Rejoice!

You gotta love blogger. I have been trying for days to get a photo uploaded. One time it's down for an hour for "scheduled" maintenance, the only hour of course I had that day to play with it. Then last evening I'm making one last effort to accomplish it, only to give up in frustration because it said it was doing it but then nothing would show up on the blog.

So this morning I'm already to post a "sorry, I failed" message and lo and behold, there it is, our Lebanon ladies in all their glory! Yay!!

I have one other little rejoice moment to share with you from our very hectic morning. (You see, today I'm kidnapping my husband for the weekend to a surprise destination - I've always wanted to do that and thanks to friend, Pam, the expert, we are pulling it off). Anyway the little happy moment started with Geron's very distressed, "mother, I need you in here NOW" coming from the bathroom. I run over thinking what female disaster could had transpired? There he was, a sweet little green frog sitting on the counter singing, "this is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it". Good for him!

Women's Retreat has me thinking about my closet a lot.

My closet is actually quite full, but not of things I wear. Instead it is full of things that don't fit, don't match, need repair, or just aren't "me" anymore. I know I need to go through and clean it out, but just can't seem to set aside the time to do it. Perhaps I'll get to it one of these days when I'm not so busy.

There are several problems with this approach. My logical brain tells me I couldn't possibly need any more clothes because there are plenty right in front of me. And my husband quickly leaves the room when I whine that "I don't have anything to wear". There really are things I need, but I can't even clearly tell what they are. The things I actually DO wear are scattered haphazardly around the room, hanging on the bedpost, the back of the door, draped across the bookshelf, or still in the laundry basket (True confession: Okay, so sometimes I can't tell if they are coming from or going to the laundry.) Oh how I LONG for an organized closet.

I'm thinking that the whole closet thing sounds an awful lot like the rest of my life. A life cluttered with worn-out self-concepts acquired over many years. A life where I dutifully accepted whatever label anyone was willing to give me without considering whether it was truly fitting or useful. A life of trying to be what I thought others wanted me to be, instead of who I truly was....who God wanted me to be: A unique individual created for a specific purpose.

The reality is that my closet will not get organized unless I choose to actively take the steps necessary to organize it. I must set aside time, determine priorities, and make choices.

So it is with my life. And, though the task looks overwhelming, I just need to take the first step. Better late than never, but much better sooner than later.

Excuse me, ladies, I've got a closet to organize!


For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10.

Your turn

Finally, I am sitting down, be it ever so briefly, to post to our beloved blog. Seriously I tried to do this two nights ago and ended up in a sad state of frustration - probably a good thing I didn't write anything at that point.

I had this lovely photo of our dear Lebanon ladies at Women's Retreat but sadly was not able to conquer the "how to post a picture to your blog" in 5 easy steps. I will have to call in the experts to finish that task.

So in the meantime we are blazing forward without visual aids. What I'd like to offer is a question instead of a post. So in other words, it's your turn, readers, to give some input. And what I would love to hear from all of you is what you took home with you from retreat. We used to have a follow up service for just that purpose.

Your comments please!

PS: By the Way, we began organizing our fall retreat before we left Aldersgate - see me if you'd like to be on a planning committee. We are already pencilled in on Nov 4 - 6, 2005 at Camp Koinonia.

Changes

It's always a bit hard to come home from retreat weekend. It was yet another wonderful weekend full of prayer, soul-searching, relationship-building and stepping outside the old comfort zone. I come home ready to change my life. But once home, it doesn't take long to realize that things are still pretty much the same here...my resolve begins to fade and I am easily overwhelmed by how much needs done.
In Matthew 14:29-31, Peter is ready to try something new. He has just left from a retreat with Jesus and witnessed the awesome miracle of five loaves and two fish feeding more than five thousand people. He is pumped!
When Jesus calls to him to step out of his comfort-boat, Peter doesn't take the time to think about the logical possibilities. Out he goes! It doesn't take long for Peter to realize that he may be in over his head and begin to panic. He begins to sink and cries out to Jesus, who reaches out to steady him and lead him back to the boat.
Peter and I both need to get our eyes off the overwhelming circumstances, call out to Jesus, and rely on his power and strength. I can't make the necessary changes through self-control: I need God-control. All I need is the faith to take the first few steps and He will do the rest.