My head is spinning- and my legs are hurting

There are so many things going on. Such opportunities and so many rabbits to chase. I pray that the Lord would give us priority in our lives to make our hearts align with His priority and his best. I don't even know where to start so I will just pick a day and tell you about that.

I woke up this morning trying to figure out why my legs hurt so bad. Then it came to me...the big sprint down the driveway, down the road, to the boat dock, then back up the hill to the house not knowing what awaited me.

Yes, here I am again, providing entertainment for myself and the neighbors. It was the morning or the Ladies Coffee and Tea-an outreach to the community by a local church (you can pray for people to come in and be fed the Good News). I had to get the kids together to get a birthday gift for one of Griffin's friends and then to the tea and coffee. HOWEVER... that was not the priority of my seven year old. Actually it was a priority just not an URGENT one. So between getting ready he would be doing anything but getting ready, leaving me to sound like the mommy I did not want to sound like. (I am sure my mom lost her patience but I don't remember it but once-that's a whole other story). So I got the car warmed up. Got the kids in the car seat and then realized I really need to go to the bathroom because I will not make it to the church (and public bathrooms are few and far between in Ireland).

So, I have the kids in the car, the front door open because we have to air the moisture out of the house while we are gone, the heat off in the house, the dog locked up in the wash room (or so I thought) and me in the restroom (or toilet as is said here). Then I hear pawing at the door of the washroom and whining of the dog. Since I was in a hurry (more information than you should or want to know), I was running out of the bathroom while zipping up my pants and buckling my belt. I got a sick feeling that the dog got out. I got out of the bathroom, saw the washroom door open, and the front door open.

The kids were sitting patiently in the car and Emily was actually not screaming. I told Griffin the dog got out to stay with the girls, I'll be right back. Well that sent both girls into crying and screaming. Later I found out that Griffin yelled at Ruth Anne to get her to stop crying (and she did) because he said "I could only deal with one child screaming at a time". (Gee, I wonder where he heard that!?).

So... Here I go running down the driveway as fast as I can (first time sprinting after having the baby), in my dress shoes, through the mud, past the neighbor's houses. It is lambing season here so the baby lambs are in the pastures. I was so worried about the dog chasing and harming the lambs since he is so big and fast. I was praying outload as I ran, "God please don't let him chase the sheep", "God help me to catch him"-over and over. Well thank God he did not chase the sheep. He is a bird dog and was more excited about the freedom and the water fowl commonly found in Lough Ree. I am not sure at this point if my pants are fully zipped.

The dog does not come when you call him when he is outside the house. Needless to say as I was sprinting and seeing him in the distance, I was yelling for him to come here anyway. I am sure the whole community could hear me.

I could not catch him and was worried about the children so I ran as fast as I could, breathless, back to the top of the hill to our house and got in the car. On the way home I saw one neighbor and I just said "I have 3 kids in the car and the dog is out", and kept running. Then I saw my sweet friend and neighbor Sarah, and almost in tears just told her the dog is out and the kids are in the car. She drove towards where he was in an effort to probably corral him. (God bless her).

Now back to the house, with the kids buckled in I barreled down my driveway. Going full speed down the road, I spotted him running back up the marina walkway. I also saw a farmer looking at the dog and at me driving at speeds unheard of in this area coming down the road. I got out of the car at the playground (looking like the Dukes of Hazard) and the dog kept running toward me. He then quickly turned at a right angle and ran away again. I got back in the car and Ruthie was saying over and over again, "I wanna play" talking about the playground.

Then we went to the point of the peninsula chasing the dog in the car. I think I was going so fast it scared him and he stopped and coward on the side of the road. (For a half second I just wanted to hit him with the car, but knowing that was not the right thing to do and the kids would be traumatized, I opened the door of the car and he hopped in.) At this time I looked up just in time to see another farmer standing in awe in the middle of the street (and I am sure thinking some thoughts of his own). I did not bother with the obligatory wave to either farmer and just got the dog back home.

I tried in my best Carol Ingalls voice, "wow wasn't that an adventure!" and managed a laugh with the kids. I can laugh about it now and what a sight it might have been but at that time I was about at my wits end.

We did not get the gift until after the coffee and tea but enjoyed the calm friendship and a cup of tea with the ladies. And instead of being rushed to get the gift, we just took our time strolling and getting the gift after the Tea which I don't think we've done in a LONG time! It was nice not to be on a schedule, or at least not a tight one. That in itself was a gift to me and the kids.

What I want to be....

The verse below has been on my heart the past week and I was amazed when I saw this devotional. It reminded me of what Shelley Hendrix taught me two years ago. Don't concentrate on what you don't want to be but what you want to be. It is so true. Somehow I fell into the old habit of concentrating on the don'ts instead of do's. If there is a Proverbs 31 woman I would model my life after it would be Lila Cox, missionary to Thailand.

Below is a devotional from Proverbs31devotions.blogspot.com
Devotion by Amy Carroll:
"Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." Psalm 90:12 (NIV)

As my plane landed, I wondered if she'd be there. The retreat weekend simply wouldn't be the same without her. I would miss her encouraging looks as I spoke and the women of her church would certainly have hearts that ached with her absence. All year I had thought about the words that she had spoken the previous fall, and I needed to ask her more probing questions.

She had a secret that I longed to know. There were many women from the group who I wanted to ask about, but as the event coordinator and I waited at the luggage carousel, I started with my most important question, "Will Ruth Clark be coming?" My heart rejoiced as I heard the reply that was given with a smile, "Ruth has had a lot of health problems this year, but she'll be there!"

Entering the room at the retreat center, my eyes searched for Ruth among the small clusters of chatting women. I found her dear, smiling face quickly and headed to greet her. She opened her arms wide, hugged me and said, "I've been praying for you all year." After asking me to wait for a minute, Ruth opened her purse, took out a well-worn pink book full of small cards and began to leaf through it. Finally, she found the card for which she had been searching, and pulled it out. On it was a black-and-white photocopy of a picture of me with my name written underneath. She explained, "Each day I use this book to remember who to pray for. I put you in my book after the retreat last year, and I've prayed for you every day."

I looked at her face, creased with crows' feet and laugh lines, the product of many wide smiles and tender glances. I took in her white hair, the walker beside her and her comf ortable shoes and had a single thought—"Beautiful!"

Ruth is the woman that I want to be when age has settled onto my features and slowed my steps. Her beauty is an internal light that has grown brighter with time and experience rather than being extinguished. Knowing Ruth has changed my life and set me on a journey. When we first met, I immediately knew she had something I wanted.

After listening to this delightful woman talk for a while, I asked her, "What is your secret? How have you continued to grow in the Lord, stay positive and exude joy?" She answered quickly and confidently, "Be today who you want to be tomorrow."

Profound!

So, how can you and I apply Ruth's advice in our lives while we're still younger women? We can ask to God to reveal our own sins and flaws, repent of them and ask for His mercy to start living differently today. He's given me a very personal and specific list of where to start! I can ask God's help to stop my tend ency toward complaining about difficult circumstances and develop the habit of praising Him for molding my character through trials and tests. I can ask Him for the spiritual fruit of self-control so that I resist flying off the handle in a grumpy, hormone-fueled fit for no good reason. I can ask Him to stop my free-flowing river of words and help me listen to others compassionately before I speak. I could go on, but you're getting the picture. Are you starting to make a list of your own?

Although thinking about our own aging and watching loved ones age sometimes generates fear, we can face the future with tremendous hope and faith when we know that we can begin shaping our tomorrows today. I truly believe that becoming the woman today that we want to be tomorrow is the key to becoming the woman of grace, love and wisdom in our 70s and 80s that we so desire to be.

Dear Lord, I long to be a growing, godly older woman until my very last breath. Help me to begin t oday in developing the character and spiritual disciplines that I'll need to follow You victoriously throughout my life. In Jesus' Name, Amen.