ThoughtfulEscapes

...it's life.

31 Days {Challenge}

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Day 31 of 31 Days! Amazing. I honestly didn’t think I’d make it through, but I tried and found I really enjoyed it. I expected this challenge to be one I’d take on and then dread. I didn’t. I didn’t dread it even once! There were days I was really late in posting – just the hours in my day went away, or I spent a lot of time processing before I could write it here.

But I wanted to write. So I did anyway.

I didn’t worry about following grammar rules or doing things right. I just wrote. This challenge came at a good time for me too, helped me stay focused. I know this, but always forget — I do not like October. October is a particularly hard month for me, it is an icky month. It’s not fall. It’s not winter. Everything is dead. There is no color. It is too dark. And as I mentioned in other posts, October carries some life turning point baggage. I like to remember October when I spent the years of 7-14 living in northern Wisconsin. Then October was good. I feel so excited that tomorrow is November 1st. {Confession: I started listening to Christmas music this last weekend just to get through and finish up the month.}

I will definitely be more consistent with blogging {at least for a while}. After all – I did not finish all the house projects I wanted completed. They are close, but not 100%. I have been collecting pictures though. Some of the projects started four years ago!!!!  Really, that is pretty ridiculous – but a lot has happened. Anyway, I will get those up for you to see. Eventually.

Mt. McKinley in winterMt. McKinley in the dead of winter. So pretty!

I still have a hard time believing I did it! 31 Days of blogging. in a row! While I won’t keep it up forever, I am feeling the need to continue just a bit more. I’ve decided I want to focus on Thankfulness as we enter the Thanksgiving season. {I LOVE this time of year – from here on out. I can’t believe we are here again already! A year ago our family was coming in one week. This year will be MUCH quieter.}

 This is not a new idea, but I’m going to post something I am thankful for each day leading up to Thanksgiving.

Anyone want to join me?

I don’t know how to do linky’s. If there is an interest and a reason to figure out the linky process – I will. At the very least, if you are going to post regularly on what you are thankful for – will you please leave me a comment so I can visit and share in your thankfulness and blessings with you?

**okay – the wind is howling…. I’m going to quit editing, I’ve already lost power once & had to re-calibrate the modem. It took me 45 min to get modem back on & into WordPress again. So I want to get this posted before my power flickers again. Please excuse stupid sentences or obvious what? mistakes.**

31 Days {Blessings}

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Wow! Day 30 of 31 Days — totally can not believe it. Today is reflecting my thoughts on blessings. I so want to be this sweet, innocent and trusting of my Heavenly Father. I imagine each leaf being a burden in this life. I want to be buried in them – yet resonate peace and trust. What a blessing to see the faith of a child.

buried in leaves

I don’t often succeed {at staying so well focused on Him} – but that doesn’t make it any less my desire. I am actively working to not feel as if I’m drowning in burdens. After all, each burden to me is as a dry leaf to my Heavenly Father. Little weight. Crumbles without much effort. Pretty insignificant, when there is a big pile they might look bad, but they really aren’t they will disperse quickly. Yet, even when they look like a big pile, they are really nothing. These, to me, are an incredibly comforting thoughts. Some burdens have been particularly awkward to hold up to Him. Medical, friendships, parenting {making me particularly weary}, waiting on decisions to be made {also making me particularly weary}, repercussions of other decisions {again, making me particularly weary, not all my decisions} – just to name a few. It makes a person very weary. The weariness tends to cloud my vision.

What I really want to remember is I have so many blessings. My children are with me. I live in a free country. My memories are in tact. My house is in tact. There is not water where it does not belong. There is not sand where it does not belong. My home and so many of the sights I’m familiar with were not destroyed by water, rain, and wind. I’m not having to start over right now. My mind is trying to grasp so much devastation, so many people, and in general trying to make sense of Hurricane Sandy. The pictures are mind boggling to me. I can not even imagine. I just keep reminding myself – He is in control at ALL times. None of this comes as a surprise to Him. I can do nothing physically to help anyone – yet there is one thing I can do, and it is the most powerful, I can pray.

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

And because today proved our FALL IS OVER:

  • It never warmed up – {I did not get the shed painted, by the time it quit raining and dried out it was too cold to paint.}
  • It’s been cold {as in 8*} for lots of days, it has been too cold to snow.
  • The winds have returned. I’m eternally tired of wind. I’ve taken to running a fan at night {even though we are not hot} so I hear the wind less.
  • Fall is OVER. There isn’t hope of it warming up to be fall’ish any more. {Reality is it’s been over for a couple weeks – I’m just finally admitting it.}
  • It did warm up enough to snow this morning. The sun did not come out. The snow is here to stay. Now I just hope we gets lots more of it so it can at least be pretty out.
  • I have resorted to wearing my winter jacket.
  • I discovered this weekend my children do not have snow gear :-(.  As in, no snow pants, boots, or mittens. How did they grow out of everything?! They are fine for short errand trips, but this is not a good thing. We get stuck. It’s too cold to do much without the right gear – especially with the wind.
  • I can not get warm.

So….rewind several years & here are a few pictures of when the kids were supposed to be raking leaves. Ya, right! They were having way too much fun :-D!

Pure pleasure. I love this smile. I love this girl – greatly. I am blessed to call her ‘my’ daughter.

{I say ‘my’ because she is a Child of God, I’ve been entrusted to raise her here on earth to look to Him for everything. It is my job as her mother.}

Well — I have several other pictures ready to go. But apparently WordPress has decided to not upload them. I’m tired of fighting it, so I’m giving up. Vince was there with her and I have such sweet pictures of them as ‘babies’…..but I guess I won’t be posting them.

31 Days {Wisdom}

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Some lingering words/thoughts/ideas from my James Bible Study. This week we’re studying James 3:13-18 on wisdom.

To some degree this is what I envision the inside of my brain to look like: Tangled thoughts, ideas, visions, choices – all mixed together with mind-numbing snow {fear, indecision} and God’s light shining through. I want others to see God’s light through me and the decisions I make. The big picture is really pretty – I want to imagine God thinks the branches of my life – all the decisions and outcomes – are pretty. Of course, I have ugly sin I make the choice to keep covered by Jesus’ blood and God’s grace. I have to choose to look at the pretty and not focus on the sin. He has provided the opportunity, I just have to choose to accept it. It’s a gift already there, provided for each of us.

[13-16] Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here’s what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It’s the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts. Mean-spirited ambition isn’t wisdom. Boasting that you are wise isn’t wisdom. Twisting the truth to make yourselves sound wise isn’t wisdom. It’s the furthest thing from wisdom—it’s animal cunning, devilish conniving. Whenever you’re trying to look better than others or get the better of others, things fall apart and everyone ends up at the others’ throats.

[17-18] Real wisdom, God’s wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor. [James 3:13-18, The Message – emphasis mine]

Today I’m keeping it really simple – picture and scripture. My mind is pondering lots and I’m off to sew.

I chose to write my series about 31 Days of Life. Today is day 29 of the 31 Days series.

31 Days {Question}

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 Happy Rest-full Sunday to you! 

It is already the LAST Sunday of October – how is this possible?! Today’s post is about an important question. What is God’s will for me? 

I often wonder what God’s will is for our life. My children and mine’s life. What is His plan, what does He want me to do? I tend to get paralyzed with options and fear. I forget how incredibly simple His commands are. Here is an example:

It’s pretty simple. Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. Give thanks in all circumstances. The doesn’t mean we have to rejoice about all circumstances. We can rejoice in our gift of grace; praying keeps us communicating with our Father; and choosing to give thanks IN all situations, doesn’t have to be for all situations. So – when we find ourselves in an “impossible situation” — make sure to choose to rejoice; stay praying and communicating with your Provider, constantly; and choose to give thanks for what you do have.

Have a blessed and restful Sunday. I intend to rest – [mightily!]

Today is day 28 of the 31 Days Series. My series has been about 31 days of Life and today is about a question.