Simple

I've been dropping in and out at The Simple Woman's Daybook checking out some of her weekly entries. I think I found it through K at Prone to Wander. I decided to try it myself this year:

FOR TODAY
January 7, 2010

Outside my window... black velvet darkness presses against the glass with no sign of the sun yet. It's too early. It reminds me of my last post and Zechariah's words in the Gospel of Luke: "the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” The last few days have seemed fraught with worry but this morning I woke feeling as if my feet were finally pointing down a path of peace.

I am thinking... about where I have stored up my "treasures." This from Paul David Tripp in Table Talk this month: Things that were not designed to give us peace and over which we have no control become our replacement messiahs. We ask them to do for us what only God is able to do. You see, here is what happens: important things (like family, work, housing, money, etc.) become all too important to us because they become the places we look to for rest. When they do, they not only do not give us rest, they become the reason for the endless cycles of worry, anxiety, and fear that, frankly, are in the daily lives of too many believers. Your job is important, but it must not be the source of your identity, and when it is, it becomes the cause of endless anxiety. Your marriage or friendships are important, but they must not be the place you look for inner peace. Here's what Scripture moves us to say. Worry that drives or paralyzes us reveals more about what is inside of us than what is outside of us.

I am thankful for... my husband, who has the patience of Job.

From the kitchen... My friend CD gave me a BEE-utiful jar of cranberry-orange preserves that I plan to try out this morning on a hot biscuit.

I am wearing... my most favorite pjs - soft blue flannel covered with coffee cups.

I am creating... a writer's group. I plan to send out an invitation today! Hooray! My vision is for a group of four to six Christian women who enjoy writing and want to come together once a month to share their work and encourage one another.

I am going... to Mary's school this morning to do Math Super Stars for her class! :-)

I am reading... Cutting for Stone and it is wonderful!

I am hoping... that the weather will warm up a bit and be more conducive to walking. I'm signed up for another half marathon on February 13th and am NO WHERE close to being ready for it. Gulp! And if the weather doesn't warm up, I'm hoping to find the gumption somewhere to get to the gym and, as bad as I hate it, walk on the blasted treadmill.

I am hearing... the last few CDs of The World without End by Ken Follet as I drive to and from work. After listening to the 32 CDs of The Pillars of the Earth and now 36 more for the sequel, I'm going to feel lost without these characters every morning and afternoon!

Around the house... our hall bathroom is still in disrepair. But now that Christmas is over and Matt and Mary are back from their D.C. trip, we should be able to focus on getting it finished. The kids have been champs about having to use mine and Matt's bathroom for a while.

One of my favorite things... seeing the night sky full of stars.

A few plans for the rest of the week: just work and life. Maybe an afternoon of art with CD or hanging out with a friend helping her with a few projects.

Here is a picture for thought I am sharing... from Mary and Matt's DC trip.