Thursday, April 21, 2005

Busy Days and Simple Joys

Psalm 4:7-8 says"You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound.I will lie down and sleep in peace for You alone,O Lord,make me dwell in safety.

Yesterday had been a very busy day for Steve and I.It was sunny and warm and the perfect day to drive into Salem to run some errands which included picking up a prescription for Steve locally,taking a bag of clothes to a consignment shop in Salem,getting gas while in Salem,having Wal-Mart fill the aforementioned prescription,returning a shovel to Steve's mom and stopping by his daughter's apartment to see if we could help her washing machine to not leak.Alot of small errands.Some time-consuming(like the washer;we could not fix it).Some not(dropping off the shovel).Warm,sunny weather,although nice,has always had a tendency to tire me out.I have always presumed it to be caused by my very fair Irish complexion(I burn easily and am sun sensitive in other ways too).We finished our errands and made it back to Stayton.Steve napped but I just had to catch up on e-mail.I did'nt nap.I am up early daily so by 5-6 pm I was ready for dinner and relaxing.Steve wanted to mow so I said I would hold the cord to our electric mower for him.I figured I could sit there and hold it and it would'nt take long.I did'nt know God had a little surprise for me.As I sat there while he mowed.I began to notice all 5 of my senses were very much alive at that moment.I noticed how incredibly blue the sky was.How white the puffy,cotton ball clouds were.How bright and warm the evening sun was.How purple our Azalea was.I noticed how beautiful the evening bird songs were.I think they were praising the One who created them. :-)I noticed the smell of the freshly cut lawn...sheer bliss.And I definitely noticed the smell of the neighbors who were grilling steaks just next door to our left.As I held the cord for Steve I began to grin.He had no idea why.I was simply and purely filled with joy at just how incredible and awesome our 5 senses are(I was tactful and did not ask to taste the neighbor's steak.....LOL.....I do love grilled steak though :-) ).I began to grin even more.I was filled with just the most awesome sense of His presence.I think He was smiling at my smiling.I began to thank(in my heart)the One who had created such incredible beauty.No neon light or anything Hollywood produced could compare with the awesomeness of God's beauty and creation.I was given such a gift.The awareness of just how incredible our 5 senses are.And I slept peacefully last night too knowing that the One who created such beauty was also watching over and protecting Steve and I as well!Blessings!
Love,Sharon

Tuesday, April 19, 2005

She's Come Undone

I know what you may be thinking right now!What a title for her second post....am I right? :-)No,I am not a Guess Who fan and I've never read anything by Wally Lamb.This title will make sense soon enough.Sunday was my husband and step-daughter's birthday.Steve turned 53 and April turned 26.We(Steve and I would be joined later that day by his daughter April,his son Justin and April's daughter,Hope who is 4 and pretty darn cute).We were to have a small birthday gathering.I was up early,as usual.But this was a very special day so I was up early making my home-made chili they all love.I like to make it early and let it simmer in the crockpot for hours.Tastes better that way.As I was busy making preparations I realized I need more seasoning so off I went across my kitchen to get the needed seasoning.I managed to get the seasoning but in the process my right shoe somehow caught the shoelace on my left shoe and untied it(I told you my title would make sense).Now,I knew the left shoe had come undone,but did I deal with it right away?Of course not.I had chili to make for my family.It was not until that undone shoelace had almost caused me to trip and fall 3 times that I finally dealt with it.I thought I heard laughter from on High.I knew then that there was a spiritual lesson to be learned here.The Lord reminded me of HIS WORD which says in Song of Songs 2:15"Catch for us the foxes,the little foxes that ruin the vineyard,our vineyards that are in bloom."Yes Lord,I'm listening.He showed me that little things,whether attitudes or tasks or little annoyances,if left undone,not dealt with swiftly and yes,sometimes even harshly can become bigger problems down the road.If left undone the may really trip us up.Just like my shoelace almost did.Father,I thank YOU and praise YOU for YOUR words to me that day.Thank YOU for meeting me Father right where I was(in my kitchen)I thank and praise YOU that I was able to clearly hear and see the lesson YOU had for me that morning.May I never forget it!Amen.Have a blessed day all!
Love,Sharon

Monday, April 18, 2005

Hello world

Hi,
This is my first attempt at blogging.I wish to thank 3 people for encouraging me to try this.First of all,I wish to thank my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.Without HIM I am nothing.Secondly,I wish to thank my DH Steve.He has encouraged me to write(something,anything)for years now.He was thrilled to discover that recently I have returned to journaling!I may as well have told him I had won ALOT of money!He was that happy. :-) And last(but definitely not least),I wish to thank Shannon Woodward(www.windscraps.blogspot.com). She has,over the last few months,gently nudged me in this direction.Recently,she told me she liked my description of spring in the Northwest.High praise indeed. :-) Thanks Shannon.I do not know where blogging will take me....if anywhere.I do know I have become somewhat,shall we say,addicted(there,I said it)to reading them.There are so many wonderfully gifted(by God)"Christian bloggers" on the internet.I am daily encouraged,challenged and inspired.I am sometimes just plain amused too.When first considering starting one of my own I feared I would have nothing to say(I can almost hear DH in the background laughing and rolling his eyes).My husband(poor guy)has been my sounding board for almost 13 years now.So,here I am.I pray that God will make me a vessel of encouragement and joy and inspiration and that HE will flow through me as I undertake this newest"challenge"(calling,hobby,task?)called bloggingIt's ALL because of HIM.May the Lord bless each of you this day.
Love,Sharon