Tuesdays Together

A few weeks ago, I experienced a week of work that really tested my limits. I wound up working 5 days in a row! Now before you say "huh??" keep in mind that nurses do not generally work 5 days in a row, unless you work the 7 on 7 off kind of schedule, but those are usually 8 hour shifts. I should clarify, nurses who work the floor or 12 hour shifts in recovery do not usually work 5 days in a row. Well, I did. I found myself signed up for 2 days on the floor and 3 days on the outpatient surgical unit. These are the two units I work, but I usually do not work more than 3 days a week, and occasionally four. Not including the driving in and out, I worked 4 ten hour, and 1 nine hour shift. The week was sandwiched between two weekends packed full of activities. I was tired, I was weary weary weary!! I felt discouraged about half way through, thinking that I had lost my edge, feeling very old and wondering "why did I sign up for this again?". My housework suffered, my connections with my husband and child suffered. But I knew it was temporary and did my best to plow on through.

Getting up pretty early is part of this working routine. In order to be clocked in by 6,7, or 7:30 I often leave the house before any one else is up. I must hit hwy 280 before a certain time in order to catch the best traffic window. This sometimes puts me at work early. I have started bringing my bible with me in my car, so that I can have my quiet time in the parking deck. I like to read at night, but sometimes when you are soooo tired, it just doesn't happen. Anyway, during my week of 5's I found the Lord especially sweet to me. It put a little pep back into my spirit and my step. I happened to be reading in Thessalonians 1 and 2. I won't rewrite the whole 2 books but if you go there and read, you will most likely see what I saw--or maybe something entirely different--that IS the beauty of the Living Word of God. It was certainly timely.

Lord's words to me:

Hard work pays off.

Be gentle.

Be a model so that others might believe.

Thank God continually.

Endure, inspire hope.

Encourage one another, build up.

Respect those over you.

Live in peace with each other.

Be patient, joyful and thankful.

Pray continually.

Hold onto the good, avoid evil.

Relief is coming.

Do not be deceived.

Do not be a busybody.

Never tire of doing what is right.

May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our father, who loved us and by His grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word. 2 Thess. 2:16

I am called to be a nurse, and also a wife and mother. My callings affects lives. I work hard at these callings. Balancing those takes diligence. My husband and I have also felt led to become debt free. We are working diligently to accomplish this goal and have been for some time. For a time, I could pick up zero shifts, this really slowed us down. Now that I am being offered more than I can handle, we are finding our way to progress. Our Lord has always been faithful to us in dry and plentiful times, this does not change. He is faithful. He is always on time. His Sweet words do not change. His strength does not change. My parking deck time with the Lord was precious............ and did I mention timely? :)

May YOU find encouragement from the Lord's words today. Blessings!!

Tuesdays Together

Welcome to Tuesdays Together in the Word.  We are a group reading the bible together and sharing each week, what the Lord's Word has left with us.   Join in with us, wherever you are.

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I cannot let this Tuesday Together pass by without sharing some thoughts from the Psalms.  As I have mentioned before in a previous post, I promised to share some about this past year.  I cannot read these Psalms from our list without thinking about my journey through new motherhood and deployment. Psalms like these carried me through.  I cannot read these Psalms without my heart being stirred.

Psalm 27

1 The Lord is my light and my salvation,

whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life,

of whom shall I be afraid?

3Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear;

though war break out against me, 

even then will I be confident.

5 For in the day of trouble 

he will keep me safe in his dwelling;

he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle

and set me high upon a rock.

13 I am still confident of this:

I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

14 Wait for the Lord;

be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

There are more than a few folks out there in this world who know what it is like to go to bed at night wondering if they will wake up a widow.  Knowing that you very well could and trusting that you won't....... This is the war of the spouse left behind during  a deployment, during a time of war.  It is a battle on the insides of her head and heart.  I don't pretend to think that I am the only person to ever have their Marine go off into harms way.  Many wives have done this before me and more still will travel this journey in the years to come.  Often it was the knowing that got me through an hour- knowing that someone always has it worse and knowing that my blessings are plentiful.  Knowing that God and I were okay before my husband came along and would be still even if.........

Often, in the late hours, when the baby was down for the night, the pumping was still to be done, the bottles and accessories still to be washed, and all the other "stills" that occur when you are running a household by yourself.......I would talk out my cries of the heart and my Psalms would frequently sound a  bit like this:

The Lord is my light, is my strength, is my salvation.

Whom shall I fear? Whom shall I fear?

Of Whom shall I be afraid?

Not these thoughts, certainly not tomorrow.

If HE is for me, Who then can be against me?

Though my aloneness bears down upon me,

He shelters me

I am confident in the Lord's tomorrow,

This too shall pass, This too shall pass!!

Although my weariness is heavy,

I SEE the Lord's goodness and I am strengthened.

I count my blessings and am uplifted.

Take heart, have courage, wait upon the Lord!

have courage, have courage!

Of Whom shall I be afraid?

Whom shall I fear, whom shall I fear?

GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS!!

Amen

May my mutterings bring you encouragement, wherever your journey may be taking you today!!  

For more Tuesdays Together in the Word, visit DeeDee.

Is it Friday? or Tuesday?

This is the post that I tried to put up on Friday.  I don't know what I did wrong, but it looked like a crazy person typed it. The more I tried to fix it, the worse it became.  So, I'll try again.  I was gonna just let it go, but my Heart Friends informed me that I couldn't. Keep in mind that this was Friday.   So here goes......

OK, so I was feeling a bit like a slacker this morning.  at 10am-still in my pajamas-haven't exercised -feeling gross- busting out a diet coke for breakfast with my 2 big zits on my face.....(what's up with that?)....We all overslept this morning.  I've been cooped up (except for venturing out to the doctor)  in the house since monday night with my sick 10 month old.  You would think I could get a LOT of things done during such a hideaway as this, but not so....(sigh), did I mention the sick 10 month old?....

Then I open my bible and read this.......Luke 8

Soon afterward Jesus began a tour of the nearby towns and villages, preaching and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom of God.  He took his twelve disciples with him, along with some women he had healed....Among them were Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons;  Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's business manager, Susanna; and many others who were contributing their own resources to support Jesus and his disciples. (vs1-3)

It just jumped out at me.  If I have ever noticed this before, I had forgotten it.  Jesus was touring about and ministering alongside women.  Not just any women.  It is clear from this passage that these women were not ordinary for their day.  They had resources.  They had Goods!!  They were contributing their "own resources to support Jesus and his disciples". Dude--they had stuff!!    And what about Joanna?  Ever wonder what Herod and Chuza thought about her hanging around Jesus?  

The enemy would love for me to sit around and compare myself to others, to doubt myself,  to REALLY consider myself  a slacker about the Lord's work, but the voice in my head :) says "NOT today!!  Rise up (off that couch)  and resist!!"   (that's God's way of saying --my creation shall not call thyself a slacker--get up and get moving)

Hey!!  I've got goods!!  I've got resources!!  I've got talents and gifts and stuff!!  I know, cause the Lord gave them to me... (I really feel the need to stick out my tongue,  but I won't) I need to be using those gifts as HE guides.  

Sounds  sassy.....

Sounds like boasting, but it's not meant that way....

We are His, we know this. We might be lowly sinners but  We are NOT slackers!!  We are precious to Him. He paid the price already.  He equips us for the "tour" to be about His work with our own individual goods and resources.  We ALL have stuff.

Sounds like........a Victory!!

as a Tuesday afterthought, I am thinking of the contrast between  these women and the women in scripture who had little to give.....a touch of the hem,  or some oil,  or some savings.......

They still offered these, and Jesus accepted them wholeheartedly.  They gave these in faith.  They took action.  ....and the result was Victory.

Have a victorious Jesus Filled day!!!

It's Tuesday....

I've been checking in with my blogger friends who participate in Tuesdays Together in the Word.  I enjoy reading their thoughts and insights.  If you go to Tricia's or DeeDee's blog you can learn more about it, and visit others who participate.  I started out the year skipping around some, so I'm not exactly on schedule with these guys but it really does encourage me. 

 Yesterday, I worked a 6-3 shift, which means I left the house at 0455.  I've been working mostly 11am-7pm shifts, so this abrupt change might have been a bit ambitious for one my age, but I got over it.  Once I got there I learned that a friend was dealing with the death of her husband.  He committed suicide.  For the sake of her privacy, I dare not write more, but it was not a quiet passing.  My heart is breaking to know she is in pain.......

Luke 22 describes the "sifting like wheat" that Satan relishes in, even "demands".  I know I've experienced bad that God uses for good,  and I pray that my faith "did not fail"........but what about when you are watching it happen to someone else??

In college, one of my favorite conference speakers was Esther Burroughs. (sp?) Because I was in college for such a long time,:)  I heard her speak at more than one BSU conference.  Now that I think about it,  I even had to speak BEFORE her during one of those conferences.  (Weird?)  Her words on "living water" stick with me even now, 13+ years later:).  Do I overflow with the living water of the Spirit on a daily basis?  Am I filled up enough to actually overflow?  Will MY feeble attempts at comfort irritate or soothe my hurting friend?  Will I listen to God's voice for appropiate timing and divine appointments?  I'm still chewing on it......

I really did not FEEL like blogging about this stuff today.  I really wanted to blog ( for days now) about my cool new water bottle that I bought and how it might encourage you all in your 2009 health and wellness efforts.  I guess I will have to share that on a later date, cause this other stuff just came on out........I guess the subjects are related.?....sorta...........if you dug really deep and had the energy to go there............living water..............whew, my brain is tired........