Daniel SAFARI: Week 7

Wow...another week has flown by in our SAFARI.  Thank you, thank you, thank you, His Girl, for never giving up, even when it must seem a thankless task at times, to encourage and educate this crew of travellers.  May blessings be heaped upon your head, Dear Friend.

This week, I'm diving into the following choice in our homework: 

 "Discuss your personal “Spiritual Education.” What factors have been key in your understanding of who God is?

The fact is, until I got so tired of the ivory tower machine that is gradual  graduate school--learning about studies, statistics, and therapy programs, that it took me a long time to want to read a book, write a note, or learn about anything EVER again.  I may have graduated from CU Boulder a qualified speech-language pathologist, but I very nearly lost my love of learning, and VERY much lost my love of reading for quite some time.  However, God is faithful, and with time, my curiosity grew, about many things...chiefly, Him. Further, since I must be wired as a speech therapist to some degree, He gave me access to a spiritual education which was tailor-made for my understanding. 

 My spiritual education is multi-modal in nature: 

I read/listen. 

I process. 

I speak/pray.

I write/do.  

 In thru the eyes and ears, to the heart and mind, and out through words and deeds. 

Each of these modalities, a.k.a. "factors" are intrinsic to my understanding of the nature of Christ.  I would love to tell you that I am 100% caught up on every Bible reading.  That I always think/process before I speak, and that prayer is my first behavior before any others, but that would simply be a lie.  However, God has given these tools, and many resources to help me know him. 

Read/Listen:  First and foremost, God speaks to me through His Word.  When I read the Bible, not only do I have the history of the world at my fingertips, but I also have access to His nature.  Who He is.  What pleases and glorifies Him.  What He deplores.  How deeply He loves. How richly He blesses.  In addition, I God has placed me in an amazing church--not perfect by any means, but amazing all the same--where Scripture is exegetically studied and shared by not only our teaching pastor, but by other leaders and friends, as well.

Process:  Processing requires...guess what?  Time.  Thought.  And for me...quiet.  Do I take as much time to process God's thoughts and meditate upon His Word as I "should".  No.  I am growing.  I also suppose it will never be enough, because a true, glorifying love of the Lord should always leave one thirsty for more. 

Speak/Pray:  I speak to others...mentors, mostly.  I am so blessed to know and be known by such amazing folks, not only in my church, but in The Church.  None of you participating in this study goes to my church.  Yet we "speak" to one another, and iron sharpens iron.  The same is true with my godly friendships with the men and women at my church.  My choir and worship team peeps, especially, create such a safe landing space for me each week.  I get to pray with and for them.  Speak and listen to them, and learn so very much from their understanding.

Write/Do:  Writing...in the form of a prayer list or even the scant journal entry.  Writing blog posts.  True confessions:  I am NOT a journaler by nature.  The only time I have really been successful at journaling was when I was deeply depressed.  Perhaps that's why I'm afraid of it.  But I do journal those other ways.  I write in the margins of my Bible.  I write scripture for memorization.  In fact, I have typed out a beloved Scripture, which is now dog-earred, but no less true, and have taped it to my van's dash to remind me of the following:

31 "As for God, his way is perfect;

the word of the LORD is flawless.

He is a shieldfor all who take refuge in him.

32 For who is God besides the LORD ?

And who is the Rock except our God?"

2 Samuel 22:31-32

And as for the "do".  Well, hopefully, doing this study, being in the Word, mentoring and being mentored, praying, and being prayed for...well, it's my hope and belief that this leads to fruit.  His fruit:  love,joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.  And when my actions do not lead to fruit, His gentle whisper of conviction leads me to repent, and to ask for his forgiveness (and just one more "mulligan"). 

And that's all I have to say about that. ;-)

Celebrating Tiffani

You say it's your b'day? 

Happy B'day to a wonderfully wickedly amazingly gleefully beautiful woman.

If I were with you today, I'd have to share you with Adam and Amber, but (ahem) I'd totally take you to Wicked for your 2000th time, and my 2nd time.  We'd try to be quiet as we sang the songs, and tapped out the tunes with our toes. 

Then, we'd sing the whole soundtrack, all the way home.  We'd have a sleepover.  Watch episodes of gLee, and fight over Mr. Schue.  Though, for your b'day, I might back off Mr. Schue, and go for Finn.  Just 'cause I'm nice like that. 

And...if I ever (I will) come see you, and we don't do any of the above...well, it'll still groove because we've got each other.  And we can share sugar and song in abundance. 

I'm not even bitter about you being so much younger than me.  See how I roll?  

From knowing the lines to Me and Bobby McGee, to being able to talk musicals, to your sweet prayers and loving encouragement, no matter what the reason--I so appreciate you.  Know how I know you're great? 

Because you are 3 parts amazing, mixed with one part teeny bit naughty.  Holla.

Lurve you!  Cannot wait to hug your neck someday.  Have a wonderful b'day!!!!!

xxxooo

Gretchen

GladiTuesday! North Carolina Style

Howdy!  Time for a gladitude haiku:

North Carolina

Not bloggy friends, but heart friends

Sharing our stories

I can't really capture my time in NC because, really, it was so normal in some ways, yet so extraordinary in others.  I went from quiet moments to lurvely-lively moments.  All in a blink.  All blessed.  All with a sweetly earned lack of sleep.  I got to watch, and participate.  Rest and receive.  Some memories which make me ever so glad are not limited to, but include:

1.  Sharing (well, I TRIED to share) one of the largest, most delicious bowls of guacamole EVAH on my first night in NC.  LVCG picked me up from the airport, and we high-tailed it here for dinner with the CPQ.  CPQ thought it needed just a wee bit more salt, and I was happy to oblige, but between you and me, I could've rolled around in it like a little pig, and been happy w/or w/o said salt.

2.  She wore a raspbery beret (hand made by my friend, the CPQ):

3.  5 of the most precious children, ever.  Love you, A, G, T, T, and J.  I learned about Star Wars--what I really learned is that I have to ship my boy to both houses to be with hard-to-come-by-around-here Star Wars afficionados. I increased my love of Target whilst taking a "field trip" with everyone--Mr. T. leading the way with his sassy orange walker and his overflowing enthusiasm for all things the big, red Bull's Eye has to offer.  Sweet G, the only girl in the pack of testosterone, took me aside and told me, "You're beautiful, Miss Gretchen.".  I should've immediately said, "Thank you!", but instead, I thought I hadn't heard her correctly, and said, "What?"  And then I found my manners and a lump in my throat and said, "Thank you!". She's almost small enough for me to tuck into my carry-on.  And I might've, if her mom wasn't watching.  Ahem.  Of course, if you read this, you know she might've been lost forever if I had done that. ;)

4.  Dinner and wine with LVCG, wherein she made a fabulous soup, and we had fabulous wine (from WA), and we just...hung.out. Literally.  Because we changed into our jammies.  Being that you can never have enough of a good thing...we also made us some more guacamole. 

5.  Seeing Duke Chapel was so amazing.  Stupid funny story about myself...I saw this, and wondered when/why the church had started using Greek symbols.  And whatever could they mean?

I know...DUH.  I should not be allowed to raise children, nor own and operate a car.

6.  I met Kona-the-Wonder-Mutt.  And of course I had to text pics back to my dog-loving children at home.

Kona's the perfect dog for my kids.  She's somebody else's responsibility.  They loved her.

7.  Bloggy friends lunch...So nice to visit with Gretchen of the East, the Yarn Whisperer, and the Mother of Squishy Baby Girl (and 3 other sweet past-their-squishy-stage kiddos).  And the food was to die for.  I even had sweet tea, since I'm Southern and all, now.  I happen to be the only one w/o a picture of that day, but I'm sure one of them will come by, read this, and feel appropriately guilted enough to send me one.  Don't you hate it when folks have problems with passive-aggression?  Seriously. 

8.  I heard "yes, ma'am."

9.  I got to simply SEE things...like where LVCG goes to church.  Where CPQ's boys go to school.  Etc.

10.  I stretched my palate, and ate lamb, falafel, and the best carrot cake ever. Well, the carrot cake wasn't a stretch.  But the other two were, and they were delish.

Yes...I am blessed.  Would lurve to have you join in, either in the comments or on your blog and tell me what gladifies you today.

Daniel SAFARI: Week 6

Shut the front door!  Are we really finished with week 6?  Wowza. Thank you so much, fellow Safari Sisters and friends who are following along, for taking the time to come read my thoughts and for sharing your own.  I know I was an especially poor bloggy friend this past week, since I was on my R&R trip to NC, but I'm back in the saddle again. 

This week's assignment corresponds with Daniel, Chapter 7--or the trip to the lion's den for our beloved Belteshazzar  (a.k.a. Daniel).  Doesn't that alliteration just fairly drip off your tongue?  Even as a nonbeliever, I had heard something of this story.  It was nice to really read thru it and look at the nuances (thanks to Amber's guidance).  Our focus was "exploring prayer" and "conquering planning".  Additionally, one of the things we were encouraged to ask God about was whether our first instinct was to pray or to panic/plan in a stressful situation.  I could really do w/o some of these squirm in my seat/too close to home questions.  Nevertheless, I will continue to trudge on.

I'll discuss the following:  Tell of a time when you were tempted to make plans, and instead chose to pray and wait on God, instead.

I wish I could tell you that I have this one, crisply defined moment when this shift occurred for me.  Alas, I am much messier than that.  My name is Gretchen, and I'm a planner, a recovering control freak, and a recovering perfectionist.  I think a lot of that baggage came with my upbringing (not dissing--just keepin' it real), but I'm also a firm believer that, after 21, you need to choose to either find the tools to deal with your s**t, or succumb to it.  However, the dealing...takes a lot of prayer, submission, and total dependence on God.  Not something an independent perfectionist was accustomed to doing. 

And the fact that I didn't do this nearly cost me my marriage.    

Because I was so needy that I tried to fill a God-sized hole w/my wonderful, but human husband. 

See, he's a travelin' man.  Made a lot of stops.  All over the world.  (Hello, Ricky Nelson).  Indeed, he started our marriage with 100% travel, and is now down to about 30% . 

Well, this travel didn't fit with my perception of what a husband should do, nor did the tons of overtime he worked.  On the outside, I was calm, and cute :), and on the inside, I was boiling.  Eventually,about every couple of weeks or so the vitriol would spew forth from me in an argument because Big had "chosen his work over me".  Not only that, but "if he really loved me, he'd find a decent job close to home,etc.".  After all, don't husbands greet their wives with a kiss at 5:01 p.m., Monday-Friday?  Okay...so add naive to the list of my attributes. When we were first married, Big's flight would arrive at 10 on Friday night, and then have to be back at the airport on Sunday at 2 p.m.  Granted, this was not ideal, but he was doing his time in the corporate world of consulting.  One would think that I would be excited to see him.  And I was...but not really.  You see, I didn't have the knowledge of God that I have now, so I wasn't praying for our marriage, his safety, or anything, really.  But boy, I was a planner.  I planned each Friday all day long about how I could harp at him, withhold bedroom fun, or berate him so that he would finally see the light and come home to his needy wife.  And when I was done blaming him coming home so late on Fridays, I started in on how big a bummer it was to have to take him to the airport so early on a Sunday.  I was sure a prize, no?  Not to take 100% of our early marital woes upon myself, but really...who could blame him for wanting to be away from me.  Our weekends were spent fighting rather than growing closer as a couple to shore each other up before another hard week. 

Truly, it's only the hand of God that saved us.

Fast forward to now.  He.still.travels.  I.still.hate.it.  And I have to do a lot of talking with God to make sure my heart is in the nonresentful right place when I anticipate his trips. Is it perfect now?  Nope.  But I'll tell you this:  since God is now in the God-sized hole, and since I choose to pray to Him to help my messed up self, I find that my marriage is better.  I focus on the "now".  On what I have.  On how blessed I am to be nearly 20 years married to a man who loves me, provides exceedingly well for our family, and who has actually relaxed a bit and put his marriage first more often when there seems to be a reason to do so. 

Now, when he readies himself to go to Asia, we cuddle.  We chat.  I do his laundry and help him pack.  I tell him that I would really rather he not go, but that I'm thankful for his job and his excitement--especially at 42 years old--in doing what he does.  I tell him again that I'd rather he not go (wait, I said that :) ), and then I pray over him.  I release him to God's care.  And I walk to my Jesus' lap and let Him care for me.  In prayer.  Sometimes being lonely and having abandonment crap can really feel like a lion's den.  But thanks to prayer--sometimes in a designated quiet time, sometimes in breath prayers as I drive/do laundry/wash dishes, sometimes as i tuck in my children--we know we're going to be okay.

"For he is the living God and he endures forever;

his kingdom will not be destroyed,

his dominion will never end."

Daniel 6:26 

 

remembering

I'm glad you're in Heaven, but I miss ya, Mom. 

I miss ya.

12.28.44-2.21.99

A Feel Good About Yourself Post

Wouldn't it be so funny if you went on a 3.5 day transcontinental journey, and when you got home, after 8 hours of airports and flying, you accidentally picked up someone else's bag at the baggage claim?  A bag that looks just like yours, but shouldn't have because you were clever and far-sighted enough to purchase a plum colored carry-on, rather than the everyone-has-black color, thereby avoiding all possibility of a silly little luggage twin mixup snafu.  Also, wouldn't it be hilarious if you didn't tag your carry-on because it was to be always with you, but the oversold, overpacked United plane people told you that you had to check it at the gate because you were in seating area hell the 4th out of 4 seating areas and all the other space hogs before you had taken YOUR overhead bin there wasn't any available room in the overhead compartments? 

What would really be a scream is getting that twin bag home and gLeefully unzipping it to bless your sweet children with their airport-purchased Raleigh and Durham sportswear, only to find PINK, FLANNEL POLKA-DOTTED PAJAMAS which were NOT yours?

However, the "funnest" part of the whole evening--the piece de resistance, if you will, would likely be when you found the little luggage name and phone number tag, and you mustered your courage to call the person who owned your the other plum bag.  She may or may not have been justifyably ungracious upon receipt of said call. 

Lastly, the most precious part of the whole scenario might've been trucking down to SeaTac at 6:45 a.m. the next morning (24 hours before you will truck back to drop off your spouse) with your sleepy daughter who is on midwinter break and loves to sleep in helpful child who you might've bribed blessed with a McDonald's meal to be a space holder for you, so that you could drive in the carpool lane in rush hour traffic. 

Welcome to my world. 

Daniel SAFARI: Week 5

I'm choosing to discuss the following question on Daniel's study this week:  "Have you ever experienced 'spiritual amnesia'? Discuss."

WOW...that's a fine howdoyado, isn't it?  Not a very easy peasy lemon squeazy question, but a refreshingly authentically relevant one--relevant in Belshazzar's day and in Gretchen's day.  

So I guess I'll answer. (drumroll)

Yes.

Oh..."discuss".  I guess I missed that. 

Sadly, I suffer spiritual amnesia on nearly a daily basis.  How do I know this is true?  Because the fruit (or...lack thereof) of my attitudes is shown in my behavior.

In a nutshell, I forget the following, and it has a domino effect on my freedom to be and do all that God has planned for me to be and do (most notably, as woman, wife, mother, and friend)..

• I have difficulty forgiving my kids for offenses which they commit, especially when they do them OVER and OVER and OVER again.  Hello?  Can you please learn from your mistakes????  Umm...yeah.  I wonder if God ever looks at me, committing my 100th sin, same as the first (Channeling the Henry the 8th song, here.), and says to Himself, "do you ever learn???  Meanwhile, that sin is forgiven.(Matthew 18:21-23; Matthew 26:28)  When i repent, His arms fly open, and into them I fall.  Again.  And.  Again.
• I have spiritual amnesia when it comes to remembering that through faith, I am pleasing, blameless, and holy in His sight. (Col. 1:21-22)Though I am gettting better with my response to this truth, I've often forgotten it, causing me too much angst where others were concerned.  People pleasing, worrying about my appearance, or wondering what folks thought of me in any given situation really cramps my style, and takes my eyes off of Him. 
• I have spiritual amnesia when I think of others when I judge them w/o knowing all the circumstances behind their actions.  Ever been cut off in traffic?  Does it ever vex you?  It vexes me, and I'm not as gracious as I should be at all times.  But what if I took a second, backed up...looked at the situation through a God-type of lens, and prayed for that person.  Maybe s/he is having a rough day.  Maybe she's in labor. Maybe, s/he simply didn't see me.  Maybe s/he just made a bonehead move.  Don't all of these situations call for grace? And hasn't His grace been sufficiently poured out for me that I could share?  After all, my graciousness (or lack thereof) might be the only glimpse that person has of a Christian during their day.  Do I look different? I pray that the overwhelming majority of the time, the answer is "yes".  But it's so important for me to remain in Him (John 15:4), so that He'll remain in me for others to see. 

Many of the ideas I've shared here dovetail with my experience with this bible study, by Robert McGee.

Lord, please forgive me for my spiritual amnesia and little thinking.  Thank you SO much for the opportunity to study Your word in a group of iron-sharpening believers.  Thank You for your truths.  For Your grace.  For the opportunities each day which i have to love and worship you by forgiving and loving on others.  Please bind me from the enemy, so that my eyes are always on You.  My Savior.  My Redeemer.  Remain in me, O God. How love you.  In Jesus' name. Amen.

 

GladiTuesday!

Okay...I've been a little wordy, as of late, and that's not all bad...but today for a change of pace...I thought I would use as many ellipses as possible I thought I'd give you 10 pictures which make me glad.  No particular order.  No particular deep thinking.  Just me looking and picking and smiling.  Hope they make you smile today, too.  'Cause we need a little smile here and there these days, no?

Circa 1st and 3rd grade for him and her. 

Olympic Game Farm:  Lurve from a buffalo.  Makes sense that my husband would like to have a nice kiss from a buffalo--he went to CU-Boulder.

Baby Annie--who is now 4 and tipping the scales at 100 lbs. But she's still that cute.  And so is D, btw. :)

Maui, 2009

Humpback whale.

MT, 2009  Lake McDonald (brrrr).

MT, 2009.  Yes, that'd be my rear, front and ctr. :)

It's becoming evident that I love my family, and we love animals.  What I don't love about this picture is the mascara running down my face.  But whatever.

Island Girls:  Visit 8/09

Oh!  I guess I do have dance experience.  1977/1978

 

First grade.  Guess why my hair is short?  That's right.  It used to be down to my waist (like all good '70s girls), and then...I.cut.it.  This was the "save".  But at least I'm stylin' a necklace, some earrings, and my St. Pepper wannabe jacket.

prom, 1985.  We haven't changed a bit.

Daniel SAFARI: Week 4

I come today ever so expectantly, though my hair is mussed, and my traveling clothes are smelly and torn from the hanging branches and bumpy road conditions, which are all part of the journey.  But a little dirt and grime won't stop God from leading and loving us through.  So it won't stop me from keeping on, either.  In His strength. This week, we're exploring vanity vs. humility.  'Scuse me, Teacher HisGirl, can I have a hall pass?  No?

Okay.  Just thought I'd ask.

Because this vanity (pride) vs. humility sort of makes me squirm in my seat.  Why?  Because though I try to be humble and put God first in my mind and heart, dying to self, I often DON'T.

Did anyone else's mind go to Charlotte's Web, and Wilbur's plight?  You all know the story, right?  Wilbur the runty pig goes to live on Zuckerman's farm after his little, cute babyhood wears off. Luckily for him, his previous owner, Fern continues to love him, and he meets several friends who start a campaign to save his bacon--most indispensably, a beautiful spider, named Charlotte.  A couple of things strike me as significant in Wilbur's story.  First, Wilbur knows there is nothing in his own strength which will save him.  This is quite different from most of us me, for I often go to my own strength, my own ability, my own resources, while ignoring the only REAL resource.  The Great I Am.  Ouch.  Second, it strikes me as interesting that one of the words used to describe Wilbur is HUMBLE.  Humble? Who cares if a pig is humble?  I mean, really.  They want to eat him, not philosphize with him.  Even if he was to be taken as a pet, I'd say humility is a given among our pets.  Perhaps our dominion is more to the point rather than their humility, but still.  An odd characteristic as a life-saving title, don't you think?  Yet, there's something very gentle and pleasing about HUMBLE old Wilbur (despite his whiny voice in the movie).  And you know the end of the story--he lives to a ripe old age, and helps raise Charlotte's children.  

Unlike Wilbur, it took a little longer for Nebuchadnezzar to realize his helplessness.  Eye of the needle, and all (Matthew 19:24).  But God was faithful, and after Old Nebby lost his pride because he didn't listen to God's interpretation of his dream thru Daniel, he went around feeling rather ox-ish.  BUT, when God was finished disciplining him, he saw God for the Creator and I AM that He is/was, repented, and became humble and obedient.    And not only did God restore him to his former success, but increased his power because his eyes were on the right prize. 

I'll be honest...as I considered the options to talk about (talking about when I've been humbled, etc.), not very many big moments came to mind.  Just a bunch of little daily ones.  Yes, I know that God is in control and reigns supreme, not just in my life, but that He is the reason for all life.  Yet, in my US citizen comfort, with my higher education, with all of the blessings he has so richly poured out over my head, I struggle, probably on a daily basis, with an attitude of thanksgiving, praise, and humility.  My hope lies in my faith in Jesus' work on the cross.  The fact that He is in the business of forgiveness and of miracles, and that He wants me to succeed at this.  I can tell, thank You, God, that I am starting to get it.  I'm making baby steps towards the goal of dying to self and living for Him.  So yeah, who cares about a little stinky here, and a little torn clothes there...This trip's worth every bruise, scratch, and God hug along the way.

Be blessed this week, my friends.

This could cause an accident.

I don't know if you've seen many of these "Smileys", by Mazda, but the first time I saw one, it struck me as so funny that I could barely keep my eyes open and on the road, such was my laughter and tears.  I have no idea why I thought it was so funny, but then today, my son and I saw another one, and I have to say, maintaining composure was difficult.  I wonder if it's because we name our cars. 

Please file this under:  useless shared item.  BUT, it brings us one post closer to my 300 party.  Partay...Dude.

You say tweet, I say twit...

I have to be honest.

I sometimes hate it when the Holy Spirit lays it on my heart to change a behavior. 

But the problem is, my heart becomes convicted, and then if I don't follow through with the change, then that conviction is vulnerable to satan's strongholds of guilt and shame.  So...I'm backing up, listening for a change as well as I can, and trying to follow His direction right now. 

All this sugar fasting many of us are trying to do, and being good to one's body is so hard, and yet, we know the benefits. More energy, clearer skin, brighter eyes, strength, etc. 

I've been led to think about doing another type of fast (Dear Lord, I'm already off sugar!):  A Twitter fast.  I love Twitter.  I do.  And, as I sit here and proofread this message, I realize how silly this all sounds.  Feel free to leave now and come back for another post on another day. :).  But I've realized that I love Twitter too much.  Is it an idol for me?  Hmmm...maybe not, but at times, it's been close.  I focus way too much on it.  At first, I lurved that many of my bloggy friends could be reached all at the same time, and it's wonderful for quick prayer requests.  But, more often than not, I'll find myself musing about something funny to say, or even feeling guilty if I don't answer a tweet, etc.  In other words, I abuse it.  And I've got things to do and people to love, right here. 

I have never been one of those "eat one cookie and put the rest away for later" people.  I tend to be "in for a penny, in for a pound."  Moderation eludes me.  So...I'm cutting myself off.  Starting today... After I tweet this. :)

As I sit here, I realize that I have lovely friends who give me their emails, cell numbers, and home numbers.  I can call or email or even text if I want to make contact.  Thus, going on this fast--for me--will force me to be more intentional in my communication, and hopefully, more personally involved with each relationship. Plus, being totally honest, I have a blog and am a Facebook friend, so I am not sitting in an Amish farmhouse, in the dark--I will remain socially networked.



My plan is to drop off today.  I do plan to break my fast just to send a quick pic or tweet from NC in a couple of weeks because that's such a special event for me, but other than that, I'm not going to check Twitter or tweet again until my b'day, which is March 7.  Oscar night, BTW, holla! Over a month.  Ouch. 

Please pray that I won't allow my feelings of being left out to bug me. In other words, please don't have any fun with Alice.  Also, pray that my relationships, especially the one with the Holy Spirit, thrive during this fast. 

GladiTuesday!

I don't know about you, but sometimes it's easy for me to get mired down in the have-tos and shoulds of life.  Sometimes, here in Seattle, it seems like one rainy day just runs into another.  So you know what?  I am so deliciously glad that on each Tuesday, I get to pause, reflect, and give thanks--have a glad attitude--for blessings both big and small.  Please feel free to join along on your own blog or in the comments.  Nothing spreads joy like joy.

10.  Glad for books.  I have really enjoyed trying to focus more on reading, and am on my 6th book (The Real Grey's Anatomy, by Andrew Holtz)this year.  When I'm finished, I'll review it here.  Glad for the goal set of 50 books this year. 

9. Glad for prayer.  It's been my privilege to pray for others this week, for:  unexpected or ongoing health issues, for jobs to replace those which were lost, or more satisfaction within current jobs, for pregnancies and births, for Haiti, for safety of loved ones, for peace, strength, comfort, longsuffering.  For joy.  What a privilege it is to place at the throne and KNOW that He hears and answers each prayer.

8.  Glad to witness the courage and perseverance of my child on skis.  2 private lessons later, he is still not able to safely get on/off the lift.  Truth be told, I don't know how the third lesson will play out. But he's trying something new.

7.  Glad to witness growth in confidence in my daughter.  She has struggled with math f.o.r.e.v.e.r., or even longer.  She was so encouraged by her teacher's suggestion that she join the more challenging math group, and we are both encouraged that by 99% her own steam, our prayers, and Big's help, she's holding an 88.6% average. 

6.  While I'm bragging on her, I'll just continue.  She auditioned for a role in our church's children's theater performance for the spring.  Last year she was one of the principal leads.  This year she wanted to try out again, even though she realized that it might not be "her turn" to lead again.  Well, I'm so proud that she tried out, anyway.  Proud also that her drama ministry leader took her aside and offered her a junior director position.  It's as if he knew that she might need a little more to chew on this year, so he offered it to her.  This program in general makes me gladdy.  All kids K-6 learn to act and all the parts of a play--and the best part is, each part of this process, including the play itself, is Christ-honoring.

5.  Glad for American Idol auditions.  Even though I now know they're a bit "fixed."  Yes.I.Am.Naive.

4.  Glad to be in my 2nd month of reading the Bible in a year.  It's so unlike me to follow thru that it MUST be a God thing. :)

3.  Glad for grunt work, sometimes.  Been cleaning out cupboards and desks and crap craft areas.  Oh, how I loathe this.  But puttin' on a little K-Love and/or watching a Hulu episode of Emergency! usually puts me in the cleaning groove.

2.  Like my friend, T., I find that Target makes me all kinds of glad.  Even purchasing laundry soap is more attractive when I can hop over to the make up/new book/furniture sections.  Speaking of T, I get to meet him, his strapping young buck brothers, and some other groovy kids who belong to my favorite coffeegal when I go to NC in TWO WEEKS. 

1. Humility makes me glad.  My grandmother, whom I dearly love, recently watched our Christmas Dessert Theater performance on DVD.  When I asked her how she liked it, she said, "Oh, Honey, I liked it fine.  I think I really liked the second half better, though.".  That's nice.  I'm in the 2nd act for one whole minute.  ;O)