A Peaceful Week…

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To be honest, this week has been a good one! We’ve been busy working on both the inside and outside of the house in preparation for JoJo’s open house in the next few weeks. With the addition of the Pumpkin Patch, the garden is now complete! All that’s left is making sure it’s watered and watching everything grow! We’ve got about 6 apples coming on and several tomato blossoms. Many of the other plants are just little sprouts that continue to grow bigger each day! And I can’t forget about the corn, it looks to be about knee-high by Independence Day (who’s knee will vary)!

One thing I changed this week is how I approach my day.

I’m very list driven, so I’d usually start each day with a long list of work and chores that needed to be done. I’d chip away at it, but never feel like I got enough done. Finally, I had enough of that and decided to write down every work thing I got done in a day. Nothing in immense detail just a few words summarizing what projects I worked on or what I accomplished. If I had a couple of things written on each day and wasn’t super behind in chores, the day was a success!

I’ve found that I have a little more peace approaching work this way. My to-do list may still be a mile long but I’m able to see just how much progress I’m making each day and each week. I’m definitely not where I want to be, but I can know for certain that I’m not where I was!

If I take a look around the world as a whole it overwhelms me. There’s such anger, hatred, and evil. It frightens me and makes me sad for a number of reasons.

So, this week I took a bit of a break. Staying off social media a little more and picking up a book instead.

About a week ago we visited a local Christian Book Store and I bought “Hadassah, Queen of Persia”. Though the book isn’t 100% factual, I LOVED it. Using the Bible along with other historical sources the author crafts a story about what could have happened to the Esther we read about in the Bible.

I love the way that culture is portrayed. Reading the Old Testament I was always fascinated by the way that God would make a distinction between His people and the people of the world. This book does a good job of showing what those differences may have looked like. I also LOVE the way Esther’s faith is shown. While we don’t know more than what’s written in the Bible, the author decided to craft a deep faith, trust, and prayer life into Esther.

I’m thankful for the time to sit back and enjoy life a little more. To read books, soak up the sunshine, and dip my feet in the dog’s wading pool. I’m always noticing the peace and quiet in old T.V. shows. Everything seems to be slower and quieter. I’m realizing though that peace and quiet is a choice. Something that we allow or make happen in our lives. It’s where we place our focus. Will we dwell on all that is wrong with our world or will we place our cares in the hands of our Father?

It’s a matter of trust. Will we take Him at His word? Will we hold on to our worries fearing that He won’t understand us or trust that His Spirit “intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words” (Romans 8:26)?

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”
~1 Peter 5:6-7

Until next time,
Bailey Sue