1.-10. Rescue and redemption through the sacrifice at the cross and Jesus' resurrection.
Really this blessing could count for my entire life. It was good to be reminded at church today how I was saved from condemnation by a God who never intends or wants to condemn us. I have called to Him from a place of despair and He heard me and rescued me because He loves me. Not because I'm good enough, not because I could ever do enough but because He loves me. It still baffles me. It's hard to fathom that anyone could love me and my messy, messed up, off the tracks life to step in and take the blame for all those messy, messed up, off the tracks things I did and save me. I deserved to be left to my own doom but I don't have to fear that because I have an amazing and gracious Savior who LOVES ME.
And the amazing thing is that He loves all creation. Every single person is precious to Him. I wish I could say that...that I look on my fellow man with love and compassion. But I don't always do that. It's horrible but I'm human and I don't love others like I should. I'm trying. Some days I try harder than others and some days it's easier than others. In my line of work I'm learning to look at the situation from all sides: to love our kids in their brokenness and heartache, to love their parents with all their wrongdoings and poor choices, to love the politicians and law makers who make the work harder...and I'm getting there. Thankfully, I'm not God. Because His love is automatic. It's knee jerk. It's infinite. It's everything our human love would like to be but isn't.
I struggle. I struggle. SO. MUCH. I'm fearful and afraid and worried and anxious. Sometimes I want to lie down when I should be getting up. I drive through neighborhoods and want a little retro house with a white picket fence, a husband, some kids, and a screened in porch for my cat. I want to read US Weekly instead of the latest update on Ukraine or U.S./Russian politics. I want to melt into the woodwork sometimes when I know I was made to go against the grain. Today was a good day though. A day when Jesus reminded me He is alive and He is here among us. The Holy Spirit is alive and well. I need to get out of this world and do what I'm called for. And I know it will fill my soul.
I'm still going to keep struggling. God didn't promise easy, just that He would never leave us. And if you are struggling, and sinking, on your own Jesus will lift you too. All you have to do is cry out for rescue.
Counting my Blessings Weeks 1-9 here.
Showing posts with label anti-worry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label anti-worry. Show all posts
Sunday, April 20, 2014
Sunday, April 13, 2014
Counting my Blessings: Weeks 8 and 9
You get a two-fer since I didn't take the time to post for last week.
Ways I've been blessed in the last few weeks...
1. Unexpectedly running into a friend at the UGA baseball game who has been in Afghanistan for the last year.
2. Having dinner with above mentioned friend, another friend I haven't seen in several months (friend #2), and friend #2's girlfriend.
3. Dinner with my "twin" Marissa on Friday night (sometimes we think so much alike it is scary).
4. Having someone write a grant proposal for Walking With Orphans.
5. Getting our first monthly supporter for Walking With Orphans!
6. Figuring out something technical on the computer without any help.
7. Finding out I'm getting money back from my taxes.
8. Getting approval to take my licensure test.
9. Getting a 97% on our treatment plans during our insurance audit.
10. Getting a 100% on our assessments during our insurance audit.
11. Sunday afternoon naps.
12. Spring time weather.
13. Walking the dog.
14. Conquering my anxiety over a situation.
15. Being with my family.
16. Seeing my mom get passionate about making a difference in people's lives.
17. Spending some one on one time with my dad while my mom was out of town.
18. Air conditioning.
19. Feeling like I got over a hump in my Romanian lessons.
20. Sinus surgery. I got it done several years ago and I can actually breathe during allergy season. I was so miserable for so long. Thank you Dr. Gadlage!
Here's weeks 1-7 of you want to catch up.
Ways I've been blessed in the last few weeks...
1. Unexpectedly running into a friend at the UGA baseball game who has been in Afghanistan for the last year.
2. Having dinner with above mentioned friend, another friend I haven't seen in several months (friend #2), and friend #2's girlfriend.
3. Dinner with my "twin" Marissa on Friday night (sometimes we think so much alike it is scary).
4. Having someone write a grant proposal for Walking With Orphans.
5. Getting our first monthly supporter for Walking With Orphans!
6. Figuring out something technical on the computer without any help.
7. Finding out I'm getting money back from my taxes.
8. Getting approval to take my licensure test.
9. Getting a 97% on our treatment plans during our insurance audit.
10. Getting a 100% on our assessments during our insurance audit.
11. Sunday afternoon naps.
12. Spring time weather.
13. Walking the dog.
14. Conquering my anxiety over a situation.
15. Being with my family.
16. Seeing my mom get passionate about making a difference in people's lives.
17. Spending some one on one time with my dad while my mom was out of town.
18. Air conditioning.
19. Feeling like I got over a hump in my Romanian lessons.
20. Sinus surgery. I got it done several years ago and I can actually breathe during allergy season. I was so miserable for so long. Thank you Dr. Gadlage!
Here's weeks 1-7 of you want to catch up.
Monday, March 31, 2014
Counting My Blessings: Week 7
A little late but better late than never...
Also... here's the rest if you want to catch up!
1. Getting to be a soccer mom.
2. My friend Christina's cooking. Especially her cheese dip. Which she made special for me a few weeks ago. And saved some when I couldn't stay to eat it then.
3. 90's alternative rock.
4. and 5. My boss and my supervisor. I've worked with people who were difficult to approach, didn't listen to your concerns, didn't practice what they preached, did things without explanation, punished you for your passions, were quick to judge and quicker to hand down judgment, and put unreasonable expectations on you. My boss and my supervisor are nothing like that. I love working with them and respect them for their patience and consideration when working with me.
6. My parents and their understanding when I've had a long, hard day and just want to take a bath go to sleep.
7. A home gym where I can get a quick work out in.
8. This knitting pattern. Because sometimes life is too complicated for anything besides a dishcloth.
9. Central heating and air. I've needed both this week and it gets pretty miserable with only one or the other.
10. My loud and crazy family:
Also... here's the rest if you want to catch up!
1. Getting to be a soccer mom.
 |
| George and Iuli are on the far left but I know and love all these boys! They won 3rd place in a local tournament! |
3. 90's alternative rock.
4. and 5. My boss and my supervisor. I've worked with people who were difficult to approach, didn't listen to your concerns, didn't practice what they preached, did things without explanation, punished you for your passions, were quick to judge and quicker to hand down judgment, and put unreasonable expectations on you. My boss and my supervisor are nothing like that. I love working with them and respect them for their patience and consideration when working with me.
6. My parents and their understanding when I've had a long, hard day and just want to take a bath go to sleep.
7. A home gym where I can get a quick work out in.
8. This knitting pattern. Because sometimes life is too complicated for anything besides a dishcloth.
9. Central heating and air. I've needed both this week and it gets pretty miserable with only one or the other.
10. My loud and crazy family:
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Counting My Blessings: Week 6
So, there have been quite a few blessings this week even though they got a little lost in other things. It was good to sit and think back on them today.
1. Giving a good presentation to my mom's small group on our trip to Romania.
2. Getting a note from my sweet boy, Iuli!
3. Not having to work a 12 hour day on Friday.
4. Not having to work on Saturday.
5. Leaving the windows open and letting in some fresh air.
6. Knowing that friend Elena is on her way to the States.
7. Having a great lunch with my friend Pam and her daughter Jamie and getting to talk about our kids half way around the world and what we can do for them.
8. Translating two paragraphs from English to Romanian and feeling pretty good about my ability to do so.
9. Eating some of my friend Christina's amazing nacho dip.
10. Having someone who cared enough about me to take me aside and ask me how I'm really doing.
In other news...ya'll pray for me. We start week two of our audit prep and I'm already beyond stressed. I had an emotional walk/talk with my mom tonight and she remarked that my work tends to take a toll on me very quickly. It does not bode well that by 9:15 tonight I was already peeved about something that had happened and I've been doing damage control for the last 45 minutes to make sure that everyone gets to work, gets their 12 hours, takes care of the things that need to be taken care of, and are able to go home and have a life.
Go here for other weeks of counting my blessings.
1. Giving a good presentation to my mom's small group on our trip to Romania.
2. Getting a note from my sweet boy, Iuli!
3. Not having to work a 12 hour day on Friday.
4. Not having to work on Saturday.
5. Leaving the windows open and letting in some fresh air.
6. Knowing that friend Elena is on her way to the States.
7. Having a great lunch with my friend Pam and her daughter Jamie and getting to talk about our kids half way around the world and what we can do for them.
8. Translating two paragraphs from English to Romanian and feeling pretty good about my ability to do so.
9. Eating some of my friend Christina's amazing nacho dip.
10. Having someone who cared enough about me to take me aside and ask me how I'm really doing.
In other news...ya'll pray for me. We start week two of our audit prep and I'm already beyond stressed. I had an emotional walk/talk with my mom tonight and she remarked that my work tends to take a toll on me very quickly. It does not bode well that by 9:15 tonight I was already peeved about something that had happened and I've been doing damage control for the last 45 minutes to make sure that everyone gets to work, gets their 12 hours, takes care of the things that need to be taken care of, and are able to go home and have a life.
Go here for other weeks of counting my blessings.
Monday, March 17, 2014
Counting my Blessings: Week 5
A few days late but better late than never!
1. Hot showers
2. Ceiling fans
3. A home cooked meal (almost) every night
4. Chocolate
5. Snuggles with Red, our cat who lives in the basement (which sounds creepy but really isn't, our basement is pretty nice)
6. Having a home gym
7. Waking up to the sound of rain
8. Abundant donations to the nonprofit
9. Not working late on a Friday
10. Pictures of the kids in Romania popping up on my friends' Facebook pages :)
Here's to another blessed week!
Previous Weeks:
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
1. Hot showers
2. Ceiling fans
3. A home cooked meal (almost) every night
4. Chocolate
5. Snuggles with Red, our cat who lives in the basement (which sounds creepy but really isn't, our basement is pretty nice)
6. Having a home gym
7. Waking up to the sound of rain
8. Abundant donations to the nonprofit
9. Not working late on a Friday
10. Pictures of the kids in Romania popping up on my friends' Facebook pages :)
Here's to another blessed week!
Previous Weeks:
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Saturday, March 8, 2014
Counting My Blessings: Week 4
Sunday, March 2, 2014
Counting my Blessings: Week 3
This week was kind of hectic and crazy. I'm a week behind in work at the office and I've got lots on my plate but I'm going to choose to focus on the positive. Here's my blessings from this past week:
1. Going to a wedding.
2. Attending a DFCS luncheon at work. I got to eat some good food and I got out of reading and auditing medical charts for a little while :)
3. Being asked to take on some new responsibilities at work. Though it means more admin tasks for me it also means that my bosses trust me.
4. Getting the ball rolling on a potential intern for the nonprofit.
5. Interesting dreams. I love to dream and the last few nights I've had some that I actually remembered.
6. A good Romanian lesson. All week I was stressed out because I wasn't really on top of my homework game. And I was struggling to understand some of the connecting words (on, at, towards, etc.). At my lesson on Saturday I was able to grasp some things that I had previously had trouble on. And my teacher didn't check all my homework :) She told me that next week we will spend half the time working on conversations and that I was getting to the point where I would no longer have to translate in my head. I was able to breathe a sigh of relief and I felt pretty good about things after that.
7. Granny smith apples. Mom picked some up at the store this week. They're my favorite and this batch was perfect! (Sometimes it's the little things.)
8. Using my sand tray in play therapy for the first time. It was a hit!
9. Emailing with my Russian sister, Nastia. So glad I get to help her ministry out. We are both praying that we will meet each other in person soon. She is definitely my kindred spirit.
10. Making it through another week! I know this one is kind of a cop out but 1. this was a rough week and 2. sometimes you just have to appreciate the obvious stuff!
Here's the previous weeks if you are interested:
Counting my Blessings: Week 1
Counting my Blessings: Week 2
1. Going to a wedding.
2. Attending a DFCS luncheon at work. I got to eat some good food and I got out of reading and auditing medical charts for a little while :)
3. Being asked to take on some new responsibilities at work. Though it means more admin tasks for me it also means that my bosses trust me.
4. Getting the ball rolling on a potential intern for the nonprofit.
5. Interesting dreams. I love to dream and the last few nights I've had some that I actually remembered.
6. A good Romanian lesson. All week I was stressed out because I wasn't really on top of my homework game. And I was struggling to understand some of the connecting words (on, at, towards, etc.). At my lesson on Saturday I was able to grasp some things that I had previously had trouble on. And my teacher didn't check all my homework :) She told me that next week we will spend half the time working on conversations and that I was getting to the point where I would no longer have to translate in my head. I was able to breathe a sigh of relief and I felt pretty good about things after that.
7. Granny smith apples. Mom picked some up at the store this week. They're my favorite and this batch was perfect! (Sometimes it's the little things.)
8. Using my sand tray in play therapy for the first time. It was a hit!
9. Emailing with my Russian sister, Nastia. So glad I get to help her ministry out. We are both praying that we will meet each other in person soon. She is definitely my kindred spirit.
10. Making it through another week! I know this one is kind of a cop out but 1. this was a rough week and 2. sometimes you just have to appreciate the obvious stuff!
Here's the previous weeks if you are interested:
Counting my Blessings: Week 1
Counting my Blessings: Week 2
Saturday, February 22, 2014
Counting my Blessings: Week 2
1. Spring weather this week! Praise the Lord!
2. Starting a new book (When Rain Hurts) on my Nook and loving it.
3. Getting to spend some girl time with my best friend and hearing how God is moving and working in her life.
4. Getting a huge shipment of new donations for Walking With Orphans!
5. A good therapy session with one of my clients. Some weeks can be up and down. This week was kind of "eh" for most of my clients but I felt like one in particular had a very therapeutic session this week. Pray for her as she transforms from her old brokenness into a new person.
6. Fridays! Man, sometimes the weekends are such a blessing! There is nothing better than reaching the finish line of a long week and being able to relax.
7. Hearing from my friend Talitha who is in Romania and being reminded of my boys and all the kids I love there. Sometimes these thoughts are bittersweet but the kids have been on my mind a lot recently and the thought of their faces brings me great joy :)
8. Supervision at work. It's nice to be reminded that we're in this together.
9. Getting back into my Bible study with a book about helping the poor and orphaned.
10. Bubble baths! I take one most nights and last night I sat in there for almost and hour just relaxing and reading. What a blessing!
Find the other weeks below:
Counting my Blessings: Week 1
2. Starting a new book (When Rain Hurts) on my Nook and loving it.
 |
| My Nook in the hand knit case I made for it. Kind of looks like Cookie Monster! |
4. Getting a huge shipment of new donations for Walking With Orphans!
6. Fridays! Man, sometimes the weekends are such a blessing! There is nothing better than reaching the finish line of a long week and being able to relax.
7. Hearing from my friend Talitha who is in Romania and being reminded of my boys and all the kids I love there. Sometimes these thoughts are bittersweet but the kids have been on my mind a lot recently and the thought of their faces brings me great joy :)
8. Supervision at work. It's nice to be reminded that we're in this together.
9. Getting back into my Bible study with a book about helping the poor and orphaned.
10. Bubble baths! I take one most nights and last night I sat in there for almost and hour just relaxing and reading. What a blessing!
Find the other weeks below:
Counting my Blessings: Week 1
Monday, February 17, 2014
Counting My Blessings: Week 1
So, as I have mentioned before, I'm something of a worrywart. I can, and frequently do, get worked up over the smallest of things. This has been going on for a good many years now and I'm actually starting to suffer physically because of it. I'm determined to take control of this though. I've started sleeping better and I have boundaries around my free time now. Before I freak out about something I try and approach it logically and I try to remind myself to stop and pray.
This weekend I was having a somewhat trying time with my anxiety. I knew it was because the week before I had been really slack with my quiet time and journaling (and, by default, my prayer time). On Sunday I decided I wanted to do something to remind myself that life isn't all about worry and stress. Our pastor was preaching from James and there were two verses I found that stuck out to me:
"...Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you..." - James 4:7b-8a
There are two things I must do: resist the devil and come near to God. I have to actively push away from the devil and then purposefully move towards God. If I get slack then I'm no longer getting closer to God (I might even be getting further away) and I'm susceptible to the devil's tricks. For me that means my anxiety will get worse. Satan has wormed his way into my thinking over years of unguarded and unbridled disobedience and if I give him an inch of room he will turn it into a full blown panic attack.
So, what I have I decided to do? I'm going to count my blessings. Each week I'm going to think of 10 things that I was blessed with during the week and I'm going to share them here. Hopefully I will end up making this a daily habit and then share the 10 best with you at the end of the week.
Last week's is a little late but I want to get this kicked off. Without further ado, here are 10 things I was blessed with last week:
1. Meeting a new friend who loves Jesus, orphans, and Eastern Europe as much as I do!
2. The promise of spring that was in the air on Sunday afternoon.
3. The fact that all of my friends and family stayed safe during the ice storm last week.
4. Getting better at my Romania and starting to feel like I may actually learn this!
5. Watching the Olympics with my mom.
6. A rainstorm (I love the sound of rain!).
7. Walking our dog after being stuck inside for most of the week.
8. Learning that my Romanian friend Elena is coming to the States in March to start college!
9. Learning that 2 of my friends from the boys transition program in Romania made public professions of faith on Sunday!
10. Knitting a sweater for a child in need with yarn that I dyed myself.
Yes, I'm definitely blessed!
This weekend I was having a somewhat trying time with my anxiety. I knew it was because the week before I had been really slack with my quiet time and journaling (and, by default, my prayer time). On Sunday I decided I wanted to do something to remind myself that life isn't all about worry and stress. Our pastor was preaching from James and there were two verses I found that stuck out to me:
"...Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you..." - James 4:7b-8a
There are two things I must do: resist the devil and come near to God. I have to actively push away from the devil and then purposefully move towards God. If I get slack then I'm no longer getting closer to God (I might even be getting further away) and I'm susceptible to the devil's tricks. For me that means my anxiety will get worse. Satan has wormed his way into my thinking over years of unguarded and unbridled disobedience and if I give him an inch of room he will turn it into a full blown panic attack.
So, what I have I decided to do? I'm going to count my blessings. Each week I'm going to think of 10 things that I was blessed with during the week and I'm going to share them here. Hopefully I will end up making this a daily habit and then share the 10 best with you at the end of the week.
Last week's is a little late but I want to get this kicked off. Without further ado, here are 10 things I was blessed with last week:
1. Meeting a new friend who loves Jesus, orphans, and Eastern Europe as much as I do!
2. The promise of spring that was in the air on Sunday afternoon.
3. The fact that all of my friends and family stayed safe during the ice storm last week.
4. Getting better at my Romania and starting to feel like I may actually learn this!
5. Watching the Olympics with my mom.
6. A rainstorm (I love the sound of rain!).
7. Walking our dog after being stuck inside for most of the week.
8. Learning that my Romanian friend Elena is coming to the States in March to start college!
9. Learning that 2 of my friends from the boys transition program in Romania made public professions of faith on Sunday!
10. Knitting a sweater for a child in need with yarn that I dyed myself.
Yes, I'm definitely blessed!
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