Wrestling with Contentment

It is one of those days.  One of those days where you wake up with the best of intentions, quiet time, workout, make bed, and off for the day.  The intentions came crashing down.  I made it halfway through my workout.  I looked up at the clock midway through the battle with my hair to realize it was time to leave.  The hair ended up winning.  Lets just say I pulled off the Texan look for sure today.   I walked past my room where I think there must have been another war between my down comforter and pillows after I popped out of bed this morning.  I hate not feeling on top of my day!

my Texan hair?
my Texan hair?

The next step was walking into a home full of teenage girls, who are about to bring children into this world.  This is the kind of thing which you might want to prepare to enter.

Needless to say by 2PM, I found myself a grump desperately in need of that overdue quiet time.  Have you been here?  Have you every had one of these days?  If not, you are free to move on to stocking another blog.  Wait!  Actually leave me a comment telling me how to avoid these days altogether before you go on.

Finally, before getting on to my to-do list.  I decided to nestle into the couch pillows for a little bit and ask Jesus for some help with this heart.  “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”  Ezekiel 36:8

Then I went on to spend some time reading a bit of Paul’s letter to young Timothy.  I personally think it’s possible that Timothy had some of “these days” too?

This is where contentment comes in.  “Godliness with contentment is great gain.” 1 Timothy 6  I started looking up some definitions of content.  And this one stood out to me.

CONTENT, n.

1. Rest or quietness of the mind in the present condition; satisfaction which holds the mind in peace, restraining complaint, opposition, or further desire, and often implying a moderate degree of happiness.
Hmm…  If I seen contentment as something valuable, I have job to do.  I must

restrain “complaint, opposition, or further desire.”  In doing so this will “often” imply a moderate degree of happiness.  What a divine concept.  One of the definitions of contentment is simply one word “gratitude.”

Sweet Jesus, help me to restrain my complaints, and embrace you and the good things you have done in my life!

I wanna be content in any and ever circumstance.

my LiFe verse

People are continuously telling me I laugh a lot.  In fact I think some are just friends with me, because I laugh so easily.  I would say I am kidding, but actually I know it’s true.  They’ve told me so.  Okay, so that may not be the only reason.  My absolute favorite thing in the world to do is to laugh until my sides begin to ache.  Oh, even though painful, it is the most healing thing in the world.  Sounds like an oxy-moron?   This girl LOVES to laugh!

I’ve been thinking on this whole joy thing lately.  I truly believe that it is one of the enemy’s favorite things to steal in our lives.  One of his favorite methods seems to be comparison.  We begin to focus on all that others have and all that we don’t.  I also believe that by choosing a grateful heart, we can overcome the schemes of the evil one.  Sometimes when I start to feel lifeless, I begin the thank God.  I thank Him for whatever comes to mind, no matter how incredible or trivial it may seem.  As I thank Him, I find my joy returns.

Today in my devotional I came across this scripture in Deuteronomy.

For the LORD your God will bless you in all your harvest and in all the work of your hands, and your joy will be complete.   Deuteronomy 16:15

When we co-labor (work) with God our joy becomes complete!  When we are working and productive it is not only good for our wallets, it is good for our souls.  God desires for us to enjoy the things we are doing, and He longs to bless our harvests, whatever they may be.

All of this to say I think I’ve finally narrowed down a life verse.

Our mouths were filled with laughter,
our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
“The LORD has done great things for them.”

Psalm 126:2

I pray that my life be filled with such abundant joy that the nations will wonder about my incredible God.  I pray the same for you as well…

quick catch-up

the girls
the girls

This is long overdue!  I haven’t sat down much since I got back from Mexico.  We had our annual YWAM Tyler Staff Conference 2 weekends ago, and a wedding last weekend!  Two of my teammates from last year got married on the Father Heart property.  My worlds colliding!  Mom and dad’s turned into a Bed and Breakfast for my friends and myself.  So, grateful they are beautifully Southern and hospitable.  Dad is ever gracious as he is often outnumbered!!  Two of my closest friends from last year came all the way from Canada and Hawaii!  I felt like a kid on summer vacation on the way to pick them up.  This week I am getting life back in order and trying my hardest to make wise decisions about my next steps.  Please pray for me in this process.  Today was filled with meetings, as I seek wise council.  I am blessed with a couple great opportunities, and basically need to decide between two.  I am hoping to reach a conclusion this week.  More to come soon…

"roommates"
"roommates"