April 2, 2009

It's Thursday afternoon and this week has flown by so far.

In the wee hours of Monday, I was up most of the night really sick. It seems my liver was tired of the little abuses and retaliated against me. Just like sin, it's those little things that add up. I've been pretty 'icky' all week, so I've had to stay in and cancel my appointments.

I've been blessed to have extra time for reading and studying this week, though. The 'True North' book and study is really hitting the mark for me right now. It's always good to take a long, deep look at our lives and how we have grown from the different experiences God has brought us through. I can't wait to see what He has planned for me next! (not to mention what I learn from the rest of the book!)

My apartment is filling up with a collection of things that my fellow tenants are donating for some of the shelters. I'll take the bags two-by-two and drop them off next week. There's a shelter nearby called Clinton Family Inn that is an old hotel converted into rooms for moms and kids. It's hard to get through the red tape to volunteer there, but they will accept donations anytime. So, I'll just stop in with donations as often as possible. :)

Another study that is great is our women's Bible study. This next chapter is on Mary and Martha. I'm sure God will speak volumes to me in that one. I struggle a lot with feeling that I'm not working hard enough. For the majority of people, a job is not necessarily what their passion in life is. Since I don't go through some of the aspects of previous 'jobs' (like getting up too early by an alarm clock, driving to an office, spending all day in the office, getting off work tired, fitting in time for my love of missions, etc), I sometimes feel like I'm not really 'working'. I almost feel guilty that I enjoy what I do as a missionary. Don't get me wrong, I work on the computer from home, spend many hours 'serving' and running all around the city meeting with people, feeling exhausted a lot, etc., but I love being able to do this. I think the struggle is probably the enemy trying to steal my JOY about serving God. Anyway, I'm still looking forward for the Bible study on Mary and Martha.

Since I've been 'homebound' this week, I've taken advantage of the time to sort through some clothes and jewelry to add to the 'shelter' donations. I live pretty streamlined, but it was nice to purge a little of this stuff. It's nice to know that someone will get some use from these things.

Speaking of blessings, someone signed me up for a subscription to Body and Soul magazine. I'm loving it! Thank you to whoever did this! I'm truly blessed! And I send up prayers for my anonymous angel when I'm reading each issue.

Well, I hope everyone is getting back into the swing of things after your various spring breaks. It won't be long until school is out for summer. I hope you get to enjoy some simple, basic family time together. One of the things I like about hanging out with our small Parable family is that we're all broke and spend time just doing things together. Sitting on a park bench in the sunshine is one of my favorites!

Please keep me in your prayers this week as I travel down this crazy journey of physical health. Pray I have discipline to always eat what's right for my body even when I feel 'normal'. Thank you so much for your prayers and love! and all the JOY you bring me!