Holy Moly!

Holy Moly this week is tough:

1. I have a house full of twelve year old boys round the clock (imagine the decibel level, grocery bill and surmounting cleanup duty)
2. I am two weeks out from a HUGE exam and I am severely behind on my study time,
3. I have three projects due in the next couple of weeks for work and my work environment ain't so good, folks
4. My vacation plans just don't seem to be working out
5. I've been told I was "weird"
6. I have not sat down for 5 minutes with nothing to do since I returned to town last Friday afternoon
7. My backdoor project is still not completely done and is requiring way more time and funds that I truly want to give it
8. My water heater pilot went out for some unknown reason last night and my own imagination has run off down the road of some extraordinarily expensive endeavor to correct this problem that will take as long as the backdoor project which will require me to have to take cold baths and showers for the next 3 months (good thing it's a hundred and fifty degrees outside and I'm still working on sticking to my energy savings plan)
9. My son came home from his incredible week at beach retreat running 103 degree temps with a bad case of strep
10. One of my dearest friends is going through one of the toughest times in her life

But Holy Moly there is so much to be thankful for,

1. Griffin made a decision last week to reconnect with God and was baptized again while at beach retreat and came home with incredible stories about all of the fun he had and all of the friends he made
2. My sweet, hard-woring friend worked diligently while I was out of town last week to get the better part of the back door installation work done and I do have a door in that has an incredible seal around which will keep the rain waters out and the small amounts of cool air I am allowing myself inside
3. Griffin and his friends want to hang out at our house (I like to think this is because I am such a cool mom)
4. Out of nowhere, that friend who is working on the back door appeared at the grocery store last night just in time to help me deal with the hot water heater issue and I got a hot bath last night even though I was selfish and made the boys go to bed stinky
5. My co-worker brought in the new Jimmy Needham CD today to the office and listening to it while I work is sort of like Snow White's rendition of "Whistle While You Work"
6. When I talked to my dear friends last night she told me the greatest story about a career success, and who doesn't love a happy ending story?
7. And of course, I'm weird! (Totally a compliment, don't you think?) Who wants to be plain, ordinary and boring? Not me!

Recently, I have been accused of putting too positive of a spin on my life. My blog apparently doesn't bring to light all the depressing, dark and disgusting issues that pop up every now and again. Well, it's one of those times now that 'bad times' is rearing it's ugly head in full force. I am choosing to not dwell on it all too much. It's encouraging to me to find joy in the good and pleasant things and it helps keep everything else in perspective.

My encouragement also comes from a short passage in Romans 5-
1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we[a]have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we[b] rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3Not only so, but we[c] also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.


and Proverbs 17
22 A cheerful heart is good medicine,
but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

Holy Moly, that's good stuff!