I wake up and head to the car..wait...the van. I can't take the car because it has a flat. The car has really old tires. It is actually daylight and when I look up there is a rainbow in the sky. One of the perks of living where we do kinda out in the country, is the scenery. I was able to see both sides of the rainbow above our street. Another great start to my day. If I had gotten up at my regular time, I would have missed it. Thank you God for reminders of your promises and extra sleep! On the way to the gym for my 3 mile run that I should have run yesterday (I caught a mild form of the stomach bug and wasn't about to go running yesterday) the van began to overheat so I had to stop and buy coolant. The van is kinda special and leaks coolant slowly. My in-laws sold us the van and said they had gotten it fixed but it always seemed to still be a problem. Doug got paid today (thank you, Jesus) so I went ahead and filled up the tank as well. I was again reminded how blessed we are: I don't mind the quirks of driving older cars because by the grace of God we have never had a car payment. We actually love our cars. My '99 Plymouth that I bought in '02 has so many memories for us and has served us well. Sure it has a cracked windshield (thank you ice-storms of OK) and is in desperate need of a detail, but it gets us from point A to point B. Doug absolutely loves his van. He tells me constantly of all the family road trips we are going to take in that thing. It is great for hauling sound equipment too and sleeping in when we go camping.
I get to they gym and run an exhausting three miles. I have felt fatigued all week (thank you mother nature) and it was way too hot in the gym. I felt like I was running in an oven. My time was 27:10. I am trying not to psych myself about my long run tomorrow because I have to run the same distance plus 10 miles! I will be practicing some healthy self talk today after being inspired by my study this morning. I do not have a lot of raw running talent, so for me, running is 95% mental. I am starting to think you have to be mental to run a marathon.
Jack woke up around nine which is early for him. I started feeding him a healthy breakfast then I grabbed a handful of potato chips (which we never have in the house, I only bought them for our small group buddies) because I wanted something salty after my run. Jack spotted the chips and demanded I share. So his breakfast consisted of strawberries, Cherrios, and chips. Healthy. He is so observant already. I read him a few books and then sure enough, he was already sleepy because he got up too early. He is napping right now.
I need to call my beautiful neighbor, Erin soon. We are baking goodies for our other neighbors that we have never met. We both moved in around the same time and feel guilty about not doing this already. From observation and to put it nicely, a few of our neighbor's could use some Jesus in their lives. I love living so close to good friends. We have borrowed so many things from each other already: eggs, lawn mowers, grills, tow ropes (that is a fun story). Also, it is very convenient when Doug and Ben need their "special time" with each other.
Another note: last night about 7, we hear our doorbell ring. When I answer the door, no one is there but there is a very large painting resting against our house. I take it inside and discover it is a 3 ft. by 4 ft. painting of Jesus at the last supper. Doug took one look at it and I expected him to say something like, "Who the heck left that," but instead he says, "Why is Jesus blonde?" It was a very random experience. Come to find out, it was our friend, Daniel, who is known for very random experiences. We had a good visit with Daniel and fed the bachelor some "real" food as he called it. I love our friends. Oh, and if you want a huge painting of a blonde Jesus, let me know!
My new bible study is called Me, Myself, and Lies by Jennifer Rothschild. Jennifer speaks about how most women tend to have very negative thought lives and say things to themselves they would never to say to another person. In one of the exercises, I had to list some words that I thought described my identity. Then, I had to determine the nature of these words. Were they truthful, harsh, positive, etc.? Then I was prompted to read 1 Corinthians 15:10 and write what it says about my identity. My response was, "I am who I am by the grace of God." I ended the day with a prayer of gratefulness for God's grace that makes me who I am:
Thank you, Lord for blessing me with the responsibilities that come with my roles as a wife and mother. Thank you for the personality traits and my outlook on life that is unique to me. Only your grace gives me peace about my identity and who I am in your kingdom. I pray you would refine how I see myself and give me a glimpse of how YOU see me. I pray any negative thoughts or words I use to poison my thought life would diminish when I think on how much you love me just because you made me and I am yours. Guide my heart in this study so I may learn to become a more Godly, effective woman for Christ. In Jesus name I pray.
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