This is Living #joydare #1000gifts

Having a rough week at the castle...should I blog about it?

The selfishness in me wants to just post some pretty pictures.

Jon, adorable Jon, making sure I could get a good shot of the sunset out his window. :)

The God-lover in me wants to shout from the midst of the pain that the sunset is still beautiful! God is still beautiful!

I have a bad back and bad feet, and on top of that, a pulled muscle from helping put the new well pump in last month. I want to be healed and help with the farm work, and get started on the fall planting, and summer harvesting, and finally accomplish all that house work.

Alas, I must rest or chance making it worse.

Therefore...messy dishes, messy kitchen, dryer full of towels, random junk out and about (where do these bits and pieces come from!?).

My humanity feigns embarrassment at my housekeeping skills.

The God-lover in me shouts--I have towels! I have a working dryer! I have grocery money!

I will blog about all the good things along with the hard things, because this is still part of living!

I will revel in the low-carb fried chicken in the midst of the pain (lol).

Some days you realize you're just living on expectations of the next big thing, and you're not sure how you'll get through one day, let alone adding all the partially functional days together and hope you end up with something presentable at the end.

And there God is holding us all together.

I felt like scrapbooking :)

In my pain and frustration there is hope of healing and gratefulness for the body I have, the life I have...and when the life and body don't function the way I want them to, it drives me closer to God, and that's the goal.

Closer to God.

Every day, live in communion with God.

Every day, live with Him.

That's all there is to it--life is for living with HIM.

When my feet don't work and my back won't bend...closer to God.

When my health is great and my bills are easily paid...closer to God.

When all around me is calamity and the world just doesn't make sense...closer to God.

This is living.

On the great days, I'm grateful for God's presence.  On the rough days, I'm grateful for God's presence.

I'm walking in this song today:

Life is for living with You
I've made my decision

You lift me up, fill my eyes with wonder
Forever young in Your love
This freedom's untainted with You
No moment is wasted

Today I am thankful that my situation does not [and never will] negate Gods grace. #becauseJOY

God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—Ephesians 2:4-5