I was recently challenged to journal several days a week beginning each entry with things I am thankful for and closing with things I am concerned or worried about. I have been struggling with feelings of sadness and feeling overwhelmed with things going on in my life lately. I thought this was a great idea---the journaling of things I am thankful for.
Today I am thankful for my mom. I am thankful that I was blessed to have her as the one who carried me those long nine months and who raised me to know the Lord, to love cookie dough and chocolate, to have a love for Christian music, to sacrifice my wants for others' needs, to have a love for reading, to have a compassionate heart for others who are hurting, to see the importance of eating healthy and exercising (treating my body as a temple), to begin each day with the Lord in His word and in prayer (I'm still working on that), and to learn the importance of communicating with others (my husband specifically). I'm also thankful for the fact that she never expected me to be perfect. All she expected is for me to be the best I could be. She had my sisters and me memorize Ephesians 6 "The Armor of God" and we put it on every day on the way to school and acted it out in our seats as we said each verse. She taught me how to be a good listener as she sat up night after night with me (and still does) as I talk about things going on in my life. This list could go on and on and on.
I am sitting here typing this and listening to her in the background reading to my daughter and singing her to sleep as she is rocking her in the rocking chair. My heart overflows with joy as I ponder on the fact that my Hayley gets to have my mom as her grandmother!!! I am so thankful for my mom.
Now for concerns I have today. Tra's last chemo. treatment is this afternoon. Yesterday he had an allergic reaction to one of the drugs and he got very very sick. He told me at 4am this morning that he seriously thought he was going to die yesterday as his body reacted so violently to the drug. Praise God for Benadryl and his precious nurses who moved so quickly!!!! I am concerned that although today is the last day of the longest 6 months of our lives, that he might have to go thorough it all over again sometime in the future. My heart is heavy as I think about that possibility. But I am going to choose today to fight against this "stronghold" of worry in my life. Last night at BSF we studied 2 Corinthians 8-13 and I discovered 2 verses that I want to memorize and recite each time my heart is burdened with this worry.
"The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have the divine power to DEMOLISH strongholds. We demolish arguements and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive EVERY THOUGHT to make it obedient to Christ." 2 Cor. 10:4-5
And to close for today, the words of our sweet Savior. . ."My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." 2 Cor. 12:9
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
Rejoicing in Today
Posted by Shelly at 9:58 AM
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2 comments:
What a sweet tribute to your mom!
And that is just WEIRD that we both wrote the same verse on our blogs yesterday. Thanks for your encouragement. Like you said...it's nice to know that I am not the only one out there struggling with this 'stronghold'.
Praise God that the chemo is finished. When do they give Tra the all-clear?
Your spirit and faith is such an encouragement. It is obvious that you were raised to know and trust the Lord, because your relationship with Him is evident in all that you say and do. I look to you as such a role model of faith and am thankful to know you. You and Tra and Hayley are all in my prayers...I pray that your sweet family can just spend these next few months resting in His peace. Please let us know if there is anything we can do for you. We love yall and are excited to watch Hayley and Jack grow up together! Thank you for your example.
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