this morning i got up at 6:20 and turned on the lamp in the den, walked up the stairs, turned on one lamp in the living room, and turned the thermostat up so the heat would kick in. i thumped back down the stairs, and crawled back into bed for fifteen more minutes.
at 6:45, i got up for good, pulled on wool socks and a sweatshirt, and went to say good morning to isaac. as he headed for the shower, i headed to the kitchen to start the oven and cook up some hashbrown squares topped with cheese and ham for the kiddos for breakfast. i poked my head into maddie's room (even though last night she said i didn't need to check on her in the mornings . . . i just didn't want her to be late . . . ).
i watched this sweet little short, just because, and then answered a few comments on my instagram and facebook posts from yesterday.
isaac came up and ate his breakfast while i made a sandwich for him to put in his lunch bag. as the kids finished getting ready, maddie asked if she could drive her and isaac to school - i checked the weather, it looked like it should be fine weather for a walk to the library mid-morning, so i let her take the car.
after they headed out, i got myself ready for the day. then i made my bed, then isaac's bed, then looked at maddie's bed - but it is covered in blankets and clothes and random things . . . so i just picked up some things i could see needed to be washed, left the bed, and took my pile to the laundry room.
at this point, it was raining/sleeting/snowing - so much heavy wet - and i realized that walking to the library was not what i wanted to do. so i sat down at my desk and made some notes for the work i need to do. then i answered some text messages before i began to sort out a few items on my desk.
i went though a notebook and an old Bible study book and took the few things i wanted to save and glued them into my journal right then. i added a few bits of washi tape, because washi tape makes me happy. i threw the excess and edges away. then i pulled out another Bible study book that i had been working through last spring. i had missed filling in a few days of the work one week and three days of the last week of study, so i decided that i would work on finishing the book.
i love having prompts for digging into the Word, and catalysts for thought processes and connections. the first section i chose to work on today speaks directly to my situation, my moments, my right-now. and this does not surprise me. God is good like that. His Word is living and active and does not return void. it is milk and honey and bread and meat. ever and always, He sustains and gives good gifts. His timing is perfect. i worked a good way into the lesson i picked up, wrote notes in the margins, read the scriptures, let God speak to my heart, conversed with Him, filled my mind with thoughts to mull over and be encouraged by as i continue this day and the work of this day.
at noon, maddie called to say she and some friends were on the way to our house for lunch. i stepped out to the kitchen to tidy up a bit and made buttered toast while maddie warmed up soup. as the three kids ate, i did the dishes and wiped down counter and stovetop. each kiddo put their dishes into the dishwasher as they finished, so we have a clean kitchen to make supper in this evening. everybody ate a few oatmeal raisin cookies (so glad i baked them last night!), then i grabbed what i needed, drove them back to school, and headed to the library.
the afternoon will be filled with writing. and hopefully, the writing i do this afternoon will bear fruit that will nourish me, my family, and many, many others.
two benedictions for the afternoon:
the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you;
the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.
Numbers 6:24-26
and
go gently, love fiercely, and be wonderful.
with love, e