9-30-16 Oh What a Beautiful Morning...

Good Beautiful Morning, Friends!!! Hasn't this been the absolute best fall ever??? The sun is shining, it's warm enough for no coat, but cool enough for long sleeves. I am LOVING this fall!!

You may be wondering what this picture is...

Well, the other day I was turning my fan on and I noticed the strange settings it had for my comfort.

Power Cool: This makes me think that if I press on this button my hair will all be blowing back and my lips will be flapping in the breeze--like a dog with it's head out the car window!

Cool: Yes, I am. I should press this one.

Refresh: OK, when I'm feeling a little exhausted or sweaty, all I need to do is Refresh, right? Like a computer page.

Relax: When Loy gets upset at me, I think I'll point this at him! Maybe it should say, "Chill."

White Noise: I never push this one, since I've taken my Diversity Class. I don't want to be racist.

Calm: This sounds so nice. It might be my favorite setting. Getting worried and bothered? Calm. Stressing about doctor appointments or aches and pains? Calm. It could be called "Breathe."

Whisper: This one eludes me. Whisper to whom? What am I supposed to whisper? Or is the fan whispering to me? Maybe it means God will whisper to me like he did to Samuel. When I put this one on I should just say, "Yes, Lord, Your servant is listening." Whether or not this means that, I should say this anyway.

Sleep: Oh, if only it was that easy to sleep. Just push a button and zzzzzzzzzzz. I have a strange sleep problems. First off, there's the snoring. The incredibly LOUD snoring. The incredibly wakeful snoring. I now have joined the ranks of the CPAP-ers and that does help. But, now I look (and sometimes sound) like something out of Star Trek (think Borg) or Star Wars (think Darth Vader breathing).

We started off with this little nose piece that had what they called "pillows." Makes you think it'll be so darned comfy for your nose, right? Nope. Those "pillows" stick kind of up your nose holes and, every time you move your head on the pillow, readjust and start shooting air outside of your nose holes--like into your eyes or just off into space. And they kind of crunch your nostril up (if you tighten it up so that they don't spew forth air quite so readily). So, I had a permanently tender right nostril.

After giving it the ol' college try (3 months) I went to the next level of nose piece. This one is like a little oxygen mask that covers all of my nose. Much easier and not quite so noisy. But, it kind of digs in to a spot up by the bridge of my nose. I'm still working on that. I've only had it a week, so we'll keep trying, especially since the next level of mask looks like one of those WW1 gas masks!! I do NOT want to go there. I put it on after it's dark so Loy doesn't get the full effect. Sexy. Real sexy.

My next sleep problem: I am so darned tired. All. Day. Long. I get up (not early at all--I'm embarrassed to tell you how late!) and, if I don't keep moving, I could be back asleep by 11:00 a.m.! I try to make it past lunch for a nap, and I crave it. I love that time. It's like a drug high to be able to lie down on the couch and just be--until I'm asleep. Not long.

But, whether or not I've had a nap, I am WIDE AWAKE by 10:00 p.m. or so, when Loy wants to go to bed. If I go at 10 I'm liable to be up for 2 hours or more. If I go to bed at midnight, I might just be awake for 45 minutes or so. The trouble is not sleeping. It's getting to sleep.

And then, of course, waking up.

Is there anything deep in this blog? Probably not. But it does make me think about something I'm learning at our new church, Riverview Community Church. (Yes, this is an announcement that, after moving to Ashland, we have decided it is important (for us, anyway) to worship in our community, so  after 14 happy years at Faith Bible Church in Lincoln, we're moving on. Sad, but happy. Sad because we loved that church and the people. We had our niche. We learned so much. Happy because we think God has moved us and we're excited to see just why. And, so many new friends that we haven't met yet...)

Anyhow, back to my point...

I had been praying this summer that I really didn't feel like I praised God enough and I wasn't just sure what to do about that. I mean, praise is prayer that is really not at all about me--what's up with that?? Well, this church has a list that I've gone through and it helps me so much!!! We just read them out loud (or at home I may do it silently). So, even though this will make this blog WAY too long, I'm going to print them off below. I hope they inspire you like they have me!

The Glory of God

·       God, You are huge; You hold the whole world in Your hands.

·       And You are right here filling up every inch of this room with Your glory.

·       God, You know what everyone is doing, thinking, feeling, and saying right now.

·       You can see every person who has ever sat in this room right now!

·       God, You are The One who drew each of us to this place today.

·       You planned for us to be here before any of us were even born.

·       It’s amazing that You have no needs that anyone can meet.

·       God, You are mysterious; no one can understand you.

·       God, You are always paying attention to every detail of our lives.

·       God, You can hear every sound being made all over the earth at the same time.

·       It’s amazing that You can see the past, present, and future in one glance.

·       God, You know every word in the dictionary in every language!

·       God, You made every star, know their names, and hold them in place!

·       You tell every lightning bolt where to strike.

·       You know what the weather will be like in every place for the rest of time.

·       God You are more beautiful than anything You have created.

·       You see the words on every page, of every book, everywhere!

·       You have already heard every song that will ever be written.

·       You don’t feel worked, surprised, threatened, or overwhelmed by anything.

·       God, You can see inside every car, home, building, closet, bedroom, and life.

·       No one can do anything unless You let them.

·       You are writing the story of time and of each person’s life.

·       You know exactly how everything fits together to accomplish Your purposes.

·       You know exactly when and how every person is born and dies.

·       It’s amazing that the powerful heat of the sun came from You!

·       God, You are enough for us, whether it feels like it or not.

·       You are the only one who can satisfy our hearts.

·       God, You are in control of everything, people are in control of nothing.

·       You can be everywhere at once. People can only be in one place at a time.

·       You are unchanging. Everything else is always changing.

·       God, You are in charge of everything. No one can control or manipulate you.

·       We see only what’s in front of us, You see EVERYTHING>

·       You see inside of cupboards without even looking!

·       You have always been here. No one made you.

·       You made everything out of nothing.

The Honoring Response

·       God, I choose You over everything I have and want. __________

·       God, I surrender everything I think I have to have to You. __________

·       I believe in You, need You, want You, choose You, and surrender to You!

·       No matter what happens, I’ll be okay because I have You and You are enough.

·       God, I choose to believe You are better than everything else I want.

·       God, I choose to believe that I need You more than everything else I need.

·       My life belongs to You and You can do whatever You want to with it.

·       No one but You can satisfy a heart or change a life from the inside out.

The Grace that Connects Me to His Glory

·       Thank You, Jesus, for dying in my place!

·       You traded my sin for Your righteousness and now I am perfect in God’s eyes.

·       Why do You love me SO much?

·       Thank You that You don’t need anything from me. I can’t disappoint You and there is no pressure to perform for You!

·       Thank You for making me into a brand new person and living inside of me.

·       Thanks that my guilt and shame are gone and I am sure I get to go to heaven.

·       Thanks that what You did for me on the cross can’t ever be undone!

·       There is nothing I can do to make You love me more.

·       There is nothing I can do to make You love me less.

·       Jesus, thanks that You don’t need me, but you want me.

·       Thanks that I can KNOW that You will never leave me.

·       Thanks that my faith is not about what II do, it’s about what You DID!

·       Thanks that You use everything that happens to make me more like You!

·       Jesus, You are a better friend than any human could be.

·       Thanks that You want me to come to You when I’m at my worst.

·       I’m so glad that this life is not all there is.

·       I’m so glad I’m completely covered with Jesus!

·       Thanks that, because I have You, I don’t have to get my needs met by people.

·       When You died, it was for every sin I will ever commit!

·       I love you, Jesus!

·       It’s amazing that You know me, see me, hear me, and understand me.

·       Thanks that You don’t count on me for anything.

·       You see MY fingerprint, know MY name, and how many hairs are on MY head.

·       I’m so glad You are changing me from the inside out.

·       Jesus, it’s crazy You paid such a high price to save me.

·       It doesn’t matter what my life is like now, I have heaven to look forward to!

The Higher Purpose We Choose to Focus On

·       Holy Spirit, please use this unfair person in my life.

·       Please use this financial struggle to teach me to trust YOU instead of money.

·       Holy Spirit, please work in the hearts of everyone involved in this conflict.

·       God, please captivate my heart so I will live for ONLY You.

·       Holy Spirit, will You use this tragedy to detach my heart from this life.

·       God, please reveal Yourself to my husband during this difficult scenario.

·       God, please use THIS to draw people to Jesus and send out laborers.

·       Please, Holy Spirit, use my presence here to help people find Jesus.

·       Holy Spirit, please change me from the inside out while I go through this.

·       Please teach me that I don’t have to let other people’s choices affect mine.

·       Teach me to believe that what You want for me is better than what I want.

·       Holy Spirit, please prepare our hearts for whatever the outcome of this is.

·       God, please teach my heart that You are enough through this disappointment.

·       Holy Spirit, please make me willing to go wherever this takes.

·       God, I see brokenness right now and I need Your healing in my heart

·       Help me to see the privilege I have the right now to show Your grace.

Well, that's all for now. Have a great fall, wherever you are!!!

Love, Kitt.