Today I feel blessed. I have so much! I've prayed for things like solutions to Isaac's constant colds, and He answers with opportunity. I crave specific knowledge of how I can be better, and the Lord gives opportunity. I pray for a great marriage, and the Lord gives me opportunity. I'm sensing a common thread here just as I'm typing this--opportunity!! He's not handing me the solution miraculously on a platter, but blessing me with the means and knowledge to act. This is going to be a great year!!




God is good!

Isn't it odd how one big change can feel like a lot of changes? Maybe because one big change usually requires several small changes. For example, to change a lifestyle of lethargy and obesity, I can't just wake up one day and say, "ok, now I will eat properly and exercise." I can, but essentially I'm saying, "I will plan my exercise each night, wake up early, exercise every morning, eat low-fat and high-fiber foods in correct portions with fruits and vegetables, then I will eat 6 times a day, drink water all day long, change my entire meal-planning strategy, get rid of junk food that's in the house, stop buying junk food, change how I respond to cravings, stay away from restaurants that excel at friend foods only, keep good snacks and water handy when we go out, etc." You get the idea. So this one big change in our lives is a lot of changes, and that can foster success when you fail to keep one of those changes for the day.

To keep it in perspective, I have to look at the purpose and the goal. The ultimate purpose in the activities I choose must be to glorify God, for that is why I'm here. If that is not my greatest purpose, then my work will fail in the end. My goal is to use the body God has given me more efficiently. The perks of that is comfortable-fitting clothes, fewer chins and rolls, lower grocery bill, lower risk of disease, being able to be active with my kids, etc.

The same is true with most sins, I think. It's too large to wake up one day and say, "I'm going to stop (sinful habit)." If broken down into smaller changes we can see success along the journey. Let's say that I have a problem with anger. The failure might be that today I stayed on the computer too long which always makes my fuse shorter. The success might be that before I could lose my cool, I removed myself to another room for prayer and general cooling off. Yay! Praise God! One habit out of the many factors involved can be changed! Over time, with my purpose being God's glory and being like Him, my goal is attainable--one small change leading to the big changes that reflect His workings in my life.

God gives us perks along the way, too. Just read the proverbs! The path of the righteous is so much easier, in general, than the wicked's path. He gives us healing, encouragement, and of course the hope of eternal life as perks that help motivate us to keep on keeping on.

Be strong and courageous, no matter what your own battles are! You can always have help in your fight!

I wrote this for a CNN Situation Room comment.

"Hurrah to Ron Paul for continuing to help Americans fight for limited government and sticking to the constitution. I'm sick of my freedoms taken away by the tyranny our 55 fathers of the constitution were trying to prevent when they wrote the framework of this country. But what good does that do if we ignore it? How many of us have studied it or read about its painful birth? We've put up with popular "what's in it for me" politics too long, sacrificing the very document we claim to hold so dear.

"I will no longer back a representative or senator that does not support the constitution in deed. It's not about party politics--it's about the fundamental freedoms that made this country uniquely appealing to all walks of life."

Fall is my happy place. Well, specifically crisp fall weather with clear, deep blue skies. Alas, we've had very little of that so far. The deep blue skies, anyway. Rain, rain, rain. Which I'm thankful to have, mind you. But it's not my happy place.

However, I was able to enjoy my happy place this past weekend. My family took a little jaunt to my hometown to go to the fair, get apples and play at the orchard, and romp among hundreds of pumpkins, winter squash, and indian corn at the pumpkin farm. It was cool, it was in the mountains, and we saw the occasional deep blue sky. My husband and I agreed that we were in our happy place.

When I listened to my first American girl story several months ago, I was disappointed. Perhaps I should give it another chance in a few years, but I was not happy about how the girl defied her parents to do what she thought was best. She thought it would do a lot of good, but while there were consequences that she had to deal with, in the end, the story seemed to glorify her "courageous" (rebellious) spirit. We have enough of that in so many other places...I suppose for older children to read and reflect would be exercising faith, but I was not expecting to find it so strongly. I don't want my daughter learning to take a stand to defy me unless I'm in direct violation of God! I want her to learn what a meek (God-tamed strength) and gentle spirit is--precious in the sight of God. Think about that. There is something rare and valuable that the creator of the universe wants. Any girl can learn to be rebellious for the sake of her cause! Peter tells us, though, in 1 Peter, that an attitude of dedication to God and serving authority with respect, rejoicing despite suffering will win the war. Her beauty doesn't come from her free spirit or courage to defy authority, but from allowing God to shape her and harness the gifts He gave her to glorify Him.

All that to say, I started looking for an alternative. What I found was Girls 'n Grace. While my own girl is not at the typical age for these dolls, her aunt gave her the doll that was ordered for her when she was a girl, but she needs some clothes, so I was looking into it. I wanted to spread the word to see what girls older than mine (and their parents) think about it. Check it out!

God is good!