Getting back on schedule - I hope

 As you know, with hubby going through his coughing stuff and I don't remember the other reasons... but we are heading back to church physically this morning.  I could have still gone, and I beat myself up because I didn't.  I love being here alone in the back room in the mornings... and when offered the opportunity to spend more time, it's too easy for me just to say 'ok'.  But this morning, I am going. And I believe he is too as he has already taken a shower this morning. :-) 

Hmmm the Virta app isn't working this morning on my phone - the page is all blue and won't move from it. Oh well.  I did take my glucose this morning - and even with eating a very late (for us) 'dinner' at Jack in the Box last night, my number is 102. Not bad.  It's the ketones I am to take in the afternoons that 'kill' me - Virta wants them at .5 and I can't get past .2 most days.

I had a fairly good day yesterday.  I enjoyed visiting with my friends at Needles of Hope for a little over an hour and then headed over to Wildflower to meet with my other friends.  My boss met me in the parking lot with my birthday gift. :-)  She loves me.  She gave me a neck wrap, earrings, and I am loving the small bamboo/coconut candle.  It smells so good - even without being lit!   Had a great visit with Dr. K, my boss and another friend.  We met at 11AM and finally at 1PM I told them I needed to get home! Great friends (known them all 20+ years), great visit.  

Once home I knew I needed to get that tart cherry juice over to Ms. Diane, so I dished up some homemade ice cream (put the last of the batch in the freezer to process), grabbed the juice, and headed over.  Visited with her for awhile.  She devoured the homemade ice cream.  Hubby had the TV on when I got home, of course, watch John Wayne movies.  I put on an audible book to listen to and turned the volume up to drown out the TV as he wasn't wearing his headset. (Some times he just isn't considerate of me!)  I was getting sleepy so decided to take a quick nap - and I did sleep and was waking up when my phone rang. It was our grandson in NM wanting to video chat.  

Ironically, when I was visiting Ms. Diane he text'd about calling and I told him I wasn't home, to go ahead and call Grandpa.  When he did, Grandpa told him to call back in an hour and a half.  The grandson text'd me back he would call later since Grandpa told him that.  I must admit I was irritated.  I came home from Ms. Diane's and asked hubby why he told him an hour and a half.  He said he thought I'd be gone that long. I just looked at him - why wouldn't he just go ahead and talk with him?  I don't understand the way that man thinks!  Even after 43 years, he confuses the heck out of me! If I had gotten the call, I would have gone ahead and talked!  It's a grandson, for crying out loud!  A phone call!  

We talked awhile with our grandson, granddaughter-in-law, and got to see how much the little one is growing. She's 3 months old now.  We had a great conversation, and it was good to video chat with them.  After the call, hubby went back to his movie and I picked up my crochet, then text'd Ms. Vicky and asked if she wanted company. I just didn't want to listen to True Grit!  She did want company, so I grabbed my crochet and headed over and didn't come back for over an hour!  By then it was around 7-ish - and knowing that hubby would not fix himself anything to eat without me fixing it for him, I asked if he wanted to go to Jack in the Box, for I was not going to cook that late at night.  He tells me yes, but that he figured I'd tell him we'd have TV dinners.  If he was hungry, why not fix a TV dinner himself? Oh - is that too hard?  Yes, I'm being sarcastic! UGH  At least when we returned home he left the TV off and I was able to read some in my books until I got too sleepy and said I was going to bed - which of course meant he was too. 

Seriously, some days I wonder if he can do anything without me.  And it drives me crazy.  If he is home, I'm his caregiver. But if he has plans - which is only Tuesday nights and Friday mornings now as his three friends are - well, 1 has Alzheimer and can't remember things, one moved to Oregon, and the other has had a stroke.  In fact, hubby is to go visit him at his home on Wednesday - I hope he doesn't back out. I've nagged at him he needs to go see him.

Aren't you just enjoying my rambling? Sometimes I wish I could write clever and interesting things, but all you get to hear about is my life most days.

Nehemiah 8:10 (NKJV):  Then he said to them, "Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."

Through some very trying days with a very difficult boss, I used to walk the hallways at work singing to myself the song 'The Joy of the Lord is my Strength'.  That's all the words are - over and over and over - 'The Joy of the Lord is my Strength'.  And He is.  Whenever I ask God to help me find my joy again in life, I am always reminded of the scene in the movie War Room.  If you haven't seen it, you should!  A great movie!

Anyway, the wife (I forget her name!) recently started reading her Bible and focusing on God.  She and her hubby had had a spat and he had left on yet another business trip.  She is reading her Bible and gets to ....

James 4:7 (NKJV):  Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Submit to God. Resist the devil.  Submit to God. Resist the devil.  She repeats it as it sinks in.  She gets up and starts walking through her house, telling the devil he was no longer welcome in the house, he had to leave, that that house belonged to Jesus and the devil doesn't belong there!  She opens the front door, continuing the pray and telling the devil to 'go back to where you came from!' for her joy doesn't come from man, and the devil will quit stealing her joy.  Her joy comes from Jesus!'

And that's something I need to more frequently remind myself.  And perhaps you do as well.  Life is hard, is it not?  No matter who we are, or what it is we do (or don't do), no man has control over the joy that we have.  (no woman either!)  Our joy doesn't come from them.  Our joy comes from Jesus alone. No matter the trials and struggles we go through (and I'm speaking to myself here), Jesus is our Joy.  I need to remind myself of that more frequently.  

Those days when I'm out of it?  The devil is working on me to give up.  Not going to happen.  Jesus is my Joy, He is my Strength and Shield, He is my All in All.  Whatever life brings me, I know that He is the only One I can turn to and depend on.  

And so can you.  Don't let the devil steal your joy.  Jesus is your strength, your Joy.

Blessings!

Weird dreams, but God still reigns!

 I don't know what hit me last night, but by 7PM I was struggling to stay awake.  Hubby had turned off the TV (YAY) and I was reading in one of my books - and although it was really interesting, my eyes kept shutting.  A little after 8PM I told hubby I couldn't stay up any longer.  I took another ibuprofen before I went to bed as my head was hurting again.  I slept deep, but the weird dreams kept coming, one after another.  But what has stayed with me, is that in each dream I had a scripture come to my mind......

James 4:7 (NKJV):  "Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you."

In every single weird dream - of which I can't remember what they were, but I can remember screaming out for Jesus.... and the words 'submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.' would come to my mind.  And the weird dream would go away and another would take its place.  No wonder my neck and head was hurting this morning!  

I admit, I played with the thought of not going to church this morning.  My head does hurt still, but moreso my neck.  I may have slept wrong.  It could have been how I was holding my head/neck while I was reading for awhile last night.  Regardless of how, it is hurting.  I thought that perhaps I'd stay home from church and spend more time in here.  But I also know that wouldn't really happen.  I have a hubby who would either suggest going out for breakfast or wait for me to fix him breakfast.

When hubby got up shortly after I did and brought in my coffee, he asked about my head.  I told him it was still hurting.  He suggested 'WE' stay home from church and watch Jentezen Franklin on the computer.  Tempting.  We haven't watched him for some time because we have been going to our church.  I told him I couldn't think about it right now; I'd let him know.

And the scripture keeps coming to me.... "Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you."  I'm thinking the service may be a pretty good one today and the devil doesn't want me to go.  I know we are having a guest speaker today as they announced it last week.  It's always tempting to stay home when there is a guest speaker.  And, technically, I DID have 'church' Friday night at the women's conference, right?  We had worship; we had a message; we had an altar call; we had baptisms. 

But as tempting as it is to stay home and just chill, I/we are going to church this morning.  Hubby will grumble, I'm sure.  Interesting, when he was not feeling well, I still went; but if I'm not feeling well, he will stay home with me.   But we are going to church and I will be stopping shortly to jump in the shower and start getting ready.  I'll get him going by telling him if he gets moving, we can possibly stop at Einstein's for a bagel and a coffee on our way to church.  Anything to do with food and he is all for it.

I can take another ibuprofen for the pain.  I can shower and get dressed.  I can put makeup on.  I can do all these things.... and I will go to church and learn something.  Why am I making myself go when it would be so easy to stay home?  Because I love Jesus and I want to be obedient to Him and be with fellow believers.  I want to worship Him.  And sometimes in the worship, because of obedience to spend this time with Him, my pain generally goes away.  Win-win, right?  I love worship and I would love to spend all day with worship going and spending time with God.  I think that is why I miss the hermitages so much.  No interruptions for meals or calls or anything. I just want to sit at Jesus' feet and learn from Him.

People don't understand me at times.  Even hubby doesn't understand me.  He 'tries' to put up with my insistence of 'leave me alone while I have my time with God' - but he isn't even always quiet when he brings in my coffee, but will interrupt my reading to ask 'did you sleep well?' or 'don't forget I'm having breakfast with...." or 'what are we/you......"  He just doesn't get it that when I'm in here alone with God and reading my Bible - don't interrupt.  If you have to bring coffee in.... just set it down and leave.  Quietly.

Am I grumbling?  I don't mean to this morning.  I would love to stay home and watch 'church' on the computer.  I always get something out of Jentezen Franklin's messages.  But I feel I need to resist the temptation to stay home and go to church.  I need to be with other people worshipping Jesus.  

Do you feel the temptation of staying home this morning as well?  Perhaps you need to consider 'resisting the devil's temptation' as well.  Don't usually go?  Maybe you should go.  Don't you love to do things when some thing or some one tells you not to?  It's built in us, I think.  "Go to church"  No, I'm staying home.  "Stay home today; you deserve a day of relaxation".  No, I'm going to church.  Reverse psychology?

One thing for sure.... when we turn to our pleasures and follow them, we will be missing out on the blessings of God.  It's when we put Him first in our lives that He will bless us and give us the desires of our heart.  I think I will choose Jesus first.  What about you?

Blessings!