Doing the Next Thing

In my devotional reading, I recently came across one of my favorite notes from Amy Carmichael. She quotes Deut. 2:3, "Ye have compassed this mountain long enough." Many times we find ourselves compassing mountains of discontent, guilt, worry ... going round and round and round the wilderness of un-Christlike thoughts. "Ye have compassed this mountain long enough, turn you northward." We all need to be challenged to repent of our faithlessness, receive His grace, put those destructive thoughts behind us, and move forward in the call of God in Christ Jesus. As we prepare for a long road trip with our crew, I was thankful for that challenge today. May my mind move "northward" to Heaven today even as tomorrow we move northward (literally) in our car!

Well, I'm only a few days into my blog and I was tagged by Kate for a Personal Policies meme! Makes me feel welcomed by the blog world. So here goes: 1. When I'm having trouble finding time alone with the Lord, I read the Proverb that corresponds to the date and a devotional entry from Amy Carmichael. (many times while hiding in the bathroom) 2. I always place dirty dishes in the left side of the sink, so the right side is always empty. 3. Along those lines, I run the dishwasher every night, whether it's full or not, so all my dishes are clean first thing in the morning. (These are the things that makes my Mom call me "Monk!") 4. When in the car, I always see what's on public radio first, before listening to anything else. 5. Like 50 Toes , I drink Diet Coke, not Pepsi, unless DC is not available. 6. I stop whatever I'm doing to admire the birds that come to our many feeders. 7. I try to stop whatever I'm doing to dispense a hug to whomever needs it....

Quotes flying around my house this week: "All my Greeks are wimps !" - by 10yo ds C., while playing an historical trading card game called Anachronism. "It's not dark anymore." - simply stated by 2yo ds A., after having awakened his 1yo sis K.L. more than 30 min. early this morning by climbing into her crib. "It smells good, too." - 8yo dd M. describing the conditioner I applied to her hair - dry and without rinsing - because we couldn't find the tangle spray. "Eye of the Tiger is a good song to workout to." - 12yo ds S., whose transition into young adulthood continues to stun me. It seems like only minutes ago that his favorite pasttimes were crunching cheerios and feeding his stuffed Elmo a bottle. "Bi-puh" (translation - "diaper") - my sweet 1yo dd K.L. saying her second word. (The first being "hi" - a kind of breathy, musical "hi" that takes about 3 full seconds to say - so sweet. But when is sh...

Several weeks ago, thanks to a nice refund from Uncle Sam, we purchased a new washer/dryer set. My Mom has hounded me for years to get a new dryer, but I always insisted we keep it until it completely fell apart. Nevermind the fact that you had to dry everything twice! When my good friend, Tina, became the third person in a space of 2 weeks to randomly mention how much she loved her front loading washer and new dryer ... I thought maybe I should investigate. Turns out, she was on to something! Not only do they wash massive amounts of clothing at once, but they do it better, more gently, and with less energy, water, and detergent! A time- and a money-saver! No brainer! Yes, it was a big up-front investment, but one I highly recommend if you have not already joined the ranks of us Mommies entertaining ourselves (and our restless young 'uns) by watching the laundry spin at 1000 rpms! The big pay-off: in our family of seven we used to do about 2 loads per day, with one day each week to...

Well, here I am! I finally entered the world of blogdom. I used to think blogging was an arrogant way to make sure everyone knows your opinion is the right one. But after discovering that lots of Moms Like Me have blogs as a way of keeping in touch with friends, making new ones, and letting off some creative steam... well, I decided to give it a try! The title of my blog comes from an old poem Elisabeth Elliot, one my heroes, is fond of quoting. Enjoy! Do The Next Thing "At an old English parsonage down by the sea, there came in the twilight a message to me. Its quaint Saxon legend deeply engraven that, as it seems to me, teaching from heaven. And all through the hours the quiet words ring, like a low inspiration, 'Do the next thing.' Many a questioning, many a fear, many a doubt hath its quieting here. Moment by moment, let down from heaven, time, opportunity, guidance are given. Fear not tomorrow, child of the King, trust that with Jesus, do the next thing. Do it immedia...