What's Your Verse?

I just thought the week we had a dead battery was tough. This week made that one look like recess. By the end of the day yesterday, I was not my usually cheery self. I usually try to avoid writing about tough times, but as a part of life, those times are inevitable. One of my sanctuaries this week has been pouring myself into my marathon training. The structure and plan has given me something to focus on and take my mind off of difficulty.

An incident after yesterday's run brought me to a breaking point. A discussion with my husband helped me find the perspective I needed. He reminded me of a verse he turns to when things like this happen: "Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you." I Peter 4:12 (NASB)

My response was the verse I turn to: "But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him." James 1:5 (NASB)

I have also let these lyrics run over my mind this morning as I face today with a different attitude. This is from  tobymac's "Get Back Up"

We lose our way,
We get back up again
It's never too late to get back up again,
One day you will shine again,
You may be knocked down,
But not out forever 

You can find the full lyrics here.

Do you have a verse you turn to? Or maybe a specific song that helps you when times are rough?

A Thank You Post

I've spent a lot of time writing about my experiences as a mother, lessons I've learned from my children, and the legacy I want to leave with my children. What I haven't spent time writing about is where I'm coming from with my background. 

I was a rotten, attitude-ridden, mouthy, difficult teenager. I rolled my eyes, conversed in sarcasm, and was mostly disagreeable around my family.  (I can hear the shout of "Amen!" from my parents now.) 

Now that I have two teenagers of my own, I cringe thinking about how I behaved.  As a child, I inwardly groaned when my mother brought up scripture from the Bible to prove a point.  Now, I search for scripture to use with my children.  My mother is the reason I grew up in a Christian home.  I'm sorry to say it took having children of my own to realize the importance of that background.  Supporting each other's activities in our family was expected.  While I may have been bored sitting at some of my brother's activities, I remember my family attending my basketball games sophomore year where I spent 90% of the season on the bench.  It may be more difficult for me to sit through a band concert or choir program with three children, but I've said what I heard from my mother, "We are a family, and we support each other."

I wish I could go back and change the way I behaved as a child, but it has made me appreciate my mother so much more for still loving me through it.  I know I have apologized to my parents for being so difficult, but I just want to take a moment to say:

Thanks, Mom!  I love you!       

The Right Tool for the Job

A couple of weeks ago, we had a crisis with our hot water heater.  As always, when something major happens, I learn an important lesson from the experience.  

To condense the story (because, frankly, it is quite lengthy), let me just say that water was flooding our bathroom and my husband was not in town.  I knew I needed to shut off the water to the house.  My oldest son and I searched and searched for a tool that would do the job.  We went through toolboxes and I tried several different ones, but I couldn't get the knob (or whatever it's called) to turn.  When we finally found the pair of pliers that my husband told me to use (via phone), I still couldn't get it turned off.  Meanwhile, my oldest daughter is emptying buckets and soaking towels in the bathroom to keep the water contained to one room.  

Frustrated that I couldn't get to the knob well enough to turn it, I sent my son down the road to our neighbor for help.  He came back with a long handled tool and thirty seconds later the water was off.  I said, "I'm buying one of these tonight," and I did.  What a difference it made to use a tool that was specifically designed for this purpose!  I was amazed at how much easier it was to accomplish my task.

 

I thought about how that relates to scripture memory and how relevant a verse can be to what is going on in my life.  It's having the right tool for the job.

But the lesson didn't stop there.

After the new water heater was installed, I was ready to use my new tool to turn the water back on.  I tried and tried, and I couldn't get the tool around the knob to turn it.  While I was grumbling and trying to get a grip I somehow moved the metal lid and then noticed the concrete moved.  What do you know?  The whole lid comes off, and there's direct access to the knob.  I had been trying to turn it on and off from a 90 degree angle.  Well, no wonder!  Thirty seconds later the water was back on, and I felt ridiculous.

I learned that it is important to have the right tool for the job, but if I'm not using it the way it is intended, my situation is going to be more difficult.  How does this relate to learning Bible verses?  The verses are my tool, but if I don't memorize them to have immediately available in my mind, then I'm not able to use the tools the way they are meant to be used.

I've fallen off track with this goal, and this little crisis helped me see how important it is for me to continue learning those verses and calling them to my mind when I need them.       

Goal Check

What better way to end the first month of the year than by evaluating your progress on the goals you made?  I hope you were able to set some goals for different areas of your life, and find a way to make some things happen!

I took a look at how I've been doing so far, and I already see some areas that need a change.  On the other hand, some of the goals I set have made a real difference in my daily life.  That's a good thing.  Here are some quick notes on my personal evaluation.

1.  Getting up at 5 a.m. is hard.  I've had a lot of trouble with this one.  There have been a couple of days that I made it out of bed near 5, but for the most part 5:20-5:30 seems to be the standard.  I even tried setting my alarm for 4:50 to see if that would help.  I'm going to continue working on this one, and I did start going to bed earlier (before 10) to make sure I'm getting enough rest.

2.  I need to expect trials based on whatever scripture verse I'm learning each week.  The first week was tough with Ephesians 4:29.  I would like to make this a family thing so that I'm doing my job as a parent by teaching my children dilligently.  I completed my first month's reading of Psalm and Proverbs.  If I ever need a little motivation the 31st chapter of Proverbs gives me a good kick, especially the line about rising while the household is still asleep. 

3.  Working on my book has not been enough of a priority.  This is why I need those extra 30 minutes in the morning.  I've pushed aside my smaller goals with this.  I haven't had enough urgency to work on it, and I need to improve my thinking process.

4.  I can do a pushup.  Never mind the fact that I have to do them girly-style.  My health goals have been a good challenge for me, but not to the point where I'm not too exhausted to do anything else.  I have increased my strength gradually over the past few weeks.  My first attempt to run a half marathon under 2 hours was this past Saturday.  I finished (official time) in 2:00:35.  Now that's close!  I was pleased with my performance because I finished strong.  My two fastest miles were the final two.  I'm currently searching for a race to make my next attempt probably in March.

5.  After my last posted about posting weekly on my blog, I missed a week.  Go figure.  Since I began this blog in July, I have posted something new each week.  I don't know what happened last week, but it got away from me.  I think I need to stick to a specific day and get some deadlines in place.  That will help with my book writing too.

I hope by writing about my goals, I haven't seemed self-righteous or pompous.  Not only did I want some accountability by putting my plans in print, but I also hoped that it would help others view dreams and goals in a different light.  I also wanted to point out that it's okay to evaluate, change, and reset at any time.             

Goal 1: My Faith

Last week, I wrote about how I make goals for myself now instead of setting new year resolutions.  If you missed it, you can read it here.  I've been working on these goals pretty steadily for a few weeks, with some help from a few blogs and sites that I follow. 

I thought I would do something a little different for my posts in the month of January.  I need some accountability.  What I'm going to do for each post in January is share my goals I've set for a specific area of my life.

This week, I'm starting with the most important one.  Without goals to enrich my faith in God, none of the other areas of my life would matter.  When I don't put Him first, everything else falls apart.  In a big way.  It is probably the most vulnerable area of my life to share as well, but here goes.

1.  Put my daily quiet time first, at the beginning of the day. 
This means I have to make myself get up long before I start waking up kids.  I've been convicted about the amount of time I spend doing other things, but that my quiet time reading the Bible and praying has been "fit in" when I have time.  Translation:  I usually nod off if I push this to the evening.  This week, I've started setting my alarm to get up with plenty of time, so I'm not rushed.  I've also found that I get much more accomplished by putting things in the right order.

2.  Read through the book of Psalm and Proverbs one time each month.
I've posted on this before, and I want to have more praise, comfort, and wisdom present in my life.  What better way to do this than to read the books through at least twelve times?

3.  Memorize one new scripture a week.
I started a spiral notebook several months ago to do this, but it has since become a little dusty.  I dusted it off, and began this week with the last one I had written down.  "Let  no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear." Ephesians 4:29.  Let me assure you, I'm being tested with this one daily.  I need it imprinted in my mind.

These three goals will definitely challenge me, but my hope is that by sharing them, I will keep it up throughout the year.