Many years ago - I believe it was in the 1990's - there was a movie called 10 Things I Hate About You. It was a movie that was loosely (VERY loosely) based on Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. It starred Julia Stiles (who I haven't seen in a movie in a really, really long time) and Heath Ledger who tragically killed himself a few years ago. It was one of those teen comedies and it was pretty funny from what I can remember.
Well, today, I'm going to do 20 Things I Love About You (the you meaning my dear husband). While I appreciate who my husband is, while doing this Bible study, What's It Like Being Married To Me, I've realized how far down my priority list he's slipped. It hasn't been on purpose, but life just gets busy and it is easy to let the important get trumped by the urgent. To celebrate what a great guy my hubby really is, here is my list!
20 Things I Love About You
1. You can trust what he says.
2. He has integrity.
3. He is kind - he truly does not want to hurt anyone
4. The way he can walk into a room, and without saying a word, be in charge
5. He rarely gets angry, and when he does, he doesn't lose control.
6. We've been married almost 19 years and he's never raised his voice at me. Ever.
7. He is calm in a crisis.
8. His ability to see the long-term consequences for decisions made today.
9. He is honest.
10. He's a great dad whose willing to learn.
11. He honors his parents.
12. Despite his natural alpha-ness, he still respects authority.
13. He has a gift for teaching.
14. He has a gift for coaching.
15. He has an incredible amount of self-control.
16. He is discreet.
17. He can keep a secret. (seriously, the man could work for the CIA)
18. He does not run off at the mouth (well, they do say opposites attract!)
19. He is not materialistic at all.
20. He lives out his life verse.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Thursday, March 1, 2012
AN EXTRA DAY
What did you do with your extra day this year? This is a leap year, and yesterday, February 29th, was leap day. I'd like to say I used mine productively, but I woke up to a computer that would NOT turn on and things seemed to go downhill from there.
Can I just say how thankful I was that I emailed my rough drafts to my online email account at 4 a.m.? That really was the only thing that kept me from tipping right over the edge into panic mode.
When you make your living with your computer, it not starting sort of puts a damper on your day. I spent a lot of time yesterday spinning my wheels in frustration, and then from there, going into irritation with my life in general.
It's amazing how quickly I can take an isolated event, and suddenly, it becomes about a lot more than just that particular event. Now it's about my life as a whole and what is wrong with it. Do you ever do that? It's like when you have a small misunderstanding with your husband over something minor and suddenly it becomes about something a whole lot bigger than a missed bill or not taking out the trash.
Eventually, I did calm down and realize that life had not ended because my computer wouldn't turn on - there were other possibilities. My good friend, Amber, loaned me her old laptop which, with a little visit to Office Max, I could have gotten up and running. My husband reminded me I could use his computer at work for a day or so. A panic attack was not really necessary.
It also drove home to me the importance of weeding through my files and saving important documents to a flash drive. To be honest, I've known I needed to do this for a while, but this incident made me realize doing it sooner rather than later might be the wiser course of action. As a procrastinator, sometimes, I need a fire lit under me to get me moving on something.
I ended up getting lost on my way to an interview with a really interesting lady who researches grave stones. Fortunately, I had a) remembered my cell phone and b) it was actually charged up and c)I could get reception where I was at.
The woman I was interviewing very kindly turned me back onto the right road. The whole interview ended up being a blessing. The stories behind the grave stones are really fascinating. I really enjoyed walking through the cemetary with her, as she pointed things out to me, and it was refreshing listening to her passion to make sure these people who died a long time ago are not completely forgotten.
the best thing about the interview was that it gave me a new perspective on my "difficult day." As I stood in the late afternoon sunshine - it was a gorgeous day with unusually warm temps of close to 70 - my problems seemed very minor compared to a lot of the people that were buried under my feet.
It was truly shocking to see the number of babies, toddlers and young children that died. Both of my boys are healthy, and I take for granted that they will live to adulthood. Most of the people in that cemetary could not have said the same.
There were numerous women who died at very young ages - presumably in childbirth. I had a team of doctors and the whole force of modern medicine, so giving birth to my boys was exciting and joyful - not full of the fear of death. Back in the 1800's, nearly in 1 in 3 women died in childbirth. I would not have liked those odds if I lived back then.
So my conclusion at the end of my extra day this year was that I had a lot for which to be thankful. It was definitely a different perspective than I had at the beginning of the day!
Oh and my computer eventually turned back on, so all that angst was for nothing (which is usually the case).
What blessings has God given you?
~ Blessings, Bronte
Can I just say how thankful I was that I emailed my rough drafts to my online email account at 4 a.m.? That really was the only thing that kept me from tipping right over the edge into panic mode.
When you make your living with your computer, it not starting sort of puts a damper on your day. I spent a lot of time yesterday spinning my wheels in frustration, and then from there, going into irritation with my life in general.
It's amazing how quickly I can take an isolated event, and suddenly, it becomes about a lot more than just that particular event. Now it's about my life as a whole and what is wrong with it. Do you ever do that? It's like when you have a small misunderstanding with your husband over something minor and suddenly it becomes about something a whole lot bigger than a missed bill or not taking out the trash.
Eventually, I did calm down and realize that life had not ended because my computer wouldn't turn on - there were other possibilities. My good friend, Amber, loaned me her old laptop which, with a little visit to Office Max, I could have gotten up and running. My husband reminded me I could use his computer at work for a day or so. A panic attack was not really necessary.
It also drove home to me the importance of weeding through my files and saving important documents to a flash drive. To be honest, I've known I needed to do this for a while, but this incident made me realize doing it sooner rather than later might be the wiser course of action. As a procrastinator, sometimes, I need a fire lit under me to get me moving on something.
I ended up getting lost on my way to an interview with a really interesting lady who researches grave stones. Fortunately, I had a) remembered my cell phone and b) it was actually charged up and c)I could get reception where I was at.
The woman I was interviewing very kindly turned me back onto the right road. The whole interview ended up being a blessing. The stories behind the grave stones are really fascinating. I really enjoyed walking through the cemetary with her, as she pointed things out to me, and it was refreshing listening to her passion to make sure these people who died a long time ago are not completely forgotten.
the best thing about the interview was that it gave me a new perspective on my "difficult day." As I stood in the late afternoon sunshine - it was a gorgeous day with unusually warm temps of close to 70 - my problems seemed very minor compared to a lot of the people that were buried under my feet.
It was truly shocking to see the number of babies, toddlers and young children that died. Both of my boys are healthy, and I take for granted that they will live to adulthood. Most of the people in that cemetary could not have said the same.
There were numerous women who died at very young ages - presumably in childbirth. I had a team of doctors and the whole force of modern medicine, so giving birth to my boys was exciting and joyful - not full of the fear of death. Back in the 1800's, nearly in 1 in 3 women died in childbirth. I would not have liked those odds if I lived back then.
So my conclusion at the end of my extra day this year was that I had a lot for which to be thankful. It was definitely a different perspective than I had at the beginning of the day!
Oh and my computer eventually turned back on, so all that angst was for nothing (which is usually the case).
What blessings has God given you?
~ Blessings, Bronte
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
WHAT I'VE LEARNED IN A WEEK OF TRYING NOT TO COMPLAIN
Well, the first thing I learned was that I complain more than I thought I did. The longest I've gone without moving my bracelet was 2 days, and I think that had more to do with me staying at home by myself than any real virtue on my part. Hard to complain when the only one listening is the dog! lol
What has blessed me more than anything in this little experiment is meditating on God's lovingkindness. I stumbled across Psalms 136 again doing this study. Once I read it, I went "I remember this Psalm" from when I spent a couple years studying the Psalms. It's this awesome chapter and every single verse ends with, "his lovingkindness is everlasting" or if you use a KJV, "his love endures forever."
I got goosebumps as I read through this Psalm - every verse ends with the proclamation that "His love endures forever." No matter what is going on, "his love endures forever."
It's such a hugely comforting thought to me - no matter what is going on, no matter how I feel, no matter what dumb thing I do - HIS lovingkindness is everlasting; HIS loved endures forever. Wow. That's all I have for that one - wow!
The second thing that hit me again was that truth and lovingkindness go together. Every day, as I looked at all the verses that contained the word lovingkindness, over and over it was tied to truth.
In other words, God's lovingkindness towards me is not because He doesn't really see me and all the ugliness that is in the nooks and crannies of my soul. He sees all that - He sees completely truth but His lovingkindness is still abundantly poured out on me.
The other thing I saw was various versions of this phrasing, "The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness." I think I saw this over a dozen times (now I am curious and will have to go back to actually count - I'm nerdy like that!).
What another huge comfort to me - God's anger is slow to kindle. That's a good thing because I tend to be a ssslllooowwww learner.
There is a verse, I think it is in Micah but I could be wrong, that talks about God delighting over us. I got a glimpse of this last night at work.
For the most part, I enjoy my work at Sylvan. Every once in a while, I get a difficult child. When I see their name on the board listed under me, I sort of cringe. (unlike God, I don't abound in lovingkindness most of the time). Last night, I got one of those "difficult" children. I decided that I was going to jolly him into good behavior.
He is adorably cute, but spent the first 20 minutes zipped up in his coat with only a hand or an eyeball visible. Of course, he thought this was hilariously funny. I did not.
After my other student left (she informed me she felt like throwing up at which point I promptly sent her to the bathroom and used long handled tongs to pick up her books and things from the table), I finally got his cute little face to appear out of its zippered cave.
As I was able to devote my full attention to this little guy, something happened. He got excited about doing well. The more I praised him and gave him tokens, the more excited he got. (we give small plastic tokens for doing work that can be saved up and then turned in for various toys).
Just to give you an idea of the change - the first hour he got 6 tokens. The second hour, he got 22 tokens! He was so excited. He kept saying, "I'm working real good aren't I - what's your name again?"
Not only was he working well, but suddenly, he was mannerly and respectful. He said "yes ma'am" and "no ma'am." Another teacher who was nearby joked by asking me what I had drugged him with.
The thing was, by the time he left he was so pleased with his hard work and good behavior, I hardly had to convince him at all. He gave me an exuberant hug on the way out the door, after happily showing me his very cool toy he was able to buy with all of his tokens. Again, he said, "I did really good didn't I?" To which I could honestly reply, "You did awesome!"
The thing was, it was a lot of fun for me to delight over this little guy's good behavior and hard work. It was even more fun because he has a history of being difficult.
How much more does God delight over you or me when we finally "get" it and do what He wants us to do? His lovingkindness splashes out and over us, giving us joy.
I'm so glad I serve a God that has such great lovingkindness toward me that we can delight in each other.
~ Blessings, Bronte
What has blessed me more than anything in this little experiment is meditating on God's lovingkindness. I stumbled across Psalms 136 again doing this study. Once I read it, I went "I remember this Psalm" from when I spent a couple years studying the Psalms. It's this awesome chapter and every single verse ends with, "his lovingkindness is everlasting" or if you use a KJV, "his love endures forever."
I got goosebumps as I read through this Psalm - every verse ends with the proclamation that "His love endures forever." No matter what is going on, "his love endures forever."
It's such a hugely comforting thought to me - no matter what is going on, no matter how I feel, no matter what dumb thing I do - HIS lovingkindness is everlasting; HIS loved endures forever. Wow. That's all I have for that one - wow!
The second thing that hit me again was that truth and lovingkindness go together. Every day, as I looked at all the verses that contained the word lovingkindness, over and over it was tied to truth.
In other words, God's lovingkindness towards me is not because He doesn't really see me and all the ugliness that is in the nooks and crannies of my soul. He sees all that - He sees completely truth but His lovingkindness is still abundantly poured out on me.
The other thing I saw was various versions of this phrasing, "The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness." I think I saw this over a dozen times (now I am curious and will have to go back to actually count - I'm nerdy like that!).
What another huge comfort to me - God's anger is slow to kindle. That's a good thing because I tend to be a ssslllooowwww learner.
There is a verse, I think it is in Micah but I could be wrong, that talks about God delighting over us. I got a glimpse of this last night at work.
For the most part, I enjoy my work at Sylvan. Every once in a while, I get a difficult child. When I see their name on the board listed under me, I sort of cringe. (unlike God, I don't abound in lovingkindness most of the time). Last night, I got one of those "difficult" children. I decided that I was going to jolly him into good behavior.
He is adorably cute, but spent the first 20 minutes zipped up in his coat with only a hand or an eyeball visible. Of course, he thought this was hilariously funny. I did not.
After my other student left (she informed me she felt like throwing up at which point I promptly sent her to the bathroom and used long handled tongs to pick up her books and things from the table), I finally got his cute little face to appear out of its zippered cave.
As I was able to devote my full attention to this little guy, something happened. He got excited about doing well. The more I praised him and gave him tokens, the more excited he got. (we give small plastic tokens for doing work that can be saved up and then turned in for various toys).
Just to give you an idea of the change - the first hour he got 6 tokens. The second hour, he got 22 tokens! He was so excited. He kept saying, "I'm working real good aren't I - what's your name again?"
Not only was he working well, but suddenly, he was mannerly and respectful. He said "yes ma'am" and "no ma'am." Another teacher who was nearby joked by asking me what I had drugged him with.
The thing was, by the time he left he was so pleased with his hard work and good behavior, I hardly had to convince him at all. He gave me an exuberant hug on the way out the door, after happily showing me his very cool toy he was able to buy with all of his tokens. Again, he said, "I did really good didn't I?" To which I could honestly reply, "You did awesome!"
The thing was, it was a lot of fun for me to delight over this little guy's good behavior and hard work. It was even more fun because he has a history of being difficult.
How much more does God delight over you or me when we finally "get" it and do what He wants us to do? His lovingkindness splashes out and over us, giving us joy.
I'm so glad I serve a God that has such great lovingkindness toward me that we can delight in each other.
~ Blessings, Bronte
Thursday, February 16, 2012
LOVINGKINDNESS AND TRUTH GO TOGETHER
Yesterday, as I meditated on God's lovingkindness, the verse that stood out to me was in Psalms 25:10 where it said that "all the paths of the Lord are lovingkindness." Today, as I looked at my list of verses that list the word "lovingkindness" (most of them seem to be in the Psalms, not surprisingly!), two things hit me: lovingkindness and truth are often linked together and celebrating God's lovingkindness seems to be the thing to do in the morning.
Personally, I find this rather applicable to me at this time in my life, as one of my goals is to get up earlier. To say I don't celebrate much in the morning would be a vast understatement! lol Well, at least until AFTER my morning coffee. It's rather comforting to me to know that I can sing joyfully about God's lovingkindness - even in the morning!
The next thing I want to look at is that lovingkindness and truth are linked together. In Psalms 40:11; 57:3, 10, lovingkindness and truth are linked. To me, this is a profound thing for us to get. So many times, we seem to have this idea that love, to be really loving, has to be blind.
It's as if lovingkindess - showing merciful favor - involves ignoring reality. On many social network sites, I see a lot of this idea that we are to blindly offer help to the needy, regardless of the circumstances - whether the person is irresponsible or has addiction issues or continues to make poor choices doesn't seem to matter.
When I nicely pointed out that while the poor and needy were provided for by God's laws in the Old Testament, they were required to work, I got shot down for not being "really loving."
Hmmm - Ruth was required to glean while Boaz (and other land owners) were supposed to leave extra for them. BOTH the giver and the taker had a responsibility.
It IS possible to show lovingkindess and be cognizant of the truth. Sometimes, that means doing the tougher thing rather than the easier, "nicer" thing. Nowhere in Scripture does it advocate giving a free ride to someone that chooses NOT to work despited being able-bodied. We can give encouragement and help that person acquire skills. We can give people a hand when they fall down, so they have time to get up and dust themselves off. We can certainly provide for those who truly CAN'T provide for themselves due to illness or something similiar. But to continue to enable someone in irresponsibility or laziness is not Scriptural, and I dare say, it is not very loving either.
Lovingkindness and truth not only can exist together, but they go hand in hand. God doesn't ask us to love blindly, but with our eyes wide open to the truth around us.
"He will send from heaven and save me; He reproaches him who tramples upon me. God will send forth His lovingkindness and His truth." Psalms 57:3
~ Blessings, Bronte
Personally, I find this rather applicable to me at this time in my life, as one of my goals is to get up earlier. To say I don't celebrate much in the morning would be a vast understatement! lol Well, at least until AFTER my morning coffee. It's rather comforting to me to know that I can sing joyfully about God's lovingkindness - even in the morning!
The next thing I want to look at is that lovingkindness and truth are linked together. In Psalms 40:11; 57:3, 10, lovingkindness and truth are linked. To me, this is a profound thing for us to get. So many times, we seem to have this idea that love, to be really loving, has to be blind.
It's as if lovingkindess - showing merciful favor - involves ignoring reality. On many social network sites, I see a lot of this idea that we are to blindly offer help to the needy, regardless of the circumstances - whether the person is irresponsible or has addiction issues or continues to make poor choices doesn't seem to matter.
When I nicely pointed out that while the poor and needy were provided for by God's laws in the Old Testament, they were required to work, I got shot down for not being "really loving."
Hmmm - Ruth was required to glean while Boaz (and other land owners) were supposed to leave extra for them. BOTH the giver and the taker had a responsibility.
It IS possible to show lovingkindess and be cognizant of the truth. Sometimes, that means doing the tougher thing rather than the easier, "nicer" thing. Nowhere in Scripture does it advocate giving a free ride to someone that chooses NOT to work despited being able-bodied. We can give encouragement and help that person acquire skills. We can give people a hand when they fall down, so they have time to get up and dust themselves off. We can certainly provide for those who truly CAN'T provide for themselves due to illness or something similiar. But to continue to enable someone in irresponsibility or laziness is not Scriptural, and I dare say, it is not very loving either.
Lovingkindness and truth not only can exist together, but they go hand in hand. God doesn't ask us to love blindly, but with our eyes wide open to the truth around us.
"He will send from heaven and save me; He reproaches him who tramples upon me. God will send forth His lovingkindness and His truth." Psalms 57:3
~ Blessings, Bronte
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
GOD HAS AN INTERESTING SENSE OF TIMING
During the summer of 2010, I decided to quit my teaching job and do some subbing. So, I went through the process of applying for a sub license. I carefully tucked the license away in my files and bought numerous books on subbing and prepared my sub "bag of tricks."
I really didn't expect any calls the first few weeks of school, but I had my bag ready and waiting to go. All I needed was for that phone to ring! So, every morning I woke up about 6 a.m. with a feeling of expectation. I waited for that first phone call with excitement and a small dose of trepidation.
I waited and I waited some more.
By November, I realized I was going to have to come up with a plan B. Within a few weeks, I had landed my current gig at the Lima News writing the religion page and student profiles every week and I also became a tutor at Sylvan.
I kept expecting my phone to ring any day with an offer to sub at one of the MANY schools I signed up for. No call ever came the entire school year.
Talking to other people, I found out this was practically unheard of, so I chalked it up to God knowing best.
This past year, I didn't even expect any calls at all. And I didn't get any.
Until today.
So, I have my first subbing job one and half years AFTER I signed up for my sub license. Not only do I have my first subbing job at a different school, but tomorrow I sub at TCS. So, two subbing jobs in the same week. Who would have guessed??
God provides, but He often does it in ways I just don't expect. Today, as I was meditating on God's lovingkindness (part of my challenge from my previous post), I came across a verse that said that the paths God leads us on are His lovingkindness. That just really hit me because often I don't like a particular path for whatever reason, but it says He leads on these paths and THAT is HIM showing His lovingkindness to me.
As I try to stay accountable in the three challenges I have set for myself - not moving my "whining" bracelet (which I haven't had to move today at all - mostly because I've been sitting here by myself), meditating in the morning on God's lovingkindness and His faithfulness at night (in the interest of complete honesty - I completely forgot to do this last night but I put my thankful journal right by my bed so no forgetting tonight!!!); and seeing various attributes in my husband to thank God for (yesterday was honorable which is a piece of cake since my hubby is, by definition, honorable!) - I realize that this will be an interesting path. That's okay though because it shows God's merciful favor toward me.
I'm excited to see the paths God leads me down in coming weeks. I don't know exactly what lies ahead, but I do no one thing - they will never be boring!
~ Blessings, Bronte
I really didn't expect any calls the first few weeks of school, but I had my bag ready and waiting to go. All I needed was for that phone to ring! So, every morning I woke up about 6 a.m. with a feeling of expectation. I waited for that first phone call with excitement and a small dose of trepidation.
I waited and I waited some more.
By November, I realized I was going to have to come up with a plan B. Within a few weeks, I had landed my current gig at the Lima News writing the religion page and student profiles every week and I also became a tutor at Sylvan.
I kept expecting my phone to ring any day with an offer to sub at one of the MANY schools I signed up for. No call ever came the entire school year.
Talking to other people, I found out this was practically unheard of, so I chalked it up to God knowing best.
This past year, I didn't even expect any calls at all. And I didn't get any.
Until today.
So, I have my first subbing job one and half years AFTER I signed up for my sub license. Not only do I have my first subbing job at a different school, but tomorrow I sub at TCS. So, two subbing jobs in the same week. Who would have guessed??
God provides, but He often does it in ways I just don't expect. Today, as I was meditating on God's lovingkindness (part of my challenge from my previous post), I came across a verse that said that the paths God leads us on are His lovingkindness. That just really hit me because often I don't like a particular path for whatever reason, but it says He leads on these paths and THAT is HIM showing His lovingkindness to me.
As I try to stay accountable in the three challenges I have set for myself - not moving my "whining" bracelet (which I haven't had to move today at all - mostly because I've been sitting here by myself), meditating in the morning on God's lovingkindness and His faithfulness at night (in the interest of complete honesty - I completely forgot to do this last night but I put my thankful journal right by my bed so no forgetting tonight!!!); and seeing various attributes in my husband to thank God for (yesterday was honorable which is a piece of cake since my hubby is, by definition, honorable!) - I realize that this will be an interesting path. That's okay though because it shows God's merciful favor toward me.
I'm excited to see the paths God leads me down in coming weeks. I don't know exactly what lies ahead, but I do no one thing - they will never be boring!
~ Blessings, Bronte
Monday, February 13, 2012
THANKFULNESS & BLESSINGS
As I mentioned in a previous post, I am doing this Bible study called What's It Like Being Married to Me? One of the first things the author, Linda Dillow, talks about is whether you live with an attitude of gratitude of if whining is more your style.
I admit it - I "vent" way more often than I should. I do believe that complaining and whining can become a very bad habit, so one thing I have wanted to do this year is be intentional about being grateful. You just can't be grateful and complaining at the same time.
So, I decided to take the 21 day challenge. This is what that challenge is: you put a bracelet on your arm. Every time you complain, you move the bracelet to the other arm. The goal is to make it 21 straight days without moving the bracelet.
So far, two days in, I'm still on day one.
The thing is though, I KNOW God is very good to me. I have so many reasons to be thankful, and it's somewhat embarrassing that I ever complain at all. Ever.
Dillow shared this great verse - Psalms 92:1,2, "It is good to give thanks to the Lord and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; To declare your lovingkindness in the morning and Your faithfulness by night."
What a wonderful idea - praise God for his lovingkindness in the morning and praise Him for His faithfulness every night. Can you imagine how that would change your mindset if you focused every morning and night on God's goodness to you? One of my goals this year is to live joyfully. Joy comes out of a grateful heart. It never blooms in a griping one.
God showed me some of His goodness through some very sweet and thoughtful ladies yesterday. I just started our Bible study video when I was told to shut it off. Then a silver package with a bow came sliding across the table.
I opened it and found a gift card to Ace Bookbinders. Being the dork that I am, I smiled and then asked what it was for exactly.
Wanna take a guess?
It was to have my Bible rebound. My Bible is currently being held together with duct tape, but I have so many notes written in the margins, I hated the thought of getting a new one.
The sweet ladies in my Sunday School class got together and, unbeknownst to me, gathered the funds to have my Bible completely redone.
I can't tell you what a wonderful, thoughtful gift this was - and they didn't even know it was my birthday this Saturday. Now, every time I open my Bible, I will think of their generosity.
It's not just the gift - it's the thought. There is no way I would have ever spent the money to do this myself. And it made me feel really good that they realized how important my Bible is to me. I guess that, more than anything, touched me so much. They saw me.
It made me wonder how many times I take the time to really see someone else. I will certainly be more intentional about doing so now. :)
God IS faithful. God IS full of lovingkindness. God use the ladies in my Sunday school class to reaffirm that to me this week.
Blessings, Bronte
I admit it - I "vent" way more often than I should. I do believe that complaining and whining can become a very bad habit, so one thing I have wanted to do this year is be intentional about being grateful. You just can't be grateful and complaining at the same time.
So, I decided to take the 21 day challenge. This is what that challenge is: you put a bracelet on your arm. Every time you complain, you move the bracelet to the other arm. The goal is to make it 21 straight days without moving the bracelet.
So far, two days in, I'm still on day one.
The thing is though, I KNOW God is very good to me. I have so many reasons to be thankful, and it's somewhat embarrassing that I ever complain at all. Ever.
Dillow shared this great verse - Psalms 92:1,2, "It is good to give thanks to the Lord and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; To declare your lovingkindness in the morning and Your faithfulness by night."
What a wonderful idea - praise God for his lovingkindness in the morning and praise Him for His faithfulness every night. Can you imagine how that would change your mindset if you focused every morning and night on God's goodness to you? One of my goals this year is to live joyfully. Joy comes out of a grateful heart. It never blooms in a griping one.
God showed me some of His goodness through some very sweet and thoughtful ladies yesterday. I just started our Bible study video when I was told to shut it off. Then a silver package with a bow came sliding across the table.
I opened it and found a gift card to Ace Bookbinders. Being the dork that I am, I smiled and then asked what it was for exactly.
Wanna take a guess?
It was to have my Bible rebound. My Bible is currently being held together with duct tape, but I have so many notes written in the margins, I hated the thought of getting a new one.
The sweet ladies in my Sunday School class got together and, unbeknownst to me, gathered the funds to have my Bible completely redone.
I can't tell you what a wonderful, thoughtful gift this was - and they didn't even know it was my birthday this Saturday. Now, every time I open my Bible, I will think of their generosity.
It's not just the gift - it's the thought. There is no way I would have ever spent the money to do this myself. And it made me feel really good that they realized how important my Bible is to me. I guess that, more than anything, touched me so much. They saw me.
It made me wonder how many times I take the time to really see someone else. I will certainly be more intentional about doing so now. :)
God IS faithful. God IS full of lovingkindness. God use the ladies in my Sunday school class to reaffirm that to me this week.
Blessings, Bronte
Thursday, February 9, 2012
LESSONS FROM SPORTS
I mean lessons for ME! lol I am seriously not a sports person. I enjoyed playing softball and basketball when I was a kid, but in high school I was a cheerleader. As a Baptist, it was the closest thing I could get to dancing! :)
Marrying a coach and giving birth to two males pretty much sealed my fate. I was destined to spend the next 20 years sitting in bleachers and camp chairs at a variety of sidelines in all kinds of weather. Usually, after the mad rush to feed everyone and get there on time, it is fun. The parents on the sidelines are sort of a ragtag tribe as we drive all over, following our favorite players. Even if we are from different schools, you start to recognize the other teams' parents because they are always there.
It's funny because normally, I could not care less about who wins a game, but put my kid out on the court or the field and all that changes. Suddenly, I feel completely within my rights to tell the ref or umpire what he is doing wrong. My blood pressure goes up, and it usually takes my husband (who is annoyingly unflappable) of looking at me like I have lost my mind to make me sit down and be quiet.
Tonight, my oldest son Brock was in his 8th grade basketball tournament against arch rivals, the Perry Commodores. It was nip and tuck all night. We'd pull ahead four or five points and then the Commodores would hit us with a full out press, forcing turnovers or walking calls on our guys.
My son is the point guard, which means he runs the plays. He's the focus of all that lovely defensive energy from the other team as he brings the ball up the court. Tonight, I could see his nerves jangling as he worked the ball up the court. His shots were off and he turned over the ball a few times at key points in the game, but overall, he did well. He took care of the ball.
You have to know something about Brock. While I am NOT self-disciplined AT ALL. He has been disciplined since basically the womb. He was about 7 years old when he gravely informed me he needed to study on Monday for his test Friday. He patiently explained to me (his mother who was wondering why we were reviewing spelling words for a test 4 days away) that on Tuesday he had a game and on Wednesday he had AWANA and on Thursday he another game. Um, okay. I didn't realize children came pre-programmed as "very responsible." If I'd known, I'd have ordered more of them! lol
Because of his high level of self-discipline, he works at his basketball game. It's very important to him. He spends hours shooting from various points on the court and he shot hundreds, probably thousands, of free throws this summer, rain or shine. He was dedicated.
Tonight, all that practice, all that sweat, all that time, paid off for him. He had the last free throws of the game. We were ahead by one point and there was very little time left on the clock. The tension in the gym was palpable - it pulsed with expectations and hopes. I had my eyes squeezed shut, frantically fanning myself, praying for Brock to just shut out all the noise and do what he knew to do best - just shoot.
Swish went the first shot. Now we were up by two and Perry would have to hit a 3 pointer to win. Quiet fell again as the ref bounced the ball back to him. I squeezed my eyes shut again and waved my fan faster as Perry screamed "Miss it!" Swish, the second basket went in. Brock's only points tonight were 5 out of 6 free throws. He was nervous with the pressure of the tournament game, but he stepped up to that line and shot the ball. And he made his shots.
The last 9 seconds of the clock ran down as the Perry players put up two seperate shots that were short of the mark. Our fans were screaming and shouting - the bleachers were vibrating. I didn't scream or shout. Instead, I looked at my boy. He had tears in his eyes. It was that important to him, and the fact that he made those shots - well, I had tears in my eyes, too. Not because I just love basketball so much, but because it is so important to Brock. He's my boy - what's important to him, is important to me, as well.
I know it is just a game. I know that losing carries with it it's own lesson, but tonight, tonight he could celebrat a hard fought win. Tonight, he learned a different lesson: practice and hard work pay off. His head and heart were nervous, but his muscles remembered.
As I watched the pure joy on his face, I caught a glimpse of what God must feel when we hit the winning shots so to speak - when our practice of obeying and doing what is right pays off. God is rooting for us - He is in our corner. He is the God of the Universe but our concerns concern Him. I think God smiled when those two shots swished through the net. I know He smiled when Brock handed out tracts to a couple of the Perry players before the game. Muscle memory works for more than just basketball.
~ Blessings, Bronte
Marrying a coach and giving birth to two males pretty much sealed my fate. I was destined to spend the next 20 years sitting in bleachers and camp chairs at a variety of sidelines in all kinds of weather. Usually, after the mad rush to feed everyone and get there on time, it is fun. The parents on the sidelines are sort of a ragtag tribe as we drive all over, following our favorite players. Even if we are from different schools, you start to recognize the other teams' parents because they are always there.
It's funny because normally, I could not care less about who wins a game, but put my kid out on the court or the field and all that changes. Suddenly, I feel completely within my rights to tell the ref or umpire what he is doing wrong. My blood pressure goes up, and it usually takes my husband (who is annoyingly unflappable) of looking at me like I have lost my mind to make me sit down and be quiet.
Tonight, my oldest son Brock was in his 8th grade basketball tournament against arch rivals, the Perry Commodores. It was nip and tuck all night. We'd pull ahead four or five points and then the Commodores would hit us with a full out press, forcing turnovers or walking calls on our guys.
My son is the point guard, which means he runs the plays. He's the focus of all that lovely defensive energy from the other team as he brings the ball up the court. Tonight, I could see his nerves jangling as he worked the ball up the court. His shots were off and he turned over the ball a few times at key points in the game, but overall, he did well. He took care of the ball.
You have to know something about Brock. While I am NOT self-disciplined AT ALL. He has been disciplined since basically the womb. He was about 7 years old when he gravely informed me he needed to study on Monday for his test Friday. He patiently explained to me (his mother who was wondering why we were reviewing spelling words for a test 4 days away) that on Tuesday he had a game and on Wednesday he had AWANA and on Thursday he another game. Um, okay. I didn't realize children came pre-programmed as "very responsible." If I'd known, I'd have ordered more of them! lol
Because of his high level of self-discipline, he works at his basketball game. It's very important to him. He spends hours shooting from various points on the court and he shot hundreds, probably thousands, of free throws this summer, rain or shine. He was dedicated.
Tonight, all that practice, all that sweat, all that time, paid off for him. He had the last free throws of the game. We were ahead by one point and there was very little time left on the clock. The tension in the gym was palpable - it pulsed with expectations and hopes. I had my eyes squeezed shut, frantically fanning myself, praying for Brock to just shut out all the noise and do what he knew to do best - just shoot.
Swish went the first shot. Now we were up by two and Perry would have to hit a 3 pointer to win. Quiet fell again as the ref bounced the ball back to him. I squeezed my eyes shut again and waved my fan faster as Perry screamed "Miss it!" Swish, the second basket went in. Brock's only points tonight were 5 out of 6 free throws. He was nervous with the pressure of the tournament game, but he stepped up to that line and shot the ball. And he made his shots.
The last 9 seconds of the clock ran down as the Perry players put up two seperate shots that were short of the mark. Our fans were screaming and shouting - the bleachers were vibrating. I didn't scream or shout. Instead, I looked at my boy. He had tears in his eyes. It was that important to him, and the fact that he made those shots - well, I had tears in my eyes, too. Not because I just love basketball so much, but because it is so important to Brock. He's my boy - what's important to him, is important to me, as well.
I know it is just a game. I know that losing carries with it it's own lesson, but tonight, tonight he could celebrat a hard fought win. Tonight, he learned a different lesson: practice and hard work pay off. His head and heart were nervous, but his muscles remembered.
As I watched the pure joy on his face, I caught a glimpse of what God must feel when we hit the winning shots so to speak - when our practice of obeying and doing what is right pays off. God is rooting for us - He is in our corner. He is the God of the Universe but our concerns concern Him. I think God smiled when those two shots swished through the net. I know He smiled when Brock handed out tracts to a couple of the Perry players before the game. Muscle memory works for more than just basketball.
~ Blessings, Bronte
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