November Challenge: Day 24

Thanksgiving is just a day away and this will be the first year that I am cooking the meal entirely by myself. I have cooked the bulk of the meal in years past, but my mother and grandmother were always nearby assisting in one way or another. Plus we always used pre-prepared meals purchased from grocery stores, but this is the first year I will be cooking the meal by myself from raw ingredients. Since this is my first time preparing a Thanksgiving meal entirely by myself I am very grateful for Pinterest. Pinterest has been a wonderful source of recipes and useful information about how to prepare the best Thanksgiving meal. I have the ability to cook and I know how to read a recipe so I am not worried, but it is still nice to know that Pinterest is there to support me.

I do not have to cook for a large group of people, but I still need to prepare a meal for four people and I need the meal to taste well enough that they will be content eating the leftovers the next day. Ordinarily I would say this is not a problem, but two of the four people I am cooking for are very picky and vocal about their dissatisfaction. Although this experience is a bit overwhelming, I trust in my ability to successfully make this meal. The last few weeks I have spent a lot of time researching recipes and reading every helpful tip that I came across. This evening I spent time writing down my timeline for Thanksgiving day, everything that needs to get done, and recording all of the necessary steps that need to be done to prepare and cook my turkey. Thanks to the information on Pinterest I feel prepared and I am confident that I can pull off a successful Thanksgiving dinner.

Part of that confidence comes from the fact that the refrigerator is stock full of leftovers from this week and these leftovers provide a safety net should a disaster strike on Thanksgiving. I have to laugh at this because anyone else would panic at the thought of disaster striking, but I know that I have the ability to make things work, even if dinner doesn't turn out the way it is suppose to, and there is peace in that knowledge. Taking over another person's household hasn't been easy, but I believe I have been successful in achieving everything that needs to get done and I think that Thanksgiving will be the crowning achievement of that success. I owe my success to wonderful meal ideas that I found on Pinterest, as well as helpful tips for organizing menus for the week. 

Yes, I am grateful for Pinterest, but I know that my success with Pinterest is due to the fact that God has allowed me to find the pins I need in a sea of pins that I don't. It is God that has made organizing and preparing these last few weeks manageable. And it will be God who will make my Thanksgiving meal a success. I am not worried because God Himself is on my side. If God is for me, who could possibly be against me? As I finish out my second week of running my mom's household, I know that I have been blessed in my success by God and I am very grateful. What are you thankful for today?

November Challenge: Day 17

Yesterday I had an awful headache and didn't end up making lunches for today. I chose to put it off until this morning, which I wouldn't advocate doing. I don't recommend putting things off that can be done today because life has a way of derailing our intentions. For instance, last night I spent a few hours lying awake and as a result woke up this morning very tired. I then had to force myself to rush through my morning routine so that I had time to make lunches. In a perfect world I would have time to finish everything and still make it out the door on time, but unfortunately that didn't happen. This morning I left my house later than normal, which turned out ok because I leave a cushion in my drive time to account for unforeseen traffic. That said this caused me to arrive at the exact same time as my client, I normally arrive at least 10 minutes before him, which meant that I was quite literally running from my car to meet him. That meant that I didn't have time to eat a quick breakfast and ensure that I tossed a snack in my purse for my break. I realized this shortcoming after it was too late for me to do anything about it.

I tried to think of how I was going to be able to get back out to my car to grab a snack, but this wasn't really an option. While I was thinking of my options, I began to go through my purse and it was then that I discovered an individually packed brownie bite. Last week, during the time I was waiting at the hospital with my mom, I had bought a pack of 4 brownie bites and had only ate 3, which meant I had tossed the 4th into my purse. The little package had slipped down to the bottom of the purse, ensuring that I wouldn't have stumbled upon it sooner, and saved me on a morning that could have been quite disastrous. I don't know about you, but I tend to get very irritable when I am hungry. I'm not able to eat a lot of food in the mornings during the workweek, but having 1 or 2 items to snack on can make a tremendous difference in my day. I am very thankful that I had accidentally left that snack in my purse. I was able to eat that brownie bite and prevent that starving feeling that I would have felt had I not been able to eat until 12:30 (~19 hours between meals). 

This evening I was feeling better and I was quick to correct yesterday's mistakes. Tonight I made dinner and then made lunches for tomorrow at the same time. Everything is ready to go and I can start tomorrow fresh. I am thankful for preparation and I am grateful for God's safety cushion when I fall short. 

What are you thankful for today?

Love Is Kind

Yesterday's preparation in love was patience, with the challenge of not saying anything negative. Today, there was plenty of opportunity to demonstrate patience. This morning, as I enjoyed my coffee, I realized that the remote for the living room was missing. I figured that someone had walked off with the remote in their hand and set it down somewhere in the house. I wasn't concerned about the remote, but someone else was. Someone else chose to pass the blame on to me, even though I knew that I didn't lose the remote, and continued to lecture me as we looked for the remote. I stated the facts, as I remembered from the day before, and then chose not to respond to their negative comments. It didn't matter who was responsible for the remote having gone missing, but sometimes people just want to argue anyways. I chose not to enter into the argument and eventually decided to walk away before I said something negative.

S Scripture: "Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you." Ephesians 4:32

"Do not let kindness and truth leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good repute in the sight of God and man." Proverbs 3: 3-4

"She opens her mouth in wisdom and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue." Proverbs 31: 26

O Observation: God is kind to us, He forgives us and blesses us, even though we don't deserve it. We are to treat others this same way. God wants us to bind kindness and truth around our necks because they are important in His sight. We should speak with wisdom and our tone should be kindness, that people would be receptive to the words we speak.

A Application: I need to be gentle in my interactions, helpful to meet the needs of the moment, willing to be flexible, and take the initiate to meet the need shown.

P Prayer: God, I am not as kind as I should be. Help me to practice kindness. In Your loving name, Amen. 

Love Is Patient

The last few days I have prayed about preparation, not knowing where to start, but knowing that I needed to do something to prepare my heart. I struggled with how to practice, how to truly understand, without someone else there and I turned this over to God. I have felt pushed to prepare, but equally that God isn't going to give me someone until I am prepared. Admittedly, I felt stuck, but then I realized I could study the characteristics and principles of love. With the study, I could also apply the characteristics/principles of love to everyone I encounter in my life. After all, traits like patience and kindness aren't suppose to be reserved just for the one we love. As I enter this time of preparation, I know it will be challenging, but I enter it with eyes open and ready to grow in my understanding of love. I trust God to guide me, to give me understanding, and to bless this journey. I know that He is with me every step of the way, teaching me that I would love like Him.

S Scripture: "Be completely humble and gentle, be patient, bearing with one another in love." Ephesians 4:2

O Observation: God's will is that we would be humble, recognizing we are humans who make mistakes, and gentle, recognizing that our tone can affect other people. He wants us to be patient, bearing with each other in love. We need to wait, allow ourselves to see the whole picture, and provide others with the opportunity to be human and to fix their mistakes.

A Application: When I feel an injustice, I am quick to act upon it, to give full vent to my feelings and all, but demand justice from the person. This is not patience or bearing with one another in love. I need to guard my mouth, show restraint in my words, and wait: for the person to correct their mistake or for me to see the whole picture.

P Prayer: God, please forgive me for my impatience. Help me remember I am human too and keep me from responding negatively. In Your loving name, Amen. 

Praying Without Believing

This last week I have been drawn to and focused on the area of love. It started with God Wants You To Know messages about love and continued as I prayed for understanding during my time with God. The messages about love have continued and include, "Your task is not to seek for love, but to seek and melt all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it," as well as "love is a great investment". I haven't really been sure of what to make of all of it. Today, in an innocent, unguarded moment at work I was reminded of a memory of the one I love. The memory was so vivid that I felt all of the same feelings I had felt in the original moment, but this time I also felt sadness because it was gone. In truth I have struggled this week and I have prayed often about a next step. I'm not sure this is an answer, but my devotional today was about praying without believing. The message that we should pray, believing our prayers will be answered, and then preparing our life for the answer. If I want to love like God, if I want restoration, then I need to strengthen my weaknesses. 

S Scripture: "Do I bring to the moment of birth and not give delivery?" says the Lord. "Do I close up the womb when I bring to delivery?" says Your God." Isaiah 66:9

O Observation: God will not cause pain without allowing something new to be born. The pain of labor is rewarded with the birth of new life. In essence the pain we experience is "labor pains" and the outcome is "new life"; a blessing.

A Application: It is difficult for me to justify pain, especially my own pain, but I can't deny that pains of labor bring forth beautiful life. Right now my heart is in pain and I long for that "new life". I need to recognize the purpose of my pain and prepare my life for the new that is waiting to be born. 

P Prayer: God, I haven't known what I should do. All of these messages and all of my feelings have left me confused. My heart is in pain, but You are bringing forth new life. I ask that You would help me prepare to receive new life. In Your loving name, Amen