Adjusting and Finding Blessings

I have been fairly absent from my blog postings lately, with the move, preparing for baby and kicking off my own CPA firm, the to-do list is long and blogging has really slipped on the priority list.  But, blogging is also something that I truly enjoy! 

When the move first came about, I was very positive about it, knowing that this is God's plan for our family and that He would use me here for His glory.  Then, Satan (in the form of hormones and immature self-pity) started turning my view negative.  We miss Gloria Dei and are struggling to find a church home.  I miss my friends and have missed some special events in their lives recently, and that is hard.  I am eager to find friends here, and apparently expect that to happen overnight.  After a tearful evening of feeling sorry for myself, I remembered the positive attitude I had before we got here. Remembered that God is so much bigger than the negative feelings that I am having.  That He will lead us to a church home.  That He will bring women into my life that I can lean on.  That I am here right now, I should live every day to make Him known, and that this life was meant to let his light shine. And, that most importantly, our time here (on Earth) is so temporary.

There are so many blessings here that I tend to overlook or take for granted.  I am doing an independent Bible study, Becoming a Woman of Simplicity that I am finding really fulfilling during my quiet time.  I came across a quote yesterday morning that said, "Yet for all God's good will toward us, He is unable to grant us our heart's desires till all our desires are reduced to one." - Tozer.  I have a long list of desires, and walking hand-in-hand with, abiding in, Christ should be my one and only desire.  I need a lot of work, good thing He's not finished with me yet.

"Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep. O Lord, you preserve both man and beast. How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink form your river of delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light. Continue your love to those who know you, your righteousness to the upright in heart. May the foot of the proud not come against me, nor the hand of the wicked drive me away. See how the evildoers lie fallen - throw down, not able to rise" - Psalm 36:5-12

This is my view on morning walks, now. A counted blessing.

He gives and takes away...

Unfortunately, not a lot of time to blog right now, too many tasks yet to check off.

I am currently diving into "Become a Woman of Simplicity" Bible study, guide written by Cynthia Heald, and it got me moving today.  One of the things that Jon and I have been wanting to do since we started Financial Peace was to sell our Saturn Outlook.  It is my grocery-getter, future-soccer/baseball/basketball/football/golf-mom-vehicle, and at first I was totally opposed.  Then, as we completed Dave's lessons, I realized how silly it was to be attached to something so material, when there is something out there much more affordable (we should have paid cash in the first place) and just as reliable, with probably as much space.

But, we have delayed.  And delayed.  And delayed.  Always with a good excuse.  We keep saying "this weekend it goes on Craigslist", and, the weekends, they come.  And they go.

Well today, as I was studying it hit me that I totally trust that the Lord will provide my needs.  But, instead of finding joy in Him and His promises to give us the desires of our hearts, I think I may have been finding joy in posessions.  So, I got super fired up to get moving with the sale of the Outlook.  Matthew took a GREAT nap, and I proceeded to clean out all of the clutter and vaccuum up all of the dust and dirt and get it ready to go.  As I was vaccumming I was hearing the song "Blessed Be the Name of the Lord", more specifically the lyric that says

He gives and takes away, he gives and takes away, 

my heart will choose to say, 

"Lord, Blessed be your name!"

Now, I'm not talking about the loss of a loved one or any other real tragedy that occurs when I say this, but I thought, maybe the things that He is taking away are things He never gave to us in the first place.  It was not His will for us to take on debt to purchase a vehicle.  And by no means did He yank this from our grasp, but he is tugging at our heart strings...  

I am struck today by verses from Matthew 6:

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, 

and where thieves break in and steal. 

But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven...

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also...

Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Matthew 6:19-21,33