T.I.M.E.--In the Garden

• Who can find a virtuous woman? her price is far above rubies
• She considereth a field...with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard

I've been in a bit of funk lately--trying to get settled in to life back at home in my rural small town. My house is a mess--housekeeping is not my forte' to start with, and with all of the extra stuff we acquired while living in other places just dumped back into our small space--I'm overwhelmed and at somewhat of a loss as to what to do with all of it.

I'm having deja-vu, and not in a good way, of what life was like when my husband and son were both gone and I was home alone for weeks and months at a time. I remember thinking then that I may as well get used to it, this was going to be my life from then on. I felt like I was in a rut of going to work and coming home, going to church and coming home, same old routine day after day, week after week, month after month. I didn't think anything would ever change, and I couldn't see any signs of growth or change in myself.

It was depressing, to say the least.

But little did I know, that by the next year, I would quit my job, and travel halfway across a continent (from Louisiana to Alaska) and back again. I ended up spending time in Alaska, Colorado, and Georgia before coming back home to stay, four years later.

And while I'm always glad to be at home among my own things and close to family, I do start to feel somewhat of a let down, just ever-do-slightly. Well, not-so-slightly. I've learned from my years "on the road" that it's not nearly as exciting as it seems, but being the one left behind to hold down the home front isn't a walk in the park, either.

Last week seemed especially bad--unless I think about the week before. But little by little, I'm finding myself starting to enjoy my time "home alone".

Getting my routine going.

Making a schedule to clean and sort, little by little, so that I don't get overwhelmed.

Getting back involved in my home church.

Spending time with extended family.

Finding who I am again as I inhabit a new/old life.

Last time, change came suddenly--like hurricane(!)--this time, more slowly, like watching my garden grow.

These are the squash plants as I watered them last week...

...and this is what they looked like this morning.


Carrots then...

...and now.

My bibb lettuce last week...

...and this week.

Swiss chard before...

...and after.

When I water or even just sit outside or look out the window every day, I don't always notice the changes...

...but they add up, little by little.

My meditation today is on a verse in II Corinthians, 3:18, that states that "We all, with unveiled faces, are reflecting the glory of the Lord, and are being transformed into the same image, from glory to glory..."

My intercession is that the Lord would continue to change me--from glory to glory, little by little or by leaps and bounds--into His image.

And my expectation--to see the fruit of those changes.

Until next time...

This post is linked to:

Tuesday Garden Party at An Oregon Cottage

Outdoor Wednesday at A Southern Daydreamer

Works for Me Wednesday at We Are THAT Family

T.I.M.E.--Life in the Valley

• Who can find a virtuous woman? her price is far above rubies
• She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness
• She openeth her mouth with wisdom, and in her tongue is the law of kindness.

I am in desperate need of some T.I.M.E. with God.

I've had a roller coaster of a summer, and I've been really struggling with disappointed expectations--both my own as well as those of others. I feel like I've gone from strengths backward to weakness--physically, spiritually, and emotionally.

Right now, I'm in the valley. Can you tell?

• I can't seem to order my days rightly.
• I'm disorganized and messy and distracted and pre-occupied.
• I have grand plans but little follow-through.
• I've been upset with circumstances beyond my control.
• I seem to always be taking two steps forward and three steps back--not just in one area but in many.
• I'm disappointed with myself--with choices I've made--some of them in times past, some of them more recent.

I was just thinking, though, of words from an old song that goes "in the valley, He restoreth my soul".

And then I think of the part of the part of Psalm 23, where it says "He preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemy".

Right now I am my own worst enemy, no question. But I am thankful that He brings me to places of quiet and stillness, and that He does bring restoration to my soul.

Until next time...

It's T.I.M.E., #3

It's been a while since I did a T.I.M.E. post! I meant for this to be a regular feature, but life got in the way!

It's hard to believe that I've been back in Georgia for 4 weeks now--and I'm amazed at what I've done and not done. I was talking to my husband this weekend about how our perception of time changes when we know it's limited. I know I won't be here much past the end of the summer, if that long. I'll be headed back to Louisiana to take our son back to start a new semester at college, and because we know our time here is almost finished, I'll be hauling all of my personal and some of our household goods with me, and I'm not sure if I'll be back or not before my husband moves on, but even I do, it will be for a short time only.

And knowing that I'll be leaving and having to pack up and move everything home keeps me from doing some of my regular routine--like thrifting. I've been only twice, and even then I look at everything, thinking "Will I want to pack that up and haul it home, and will I have place to put it when I get there?" Same thing with my bargain shopping--I don't want to stockpile more than we can use in the six weeks or so, so I'm not really buying much ahead.

What does all of this have to do with T.I.M.E.?

I don't like not knowing how much longer I'm going to be here, or whether I'll be back. I don't like not knowing where my husband's next posting will be, and whether I'll be able to go with him, or whether I'll be home alone. Again.

In theory I like the adventure of it all--the spontaneity. But in actuality, I like steadiness. I like knowing what time my husband will be home every night. Or if he will. I like knowing in advance when he has to work through the weekend. When I'm going to be traveling, I watch the weather forecast for days in advance, so I know what to expect.

But I found something cool in my Bible in 90 Days reading this morning. I'm reading the Holman Christian Standard Bible, and I really liked what the Lord told Jacob after he'd been sent away from home.

• "Look, I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go. I will bring you back to this land, for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised to do." Genesis 28:15

And yes, I know that the Lord is with me wherever I go, and that He watches over me, no matter what I'm doing. But it doesn't hurt to be reminded of it every now and then.

My Intercession this week--for the Gulf--especially my home state of Louisiana. For the Lord's guidance as we go through another upcoming time of upheaval, moving, and uncertainty. For peace in the middle of it all.

My Meditation--on the words of the Lord

My Expectation--that He has it all under control and that I can trust Him to work it all out.

Until next time...

It's T.I.M.E., #2

• Who can find a virtuous woman? her price is far above rubies
• She looketh well to the ways of her household
• She openeth her mouth with wisdom, and in her tongue is the law of kindness

This week's T.I.M.E. post has been a while coming. The Lord has had me on a journey of discovery--mostly self-discovery.

It all started last Monday--last week's Making Your Home Sing post over at Mom's the Word was about being managers of our homes--treating it as though it were a job (which it is) and as though it were an important priority for us (which it should be). I encourage you to click over and read it in Nan's own words. I've been meditating about it all week--about the implications of being a manager, setting priorities, etc, in several areas, not the least of which is the running of my household.

I spent some time praying for the grandson of a family friend, a young man undergoing surgery to remove a tumor from his brain. He came through the surgery with flying colors, but it certainly made me pause and say a prayer of thankfulness for the health of my own family, and to think about how fragile is this thing called life.

Then I got my hands on a couple of thought provoking books.

The first one was The Present : The Secret to Enjoying Your Work And Life, Now! by Spencer Johnson. The format of this book is deceptively simple; in story format it teaches principles to help us live fully engaged in the present, instead of in the past or future. The past is something to learn from, the future is something to imagine and to plan for, but the present is the place for us to live.

The second book was The Christian Atheist: Believing in God but Living As If He Doesn't Exist by Craig Groeschel. This is one of those books that did not allow me to self-righteously look at the lives of other people that "talk the talk" but don't "walk the walk", it encouraged me to take a long, clear look at the woman in the mirror, something I'm sure we could all use more of.

Both of these books are worth a post of their own, so I don't want to go into too much detail right now, but they engaged my brain and my thoughts enough that I actually took out pen and paper and took notes, something I haven't done in a very long time.

So I've been meditating--"thinking on these things" as Philippians 4:8 encourages us to do--and I'm expecting some changes to take place, as I'm "transformed by the renewing of your (my) mind", Romans 12:2.

What have you done to renew your mind this week?

Until next time...

(Disclosure: If you click on the links above and purchase either of these books, I will receive a few cents commission)

It's T.I.M.E.

• Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies
• She openeth her mouth with wisdom, and in her tongue is the law of kindness

A number of years ago (more years ago than I care to remember!) I was a brand new President of the Women's Ministry at the church we attended. It was during one of the few times in my adult life (until recently) that I wasn't working full-time in addition to caring for home and family, and there were several of us ladies who were blessed enough to be stay-at-home wives and mothers. We decided to hold a prayer meeting one morning a week, and after much discussion decided Tuesday would be the perfect day.

It seemed like providential confirmation when we discovered that the national Women's Ministry Department of our fellowship had established Tuesday as a weekly day of prayer, and had some prayer guides printed in the form of bookmarks with the title "T.I.M.E"--

• Tuesday
• Intercession
• Meditation
• Expectation

With this confirmation, we were ready to begin!

Several of us gathered that first Tuesday morning, a little unsure about how we wanted to proceed. Rather than do a "circle of prayer" type meeting, with one or more taking turns leading in prayer while everyone else prayed silently, we decided to make more of a "prayer closet" atmosphere, with dimmed lights, and freedom to pray as each felt lead to do or were comfortable doing.

So we shared a few prayer requests, and then each of us went to our separate corners, so to speak. Some of us knelt at the alter, some at a pew; some sat, some paced; some prayed quietly, some loudly, some silently. We agreed from the start that we would each pray as long as we felt led to pray, and then we would be free to stay and wait for the others or to slip out and be about the business of our day.

To be honest, when we started I was lucky to be able to last for twenty minutes. In twenty minutes I had "prayed around the world", a phrase I picked up from the first book I remember reading devoted to the subject of prayer, Evelyn Christenson's What Happens When Women Pray. Too ashamed that as a leader and the "instigator" of this plan, all I could manage was twenty minutes of solid prayer, I lingered for another 10 minutes in quiet. Afterwards as we all stirred and shared our thoughts I discovered I wasn't alone!

It didn't many weeks to learn that if we came and prayed and left quickly, we didn't get nearly as much out of it as the times that we came and poured out our hearts to the Lord, and then lingered; learning to listen as He spoke into our hearts and minds and ministered to our spirits. Prayer journals or notepads and Bibles became standard gear for each of us, and we started not only to stay longer, but to learn to pray longer, as well.

I look back on those years as some of the most spiritually productive of my life. I was young and made lots of mistakes sometimes, but I grew in the Lord in leaps and bounds. Much of who I am today I owe to that time--that T.IM.E.!

Early in the year I shared a bit about the fresh start I was making, and the new focus I wanted for this blog, as well as number of posts on prayer. And then, as I mentioned on another post, Life Happened, and I developed a bit of "blogger's block" I think, thus the lack of consistent posts of late. To illustrate that, I first started this post in April. Not the end of April, the beginning of April. As in April 6th. All I had for 6 weeks was the title, and a few thoughts as to the content, but nothing concrete, nothing written.

But as I was writing in my prayer journal this morning, I had another epiphany--do you remember what an epiphany is? It's a light bulb moment-a "sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something". Not one I can share today, it still needs some mulling over--some Intercession.

And Meditation.

But the Expectation is already there.

I've always wanted A Virtuous Woman to be a lot of things to a lot of people, because that's what we, as virtuous women, are--many things to many people--wives, mothers, daughters, friends--and from now on, Tuesday T.I.M.E. will be a part of it, as well.

Until next time...

(disclosure--if you click on the link for the book I mentioned above and buy it through that link, I will receive a few cents commission on that sale.)