Day 2003 -- New Beginnings

If you've wondered why you haven't heard from me since April 21, then wonder no more.  Not, you see, because I have a legitimate reason for this blog hiatus.  It seems, rather, that there was no reason at all for such a break.  It was just that -- a break.  So, my friend, wonder no more.  Ignorance, in this case, is not so much bliss as it is accurate.

Why did I stop?

I don't know.

Why am I starting today?

I don't know.

It's not that I stopped being thankful and that I once again find myself thankful tonight.  It's just that it's time to start again.  Today I will delve back into the 2000+ day stretch of being grateful and continue the pursuit of thankfulness.  Today this break will end.

I've been thinking lately about what I think about.  Is that weird?  Let me tell you, it's not often pretty.  Proverbs 23:7a says, "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he..."

So maybe this is exactly what I need to do and was motivated not so much by my Heavenly Father, who always knows what I need. You see, my thinking hasn't exactly been beautiful lately. I'm terrified to go back to school and,  consequently, my thoughts have been full of fear and weakness. Perhaps dwelling instead on the profound number of blessings in my life is the best way to approach this fall. If I don't want to live in fear, stress, and chaos, then I can't think I fear, stress, or chaos either.

This morning, I'm choosing to be obedient. Although I would prefer to wallow in fear and pity, I am going to try to meditate on all of the beautiful things surrounding me and bring this habit with me into the new school year.

This morning, it's the simple pleasures of this air-conditioned Bigggby Coffee and a cup of delicious brew. It's a quiet moment and a chance to reflect. It's the chance of thunderstorms this afternoon and the ache in my legs from completing a 12 mile training run yesterday. It's Phillipians 4:13 and the 3 sweet kids still sleeping at home. It's so many things that when I really begin thinking about them, I become overwhelmed with joy and thankfulness.

And if what I think in my heart is to become what I am, this is what I want to be.

Thank God for a new beginning!

This new beginning coincides with the purchase of two fish: Bubble the guppy is now living in the girls' room and Gus the goldfish is my new classroom pet.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 162 -- "Showing Us the Way"

Image
One of my favorite things about the spring is the baccalaureate celebration that takes place the week before graduation.  I love the chance to see my seniors in their caps and gowns and to praise God for their arrival to the finish line.  For every year since I can remember, I've listened to Western's Select Choir perform the song "Showing Us the Way" by Michael V. Ficocelli.  When I was a senior, I even got to sing it at my own baccalaureate.  That year, and every year since I have taught at Western, I get choked up listening to the perfectly fitting lyrics of this song.  Tonight, on a perfect evening at the Cascades Falls, tears ran down my face as I watched the seniors I taught sing the words of this song to their classmates, parents, teachers, and friends.  I smiled and cried a little more as I realized that someday there's a good chance I'll be watching my own kids sing it at their baccalaureate. I had to share it with you.  This isn't Western's
Read more

We Dance...and We Sing...When We Play the Drum!

Let it be known that my son gets his money's worth out of his toys. Or, in this case, someone else's money's worth. Whatever. You know what I mean. The toys that he likes, he really, really likes. He uses them a lot for a long time. This particular toy is a drum that was given to him by our friends, The Tappans, at his FIRST birthday party. Needless to say, tonight he was REALLY enjoying his gift.
Read more

Day 80 -- Calvin and Hobbes

Image
When I was in junior high and high school, I used to read the anthologies of several comic strips, including Garfield, Fox Trot, The Far Side, and Calvin and Hobbes.  I remember reading them by the light of my bedside lamp, trying to stifle my giggles so that my parents wouldn't come bust me for staying up too late reading (the horror!). Calvin and Hobbes, especially, resonated with my sense of humor.  I found the strip simultaneously witty, funny, thought-provoking and perceptive.  I collected all of the anthologies, but somewhere between then and now, I either lost them or gave them away.  I told my husband about my tendency to read them from cover to cover, and how I was sad that I no longer had them.  Not too surprisingly, for Christmas, I received The Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book from Santa. I have been slowly working my way through the book, and tonight I was reminded of Calvin's finicky eating habits and of his gift for creating macabre snowman art.  I w
Read more