Tag: random

Thrive, Job, and My Planner- Random Reflections

Posted on by Mary

Random

Welcome to this weeks dose of randomness!  It’s been a couple of weeks but a lot has happened during that time.   I have been pondering about what t has happened and I think I have kind of narrowed it down to  3  reflections of randomness!

Reflection #1. Thrive

Our church is going through the book Thrive by Mark Hall (the lead singer from Casting Crowns).  It is my second or third time through this gem of a book.   My first encounter with this book was when I reviewed it  in April of 2014 (you can find that review here– but don’t judge it was one of my first reviews!). My husband is leading it in two connect groups and I am leading it in the ladies connect group.

As I have jumped into this book again, I am simply amazed by the new insights  I am seeing.  One thing that struck deep this last week was this quote:

“I discovered this is how we pray for people.  When somebody is dangerously sick, we pray for ‘God’s will,’ not for healing, Because we’re afraid the person won’t pull through and we don’t want to stick out our necks in public.  But if it’s my kid, I’m not praying for “God’s will”.  That’s my boy and I am begging God to heal him!  Our just-in-case prayers tell us something about our view of God.”

My response: OUCH!!

It’s true.  Every.  Single.  Word.

So I want to pray differently.  I don’t want to communicate to myself or others that I only think God is capable of  healing someone I want them to know that I have full confidence that He can.  Yes He may not choose to.  I need to drop the easy Christian-ese phrasing and pray with confidence!

Reflection #2 Job

Ok it’s time for a confession- out of all the books in the Bible Job is my least favorite.  Some you who know me really well might be shocked by that because Job struggled, and I have struggled.  Not like Job necessarily, but most people are stunned when they hear my testimony.  And through that God has blessed abundantly.  But I find Job arduous.  There are points when you want sock Job’s friends for being so…….uncaring ( that seems too tame). And then there is Job who can seem whiny, and even at points puts himself on the same level as God.  And when God steps in I feel like standing up and cheering “YES FINALLY!”  but as I have embarked on reading through the Bible chronologically I have also chosen to use a different translation..though it’s not a translation but a paraphrase.  You know what, It is what I needed.  AND it’s ok.  REALLY.  And I am learning things from Job and kinda enjoying it along the way!  I have even posted quotes from Job to my social media!

Reflection #3 My Planner

I am on a hunt.  a hunt to see how I can take my every day planner and utilize it more with prayer.  I already have a Franken-Planner.   That term means I have created my own take of a Happy Planner. NO JOKE. I have my regular planner (but only  6 months worth and then in the second half I have another planner (my blog planner- the same 6 months.) I am still getting use to the set up, but I am trying to streamline what I’ve got in my bag.  So I wan to implement my prayer  thing (I don’t know what to call it)- into my actual planner.    If you have any thoughts feel free to share below in the comments.

And that’s all I have for today.  How about you? What have you been reflecting on over the past few weeks?  I’d love to hear from you!

Random Ramblings- Welcome to the New Year and a New Title

Posted on by Mary

Ya know what, I cannot seem to ramble when writing.  (But I have zero trouble being random, matter of fact Hubby is amazed at my ability to be so random.). I know sometimes I might take a rabbit trail or two BUT to ramble, that’s another story entirely.  I can ramble with hubby.  And when I am nervous, or when there is awkward silence.  I HATE AWKWARD SILENCE!. So What I have decided is to pick a couple of Random topics to share with you my thoughts on.  They will be things that have been on my mind.  Things I have been pondering.  So (drumroll please) it will now be called:

Random

Random Reflection #1-Slow Starts and Being Flexible

This year has had a seemingly slow start, and I think that is a good start.  I am hungry though for a more normal schedule.  Things just keep getting cancelled and re-scheduled.  You know because of  randdom things like:

  • weather
  • sickness
  • scheduling conflicts
  • did I mention weather

Seriously though we have had two rather mild winters.  The kids had more snow days after spring started than they had the entire winter.  This winter we have already had a severe cold temps day – they missed school because it was -25 with the windchill. and it looks like something might happen tomorrow.  Im not heart-broken I LOVE snow days. after awhile though a lack of consistency starts messing with my head.  As I work through One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp last year I have learned to look at the smallest things as gifts.  and that means schedule changes too.  I kind of look at it now as if God says you need time to….(insert whatever I am currently in need of at the moment in my life.

Random Reflection #2-New Planner Setup

I am still using  the Happy Planner (and I love it) But instead of doing a full 12 months I am Using two six months together.  Now I know what you are thinking , “Mary Mary Mary clearly you cannot do Math 6+6=12”. Yes I know But The first 6 months of my 12 month planner and then a 6 month expansion pack – so each 6 month section runs January to June .  The expansion pack is a brainstorm I hadst I can keep my blog planner and regular planner all in one classic sizedHappy Planner.  It’s taking a little getting used  to but I am beginning to  really get into it.

Random Reflection #3-Goal Setting

YIKES!!  I am soooo far behind it’s crazy!  But this past year I was gifted the book Meet the New You by Elisa Pulliam.  I decided that I would work through this book and it is a “21  day plan  for embracing fresh attitudes and focused habits for real life change.”  I have used some of her other materials in the past  and loved them and I even began to use those same ones again this year.  Now I don’t really think  that there needs to be a whole lot of life change but I really wanted to be more focused in my goals, more concise if you will.  So I began this journey.  Wow can you say intense.  there is a lot of work even outside of the focused study questions.  The chapters are short BUT the work takes longer than one might think.

Thanks forechecking out my random reflections for this week.  What is something that you  have been randomly been reflections on this last week?  Share it here

Blessings.

Mary

Random Ramblings: All the New Normals All wrapped into one Big Crazy

Posted on by Mary

Well I am still here, and I am still alive…and now I am well. and Every Monday I am going to post  random ramblings about our lives….this maybe one of the longer ones…it spans months but  it is to keep family and friends up to speed  on our day to day lives, from the perspective of our faith as a family intertwined as it is who we are, not what we do!

So Onto todays Ramblings….

Let’s start at the latest bit of crazy and the least unexpected of all.  Nearly two weeks ago….I found myself in the ER waiting       for emergency surgery….MY gallbladder to be exact.  Let’s just say apparently I had been a lot sicker than I realized.  It’s amazing at just how well I feel since the surgery, it has been kinda hard for my poor hubby to keep me down.  I have learned my limits though…like bending.  I gave up bending over a week ago!!    The back pain that I had been experiencing  for literally months went away as soon as the gall bladder was gone and has not been back since.  And during this time God really struck me with some new thoughts….now that I was feeling better And that I had to be resting it was the perfect time to read and write and read and write and write and read some more…and I have done just that.  It is during these moments that God and I have worked through some REALLY tough stuff….NO joke.    Part of what we have worked on is this lack of confidence thing that has haunted me for 2 1/2 years now.  but Im going to be blogging on that regularly now.

The next oddity is that this has been our absolutely sickest winter since our oldest child was in preschool…he is going to be 12 in just a few short months…we have gotten 6 illnesses that have hot almost very person in our family.  the most recent was child #3 getting the flu… yes he had the flu shot.   this has not been easy. We have not had 1 whole week since New Years without at least 1 kid home sick from school….it’s not a two and a half months I want to revisit anytime soon.

And perhaps the craziest of antics of all actually happened in October.  we had a friend and her three small children move into our home.  yeah so we grew by four…if you are keeping track that is 10 all together and 3 cats and a dog…..no exaggerations. . Their apartment (in our house) has been mostly done since just before Christmas and in just about a week and a few days they will be moving into their own place.   It has been a stretching experience but we  are glad we did it!

We also said goodbye to hubby’s Grandpa in October and then his uncle VERY unexpectedly almost a month later.

Im really sorry it has been so incredibly long since I have written.  it has not been  my intention And I will be  discussing on Mondays my struggle and explaining my journey with my word confidence, so place on jumping into that next Monday.  I can say this….God has given me the desire and gift to write…or so I am told, so I will write.  I am not going to hide any longer.  My confidence is not in men but in Christ….and I am not doing this for anyone else but HIM to bring him glory through what I have to say!  Thanks for sticking with me! and I look forward to getting to know each other in the near future.

with much love,

Mary