Turning worries into prayer

I woke up really tired today. I think it was a mixture of a lot of activity yesterday and getting to bed late at 11:30. I need a few solid nights of getting to bed by 10:30 to really catch up. This morning J spent most of his time coloring, then he asked mommy to color too. He was playing with bristle blocks which he got for Christmas but only recently has been into sticking the blocks together. Also dancing to the Elmo firefighter song. I did something different today and added a video I captured of him dancing. (See the bottom of the post!)

I started Luke 12 today in my devotional time. When a crowd of many thousands gathered, Jesus first begins to speak to his disciples. He gives many warnings and instruction.
-Do not be like the Pharisees who valued honor from men over a relationship with God.
-Watch out for all kinds of greed. Beth shares that our life doesn't consist of the abundance of our possessions. This is so true! Oh Lord, that I would not be attached to my possessions.
-Do not worry about your life (food, clothes). See the raven who does not sow or reap and yet God feeds them. He says we are much more valued than birds so how much more he will care for us. Beth says that believing our great value in the Lord frees us from many trappings of life; greed, worry, fear. Verse 25: Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Beth shares that she was taught to turn her worries into prayer, especially worry for her children and what a difference that made. This is also something I got in the habit of doing. It does help to bring peace knowing that he's in control. Verse 31: But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

We had a good study at my women's bible group today, reviewing chapters 5 and 6 of Ecclesiastes. Before we got into the discussion, our leader Betty read something to encourage us. The focus of it was on Genesis 2:7The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. She read that man is the only creature that has the breath of God in him; being made in his image. A question she read was "What does it take you to stop and pay attention to God?" Being fearful? Being down about something? Being in a difficult situation? Just because you want to spend time with him? There was a reminder about the Sabbath back in the Old Testament days and how it is really good to take time to rest. It helps remind us that our work is not more important than God's. One of the reflections from our chapters today was that the Lord is in the midst of whatever is going on in our lives. We can endure whatever hardship we face. We see this in looking at Jesus. He actually asked that the cup be taken from him (going to the cross) but said not his will but God's be done.

This afternoon I had a few errands to run. J kept saying "I want to go home". He wasn't enjoying getting in and out of the car. One stop we made was at Walgreens to get some good bubble wands to play with. A little boy came up with a ball and they were throwing it back and forth. His dad came and said he couldn't believe he was sharing. Later, at dinner J had another melt down. He kept wanting me to pick him up and then he wouldn't eat. He at first was excited about spaghetti, but then just sat there and eventually started crying. When he wouldn't stop, I set him in his crib to calm him down.

We had another nice family walk, this time going to a different park. I spent some time on the swing and just enjoyed it, taking in what a beautiful night it was. I was thinking back to last summer when I wasn't doing well. I would take J to this park and remember how horrible and incredibly self conscious I felt. Almost paranoid. It dawned on me that J couldn't walk last summer. We spent a lot of time in the stroller. It's so fun now that he's walking, climbing, running and everything. Last part of the night was his bath. He hated it! He said "I want to sleep mommy. I want to go to bed." I told him I'd give him a speedy, quick bath but he didn't want it. The minute I put him in the water he said "all done mommy" and started crying. I was pretty quick though but I hope he's not afraid of water now from his swimming lessons.