Thank You!!!

In everything give thanks. —1 Thessalonians 5:18

This past week I admit I didn't do such a great job at this. Exhausted and stressed out, I couldn't see beyond the piles of work and better studying and more lessons and everything I needed to do. The crazy part... I had everything done for Monday and Tuesday... I was just nervous about getting ahead. Sometimes it comes upon me like a flood, and I have to remember again how much I enjoy learning... how much I enjoyed the conference I went to, learning about cool psycholinguistic theories that know what our mind is really thinking, talking about issues of resonance and sociolinguistic variation... Thank You, Father for the gift of learning, for the gift of language, for the gift of life.

"The word of the LORD you have spoken is good," Hezekiah replied. For he thought, "There will be peace and security in my lifetime." -Isaiah 39:8

And my parents gave me the perfect gift this weekend... a weekend away from my worries and cares and problems. There in Sedona, surrounded by a huge expanse of bright blue sky, gorgeous green trees and radiant red rocks, I could see the Lord and feel again that there would be peace and serenity again. It was perfect. But, Brad's right. I need to be able to do this on every Sunday, to allow it to be a restful day. Lord, I hope You can help me to have a 'spiritual retreat' on Sundays... on days when a 'geographical retreat' is not possible.

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. -Colossians 4:2

Last night, Brad made me think differently about something. I thought he was admonishing me for not having enough faith when I was talking about my decisions last year. But he said, "I'm not saying that you're not trusting in the Lord. You should trust Him, but He doesn't say He'll make our decisions for us." And this morning, reading this verse from Colassians, I see that so clearly. We are to devote ourselves to prayer but also be "watchful"... careful and looking out for what God wants in our lives, carefully and deliberately considering our options. And we should also be thankful for the decisions that God grants us.