Good Grief

Who ever came up with that saying, "Good grief"? Well, whoever it was must have been pretty smart.

I don't remember having grieved much in my life. I grieved when my first serious relationship failed. When my father-in-law passed away I grieved for a time. It has been a while since I have grieved...until now. Since this is public I won't share on here exactly what I am grieving, but I can share what it's like. It's sad. Very, very sad. But it is also pushing me toward Christ in a way I haven't ever experienced. So because of that, I am blessed to be grieving. It's not the kind of blessing I'm jumping up and down for joy with, but the kind of blessing that will stay with me forever and have character-altering effects. So it's "good grief".

Am I Missing Something?

I have a friend who is a teacher, is involved in our small group of young married couples, and is part of an outreach group in South Tucson. When she talks about being part of her outreach group, it makes me feel like I am missing something in my life. I have the feeling that there is something I could (or should?) be doing with my time that I'm not right now.

Currently, my time is spent by working, attending my small group (assuming I'm not sick, as was the case this week), hanging out with friends from that small group, hanging out with work friends, spending time at home or out with my husband, and spending time alone either out (usually shopping, the library, or working out) or at home (usually playing with the dogs, watching tv, on the computer, or cleaning).

It's funny that I can, in a way, sum up my life in one paragraph! When I read it, it sounds full. But when I'm at home and piddling around the house or spending what I judge to be way too much time on the computer or in front of the tv, that's when I often feel that I'm missing something.

Despite this feeling, I am satisfied in general with how I spend my time. I wonder though, am I missing something? Or is this simply the longing for complete fulfillment that will only come in Heaven?

Inspiring

I have a friend from a mission trip I took in college who wrote this funny story on her myspace, and I have to share:

So, I am staying at my sisters', home of my darling nieces. My angelic niece, Aleah, came into the living room with a beautiful picture of a vase that she drew me. Wanting to expose her more to the Bible, I asked her to find a verse for me and put it on the bottom. What a great idea on my part!! I showed her where the Psalms were (can't go wrong with the Psalms), and she went back to her room to find the perfect verse to give to me.


A couple minutes later, she came back with this inspiring verse...

Arise, O Lord! Deliver me, O my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw! Break the teeth of the wicked.


That's so...sweet.