Glory

glory [glawr-ee, glohr-ee] (glawr-ee is definitely the southern version)

Something that is a source of honor, fame or admiration; a distinguished ornament or an object of pride. 

The Winter is long and the toils are great but at last Spring breaks.

The frost fades and the ground warms . The dormant beauties begin to stretch their arms, as they inhale the warm breeze and bathe in the rays of the new Sun.

Then as promised, His glory is manifest through their patience and restoration begins...

...if only for a season.

Then your light will break forth like the morning and your restoration will quickly appear...

Isaiah 58:8

EmJ

What if worms had machine guns?

What would happen if worms had machine guns? Would they be able to take over the world? Probably not...one good rain storm would wash them and their tiny machine guns away. Now if they had lifeboats and machine guns we might be in trouble! This line of thought has absolutely NO point. Nothing deep or impactful just a thought a friend shared with me a few weeks ago. A thought I actually spent some time pondering for no other reason than it was kind of funny.  This may actually confirm what some of you were already thinking, I am a tad bit crazy. Crazy is still undiagnosed but I am a firm believer that silliness and fun are what make life bearable and if you can throw in a smidgen of randomness you should be good.
Recently I have both read and heard the statement, "Life is hard, not because you are doing it wrong, but because it is just hard!" This is SOOO true, and because it is SOOO true I think it is incredibily important to make fun a priority. As an adult it is very easy to get lost in the tedious nature of the position, so making fun a priority becomes just as important as paying the electric bill. (But don't forget to pay the electric bill or you will learn how to have fun 1800's style)
Here are a few things I try to remind myself to do as often as possible:

• PLAY!! As much and as hard as you can!

• Daydream...look for beauty everywhere and remember what you 'used' to do before the responsibilities and laundry began to pile up.

• Try to find something that you want to do, enjoy doing and do it! (not because you have too, but because it makes you feel alive.)

• Act like a fool to make your family, friends or, most importantly, yourself laugh! (within reason, I am not bailing anyone out of jail)

• Remember not to take yourself to seriously. (this will cause other adults to roll their eyes and look for the nearest exit.)

Most importantly never forget, the memories we make in the good times are what carry us through the rough times.....

SO MAKE A LOT!

EmJ

I can't get no....satisfaction...

A note that I jotted down in the midst of a minor meltdown:

'I am out of sorts. I have turned my world on its ear. Although I am certain it was my idea, being here, upside down in a world that was right side up just weeks ago is strange and uncomfortable. I know change is the only constant and I am generally okay with small amounts of change. However, the problem with this change is I don't know where I am going or exactly what I am doing. And the fact that everything is so exciting and nauseatingly unfamiliar at the same time makes me want to sit in the floor and cry.'

At the ripe old age of 33 I have come to the conclusion that I don't like change. I have also found that change is ALWAYS present and NEVER comfortable. I have heard a quote several times and I am not exactly sure who said it first but here it is:

'People will resist change until the pain of not changing exceeds the pain of change.'

AMEN, if I can avoid it for just a little while longer that is what I will choose! The interesting part of this is, every time a 'change' has occurred in my life, big or small, welcome or unwelcome, I feel like a better and stronger woman on the other side.
So I could ask, "Why is change so hard?" but really that is a stupid question. (I know you have been told there are no stupid questions but that isn't true. There are a few stupid questions...so think before you ask...)

Change sucks because it requires new thought, new actions and revision to the daily routine that is so comfortable and easy. So the question is not, 'why is it so hard?' but rather, "How do we recognize the difference between satisfaction and complacency?" When do we agree to make a change because it is the right decision, NOT the EASY one, NOT the COMFORTABLE one, but the right one to move us forward. And going one step further how do we recognize that we need to seek out change because we have allowed complacency to dominate our life?

For as much change as I have experienced in my adult life one would think I would be at least ok with new paths...HAHAHA...no...not really.... I am pretty sure the drastic amount of upheaval experienced thus far has made me cling desperately to moments of consistency. Thank goodness for my wonderful husband! I am married to a man that is 'never' satisfied and is always in motion. In this area he is my 'nudger', always supportive but always 'suggesting' new ideas, remodels, reconstructions etc, etc. (His willingness to randomly teardown walls is why I have a walk-in closet and a remodeled kitchen that I love)  Complacency is not his nemesis, it is mine. Although I have accused him on more than one occasion of 'never being satisfied' (to which he responds with his biggest grin, 'I am an idea man') the truth is we balance each other out. We are constantly pushing and pulling one another to stay put and keep moving and this helps A LOT!
The trickier idea is figuring out this balance internally. How do you motivate yourself to step out on the 'proverbial' ledge on occasion, while reigning in your desires and becoming 'satisfied'.
For Example, my career. I am happy...very happy..with my current position, it challenges me to continually improve but it also allows me to be me. I don't do very well with schedules, former bosses will concur. Despite the happiness with my career the question that has plagued me recently is, "I'm happy, but am I allowing myself to be complacent?' I am at the point in my career that the good part of my reputation precedes me and therefore I get requests for interviews and resumes. But I am happy, so I say, 'No, but thank you for asking!' These positions can be bigger and better or smaller and incredibly intriguing but the response has always been, 'No, but thank you for asking'. Even when the opportunity to promote within my company locally presented itself....Nope, I am good.
HMMMM.....Am I satisfied or complacent? who knows....(wink, wink) But I do believe it is very important to recognize the difference between being happy and being unwilling to face change.

Change is good even if it is exhausting. The more we try to avoid it the bigger it becomes, like a boogey man in the closet it only grows with time. Facing change with open arms and excitement is a bit of a stretch but ignoring it only makes it more difficult.

There is a time for everything, 

and a season for every activity under the heavens:

a time to be born and a time to die, 

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

 a time to kill and a time to heal,

   a time to tear down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

 a time to keep and a time to throw away, 

a time to tear and a time to mend, 

a time to be silent and a time to speak, 

a time to love and a time to hate,

 a time for war and a time for peace.

Ecclesiatstes 3:1-8

There is a time for change don't ignore it, face it and know that no matter how difficult it appears in the moment, one day you will look back and say, "WOW, that wasn't so bad!"

EmJ

Rest

picture from flickr: vonSchnauzer

Your vision is blurry from years of taking in the images of life. Your head spins with tasks incomplete. Your heart yearns for one more year, one more month, one more day, one more moment, yet your body is weary for the tasks completed. Warmth consumes you as you finally lay down, giving in to the inevitable. Like a warm bed after a long day, soft and enrapturing, the urge to close your eyes wins and last you rest. 
Waking refreshed and completely restored in the arms of the Father.

Death is a subject that I, much like the rest of the world, do not want to contemplate. I know it is out there and I am comfortable with my place in eternity, but the idea of being separated from the ones that I love, even for a short period, makes my heart weary. For as much as I don't want to think about the one certainty this life holds, sometimes the choice is not mine. When death enters our lives we have to deal with it, when you have kids you have to try to explain it (this can be worse than dealing with it). How do you explain death? The End or the Beginning? I am a Christian, so in my eyes, it is a little of both. But as comfortable as I am with the end/beginning, my boys don't really follow my train of thought. Maybe it derailed and I haven't been notified....
I tried to explain it in the, 'ashes to ashes, dust to dust' way and I was quickly greeted with horrified looks and shouts of, "WE TURN TO DUST?!?! Like the guy in Indiana Jones!!!" "Well, No, it doesn't just happened like POOF!, it is a longer process...." horrified looks intensify....
I started to explain it like a deep sleep, but realized this could make bedtimes a nightmare. So I quickly stop and say, "well, hmmm" as I appear to be pondering a new way of explaining I am, in reality, congratulating myself for stopping while I was ahead...  Death, like this line of questioning, intimidates the hell out of me. I am not afraid of it, I just can't get my head around it and I STRUGGLE with things that I can't fathom. So what now...I can't explain it in a non-terrifying/poofy manner and my intimidation level is causing me to say hmmm...ALOT.   All the while, my children are looking at me like deer in the head lights. So I do what any good mother does..."Boys, enough talk, eat your supper...."

Picture from Flickr: MCar

This conversation, for all the damage it may have done to my children, really helped me realize it isn't the aftermath that bothers me it is the actual event. The fact that there is no way to know when, where, or why makes a control freak like me a teeny bit uncomfortable. The reality that nothing will ever change this fact is what makes me leary when I try to think or talk about it.  However, the more I allowed myself to think about it, not in a grim way, but in a way that I can grasp, the more the intimidation melted away . What if in the moment you surrender to death it feels like you are finally getting the rest you have been longing for? Think about it for just a second! No matter how exhausted we are in this life we don't want to let ourselves stop and rest. We fight through more work, more dishes, more laundry, more dust, and more things that make us feel as if we need just a little more time. But eventually the weight of the tasks accomplished cause us to stop, we then realize rest is the only thing we can now handle. At this moment your bed has never felt better, and although your mind spins with the incomplete tasks, the weariness wins and you are finally still....

Spolier....The next part is the best!

After the collapse, after the surrender and when the stillness is stirred once again.  You wake up refreshed and ready.

Now, this idea I can relate to, this idea doesn't intimidate me...it energizes me!!!

It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead,

Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, 

but they will be raised to live forever.

Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. 

They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength.

1 Corinthians 15-42-44

Picture from flickr: Djensen

But then it occurred to me...We don't have to be speaking about a physical death and the same rules apply!!

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 

Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me,

For I am gentle and lowly in heart,

you will find rest for your souls,

For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.

Matthew 11:28-29

Now that is comforting.

EmJ