Sweet Life in the City

A few weeks ago I was browsing on FB and I noticed that a page I follow was advertising for a book that was now on sale for $5.00. The title of the book caught my attention because without even knowing what the book was about I knew just by the title that I needed to read it because I knew the feeling all too well. The name of the book is Unglued by Lysa TerKeurst. Unglued is the perfect way to describe how I feel sometimes and something that I need to work on. The real danger is that my undoing is 98% time taken out on the 4 people that mean the most to me. I come unglued when my kids are fighting over the silliest thing in the car. I see the sadness in their face when I completely lose it and shout to them to "BE QUIET, NOW!!!! And I can feel the heat of rage on my face. Every time we go to Target my kids start fighting and I lean into Chloe's ear and with my teeth clinched warning her to get it together and I am fighting hard not to come unglued right there in the store. ...

We are enjoying some cool weather here in Chicago. It seems from other posts on FB many of us are experiencing Fall like weather. It has been nice to keep the windows open and enjoy a nice cool breeze. We enjoyed our visit to the zoo on Wednesday afternoon. Thursday the kids and I made another trip to the laundry mat to wash some blankets, sheets, and some rugs. Friday we just stayed home and I tried to get some things organized. I have determined that the kids have a "three stop" limit when it comes to running errands. They do really well the first few stops but by stop three they are fighting and driving me crazy! I have also been having a trying time with Chloe this past week. I am not sure if she is bored, but she has been reverting back to some of her old ways. One of our neighbors gave us a bag of popcorn and she took it off the table, opened it, and ate almost the entire bag. If you sit a drink down and walk away for a minute and walk back it will be empty of almost em...

" Keep walking with Me along the path I have chosen for you. Your desire to live close to Me is a delight to My heart. I could instantly grant you the spiritual riches you desire, but that is not My way for you. Together we will forge a pathway up the high mountain. The journey is arduous at times, and you are weak. Someday you will dance light-footed on the high peaks; but for now, your walk is often plodding and heavy. All I require of you is to take the next step clinging to My hand for strength and direction. Though the path is difficult and the scenery dull at the moment, there are sparkling surprises just around the bend. Stay on the path I have selected for you. It is truly the path of Life. "  Jesus Calling- July 14 This was not the scheduled devotion I was reading today, but I had to go back to it for encouragement. I have found myself still trying to take control of my situation and still trying to change course. I have been talking with some friends lately and ...

" I call you to lead the life that I have assigned to you, and be content. Beware of comparing your situation with that of someone else - and feeling dissatisfied because of the comparison. It is also harmful to compare your circumstances with what they used to be or with fantasies that bear little resemblance to reality. Instead, make every effort to accept as your calling the life I have assigned to you. This perspective helps take the sting out of even the harshest circumstances. If I have called you to a situation, I will give you everything you need to endure it - and even find Joy in the midst of it."  Jesus Today Wow! What a great reminder for me today (well, every day for that matter). These past few days have been a little rough for me. My heart has been heavy with an unspoken request and physically I am still recovering from Sunday and I think it has been the perfect storm for some old struggles to resurface. Today I was at school and the assistant principal was ...

Today was by far the hardest physical thing I have ever done! Today was also the one and only half-marathon I will ever do :). I did not sleep well last night because my nerves were shot, but I got up at 4:00 this morning to get a small cup pf coffee, shower, eat something, and get ready for today. We took a cab to the city, met my brother, and found our corral number and waited for our time to start. Our corral left the start at 6:50 and we knew we had 3 1/2 hours to finish. We all set our GPS's on our phones or watch and we are still a little confused because nobody's GPS matched the mile marks on the race course. We all were mapping over a mile more than what the signs were saying and it was pretty frustrating and discouraging. My brother walked the whole way with me and we listened to some music and spend several miles just talking. There were water stations throughout the course and we depended on those stations. We got to mile 9 and the water station had run out of wate...

" Do not be afraid to be different from other people. The path I have called you to travel is exquisitely right for you. The more closely you follow My leading the more fully I can develop your gifts. To follow Me wholeheartedly, you must relinquish your desire to please other people. However, your closeness to Me will bless others by enabling you to shine brightly in this dark world." Jesus Calling- July 20th I really like social media. I like the fact that I have reconnected with family and friends that live all over the country and world. I love looking at pictures my family and friends post. I love the prayers and encouragement that I can get at the click of a button. I love reading funny stories and reminders of childhood memories. I think there is one downfall that I sometimes often get trapped in, the downfall of comparing my life to everyone around me. If you have followed my blog for any period of time you know that I have mentioned this struggle before. I guess...

So much has happened since the last time I blogged so I will not begin to try to cover all the things that have been going on! I will admit that since my last post the Lord has been changing my heart and attitude in so many ways. We finally finished up school and on my last day I was overwhelmed by the outpouring of love from my students and their parents. As I listened to their praise and as I read cards expressing their gratitude to me for the care of their children I was overwhelmed with thankfulness that God used me in spite of my rebellion. I left the last day of school content with staying another year if that is what God had planned. My paperwork from TN was just sent off yesterday, so it is not looking like I will get everything transferred over to IL before school starts. Once again, I have been pretty frustrated, but I have been trying to turn it into thnakfulness when those ugly feelings start to well up within me. Chicago Public schools have taken quite a hit the past few ...