I finished the first book I started - About Your Father by Peggy Rowe - and it was amusing! I was grateful hubby left the TV off last night so that I could finish it. I handed it to him and told him he might enjoy it as well. Hoping to start on another one of the three this weekend. They are a fun read and I am enjoying them.
I was thinking earlier that I ought to set a goal on books. My son does, and he exceeds it every year by numerous books. He definitely is an avid reader - as I used to be. I think I did a list a few years back and did exceed it, but never got in to it again. I'm thinking it would get me reading more - as I love to do. I can put a sticky paper on the back of the door in here and as I read a book, can write it down. Yes, I think I will start small - sort of like 2 books a month - 24 books a year... and then surely I can easily 'beat' it - ya think? Next year I can double that, as I get more in the habit of reading more often. If I can get hubby to leave the TV off more and read, it will work for both of us. He just has more time to read than I do - and then he doesn't want to read in the evenings.
So glad it's Friday - I've wished a couple times I had taken this week off - but why? We wouldn't have done anything different, really. I could have read more, yes, and maybe get started putting Christmas things away... but I can do that this weekend. Keep hoping the prodigal granddaughter will come over... I would put her gifts under the tree. But, the tree comes down this weekend, regardless, and her gifts will go in to the closet, along with the baby's. That situation breaks my heart, but I can't make her do anything. All I can do is love her and keep my door open for her to visit. It's up to her to do it.
Finished working on the message I plan to speak on at the RV park on Sunday. It's about Joshua 3:13-16. Go ahead, you can look it up. Ok, I'll put it below. Sometimes, when we are waiting for God to act in situations, God is waiting on us to take the first step. He will act, when we show faith in taking the first step. Does that make sense? In this particular scripture, God didn't part the waters of the Jordan UNTIL the priests took the first step into the water. If they were too afraid to put their feet in the flooded waters of the Jordan, God would not have parted the waters. We need to have faith that God will do His part, IF we will do OUR part. Does that make sense?
Joshua 3:13-16 (NLT): "The priests will carry the Ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth. As soon as their feet touch the water, the flow of water will be cut off upstream, and the river will stand up like a wall. So the people left their camp to cross the Jordan, and the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant went ahead of them. It was the harvest season, and the Jordan was overflowing its banks. But as soon as the feet of the priests who were carrying the Ark touched the water at the river's edge, the water above that point began backing up a great distance away at a town called Adam, which is near Zarethan. And the water below that point flowed on to the Dead Sea until the riverbed was dry. Then all the people crossed over near the town of Jericho."
And, do you notice that it says in the last sentence that ALL the people crossed over? Sometimes when we are obedient, our actions impact those around us. Think about it. If the priests had not had the faith to obey God, to put their feet in the flooded Jordan, none of the people could have crossed the Jordan on dry land. But, because the feet of the priests touched the water at the river's edge, the water above that point began to backing up, and the water below that point flowed on to the Dead Sea until the riverbed was dry.
We often don't think about how our actions affect others. What the impact will be. We sometimes see it, but don't always acknowledge it is because of us. Does that make sense? What about when you get grumpy (not that I ever do!) and you snap at someone over something that really doesn't matter. On a 'regular' day, you would have ignored it. But this grumpy day, you snap. The impact of your words towards that person changes them. It either hurts them, or gets them angry, or leaves them feeling worthless. Words DO hurt, regardless how they are said, but when said in anger or frustration, they have a bigger impact. Everything we do and everything we say impacts those around us.
We have a new year quickly approaching. Today is December 30th. Wow - this year has flown by, right? January 1, 2023 is Sunday. No resolutions; but do you have goals?
Goals. I have a few... besides reading, I mean. Maybe I need to write them down somewhere so that I can remember. Maybe have goals like eating better. Try to walk 15 minutes a day.
Writing that caused me to remember something I signed up for. And, it starts January 1! Yeah - sometimes even I need motivation and it's for fun and it's for me. I am sure hubby is feeling slighted that I didn't sign him up too, but he wouldn't do it so why bother and waste my money? What did I do? There was something on Facebook a few weeks ago called Forty/Forty. Or something like that. It was a spur of the moment decision. The purpose is to walk one mile every day for 40 days. Since I need to be motivated to do ANYthing, I thought that would be a start. Walk one mile a day - surely I can do that! - for forty days. AND, I got a t-shirt AND a medal already! Plus they sent scriptures, because it is basically also, walk 40 miles in 40 days with Jesus. In other words, read one scripture a day and meditate on it while walking each day. One can learn the Word as they walk by meditating on it. I'm looking forward to it and need to put the scriptures on the treadmill and be ready on January 1 to start it - if I don't forget! Exercise hasn't been up very high on the agenda so remembering to walk may be difficult at times. And I'm hoping that even doing one mile a day will motivate me to get back in to walking and working out. Sigh. Hubby is always my anchor that weighs me down, but I need to quit using him as an excuse. I need to do this for ME. Right?
And going back to the lesson from the scripture, if I exercise, even if I only walk one mile a day, I can impact others if I am getting healthy because it puts me in a better mood when I am feeling good about myself. Did you realize that a lot of our grumpiness comes from not liking yourself or not feeling good about something you did? Or didn't to and should have? Hmmmm
Let's quit being grumpy together!
Blessings!
