1. You can tell I'm stressed out when my room is spotlessly clean. I think it makes me feel like I've got my life all together... I laid awake in the dark last night with my head swimming with all the work and responsibilities I have willingly taken on this semester and I am already overwhelmed. The real problem here is that my calendar is full, I'm overwhelmed, and I haven't even started my classes yet. With all the snow days and delayed openings of school, I have missed an entire week of class... good thing Monday is yet another holiday! I'm trying to do as much frontloading as possible to get a jump on the semester but when it boils down to it, I have filled my life with great and wonderful commitments but am terrified that I am going to run myself ragged trying to accomplish them. My current feelings on this? I need a hero. Or a team of personal encouragers. And I'm never going to have time to have a life. The heart of it is, however, that I always have to remember that there is more time in the day than I think there is going to be. Leave it in the Lord's hands... He will provide daily breath. How am I handling my stress today? By putting my calendaring, emailing, and phone calls aside for an hour and sitting on the couch writing letters. mmm, so sweet.
2. The Lord has placed these two concepts out of James 1 on my heart this week:
"My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." and... "Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." Now, I've never been one to get angry or yell at people or anything of the type... really. But I think in being stressed out, I need to remember to actively choose to live on the Word. I have to listen. Speak slowly. Keep a tight reign on my tongue. I have a good friend who would be quick to tell you that when I get tired, I get easily frustrated. Lucky him, I have somehow selected him as the person who always gets to hear about it. I tend to release my frustrations by laughing when I shouldn't... saying things I shouldn't. There are a few key people that I say things about that I shouldn't, no matter how amusing. But don't we all do that? Doesn't make it right. Time to reassess my heart. The thought of not being polluted by the world is one that the Lord has laid heavily on my heart for years and I'm continuing to pray through how exactly to do that. My precious roommate Anna and I have a new tv rule-- if nothing good is on, turn it off. I think that's going to help.
3. I need a haircut. Once I get that idea in my head I am not but annoyed until I get one. My sweet friend Sarah has recommended me to the lady who cuts her hair out of her house. I miss getting my hair cut at home... our precious friend Wanda used to cut my hair in her basement studio. Unfortunately her eye sight isn't what it used to be...
4. I'm a chronic blog stalker. That is what I do with my free time... and the time that I should be being productive. My favorite things to stalk are photography blogs, interior design blogs, and blogs of all you people out there who make cute things. And mommy blogs. That makes me weird, doesn't it? I think so.
5. The Lord is at work this semester in my life. I cannot wait to see what things He creates through women's ministry and through youth ministry. I am fired up and excited, can you tell? :)
I love this photo from the Do Something Now booth at Passion-- the colors as well as the loving notes written from the heart and posted for everyone to see. My roommates have been helping me with a great project for BCM Image Night and it kind of reminds me of this... more to come on that one later! I wouldn't want to give anything away...
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