Cares:
God is teaching me two things: time is not my own and I can’t do diddly squat without Him. It’s HIS time and HIS strength. Not mine.
Has anybody heard of Austin Gutwein? He’s this amazing young man who started a foundation called Hoops for Hope four years ago when he was eleven. Since then, he’s raised over a million dollars and has built a medical clinic in Zambia. Every year I tell my 5th graders about Austin and encourage my kiddos to get out there and make a difference. Thomas Nelson is coming out with a book about Austin’s story called Take Your Best Shot. I can’t wait to get my hands on it.
Want to learn more about my black lab, Bubba? I did an interview at Coffee with Canines.
Concerns:
Overwhelmed by my new routine. So much less time and energy. Sort of in a rut. Exhausted. All that jazz….
I have the best intentions every morning. I spend my quiet time with God. I’m filled with peace and joy and patience. I am bound and determined to be a blessing to my hubby and uplift and encourage my friends and coworkers. But then I close my Bible, I set down my pen, I start my day and all my good intentions go out the window. I’m short with my husband. I’m selfish with my time. I’m negative at work…. Dwight Swains said, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” How true is that?
Ever experience credit card fraud? I did this week. My credit card got denied at a gas station. I called to find out what was up. Found out they suspended the account because of suspicious activity. Somebody racked up big-time bucks making insane charges through UPS. Thankfully, this particular credit card company covers 100% of fraud.
Celebrations:
I have this spunky little girl in my class who loves writing.
Brogan’s laugh is instant happiness. No matter how rotten a mood I’m in, his laugh makes my soul smile. I wish I could bottle it and take it with me.
Brogan’s not waking up at 4 AM anymore. He’s sleeping until 6:30. That’s a HUGE celebration! And his nose is no longer a faucet.
It’s Friday!
Question to Ponder: What are your cares, concerns, and celebrations on this quiet Friday morning?
Man, I'm totally late here. Things got crazy at the end of last week.
So great to read that Brogan's feeling better and sleeping longer. And I love your desire to bottle his laugh.
Tara – so sorry to hear about the four-wheeler accident. My prayers go out to him and his family! I hope your spoiled character situation gets worked out.
Krista – so funny about agent/editor appts. I loved your tweet. You had them picked out and you didn't even know it!
Jessica – I am completely the same. I get very grumpy/irritable when I'm hungry or tired. I think it's just adjusting to a new schedule. Hopefully in a couple weeks, I'll feel better about things. 🙂
T. Anne – I hope the cleaning went well, and I hope the praise music rocked!!
Shelli – I totally understand! I can't believe in a little over two months my little guy will be one already!!
Tabitha – hopefully you figure out what to do, so when Brogan reaches that point, I can come to you for advice! And yay for the encouragement. We all need it and you deserved it. Your tribute to your husband was so beautiful.
Kristen! God is really working, isn't He? That's crazy about getting stranded and ending up in India! I can't wait to go read your blog post today. 🙂
Hey, Katie! How are you?
I'm so glad you were able to figure out what happened with your credit card! That's always a scary feeling! (Unfortunately, I know from experience).
My 3 c's are all intertwined this week: I ended up getting stranded in India on Tuesday. It's a really long story, but I never made it to Cambodia. Thankfully, I had someone to call and a place to stay. Now I am in a little village in India working with my babies at the orphanage and in a leper colony. It's been great to see people I know. This could have turned out horribly, but I saw God's hand in it every step of way. He really covered and protected me! For the time that I have left here, I want to be "all here", completely focused on those I am with in India. It's hard, because my mind was turned towards Cambodia. But I know I'm here for a reason.
Anywho… it's definitely been a week of international adventures. I hope the craziness of school starting calms down a bit for you…
Oh I am so glad about Brogan's sleeping. That must make a huge difference. How timely with you going back to work.
My concern- my six year old throwing sulky fits! Ahhh! What to do???
My Celebration- all the amazing encouragement I got on my writing in the comments on Friday's post. Very nice, especially when I still doubt my ability at times… okay all the time.
my care – y little girl is growing up too fast. started K this week.
I enjoyed reading your three C's! Yay that Brogan sleeps in and his nose is not a faucet!
my three C's
Cares: I need to do some major deep cleaning this weekend around the house (probably spiritually too 😉
Concern; I need to step up my writing game but mostly I wonder if this is God's will for me.
Celebrations; I get to focus firmly on the Lord this weekend and I'm going to play praise music while I clean the house!
Oh girl, I'm so glad they caught the credit card thing! That's a blessing, for sure.
And yay for Brogan! Don't worry about your intentions and lack thereof. I'd bet you're actually just noticing things more because you're aware. Which actually means God is helping you, right? I know what makes me get irritable and mean. Fear, hunger, and being tired. Blech. So whenever you feel like you're losing it, maybe it's one of those? Or not… LOL! Here I am, sermonizing at eight o'clock at night cause my kiddos are asleep. That's my celebration. LOL!
Thanks for updating us! I hope you have tons of fun with your class. 😉
Cares: My daughter is sitting beside me throwing a fit. Hmmmm. 🙂 (Mommy is ignoring her so she knows that she can't just throw a fit and get attention, la!)
Concerns: I gotta finalize my agent/editor appt's this weekend for acfw and I have NO IDEA WHICH ONES TO PICK.
Celebrations: I'm with Tara. IT'S FRIDAY!!!!!!
Cares–my crit group thinks my MC is spoiled. Sad times.
Concerns–a friend's 15-year-old son was in an accident on a four-wheeler and broke his neck.
Celebrations–It's Friday!
Hey Wendy – sorry about the xray getting you in a funk. I'll keep that in my prayers. Happy family time with your weekend and I hope you find some time to write in there as well! Good to have your pop back in too! I missed ya, girl!
Jeannie – girl, you've got to be exhausted from all your job interviews! What a crazy/cool God story about the teaching job, BTW. Have fun with your bro!
Jill – hope you had fun swimming! I can completely relate with those midAugust blues! HEre's to hoping they go away soon!!
Hey Beth! That's a rough adjustment. Going from four hands to two is never easy! I hope your hubby has a great class and a wonderful year this year. I'm glad to hear I'm not alone in the good intentions department.
Happy Bday Jen! Prayers for your son. And I have to agree about the baby laugh. It's the best.
Jody – you have no idea how much I appreciate your prayers and encouragement. They lift me up big time. 🙂
Carrie – I know, right? 6:30 is sleeping in? But it totally is. I actually like getting up at five, and it's nice to have the hour and a half w/o the Brog-man. I hope you hear something good about the job!
Ralene – I'm so sorry to hear about your dad and your grandmother. Do they know what exactly is wrong with his heart? Prayers to you and your family!!
Marybeth – hope the meds work out well for your little man! Have a fantabulous weekend doing nothing and yay for pay day!
We did have credit card fraud once and I completely agree I need God to function, to breathe.
Cares: Focus on having a meaningful weekend with family. Hoping to get WIP completed by Sept. 1
Concerns: Just received bad X-ray follow up for my dad. Sort of has me in a funk.
Celebrations: I am here. My husband and I had a great time at a wedding last weekend.
Good to pop on here again!
~ Wendy
cares – JOB; waiting to hear back about TCW article!
concerns – JOB; interview wednesday
celebrations – brother coming to visit this weekend! yay!
I've got the mid-August blues. I want my revisions to be finished because I felt they should have been done a month ago. I'm tired, cranky, and hard to be around.
But…I'm "this" close to finishing the final edits on my book, and I'm going to swim and throw the cares away this afternoon.
Good luck! Have a great weekend!
The article about your dog is so cute…love his name 🙂 And know that you are not alone with the "good intentions" thing. We've all been there (or are there presently…hehe). Hooray for your son sleeping till 6:30! Hopefully that extra two hours of sleep will make a difference for you!
My cares and concerns are mostly that my husband is back to work now (he's a teacher, too!) and I'm alone with my kiddos again 🙂 It's nice having his help during the summer, but then it's SO HARD to get used to doing it without him again!
Katie: I relate to the good intentions train. I eagerly climb aboard every morning when I'm alone with the Lord, then somewhere down the track i get derailed. Oh me! I'm glad i'm not the only one, though. Thanks for your honesty.
My concern is that my son gets a job.
I am celebrating 54 years of life on this earth, and eternity with Jesus forever. He is so remarkable.
Happy Weekend listening to Brogan laugh! A baby's laugh is my favorite sound.
Katie, I've thought of you numerous times this week! You are in such a tough situation. I'll keep praying that God can provide a way for you to be able to stay home with Brogan and to write more. He's obviously put that desire in your heart. He'll give you the strength you need to make it until he's able to fulfill the desires of your heart.
I'm sure it will take a week or two to adjust to the heavy new work load. It always does for me once we start back to school in the fall. In the mean time, remember how much you accomplished over the summer and let that carry you through!
I never thought I would be so grateful to be able to sleep until 6:30am until I had my daughter!
Big deal for me today: getting a job application out the door.
Cares: Even though my girls aren't school age yet, with the new "School year" we're getting into a new schedule that includes learning time for them. Alana is already running around finding circles and A's around the house. lol… New schedules though…ack! I feel ya, Katie.
Concerns: How to get myself in gear to finish DS before the ACFW confernce.
My grandmother and now my dad are having health issues. My grandmother has been in the hospital for over a week now. My dad found out that he has something wrong with his heart. 🙁
Celebrations: I'm not sick today and it's Friday! yay! lol… And of course, that God has blessed me with another day with my family!
Ok number one…why do I seem to be the first commenter on all the blogs…something seems strange here 🙁 Blogger???
Care – I have a busy day ahead of me and I hope I can get everything done with a smile…easier said than done I tell ya
Concern – The kids are starting school in a few weeks and my son was just put on new medication. I'm hoping that it works and we have WAY less problems with him this year than last. I don't understand how such a sweet little guy can cause so much chaos.
Celebration – It's Friday… It's Pay Day…and we have NO plans this weekend. Super celebrating this!
Hope you have a great weekend!!!!