A Writers Block

Today was one of those days... Friends came over and brightened my morning, the sun shined bright, and I was having fun. Then they went home and my son started the whining that we all love so much. It was Mommy this and Mommy that, my feet swelled up the size of watermelons, my lips are so chapped they cracked, the whining continues (mine now added to it), I didn't have one crucial item for the dinner I really wanted to make, and Sierra feels like she weighs 50 pounds. And now my office chair won't stay up. No, it's not because I'm the size of a walrus! It just won't stay up. I'm typing with my knees up to my boobs, which is very interesting when your pregnant, I must say! So the day seems kind of dim but I sat down resolved to see the bright spots in my day through all of the gloom I feel. I reflect and I can see that in the midst of it all my husband keeps checking on me to make sure I'm okay, he put up a door for my laundry room, and my daughter has been ...

My husband has been challenging, whether he knows it or not, to get my butt back into the word and my mind back on God. This weekend he had me help him memorize the passage in Ephesians 4 about the Armor of God. Once again, this was another passage I’ve read a lot and even memorized at one point. I love how scripture never says the same thing to me when I’m open to what God wants me to hear. So the armor consists of the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, feet fitted with readiness from the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the spirit, and prayer. I’ve heard a lot of detailed steps and explanations for each item but just reading it can give you quite a picture of what’s needed to stand in the face of evil. The imagery is so cool! The one that stood out this time was the shield of faith. Here’s how the verse reads: “In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil ...

“Praise the Lord, O my soul; all of my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits – who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” Psalm 103:1-5 There was a guy in my college choir who exemplified this passage. He had an amazing gift of music and charisma that you just couldn’t miss. Shoot, you couldn’t help but join in! While he was with us, his father became very ill but each time you asked him about it his answer was the same. “He’s doing well and I’m praisin’ God.” Even after his father passed on he would say, “I’m just praisin’ God.” I could see the pain in his face but that was far overshadowed by the praise he was determined to give his Creator. The Psalms are full of passages that begin with the agony that the author is feeling and end with the resolv...