Saturday, June 03, 2006

Just a Summary of a Busy Day

Today was a busy and eventful day to say the least...I started with something of a quiet time and then a walk. I'm trying to get really familiar with the Psalms. Sonja gave me a blank book for my birthday, one of those journaling types. At our Bible study last year one of the recommendations for memorizing Scripture was to write down the first word of each letter in a verse. Well, maybe I'm a little extreme, but I decided I'd use that blank book for it. So I have used this method for the first three chapters of Genesis and I'm on Psalm 24...so each morning that I'm not doing something more specific elsewhere, I try going over a number of these. It's amazing for one thing that I remember any of it, but also amazing how many times I go over and over it and don't remember as much as I'd like. Still, I can tell that my brain cells have had a more intense workout by trying these out than by just reading the Psalms more casually from the regular text. I'm going to continue writing them in my book, and trying to get really familiar with all the Psalms and the Creation account and a few other things. It seems good and helpful, though I wish I were smarter and had a better memory.
Then I took a walk twice around our cul-de-sac. It's 500 steps around, so it's a neat little package for a short walk, safe and measured, and you can do a little walk or a lot, and still be close to home. I took a few cards with verses written on them and I'm going to use these walks to try to memorize verses while walking. Again I'm amazed at how I read a verse and immediately forget how it starts. Old brain.
Well, after that Katie and I went to the One28 ministry leaders' meeting; Katie to watch kids and me to participate. It's always good. We did a bit of role-playing regarding interaction between leaders and students about the latest series of messages. Pastor Sean came up with some challenging questions, just like students are so good at presenting. I'm glad for it, though I can't think that our group gets into these kind of conversations very often. I'm not sure whether it's because they accept everything Sean says, or because they don't share their doubts--though they do share many things that surprise me. Hmmm. That's thought-provoking for me. Seems like the other groups run into so much more intense interaction where they can really grapple with things, and I envy that some, even though I'm not sure I'm up to the challenge to answer with sufficient wisdom. Not that I'd be the main one answering; I am third of three leaders! I wonder what the difference is that brings these topics to the surface for the other groups? With God all things are possible...maybe in the coming year!
After we came home I had to immediately get a dinner going, and then talked with a friend over the Excellent Wife study which we just started. That was great! So far it's easy, and I expect it to get more convicting as it goes along. I don't think I could have eagerly started it last year, but now perhaps I'm ready. My friend and I were both rejoicing over how similar our struggles are. Not in the fact that we have struggles, but that we relate to each other in them. We don't even know each other that well; we were in Bible study together year before last and hardly talked since. When we did, this study providentially came up, and here we are, intending to work on it and talk once per week.
We (the family) ate the dinner I made for lunch, because it was garlic-and-onion pork roast, and smelled too good to wait for it until dinner time. It would be good to have a real meal before Tim's baseball game anyway, I thought; though Tim in all his epicurean sensibilities preferred a peanut butter sandwich instead. Sigh.
After that we went to Tim's game. Tim hit two home runs today! Now he's hit four of them this season. His head seemed a little swollen on the way home, judging by the things he was saying. I don't think he has to worry, he's in a family that will cure that trouble for him if it gets out of hand. We only believe in a limited measure of self-esteem--more like, hardly any--that is, we should esteem one another more highly than ourselves and God most highly of all. Still, I pondered what possible potential there might be in his skills for athletic scholarships some day...with one parent who entirely lacks the sports gene? Wow. That would be amazing. I can just picture him playing a game professionally that I barely understand.
On the way home we delivered an invitation for Katie's graduation to her friend LaShani. Her brother who I must have met once at her birthday answered the door and immediately knew we were the Abbotts...which surprised me. He was incredibly polite, like LaShani. We've always been amazed at LaShani's kind nature and her family's fantastic lovingkindness.
We then went home and made some really quick cookies and started out to carry them to new neighbors from Iowa, but then Tim had to come back in the house for a moment and I called a friend who I thought needed a dinner. Turned out she did, so we brought that over (which was part of what I'd prepared before the game)--after all, it was dinner time...then we came back and delivered the cookies. Our new neighbors seem very nice. He's in the military. I'm hoping they might consider coming to our church...but when I mentioned it they didn't exactly take the bait for the moment. Still, I'm not sure I would, in their shoes, with a house full of move-in and not knowing anything about the church...I'm looking forward to getting to know them better and we'll see what the future brings.
Tim came home from playing outside. He rang the doorbell and then kicked the door. I opened it and was ready to scold him for that when I realized his hands were full of blood. A neighbor kid had given him a bloody nose by saying "Think fast" and then poking him in the face with a ball. Since he disappeared rather than come show some care for Tim, I went to talk to him and his father, and though the boy lied when I addressed it, his father saw through it and the boy came and apologized all around. It was good to see a parent really doing some parenting in the neighborhood.
Since we had dinner for lunch, we were sort of short for dinner time. I baked some potatoes and put chili on them. So much for gourmet cooking, eh?! Then we all went out and finally planted some plants in our vegetable garden that is finally fairly level. An exciting day, overall. Soon we will also plant some seeds that ought to work with such a short time left to the season, maybe some lettuce and other greens. It seems a shame that it took so long to get planting started, but I know God is in control! I can hardly wait to really get it going.
While we were back there, our neighbor Stacia came into our yard and brought me a present--she's the one with a birthday coming up, not me! She bought me a devotional book for moms. She said it popped out at her for me. This friendship growing with a next-door neighbor is so amazing to me I can hardly believe it. So much fun, too!
Tomorrow's church and that guarantees the day will be full. It always marks the week for me, and it seems that we go to church every other day, not because it's any chore, but the weeks go by so fast! It will be good to get together and have fellowship. The teaching is always good; I always learn or am reminded of something important.
I hope I didn't babble too much. It just seemed good to sit down and summarize today. It was a good day aside from Tim's bloody nose. And that was good, too, in that I met the father of some neighbor boys. God works that way. All things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose...

2 comments:

The Resident Writer said...

That was a very full day, and that's all I have to say!

NeverAlone said...

It was busy...but most are! I think what I liked about this one was the various people in it, and the fact that priorities seemed to work out. (I don't recall--I may very well have had a backlog of housekeeping as a result; still there need to be days like that one!) So many of my days get bound up in laundry, dishes, cooking...while I like that too, "people contact" is a good contrast.