excluding external conditions of life, what is it that entices a person to have a good day instead of a bad day? is it a chemical/hormonal balance? is it atmospheric pressure? is it planetary alighnment? is it a divine chess match?
i prefaced the question by excluding external conditions of life. sometimes, things that we have no control over can upset our plans and moods. there are times when these things are so overwhelming that we short-circut our brains and "bad days" result.
you know that i always have a thought-provoker experience that brings these to mind, so here's the situation. yesterday was a very busy day for me. it was my first day back after the holiday and it was my last full day before choir rehearsal resumes. i had 5 days of work to accomplish in 3 and had someone drop a big art/design project on me (actually, they asked nicely) and someone else drop a multi-faceted project which included video, restructuing of the planned order of worship and editing galore (they didn't ask as nicely, but i still agreed to it all).
then, the small but "huge-in-my-eyes" remodeling project supplies were delivered and a funeral visitation and...and...and...and...and i was up more than an hour later than normal.
i was much busier than usual, and yet, it was a good day.
everything on paper says this day should stinketh! and yet, today is an even better day than yesterday. projects are getting done, plans are being made and refined. God is clearly evident here in my life today.
so, i go back to the question: what makes for a good or bad day?
i'd like to give a profound answer, but i've got nothing to offer. but, i rest on a familiar motto, "life stinks, but God is good".
Emmanuel, i can feel that you are with me throughout this day. in Your presence is found peace. thank You for Your peace experienced in my life and whatever atmospheric pressure has brought me to my knees in grateful acknowledgement of a good day. and also i thank you for the bad days for they teach me reliance on You. You are the creator of this and everyday. i will rejoice and be glad in You in this day.
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
pix
maybe you're tired of pictures of my family, but i'm not tired of posting them. so, here are some more that i'm pleased to shared with you.
we had planned to keep the crib in the nursery until he moved into it (translated: until he slept through the night regularly). however, he's been sleeping much better and the nursery isn't finished yet. so, we finally just decided it'll be easy enough to move it back down when the time comes. plus, he sleeps like his mama--tossing and turning a lot! so, he needed the extra room.
once again, let me point out the extreme rarity of this photo: mama & baby are smiling at the same time!
every baby drools, but this shot captured the moment like no other. how bad is it when the drool casts a shadow on your neck? oh well, we just wipe it off and keep going (occasionally, he kisses us and leave it as residue).
it's been hard to catch pictures of these two together. usually kara's quick to take him for a walk and she interacts with him there. so, since we're not invited, we don't get pictures of it.
the truth is that israel is enamored by kara. he can't keep his eyes off of her. he actually chooses her over food! sometimes kara has to leave the room so that he can finish eating.
having said all that, we can see the feeling is mutual. kara is a deeply compassionate teen (a rare jewel) and her love for her "little brother" runs deep and endlessly.
well, she ain't martha stewart just yet, but we did have some time to help her learn a bit about the domestic arts. we didn't insist that she help us with this summer's canning. but, when we teased her about only being allowed to eat that which she helped with (nothing), she was quick to accept our invitation to help. in these two shots, we're doing caramel apple jam--a new favorite for many in our family.
i was very proud and pleased, though when, as we were talking through some of the science of canning, she knew the answers to my questions. i guess she really does listen to public educators!
thank You for my family. i always thought i could do it on my own. now i can't remember how i ever did it on my own. God in Heaven, please bless my wife, my daughter and my son.
we had planned to keep the crib in the nursery until he moved into it (translated: until he slept through the night regularly). however, he's been sleeping much better and the nursery isn't finished yet. so, we finally just decided it'll be easy enough to move it back down when the time comes. plus, he sleeps like his mama--tossing and turning a lot! so, he needed the extra room.
once again, let me point out the extreme rarity of this photo: mama & baby are smiling at the same time!
every baby drools, but this shot captured the moment like no other. how bad is it when the drool casts a shadow on your neck? oh well, we just wipe it off and keep going (occasionally, he kisses us and leave it as residue).
it's been hard to catch pictures of these two together. usually kara's quick to take him for a walk and she interacts with him there. so, since we're not invited, we don't get pictures of it.the truth is that israel is enamored by kara. he can't keep his eyes off of her. he actually chooses her over food! sometimes kara has to leave the room so that he can finish eating.
having said all that, we can see the feeling is mutual. kara is a deeply compassionate teen (a rare jewel) and her love for her "little brother" runs deep and endlessly.
well, she ain't martha stewart just yet, but we did have some time to help her learn a bit about the domestic arts. we didn't insist that she help us with this summer's canning. but, when we teased her about only being allowed to eat that which she helped with (nothing), she was quick to accept our invitation to help. in these two shots, we're doing caramel apple jam--a new favorite for many in our family.i was very proud and pleased, though when, as we were talking through some of the science of canning, she knew the answers to my questions. i guess she really does listen to public educators!
thank You for my family. i always thought i could do it on my own. now i can't remember how i ever did it on my own. God in Heaven, please bless my wife, my daughter and my son.
Sunday, September 2, 2007
a great day
whenever you leave the box, things happen. sometimes good things, sometimes not-so-good-things happen. today was no different.
this was a day when we left our typical format of songs, communion & offering and a sermon and did, for lack of a better example, a music review. that is, we reviewed the study series of the summer (all of june, july & august) and presented it around the themes presented through the songs we learned and sang throughout the series.
our box typically does 3-5 songs; this week we did 8.
our box typically does a 20-30 minute sermon; this we we did six 2-4 minute sermon spots.
but, it all went amazingly well. God blessed the prep and planning.
the not-so-good-things also happened, but they are so insignificant in view of the miracles of barriers crumbled that they won't be mentioned.
well, they are mentioned, but not in great detail. but to sum up, let me quote a former minister of our church, rw baynes, when he said, "the problem with complainers is that sometimes they are right."
i don't know if these particular comments are true or false, but i'll look into them and sort them appropriately.
Father in heaven, thank You for blessing the work of my hands, the planning of worship. thank You for empowering me and the other worship leaders to get out of the way and let Your Spirit lead. grant me the ability to relate to complainers and help me to discern that which is true (faults in me) and which are matters of opinion. all conversations are valuable, help me to see the true value in the people around me.
this was a day when we left our typical format of songs, communion & offering and a sermon and did, for lack of a better example, a music review. that is, we reviewed the study series of the summer (all of june, july & august) and presented it around the themes presented through the songs we learned and sang throughout the series.
our box typically does 3-5 songs; this week we did 8.
our box typically does a 20-30 minute sermon; this we we did six 2-4 minute sermon spots.
but, it all went amazingly well. God blessed the prep and planning.
the not-so-good-things also happened, but they are so insignificant in view of the miracles of barriers crumbled that they won't be mentioned.
well, they are mentioned, but not in great detail. but to sum up, let me quote a former minister of our church, rw baynes, when he said, "the problem with complainers is that sometimes they are right."
i don't know if these particular comments are true or false, but i'll look into them and sort them appropriately.
Father in heaven, thank You for blessing the work of my hands, the planning of worship. thank You for empowering me and the other worship leaders to get out of the way and let Your Spirit lead. grant me the ability to relate to complainers and help me to discern that which is true (faults in me) and which are matters of opinion. all conversations are valuable, help me to see the true value in the people around me.
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