning brings!
I awakened to a text from my daughter...the MI cousin, would quickly give up his title of "youngest" as our daughter had her daughter just a little bit into the new year! From 5 to 7 in less than a week! It amazes me, this bringing of new life into the world...I saw it happen 3 times in my life as a mom and now 7 times as a grandma...and yet, it still amazes me. I want to soak it all in like warm sunshine in a sun room on a cold winters day...soak it all in until I can't hold any more, then soak some more...I know soon that I'll be going home to my empty nest...but for now, I just keep soaking it all in. I wonder if that is what Mary and Moses felt...
"But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart." Luke 2:19 (ESV)
And Moses would put a veil on his face after speaking with the people (after he had been with God)...so they wouldn't see it fade? (Exodus 35)
My heart is full...and it will continue to fill. I am treasuring these things. I am pondering them in my heart. I wish I could put a veil on so that people around me won't see this all fade...until I see my kids again...but that is not the life that I live in.
I live in a place of ministry to people. That means that I get to live life with people and that means that we see the things that fill us all up fade. We support each other. We love each other. We encourage each other. We practice the "one anothers" with each other, no matter how awkward at times it becomes.
I long for the day when I will get to be with all my kids together in one place, in one time zone...but until that day I will continue to treasure the bits of time that I do get!
Seconds...
After she left we went on a walk with my son and grandson, leaving my daughter in law (I want to so call her daughter in love, but when I tried I confused my son and he didn't like it too much :) That's ok. All my in law kids hold a very special place in my heart...I love them all so very much) and my other grandson at home to rest. On our way out I saw the hints of spring emerging from their flower bed.
At church today, (Frankenmuth Bible Church) the pastor encouraged us to take another look at reading the Bible all the way through. I love reading the Bible...but plans always make me feel guilty...you see, sometimes I just get stuck on a verse or a piece of a verse and then I get off the plan. I'm still reading every day, or most days, but sometimes it's a little, sometimes it's a lot. And then, there's the days when sometimes its the same thing over and over until it sticks. You know, the kind of sticking that changes your life. This plan looks like something that I'll be able to stick to...well, I'm going to start! I'll see how I do. 
