Counting Blessings

Has God ever spoken to you through a song?  I had it happen to me a couple of weeks ago as I sat in church.  It had been one of THOSE mornings.  You know, one where the kids didn’t want to get up, didn’t like their breakfast, one had sniffles, the other didn’t like their clothes, the baby didn’t sleep, and my shoes hurt my feet.  Yeah, one of THOSE mornings.

As we opened our hymnals to “Count Your Blessings,” I realized right then that I had not been counting my blessings; instead, I had been numbering my sorrows.  How much easier and naturally that comes to me!  God has blessed me with a wonderful, healthy family, godly parents, good health, and everything else that I need, yet, my focus is on what I don’t have, can’t obtain, and what isn’t going the way I wanted it to.  How short-sighted of me!

I felt like God was telling me that it was high time that I change my perspective on things.  I could choose to wallow in my sorrows, or I could praise Him for what He has done, is doing, and will do.  I could train my eyes to the ground and be mournful, or I could “lift up my eyes to the hills… [to] the LORD,
         Who made heaven and earth,” (Psalm 121:1-2).

It did me good to be reminded that God is in control over all.  He knows my sorrows, even the petty ones, and He still chooses to bless me, despite all my shortcomings.  I am so thankful to God that He loves me enough to show me what I’m doing wrong…and He’s just gentle enough to do it in a song.

So, I guess we are doing something right.

I know, I know.  Y'all thought I went off and shut down this blog, didn't you?  It's just that my world of sleep deprivation, diaper changes, and teething is not particularly interesting to me, so I don't feel the need to bore all of you to death with it, too.  That's not saying that I'm not still keeping up with all of you, though.  I read all of y'all's blogs like my life depends on it.  But my lack of commenting probably doesn't prove that too well.  (It's hard to type when you're holding a sleeping 26 pound 9 month old.  Oh yeah. 26 POUNDS!  Girlfriend has got to learn to walk and SOON or my tired, old back is going to give up the ghost.)

So, here is Miss Priss:

(Sorry for the blurry picture.  It's hard to hold 26 pounds steady in one arm, take a picture, and still get to church on time.)  She's teething like crazy, eating everything we offer her, and sleeping through the night occasionally when it suits her...which isn't nearly often enough for me.

Luke is doing great in school.  He just finished basketball season.  He's becoming quite the ladies' man.  He told me just the other day that he has a girlfriend and a back-up girlfriend, just in case.  Here's what makes my heart sing, though:
He loves God so much!  It makes me so proud!  (In case you can't read that, it says, "What do you believe?"  Luke wrote, "The 2,134 pages of my bible, God, and Jesus.")

Emma is doing great in school.  She's OBSESSED with the "Warriors" books, which is a series about cats and their clans and their battles and apprentices and warrior names and OHMYWORD, there's a lot of those books...and I'm not a cat person.  Suddenly, she IS a cat person, so we have something else to disagree about.  *SIGH*  Anyhow, look how grown-up and beautiful she is:

This was taken Friday, after she and I got some serious haircuts.  That was the first fun, nice thing I've done for myself since I can't remember when.  No more ponytails or clippy-up-dos for me. 

One more shot of Prissy McPrisserson before I go and don't blog for the next six blue moons:

Sweet baby has got more rolls than Pillsbury ever thought about.  Love 'em all!

Well, she has abandoned her video and found me sitting in the next room.  She booked it in here on the crawl express and is trying to eat my iPhone cord, so I'll take off. 

Friends

One of my longest friendships in my life is with a woman named Betty.  She and I became fast friends when we were in 2^nd grade.  We were in classes and Girl Scouts together up until the end of 5^th grade when she moved away.

Through college, jobs, relationships, weddings, expanding families, shared joys and sorrows, we have always remained close.  She lives in Tennessee with her husband and two boys.  We see each other maybe twice a year if we are lucky.  Yet, we still can pick up right where we left off every time we see or talk to each other.  I’m not much of a phone conversationalist, and time constraints prevent us from seeing or talking to each other as much as we’d like.  Our shared history is what keeps us close—that, and our love of God.  She inspires me through her life and testimony.

Whenever I do get the chance to call Betty, I always think when I hang up the phone: “Why didn’t I call her sooner?”  She always encourages me and says just the right things to help me feel better about the challenges I face. 

A confession:  Sometimes I say the same thing after communing with God through His Word.  I wonder why I hadn’t already turned to the Bible for encouragement, and to find just the right things to give me hope in times of adversity.  Just like friendships have to be maintained through communication, so does a relationship with our Heavenly Father.  God always has the time to spend with us, but we have to take the time out of our lives to make Him a priority.  Even though some friendships may not last, we know that “God is faithful (reliable, trustworthy, and therefore ever true to His promise, and He can be depended on); by Him you were called into companionship and participation with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1: 9)