I Want a Niche

1Thessalonians 4:11 "...and to aspire to live a tranquil life, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your [own] hands, as we instructed you."

That's fine and dandy and all, and what I know I should strive for. But there's a part of me, the prideful part, that wants my own niche that others know belong only to me--where others say, "That is Chris's thing." I want to be known for something.

With everything I think of that I might be known for, I think of someone else I know that is also known for that. I'm a runner, but so are many others I know. We raise chickens, but so do others I know. Dh makes wine, but so do others I know. We live our faith, but so do many others (thankfully) I know. On and on and bla bla bla.

I want, as this verse exhorts, to be able to know that I am fulfilling the duties God is giving me and faithfully living out to know Him, love Him, and serve Him and to be content in that. Only in that.

It is a lifelong battle to beat the prideful self into submission and back into the wings as it constantly tries to take the stage. It takes so much energy to keep my heart turned toward him and my eyes fixed on eternity when there is so much distraction nearby and immediate satisfaction to be obtained.

Yet I take hope in the fact that I really WANT to live for Him and only for Him. That is where my desire lies, no matter how often I need to reorient myself.

I love you, Lord. Help me to love you more.

One of the highlights of my day....

was finding this in my flower garden this morning:

Solitude

"Solitude is not found so much by looking outside the boundaries of your dwelling, as by staying within." -- Thomas Merton

Flowers From My Boy

Since he could walk, my second son has brought me flowers spontaneously. It warms my heart. Here are some wild phlox he brought me today:

For Monday, June 8

Outside my window...the rain is falling off of the roof onto the deck. It is cold. Isn't this supposed to be June?

I am thinking...about how nice it would be if softball were called on account of rain tonight and we could all stay hunkered in with nowhere we need to go and nothing we need to do.

I am thankful for...so many things, but especially right now a roof over our heads, a sleeping baby, and older boys who are playing quietly together without fighting.

From the learning rooms...We will homeschool our 6th grader this coming fall. I'm trying to decide where the easiest place is to put our schoolbooks. I'm thinking of using a little black metal shelf right off of the kitchen for our daily books. I'm trying to resist having to add any more shelving. We'll see how that goes since I just went through all of our books hoping to make more room. I cleared one shelf. Sigh. I received the planner today that I'm going to use. I'm chomping at the bit to start laying out the year.

From the kitchen...On the menu tonight is a simple dish, but loved by my family and warm for this cold, dreary day: Mix cut-up chorizo sausage, a can of black beans, a can of seasoned diced tomatoes, and a jumbalaya rice mix. I might throw in a loaf of bread, too.

I am wearing...a lightweight white 3/4 sleeve hoodie with a teal tank underneath, and very pale aqua fine-wale cords.

I am creating...a training schedule for the marathon my running buddies and I are going to run in September.

I am going...nowhere today! Yay!

I am reading...nothing at the moment. I need to make a trip soon to the library.

I am hearing...the rain outside of the patio door, and the muffled sounds of the computer game Jedi Night that my older boys are playing.

Around the house...This week I need to scrub my bathroom and pantry floors. I need to sweep and mop my mudroom, wash the loveseat slipcover, and wipe down the ceiling and walls of the upstairs bathroom.

One of my favorite things...is treating myself to an extra cup of creamy, hot coffee on a rainy day in the later afternoon.

A few plans for the rest of the week... to prepare my house for the weekend guest we'll have, to do my 2-week menu plan and grocery shop, to get the bills caught up, and to make a trip in to the hobby shop of a nearby town where the boys have been begging to go for weeks now (shhhh! Don't tell them--it's a surprise!)

Here is picture thought I am sharing...




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