March is coming in like a lion... will it go out as a lamb?

I waited patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and
heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
He set my feet on a rock and gave me
a firm place to stand.
Psalms 40:1-2


I don’t have a problem with the Lord hearing my cries or lifting me out of the slimy pit. I really don’t like mud and mire at all. I much prefer standing on a nice flat rock with no moss growing to make it slippery. My big problem is waiting patiently. I’ve heard all my life to be careful what I pray for and the hard lessons the Lord can give when teaching patience, but I really have a hard time with the waiting for the blessings and the next step to His plan for my life. I am not getting any younger. I’m facing yet another birthday which is moving me further into my 50th decade. Gads! Aren’t I supposed to be building retirement and nest eggs now instead of launching a new career with a new degree and hey, I’m still working on the education…. The master’s program in Human Services is in full swing!

These first two classes have kept me thinking. I know that is the main purpose of furthering education (besides an increase in salary expectations) but in my Interpersonal communication class the main idea is to enlarge the conversation. The two main enlargements I am seeing is the conversation between me and myself AND the conversations I am having with God.

I am looking for guidance for His purpose. Steve and I feel that we are being called into His service, but we need guidance or at least a clue where to look. Are we supposed to be working as a team? Should we be looking for a church to work as a team? are we supposed to be in two different work environments? Steve has so many great marketing ideas. I have the ability or talent to speak and exhort groups. We make a great team but need a place to plant our little talent seeds. It’s so true that what God puts together, no man should put asunder (Matthew 19:6). Steve and I make a whole. He is strong where I am weak and I am strong in His weak areas.

Beware the Ides of March. I believe Caesar said this….I am always aware of the Ides of March because I gain another year of experience on that day. Where does time go? It is so very true that the older we get the faster the clock ticks. Time also changes our perspective on age. I don’t think it is wishful thinking to think that 50 is the new 30. The age of 60 is looking younger on a daily basis! I think I’ll claim the age of 32 with 20 years experience this year.

This week marks the first anniversary of Payton going to live with the Lord. Our hearts have been heavy even though we know Payton is sitting on Jesus’ knee and is enjoying fellowship with our Heavenly Father, as well as getting to know his great-great grandparents. We miss his sweet smile but take comfort in knowing that we will see him again. I know too, that Payton and Bailey are enjoying each other’s company in full health and romping together through the gardens of heaven. Please do not write to me and try to tell me that God doesn’t allow our pets in heaven. I believe He does because they give us so much pleasure and joy in this life and therefore, I think they will continue to do so in the afterlife. I am further convinced this is true due to my Theology class I took in college. God gave us three parts in our total being –a physical body, a spirit, and a soul. He gave animals a soul and a physical body, and plants got only the physical body. This means that since we need souls to enter heaven, our pets will be there. Our spirits are so that we can communicate with God while living in our physical bodies on this earth. Animals don’t commune with God in this life so they didn’t get a spirit. Alrighty…. That’s my argument and I’m sticking to it. 

Onto some fun…. I am knitting a sweater for one of the grand girls. I have the right sleeve about done and almost ready to start on the body. I’ll post some pictures when it looks more like the right side of the sweater. I’m using a variegated acrylic yarn mixed with a fuzzy yarn in blues, teals, and lime green. Actually I used some of this same main color yarn for Connor’s (my oldest grandson) first hat and mittens. I had some left over and am trying to use some of my stash this year.

I also got the top for a grandchild throw quilt done in the last several weeks. Of course, Quincy, being the great quilt inspector that he is, had to give himself a bath on it while I snapped the photos of the quilt.
By getting started in January and working on these two projects over a couple months, I’m hoping to make most of my gifts throughout this year. Maybe I can have some great handmade gifts this year for my family. Maybe the hard candy Christmas of 2010 will be a merry one!

Elizabeth’s Year yahoo group has a challenge going right now --Make it do, use it up, or do without! We are trying to reduce our stash this year. Our conversations have included our current OTN projects and how we are storing our stash. Here's a picture of the March project in Elizabeth Zimmerman's almanac; however, we don't all work on the monthly projects -- some of us are on the ten-year plan to complete all of EZ's projects. I really want to make this sweater for my dear husband, but haven't gotten the courage up just yet! Come join us!