Weight Lifting

A few posts ago I wrote in a rather weary mood. The weight of life just seemed to be crushing down on me. The ebb and flow of my life has been such for the past 3 years. So many obstacles and so many days where the challenges seem to outweigh the blessings. Not that I am not blessed, because I greatly am and I know it, just that many of the blessings I have come with price tags-both emotional and financial- and some days that weight is crushing.

I have been reminded the last few days though that it's not my shoulders carrying the load. I still have to do the work and continue to take step after step, but I don't carry it alone. That has been nice to remember. Another of my 2007 intentions is to read the Bible all the way through. I attempted this last year as well and didn't make it. I got stuck in the Old Testament in the geneologies. So I took a Bible off the shelf that I own and don't read. It's a two year read through in the NLT. I have been reading two of the days each day so I can get through it in one year. I am reading to just read this time around. When I come upon a question I have or something I want to know more about I jot it on a sticky note and stick it in there. After I've read the whole Bible I'm going to tackle each book at a time in a more studious kind of way.

I am only now in the book of Genesis but I am finding the characters such a refreshment. They waited a long, long, long time for things God promised them, (like Sarah and Abraham and their baby), they were mistreated by other humans, they had to work twice as hard for what they wanted. I am also reading the Psalms each day and it is encouraging to hear other people cry out to God thousands of years ago the way I want to cry out to him today.

The "sticky situation" I alluded to is still around and unsolved, it has to do with our vehicle, but I am not obsessing about it as much. The weary mood I was in has lifted because I am back in the groove of my every day, (as in doing things outside of the house). But perhaps the greatest adjustment to my mood was the glorious end to a pregnancy scare. I do long to grow my family, but not right now. I really, really want the next time I'm pregnant to be a time of true joyous expectation not worry. To add another member to our family in 2007 would be devastating to us, (and I'm not exaggerating), which made me feel like I was being crushed under all the weight of life.

I know a lot of people are dealing with the same kind of stuff right now. Not the exact situations I find myself facing, but things that make life seem crushing sometimes. I don't know if it's winter in general or the few weeks following Christmas, but it seems to hit so many at the same time of the year. I wonder why that is and what other people do to tackle it and get out of their 'funks'.

So, I tag you to write a Top 10 List of Thing that Encourage You. And here is mine.

1. Music. Of all kinds except country which I find depressing.
2. Emails from friends that contain real information on their lives.
3. Conversations with other adults.
4. When my favorite shows come on and they're not repeats. (It makes it feel like life is moving forward in a cheesy silly kind of way.)
5. Children. As I mentioned before both mine and those of others.
6. A routine which involves getting out of the house.
7. The fact that the main floor of my house is tidy every night before I go to bed.
8. My man.
9. My Brick Card statement and our Line of Credit Statement, (the current debts were focusing on paying off. It's encouraging cuz they always go down without fail.)
10. Blogging. Reading about the lives of others, writing about mine, and the encouraging comments people leave.

TAG, YOU'RE IT!!