Struggle

I hope there are truly spiritual mulligans (and unlimited at that) because I fail daily at being the best I can be in God's eyes.  Every morning I wake thinking it will be different.  I will wake up bright eyed and bushy tailed and open God's Word for the perfect amount of time.  It will sink into my soul.  I will be the perfect Christian never raising my voice, or getting frustrated.  I will happily make sandwiches in the dark, speaking only the sweetest words I can find for my children as they slowly make their way to their morning routines.  I won't look at the clock and therefore never be stressed about being late.  I will remember to fix my husband's protein shake and have the coffee ready for him as I let him sleep in.

Yea right....I wish!  I fail at almost all of those things and it isn't 7:30 by the time they are complete.  I know God doesn't want me to be perfect.  I know He knows what I am going through even as I struggle and type these words.  I can only do what I can do, be aware, and strive to be better.

I even feel in this blog it isn't what it should be.  Then I think that I can only do what I can do.  Some days it may be a little and fluffy other days, more and deeper.  I fear I will say the wrong thing.  I actually worry that I will offend the Dominicans with what I write.  I know I am not the best writer and I am most definitely not a literary genius.  Thank goodness for spell check!  I only want to show my heart and hope I am not judged for my sentence structure and misuse of the English language.

So today, as I again struggle to start my day right, I can only do the best I can right now.  I am headed to The Highlands for a walk and to listen to my Joyce Meyer.  I think some quiet time as I walk is also called for.  When I return to the quiet of the house I need to journal, to share my heart with God, ask for His forgiveness as I tangle myself in the unimportant and be satisfied with myself.

I am so blessed with all I have and I need to be aware of this!!

One of my favorite songs!  I actually weep sometimes when I hear it, when I am troubled.  

I love it when He meets me in the madness!!

In His Grip,
Jodi

My Morning

OK, so it was Mike's birthday last week and he was out of town.  So I wanted to do something special for his birthday when he comes home today.  So pulling off a surprise is a LOT more work than I thought!!  It is hard to find things here, well at least for me, and what I am used to using from the states.  I am sure if a Dominican went to the states they would say the same thing trying to find their usual staples.  So I can't spoil the surprise and tell you what I am trying to make, so more on that another day.  


I will just leave you with this visual I found along the way (his surprise did not include this)

Got Chicken??

Isn't it so fun to surprise someone with something you know they love?  Surprise someone with something today.  You may make their day more than would even expect.  It doesn't have to cost a lot of money, it is the thought that counts right??

In His Grip,

Jodi

I need you...I really do

       As a recovering control freak I read these words and I must marinate in them for a while.  I am stubborn.  I am outspoken.  I am in control.  I can do it myself!  I sound like a toddler who just found their freedom and voice.  All kidding aside, I really do need to surrender, and admit I can’t do it, and now I can say that I don’t want to do it all on my own anymore.  I thought I could, but after surrendering I see that life is simpler giving up the control.  My way wasn't always the best way.  Walking in the Lord’s will for my life has never felt so peaceful.  I don’t want to say that it is because I moved away to become a “missionary”, I want to say that it is because I was stripped away of anything familiar and went completely out of my comfort zone and could only rely on Him for a lot of things.  I do know that getting away to a simpler life and having 2 kids in school until 3 every day does give me time to really work on my relationship with Christ.  To listen, to learn, and to reflect.

Before coming to the DR in June of 2011 I was busy, distracted, overwhelmed with all the things to be done to get out from under 10 years of living in a house after having 2 kids, scared of the unknown, throw in a little denial, stress of finding homes for 1 crazy dog, and 2 cats that I had had for 10 years, trying to sell a home in a downed market, facing a HOA that won’t allow you to rent your home, and then walking away from life as you know it (and a pretty good one at that) to follow a call that you HOPE you heard right.  But back in April, my world came crashing down.  The many nights of sleepless, mind racing and restless nights caught up with me.  It started out as a few hours missed here and there, but when you add them all up, add in stress and worry, and not eating or taking care of yourself you end up with a mess.  That mess was me.  I was sleep deprived and I thought I was going crazy.  I knew it was getting bad, but it sneaks up on you, and it is hard to see a way out.  I got to the point that I couldn’t even sleep even as hard as I tried.  My mind raced.  I thought about all the things that might happen.  What if we have to go to the closing table to sell our house and we have to come up with $20K?  What if we don’t like it there?  What am I going to do with all my stuff?  What if all of this is for nothing?  I was stuck in the “what ifs” and I wasn’t trusting God that He would handle it all, or even better that He was in control of a plan for me.  I had made the “Give it to God” box but somewhere along the way I kept taking out the things I had previously put in the box.  I wasn’t trusting.  I had chosen to think that I had control over these things instead of realizing that I didn’t have control.  But by trying to control them I was only making myself miserable and sick. 

Before we decided to move to the DR and follow God’s call I had only been in the DR for 10 days on a mission trip with Mike and the kids back in the summer of 2010.  I knew where our house was, as I had been on the property during a softball game while we were there, but I didn’t know at the time it would be our future home.  We had a trip planned in April to check things out.  Well that never happened.  We had our tickets, Mike had packed our bags (you know I had to be out of it because I let him pack all that we would need for our trip), and the alarm was set for our early morning flight to the DR.  I couldn’t wait to go.  I really didn’t care what Mike packed for me as long as I could sit on the beach and relax and get away from all the crazy going I was allowing to affect me.  The alarm went off that Sunday morning and Mike said “We are not going.  You need help.”  I don’t know if I was relieved or sad, but I just couldn’t fight anymore.  So he called our church and soon an angel dressed like a therapist came to my bedroom.  She said I might need to be hospitalized because I really needed sleep and was most likely dehydrated.  The sleeping pills I had tried that should have tranquilized an elephant hadn’t even gained me a wink of sleep.  So a friend watched the kids and Mike and I went to a facility and they asked me a bunch of questions and if I thought about hurting myself.  I told them I didn’t but I knew why people would want to because I felt like I was a living hell on earth with no way out.  Since I wasn’t going to hurt myself, they couldn't help me.  They sent me home after suggesting some group therapy I could start the following week.  After again no sleep we tried the emergency room.  The doctor gave me an injection to calm me down.  He said no wonder you are a mess, there are like 10 main stressors in someone’s life that can cause major anxiety and stress and I had at least 5 if not more.  He told me unfortunately the main side effect was that the drug would make me sleepy.  BRING IT!!  And I happily handed him the arm with my best vein.  Ahhhh…..sleep.  My poor husband and my friend sat there watching me, both relieved the relief was in possibly in sight.  Mike was exhausted too and he fell asleep on the floor.  I still didn’t find relief from the psychiatrist who gave me something to help me sleep but didn’t want to help me until I got about 2 weeks of sleep and I was in a better mind.  Although I wanted the “quick fix” I knew that she was right.  But still what she gave me only gave me a couple of hours of sleep.  I finally got the help I needed when I went to see my primary care doctor.

She prescribed the following:

1. Eat 3 meals a day

2. Exercise – yoga is good

3. Ativan - .5 mg twice a day (double what had been prescribed by another doctor)

4. Trazodone 100 mg at bed (double what had been prescribed by another doctor)

5. Multivitamin daily

6. Journal/Dump (dump means take a piece of paper and write down everything that is on your mind when it is racing)

7. Put yourself first

As I look back on this time in my life now the answers now seem so simple.  But when you are going through it you can’t see it.  It creeps up on you and before you know it life is spinning out of control.  Someone said to me that you know that you make the enemy upset the closer you get to doing the Lord’s work.  Once I realized that I could see the hand of the enemy in a lot of this.  I could see how I had been tricked.  Little by little the enemy got me in his grip.  I had taken my eye off of God and let things that were out of my control overtake me.  Of course looking back hindsight is 20/20.  I now see the warning signs and I don’t let the enemy trick me anymore.  I find there are times where I am tested and I have to make sure I pay attention and really take care of myself.

       Lord I am not strong enough and I need to remember that I never will be.  I need You every minute of every day.  I need to rely on You and go to You each day for my strength.  I want to soak up Your Word every day and live out what You have commanded of me.  Thank you for all the people You put in my life during that time that loved me and cared for me, sometimes more than I cared for myself.  I am forever grateful for all of You, thank You!  Thank you for Your Son, love, grace and mercy.  Amen

In His Grip,

Jodi

A Prayer

Dear God,

You are the best God in the world.  We love You.  We are sorry when we make mistakes.  Help us to believe in You more.  When we love You and help the poor we show Your love to everyone.  

Thank You that everything we have is Yours.

Amen

This was written by Wyman, who is almost seven years old.  I love him....alot!

This is how we do it....in the DR {Laundry}

So as of today, it was 7 months ago that we landed in the DR to start our ministry and new life.  It doesn't seem like that much time has gone by, but a LOT of things have happened.  A lot has changed.  It isn't wrong, it is just different.  And in some ways I think even better.  I will tell you a few of those things on Thursdays in "This is how we do it".  Today I want to talk about laundry.  Well, I have been blessed with a washer and dryer.  I do miss my front loading amazing washer and dryer back in GA (holla girls, I miss you!), but I do have a washer and a dryer (that is under the weather at the moment)!!  I am not even sure how laundry works here, but the woman next door is ALWAYS outside throwing her laundry into this machine.  I think she washes it in the sink then puts it into the machine to spin it then hangs it somewhere in the house.

If you don't have the machine, then you usually have an outside sink.  This family of  6 posted this video back in 2009 they lived here in the DR, so this is what it is like without that machine.  It is 4 minutes long, but you can just watch some of it and you will get the idea.  If you watch it to the end you will see the woman doing the laundry stopping and taking a breather and it is obvious that it is back breaking work!

Then you have the more remote villages without ANY water, so that would be even more challenging.  I saw a woman the other day with the extracting machine and she was washing it in a big bowl.  They usually hang their laundry on their fence right in front of their house....underwear, bras and all, for the world to see.  Knowing that in Haiti they sell donated clothing shipments to the DR so they have money to eat, the people here at least do have clothing.  I have seen some in villages where they turn their clothes inside out and/or backwards to get a few days out of a shirt.

So from now I will be grateful that I have laundry, because it means I have clothes and blessed that I don't have to do back breaking labor to get them clean.  I will happily hang them all around the house until I get my dryer fixed.

In His Grip,
Jodi

Love....

I saw this quote one day, then I found this picture I took over the summer, and I had to put them together.  Love.  What is it about love?  What is love?  Who do we love?  How do we love?

In the bible we are commanded: The Love Commandment is Jesus' Commandment to love one another as he has loved us.  So that means that we are to love everyone, no matter what.  So does that mean that we are to love the person who murdered our loved one?  Are we to love those who do awful things to us?  Are we to love the unlovable?  Well, yes, I think we are.  Now I have been blessed to not have to love someone who murdered my child, but I think what it does to someone when you have bitterness in your heart that ruins your life when you can't do anything about it anyways.  I know of a young man who caused a car accident that killed a woman, who was in the car with her child.  He was young and it was an accident.  He is about to get released and at a recent hearing for early release, the woman's father and other family members were there to request that he be released.  It was an accident, he is an amazing young man who made a mistake, he has done the time (well almost) and there is nothing that can bring that woman back.  I think that is only the love you can have when you have the Holy Spirit in you and in your heart.  The flesh usually won't first look to love when there is something awful that has happened.

The other day I was in this man's house.  He is 100 years old.  That is amazing, especially for here.  We went there to hand out water filters so they can filter lake or rain water.  They have no running water out where they live.  His wife told us when we got there that he was lying down that he didn't feel well.  So I stepped over the pig that was right inside the door (I wanted to take the pig home, it was so cute!!) and looked around the almost empty room.  There was a bench against one wall and a couple of plastic chairs.  The floor was dirt.  It was quite tidy.  It was sparse.  There wasn't much in there.  There were a couple of curtains off the main room that I assumed were bedrooms.  The whole house could easily fit inside my master bedroom in the states.  I felt ugly, gluttonous, ashamed.  As we sat and talked he came out of his room.  I offered him my seat and went to sit on the nearby bench.  He didn't want me to sit there because my back would be in the sun and it would be better for me to be in the shade.  I told him "I love the sun, no worries" and sat and listened to them talk about the filters.  At the end we prayed, and I held his hands in mine.  I prayed for him to know and feel the Holy Spirit.  I held onto his hands and I loved him.  I would have never done something like this before I moved here.  But why?  Why wouldn't I hold a stranger's hand? 

When I was young I remember a homeless man who lived in the bushes near the intersection near the Ocean Street Docks.  There is a park there now (on the left after the Town Hall), but I remember seeing him living there and I went one day to bring him a bag of goodies.  Some things to eat and I think maybe I wrote a prayer to him.  So I know that I have a heart for those less fortunate. 

I recently read Same Kind of Different than Me (one of my all time favorite books) and it opened my eyes to what it is like to be homeless.  After I finished the book I was driving through a McDonald's parking lot and I saw a man asking for money.  I thought he was smart to be in a McDonald's parking lot because those who wouldn't just give money may add a burger to their drive through order and hand it off as they drove by.  I stopped and got out of my car, probably making those in line behind me mad because they had to wait to exit the parking lot to the QT, and handed him a $20 bill and said God Bless You.  I have no idea what he is going to do with the money, but it can help him more than it can help me, so it is his to do what he wants.  Maybe he does go buy alcohol with it, or cigarettes....it is his money.  If by living on the streets it gives him a little skip to his step to have a cigarette, then I can feel that maybe I blessed him that day.  Who am I to judge?  Does anyone tell me what I can do with my money?

I also recently read Kisses from Katie (amazing story, a must read!!) and she talks about feeling like the work she is doing in Uganda is like a medicine dropper in an ocean.  Well I agree here in the DR it can feel that way, or anywhere that there is a lot of work to be done in a lot of areas.  What can I really do to make a difference.  Well if everyone thought like that, then nothing would ever change and that would be horrible.  Iclick here.

I tend to think quantity, but I need to think more about quality.  I see Mike discipling a young man named Ezekeil.  He spends a lot of time with him.  He takes him with him almost every where he goes for ministry.  He invests time in him.  Now Ezekeil can go out and do his thing and disciple someone else, then they can, and so on.  I think they call that Pyramid Marketing :)  Spending time depositing love into someone's love tank.  Caring for them and their well being.  Wanting them to be successful.  Maybe even believing in them more than they believe in themselves.  It is a gamble some might say, but the potential payoff could be big.  What about if you didn't try....then what?

Ezekeil in San Jose in November the day he committed to follow Christ

I am still searching for what I want my ministry to be here.  But I know what I think about, and I am becoming aware of needs.  Then I can follow my heart, and use my gifts, and do it all for God's glory!

In His Grip,
Jodi

Wednesdays - Photo Fun

OK so I think Wednesdays are going to be about Photography.  I will post some tips I have learned, maybe some good articles I have read, a photo I really like that I have taken, things like that.


So send me anything you want to know and I will answer any burning questions!


Today I want to talk about equipment.  I think you can take good pictures with anything (cell phone, iphone, point and shoot, etc) if you know some key things.  Over the weeks with some of the tips I will give you, I think that you will see what I am saying.  The key is to be creative!!


I shoot with a Canon 60D DSLR.  I started with the entry level Rebel.  After that I found an amazing deal on Craig's List and got a Canon 40D.  When we moved to the DR I upgraded (thanks to a donor) to the 60D since it does video too.  If you have any DSLR where you can change lenses, then my first recommendation would be to spend under $125 and get yourself a "nifty-fifty" lens, which is a fixed lens (doesn't zoom , so you have to get used to moving yourself around instead of zooming your lens) 50 mm 1.8f stop.  This is a quick lens, which means you can take pictures with bad lighting situations.  The f-stop is 1.8 which gives you that dreamy bokeh!  Bokeh is ummm....cool!  Here is the real definition:


In photography, bokeh (Originally  /ˈboʊkɛ/,^[1]  /ˈboʊkeɪ/ boh-kay, and also sometimes heard as  /ˈboʊkə/ boh-kə,^[2] Japanese: [boke]) is the blur,^[3][4] or the aesthetic quality of the blur,^[5][6][7] in out-of-focus areas of an image, or "the way the lens renders out-of-focus points of light."^[8] Differences in lens aberrations and aperture shape cause some lens designs to blur the image in a way that is pleasing to the eye, while others produce blurring that is unpleasant or distracting—"good" and "bad" bokeh, respectively.^[3] Bokeh occurs for parts of the scene that lie outside the depth of field. Photographers sometimes deliberately use a shallow focus technique to create images with prominent out-of-focus regions.

So the lower the f-stop, the more the blur!  OK I am hoping that I can get my point across with all these tidbits I want to share with you because I am pretty much self taught, with only an amazing summer photography class for "training".  So I know enough to be dangerous.  I don't always know how to get a "professionally correct" photo with the right exposure, no blown whites, and blah, blah, blah!  I take pictures and if I like them then I am happy!  So if you are looking for technical explanations then you might want to get some Scott Kelby books.  He is actually really good at explaining in a way you can understand.


So what I am trying to say is if you have a camera, get this lens and play around.  It is an affordable investment to start off.  I wish I could do a cool example to show you the difference in a photo just to have a lens makes, but I have no charger to charge my battery.  Can't wait to get it back on MONDAY!!

Here is an example:  These are both SOOC (straight out of the camera with no editing), but you can see how ho-hum the first one is, then how the other is much more interesting.  But blurring out the background, you really see what you are focused on more.  I promise I will have more interesting examples!!  

More pictures of our new home!

I left my camera battery charger in MA so I have been without a camera for a while.  I can't wait till next Monday to get it back!!  We are blessed to be here, gracias a Dios!! 


Here are some quick pics with the iphone:

 Master Bath

 Master Bath from Master Bedroom

Master (and only) Closet - I miss my 4 huge drawers in my previous bathroom

 Master Bedroom from Living Room

 Master Bed and Bath

 Master Bedroom from Bath

 Kitchen

 Guest Room/Playroom/Office

 Office

 Kitchen from Office, washer and dryer next to refrigerator

 Kids bath, quite quaint (as an interior designer I cringe at the layout, but it beats an outhouse!)

 Kids room is quite cozy

 Living Room

 Another view of living room and Mike's command central

Living room and gaming central

We are in our new home!

So yesterday was moving day and I am almost all unpacked!!  The new place is a lot bigger than I thought.  Getting ready to take a shower, and I am thinking the water is super hot since I scorched my hands doing dishes.  More pictures later and more deep thoughts!!  What do y'all want to know?  Maybe a little Q & A??

Here are (2) of the pupppies, Smile (Sonrisa in Espanol) and Yellow (Amarillo in Espanol) catching some morning sun.  It was a little chilly this morning.

Here is our new home.  We are on the bottom floor.

I see a future family photo on this palm lined street!!

I do miss my other walking bud Toby :(

How can He love me so....

I grew up a Chreaster...I went to church only at Christmas and Easter.  I remember going to church more with my Grammie (my dad's mother) when I was young.  But my memories were of boredom sitting it church not paying much attention to the message and more attention to keeping quiet and coloring or reading a book.  When I met Michael, my husband, I started to go to church more.  When we moved to Georgia in mid 2000 we attended a catholic church which was what Mike was raised attending.  Since we were getting married in 2001 and we wanted a mass, I started the process in the catholic church to become catholic.  It starts in September and ends at Easter.  Along with that we also did marriage prep classes and a pre-cana weekend get away to prepare for our wedding.  We did all of this in Georgia, but we were married in Brockton, MA at the church where Michael attended.  I loved our church in Smyrna, GA.  Our priest was a former college professor and he was a great teacher.  I sat there week after week and soaked in all the nuggets he taught on.  

I don't remember the exact year, but probably 2002 I had left my job and had some free time.  I discovered a Women's Conference...which I can't even remember the name of, maybe Extraordinary Women.  It was at a church in Cumming, GA called First Redeemer.  The main speaker was Kathy Troccoli.  I don't remember exactly what she said, but all I know is that it was my first introduction to southern religion with hand raising and different worship than I had seen before.  I remember hearing her message and then I started crying, and crying, and crying.  She was speaking about God's love for us and how much he loves us. I don't know why but I hadn't got that message in that way before that day.  I knew God more as a disciplinarian and I was just a sinner who needed a savior.  When I heard her continue to talk about how much God loved me it was a feeling I don't even know if I can even convey. I guess it was hard for me to comprehend because I wasn't familiar with real love from a father.  My Dad told me he loved me.  But because he chose to spend his time at work and not with our family and drank too much to really be available when he was home, I didn't feel his love.  I didn't know what it was like to have a father who poured into your soul.  Who cared if you were headed down the wrong path and hanging out with the wrong people.  My dad wasn't someone who went to my softball games and played catch with me in the back yard.  My dad didn't teach me any life lessons.  I am sure my dad has many regrets in all these areas that he wishes he could change.  Bottom line is, for me it is difficult for me to grasp that God loves me as much as he does.  And on that day, along with many other ladies, I made a commitment to follow Christ, He came into my heart that day.  

I often wonder if others feel this way too about really grasping how much God loves us.  Is it because I didn't have a father growing up that was a part of my life that makes it hard for me to really understand fatherly love.  Do others who had amazing fathers feel this same way?  It is hard to really understand the unconditional love that God offers?  Or is it because I have things that I am ashamed of and I wish I could have changed from my past.  Does it have to do with worthiness?  I often feel unworthy of such amazing love.  I sometimes even feel guilty and unforgivable about my past decisions.  The truth is that God loves me A LOT, he forgives me and His love covers me with His grace and mercy.  There is nothing I can do to stop Him from loving me.  He knows all the hairs on my head, He created me and my journey, so there is nothing that I do or did that surprises Him.  

When I commited to follow God then it is my responsibility to get to know Him.  He knows us better than anyone else.  So I needed to do all I could do so that I could get to know all there is to know about Him.  Reading the bible and quiet time with Him I think are the two most important things that I can do.  I used to think that going to church was the most important thing to do.  But one day a week for a couple of hours didn't cut it for me.  Then I would go to Women of Faith conferences and get all fired up for a couple of days then slip back into my old ways.  Then I would think reading books and listening to others was it.  Those are good, but shouldn't be my main focus.  Two people really finally drilled that truth to me that intimate time with God is the most important.  So I still struggle with this, but I am closer every day.  I guess I feel like I have a lot of time to catch up to the knowledge of God an almost 40 year old person should have, so I use many different ways to gain the knowledge.  Focus and discipline are important for me to get the most out of my spiritual walk.  I had a hard time reading the bible. I would read and it wouldn't make any sense to me.  Mike got me a dual bible which was The Message bible on one side of the page and a more traditional translation on the other side of the page.  This has helped me a lot and has given me a desire and thirst to want to read the Word.  Now I can read a story in any bible that I have previously read from The Message and get another depth of understanding.  

The Jesus Calling app for my iPhone has also been amazing to deepen my understanding.  The author has such a gift with words.  Here is an example of what I mean, the beginning part of each day's reading is the author's own words, then at the end are the bible verses that she is writing about:

I love you with an everlasting Love, which flows out from the depths of eternity. Before you were born, I knew you. Ponder the awesome mystery of a Love that encompasses you from before birth to beyond the grave.

Modern man has lost the perspective of eternity. To distract himself from the gaping jaws of death, he engages in ceaseless activity and amusement. The practice of being still in My Presence is almost a lost art, yet it is this very stillness that enables you to experience My eternal Love. You need the certainty of My loving Presence in order to weather the storms of life. During times of severe testing, even the best theology can fail you if it isn’t accompanied by experiential knowledge of Me. The ultimate protection against sinking during life’s storms is devoting time to develop your friendship with Me.

The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with lovingkindness.”
—Jeremiah 31:3

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.
—Lamentations 3:22–26 - http://bit.ly/eF5kSq

You Version is also great.  It has tons of bible reading plans.  www.youversion.com  If you are like me, I prefer something more structured where I can just click on my computer and have what I need right there each day.

Journaling and praying are where I need more focus.  Any suggestions of what has helped you are appreciated!

Make a commitment to find out where you feel like you need more focus in your spiritual walk.  Ask for help, and even ask for a friend to be an accountability partner for you.  Reach out to someone and see where it can take you.

In His Grip,

Jodi

Open your eyes...a common theme lately for me

Do you ever find that ideas come to you in themes? For me lately it has been songs with lyrics talking about opening your eyes.  One song is by Needtobreathe, Keep Your Eyes Open.

What it means to me is to be aware, to look around, to notice things...even small things.  The line about if you never leave home, never let go, you will never make it to the great unknown speaks to me in particular.  What if I never left to come here, what if I stayed because I was too afraid of the unknown.  There are days where I am really aware of the things around me, all the little miracles that God places in my path.  Then there are days (these tend to happen more often) where I am so distracted with the unimportant that I fail to realize what an amazing world I live in.


Looking back over the last 6 months I have been so blessed with more "me" time.  More time alone, to think and ponder.  I still fail to make quiet time with God a priority, to journal more and I need more time reading my bible.  But if I stop and look around there is always something much less important to keep me busy and distracted.  I find myself making excuses, like "Next week, life will be more normal, I will have more time, and I can get a schedule down".  I am still waiting on that day and it sounds ridiculous to even write those words.  I just need to begin my day with this time and then the rest of the day can take care of itself.


I know what I love about it here in the Dominican is that I am not bombarded with the media and tv.  I actually didn't even want a tv here.  US current events don't take up space in my brain.  I don't know what Occupy Wall Street is.  I don't know about the latest movie star and her current struggles.  I didn't even know that we had a second earthquake here in the Dominican the other day.  I sort of know how bad the real estate market still is, but I don't think too much about it in fear that I will stress myself out too much.  Actually typing this line is putting a knot in my stomach and a kink in my neck.  Our house situation has been given to God in my  "give it to God box" for Him to handle it.  My thoughts on the media it can plant seeds in my head that can distract me from more important things.  Worrying about things that are out of my control can only eat away at my joy.  I tend to obsess about things and they overtake my mind, which keeps me up, I don't sleep and it wears me down emotionally and physically.  So I choose to open my eyes to the important and dwell on these things


Philippians 4:6-8

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.


Try opening your eyes today.  Shut off the distractions, go for a walk or a drive. Look around and notice God's little miracles going on around you.  Notice people in need.  Buy a cup of hot coffee for someone who looks cold.  Give a smile to someone who might be having a bad day.  Tell those people around you something wonderful you love about them.  Life is short....we don't know what quarter we are in.  The game of life can be over at anytime and the clock strikes zero.  What if today is that day?


Be blessed,


Jodi