pursuing LOVE...and JOY...and WHOLEHEARTEDNESS!

I'm going to count gifts today. #981: Waking up early without wanting to cry #982: I have met all of my exercise goals for this month #983: AND I still feel excited about my exercise goals for this month #984: Ben fixed my tail-light and I can drive my car without fear of being pulled over #985:  My cute and comfortable red skirt #986: We tried a new soup recipe last week and it turned out really delicious #987: Reading for pleasure #988: The sobering realization, yet again, that I cannot do my job, at all, without deep partnership with God #989: New clients AND familiar clients #990: Baby plants are growing at the farm! #991: I have serious silly-ness hidden within me and Ben knows right where to find it #992: Surprising my parents by installing the new microwave while they were gone #993: Recognizing that knowing how to handle "not getting what you want when you want it" well is one of the most valuable life skills and being able to cultivate it

You may be wondering what happened to me during February and March and I have been asking myself that same question recently. There was a lot going on and no time for writing. I had two wonderful opportunities open up. My mom started teaching a Bible study on Heaven on Monday nights and Ben and I were invited to join a group of young couples who were going through Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace curriculum on Thursday nights. My mom is a talented teacher of God's word and I have gotten so excited about spending eternity with God in a real place that I can't wait to experience. Financial Peace University (FPU) has been great too and Ben and I are learning some valuable principles and strategies about money, budgeting and savings. But the downside to all of this is that I filled up my only two open nights during the week. Now, I did pause and consider the consequences of my actions before I committed to these two opportunities. I remembered the brutal exhaustion that I