Refocusing

If you haven't picked up on my underlying emotions through my other posts recently, I will just throw this out there for you. I have been a huge stressed out mess for about the last week. I don't know if there is one big reason for this or not but everything lately seems so overwhelming. I can't make enough time for people, I have too many commitments and I can't manage my time well. Plus this is just a busy time of year in general for us. I have been internally freaking out and have yet to taken a step back and refocus. So that was my goal this morning. I went to bed with my computer, journal and bible all ready for me in the morning and carved out time to be intentional with God. For days I have been throwing up quick prayers or listening to Christian music as I am running around town, trying to grasp at the feelings of comfort I knew only he could bring. So this morning was good. I listened to a sermon we missed at church which spoke about fear and faith. Our pastor asked, When you start getting stressed out and afraid, do you leave God out of your plans? He encouraged us to have a vertical perspective on life, not a horizontal one. This was so true of what my life has looked like, a horizontal picture of me running around like a crazy person, caught up in my check lists, totally leaving God out of things. He also discussed how our lives are circles of life then death then life again, but we have to let ourselves die in order to experience that life once again. I needed that reminder to die to myself this week. To die to the control I was wanting to have, the the plans I had of fixing things and to the stress I was all worked up about. I needed to just keep calm and allow God to lead. When has taking matters into  my own hands ever worked? Yet, like an idiot I still try all the time. So this morning I reached out and God re-centered my life, refocused my thoughts and took on the burdens I have been carrying. He is such a forgiving and loving God to extend peace to me yet again, when my actions don't show that I deserve it. If you are having a stressful start to your spring, I encourage you to do the same. Reach out and stay calm. Things will get done, relationships will survive, peace is an option.

Here we are at 26 weeks, wearing a solid shirt for Aunt Amanda. Our printer ink is giving out and making our signs harder to read. We will have to fix that soon. :)