Picture in your mind a cube made of transparent glass or plastic. Its six sides are exactly the same size. Its design makes it well-balanced, not easily tipped over. Now think of your life as a cube. If each side of your cube is one of the top six priorities in your life, what would your six sides be? If you are a Jesus follower, you might instinctively blurt out "God is one side!" But God is not and cannot be one side of your life, He is your whole life. So think of God as a light that shines from within that transparent cube. Whichever side of that cube you are looking at, His light shines through it.
This concept of building a cubic life, a well-balanced life, is something the women in our church focused on for two months. Some of the concepts mentioned above did not become clear right away. Our relationship with God being within the cube and shining through each side of it was an epiphany that came through one of the women in our church as we had a group discussion. As we all worked on discerning the top six priorities in our life, the six things we spend most of our time, effort and resources on, some of us were able to grab onto what those six sides were right away. Some took more time. Some struggled to narrow it down to six things. The main thing is that it got all of us to prayerfully ponder if our our time/our life, was being spent on what really matters and if it was well balanced. If you know me personally or through my blog or other social media, perhaps you are curious what the six sides of my cubic life are. They are "me" (my spiritual, emotional, physical and relational health), my husband/our marriage, our family (three daughters, three sons-in-law and eight grandchildren), our church/ministry life, our home, our extended family. There are all sorts of ways your cube might look different than mine. For me, my job is our church and ministry. If I was still working at a secular job as well as my ministry job I would probably have put my family and extended family combined on one side of the cube and my job on one side. As life changes, some of the six sides of a person's cube may never change while others may. Also, living a well balanced life does not mean spending equal amounts of time on each of the six things. For example, the time spent on my family is way less than when our daughters were little ones living at home. But in my heart, in my prayer life and in my efforts to stay connected to them, they are definitely still a "top six" priority in my life. Also, everyone needs to have a "me" side in their cube. In our self-love focused culture that "me" side can become over emphasized and unbalanced. But, on the other hand if we neglect our spiritual, emotional physical and relational health how are we going to function well in the other facets of our life?
What does this have to do with me trying to play catch up on my gratitude journal posts for this year? Gratitude journaling is a daily practice that has been hugely beneficial to the "me" side of my cubic life. It has helped me immensely by causing me to see that even on the hard days, if I have eyes to see it, there is always something to be thankful for. God's blessings are all around us at all times. While I've continued to keep my daily gratitude journal I've neglected to be faithful to post it here. And I want to return to the practice of publicly declaring God's goodness in my life. As I was processing the concept of living a well balanced life with the women of our church I realized that were some other parts of the "me" side of my life that I had been neglecting. For example, I was feeling physically stuck with a few extra pounds, so I started tracking what I was eating and added an extra mile to my walking goal. I'm feeling so much better with just those two changes! Also, one thing that I've always found to be life-giving was creativity. In my efforts to focus more on the ministry side of my life I had laid aside almost all of my creative activities, like photography, writing, and art. At one point I was over focused on these things. What I need is godly balance. I think I'm ready to dust off my "big camera" and dabble in some photography again. I've gotten lazy because of the convenience of my iPhone camera. I ordered some watercoloring workbooks and I'm looking forward to playing with paints once again. And I want to write more than I have been.
With that said, I want to catch you up on what's been happening in my life by sharing my gratitude journal. Let me set the scene...
In the summer of 2023, our oldest daughter and her family moved to Northern California. Our son-in-law is a pastor and they accepted the pastoral position of a church there. For the first time since she was born, we were now living with none of our children or grandchildren nearby. (If you recall, our middle daughter and her family moved to South Carolina in 2021 and our youngest daughter moved to Florida in 2022.) I was, once again, feeling quite bereft. It felt like my heart would begin to recover and then another loss would come. And, to be gut level honest, it felt like the light and joy of old age, (our grandchildren), were taken away. I would surrender it all to the Lord and place my trust in His plan for us and peace would come. But then would come a birthday or a holiday with no loved ones around and the loneliness felt overwhelming. Then 2024 arrived and life continued on. In February my husband celebrated his sixty seventh birthday and six months later I celebrated mine. But instead of retiring and life slowing down for us, our church is doing better that ever and we are busier in ministry than ever. So here we are and this year is winding down. We are less than a week away from a presidential election, less than a month away from Thanksgiving and only fifty five days until Christmas! But come with me as I journey back to springtime....March of 2024. Let's revisit the faithfulness of God together.
***************
Since 2009 I've been counting my blessings thanks to the prompting of Ann Voskamp.
I continue to count my thanks,
piling up gratitude day by day in my journal.
(and capturing some of my blessings via my camera or iPhone)
#17,980-18,087
MARCH 2024
3/1/2024-
(I was on a last minute trip to Florida due to our youngest daughter breaking her ankle.)
-a yellow polka dot dress for our granddaughter and a yellow striped shirt for our grandson
-our daughter's in-laws bringing us dinner
(She is blessed with loving, caring, kind, helpful in-laws!)
-Florida birdsong
(which is very different than the birdsong in southwest Washington where we life)
3/2/2024-
-news from home that an important meeting went well
-an answer to prayer for my friend's son
-organizing my daughters cupboards and pantry
(I love organizing!)
3/3/2024-
-going to my daughter's church with the grandkids
(her husband stayed home with her)
-delicious pasta from the in-laws
-a gift in the mail from my husband
-Wendy's frosties with the grandkids
3-4-2024-
-the first full night's sleep since arriving here
-a much needed appointment for my daughter opening up with the orthopedic surgeon
-making homemade cinnamon rolls
(a grandkid favorite)
-a nice walk outside
3-5-2024-
-the in-law's help with transporting the kids back and forth to school
-a walk and a good catch up phone call with a friend back home
-tickets to go home
(I couldn't have gone back to my duties at home if my daughter's in-laws didn't open their home so that the my daughter and her family could live with them until she was able to maneuver around on her own. Due to the severity of the break and the fact that her ankle is now held together with permanent metal plates and screws this was quite a long process! Like I said, she has wonderful in-laws and I'm so thankful for their care for my girl.)
3-6-2024-
-a day with my youngest granddaughter who had to stay home from preschool
-a large blue heron flying right by us as we sat outside on the deck together
-a phone chat with my So. Cal friend
3-7-2024-
-last night's bedtime chat with my grandson about salvation and baptism
-lots of prayer support from our family and church family after finding our that our daughter's ankle break is the worst kind
-this time with my girl, my grandson and my granddaughter
3-8-2024-
-my daughter's MIL and me deep cleaning her house for her since it will be a long time before she'll be able to do so
-a promised visit to the park and to Dreamette for ice cream with the grandkids
-my daughter's MIL making dinner for us
3-9-2024-
-sleeping in a wee bit
-cute and inexpensive outfits for the grands
-a good stock of chocolate chip cookies and banana bread in the freezer for when I leave
-my daughter's FIL taking me to the airport
-and coming back to get me when my flight got cancelled
-playing Jenga with the grandkids
3-10-2024-
-my rebooked flight cancelled and rescheduled for this evening
-"zooming" into church at home
-a mallard duck couple flying parallel to the car window as we drove to the airport once again
-making my connection by the skin of my teeth due to the gate agent flagging down a cart to take me to the gate just in time
3-11-2024-
-a hot bubble bath
-a sweet morning home with my guy
-fish tacos for diner
-early to bed
3-12-2024-
-our daughter's surgery went well
-tea and good heart conversation with friends
-a beautiful gathering with all of the women from our church
(my SoCal friend spoke)
3-13-2024
-the growth group on-line chats buzzing with what God did last night
-a beautiful bouquet of tulips left from last night's meeting
-a fun afternoon antiquing with my friend
3-14-2024-
-early morning prayer group
-the trees in bloom on my way today
-God's care and provision for us
-early dinner at a local food cart and a little drive out into the country
3-15-2024
-a day trip to the beach
-such a beautiful clear day that we could see Mt. Hood, Mt.St. Helens and Mt. Rainier
-clam chowder
-a wonderful walk on the beach and I found two pieces of sea glass!
-a beautiful hawk perched on the telephone line
3-16-2024-
-freshly mowed grass
-a walk around our neighborhood park
-dinner with a young mama from our church
3-17-2024-
-another stunningly beautiful day
-DNW's message
-a FaceTime chat with our oldest daughter and two middle grand girlies
3-18-2024-
-new crown on tooth all done
-this beautiful day
-a long FaceTime chat with my oldest granddaughter
3-19-2024-
-the first day of spring
-early morning birdsong and evening frog chorus
-an evening walk-the sun began to set just as I was almost home
3-20-2024-
-God's help with difficult situation
-relistening to my friend's message to the women of our church while I make dinner
-good food, planning and prayer with my Visionary Leadership Team
3-21-2024-
-a date with my guy before our NorCal grand girlies come to spend spring break with us
-a Goodwill basket
-time for a walk before heading to the airport
-YaY! They're here!
3-22-2024-
-the weather report said rain but God gave us beautiful weather for a day trip to the beach with our granddaughters
-a balk eagle perched on top of a tree
-a yard full of elk!
3-23-2024-
-a bit of quiet time with the Lord while the girls sleep in
-thrifting with my granddaughters
-the tulips we planted last fall are starting to bloom
3-24-2024-
-taking with a hurting one who wandered into our church
-photos of our South Carolina grandsons in their church's Palm Sunday procession
-DNW's message today
-making hot cross buns with our granddaughters
-our granddaughter hanging out with the youth from out church
3-25-2024-
-singing in the car with our granddaughters
-Papa taking the girls and our great nephew to the arcade while I went to growth group
-God's grace in my weakness
3-26-2024-
-our oldest daughter-today is her birthday!
-apology given and grace and mercy received
-our grandgirlies safely back home
-a good heart talk with my oldest grandson on FaceTime
3-27-2024-
-thank You, God for Your mercy and Your grace and Your continual work in me
-getting some spring cleaning done
-driving the back roads together
3-28-2024-
-early morning prayer with our growth group
-youngest grandson wanting to FaceTime with me
-my guy helping me bag my groceries at Winco
3-29-2024-
-Friday date day with my one and only
-a lovely walk around Lake Sacajawea
-my husband stopping at antique stores on the way home just for me ❤️
3-30-2024-
-this beautiful spring day
-good podcasts to listen to while I clean and go on my walk
-baking for tomorrow's church breakfast
3-31-2024-
-Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!
-new faces at church hearing the gospel
-a fun evening sitting around the fire pit at my nephews visiting with them and another couple from church
still following,
-
