An Awesome Day

It's been a rough day. I haven't had one in a while so I don't know why it took me so much by surprise. But, as the school day went on the pressure increased and the the symptoms I was feeling were not pleasant. My family noticed it and as usual were so sweet to take care of me. After school was done I hopped in the tub, soaked for a bit, then put on my robe and crashed on the recliner. Not really how I wanted to spend my Thursday evening.

My husband declared that Friday was a day off from school. Usually I fight that idea. Being a homeschool mom, I want to keep on schedule! But I didn't fight it this time instead I slept in way longer than I normally do. I can't remember the last time I stayed in bed till 10 a.m.!

 As I woke up the house was a flurry of activity with children getting ready for their day, the laundry being done and shortly after having them head out to do some duties at the church. With only one child at home that was in charge of "taking care of Momma" I went to the recliner with a cup of coffee my husband had prepared and grabbed my Bible. I know Patrick didn't pick the cup on purpose but as I looked at the coffee cup it said to "Make Today Awesome."  That brought tears to my eyes. I asked God how? How can I do this today? How can It be an awesome day if I don't feel well?  How can it be awesome when I won't be able to do much of anything at all?

I opened my bible and began reading in 2nd Thessalonians and as usual God gave me exactly what I needed. In chapter 1 verse 11 Paul tells the church at Thessalonica he has a prayer for them. In verse 12 he says he's praying that the name of the Lord Jesus Christ would be glorified in them. Glorified? How can His name be glorified in me today? 

When I think about glorifying the Lord I think about winning souls to him and doing a mighty work and I guess sometimes that Mighty work includes things that many others will see. That work means many results will be seen.  Today was going to be a productive school day with my house being straightened and cleaned  having a wonderful family fun night  and preparing as we head into a busy weekend of ministry serving Him! But this is not always so. Today His plan for me is to sit. And to rest.  And to let my family take care of me. Sometimes I fight that plan but that does not bring Him glory. Resting in His will will bring Him glory.

 So my plan today is to make it awesome and to glorify His name and here's a few ways that I can do this.

 #1 I must lower my expectations.  It's not about my plan for my day. It's His plan for me. God's ways don't always make sense to us .

#2 I must accept the circumstances of today that's beyond my control. Today I can't control if my house gets messy. Today I can't control that I won't be having a productive school day. Today I won't even be able to control that it's our family fun night and I won't be able to coordinate all the activities and desserts. I must accept that this is beyond my control.

#3 I need to think about what God has put in my control today.  I can control my spirit whether it will be sweet or whether I'll be fighting the circumstances God has given to me. I can control what I do with the time that I have that's little more down time that I have planned. I can control the thoughts I have. I can control my tone of voice. I don't know about you but when I don't feel good I get a little grouchy . It doesn't have to be that way.  I can choose to have extra time to listen to my children as they come and sit with me and put their arm around me and tell me about their day. I can use my extra time for others just to listen and be an encouragement to them.

#4 I can trust that God has this day in His control. He had this day planned out long before I wrote out my weekly to-do list. Though it's not how I thought I would try and glorify His name today,  He knows what's best and He knows the best way for me to glorify Him today.

So today's a down day for me. I'm working on those four points and I know that He loves me so very much!  Tomorrow will be a different day. Probably tomorrow I'll have more energy and feel better. I'm thankful that usually I don't have too many down days in a row. But for today I will Accept and I will Trust.  God sure is so good to me.