She Laughs at the Days

There was a time when I was certain that if I could only get to where I am today I would be done with the struggle, and it would be easy. There is that place that we all want to get to, and in our fantasies that place is where life becomes easy. We don't have to struggle any more to figure things out. We are doing what we love so we don't have to search for motivation, and self discipline comes so easily because it lines up with our passion. It won't feel like work when it's something we love.

The truth is a whole lot more messy and complicated than that, of course. Life constantly throws new challenges at us. We work and claw and scrape to get to the top of the hill, only to find that it's just a foothill, the first step in a mountain range and we have to scale that too.

All that to say, life is hard. Anything worth doing is hard work. As Thomas Edison said, "Most people miss opportunities because they come dressed in overalls and look like work."

Those…

Hebrews 613 When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself,14 saying, "I will surely bless you and give you many descendants."15 And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.16 People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument.17 Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. 18 God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. 19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain,20 where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.

And suddenly th…

Luke 24
1 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee:7'The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.' "8 Then they remembered his words.9 When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the…

45 From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. 46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ""Eli, Eli," "lema" "sabachthani?"" (which means "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?").47 When some of those standing there heard this, they said, "He's calling Elijah." 48 Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. 49 The rest said, "Now leave him alone. Let's see if Elijah comes to save him." 50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split52 and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs after Jesus' resurrect…

I know I'm not the only woman who tries to keep to many plates spinning every single day. But lately there's always at least one falling. The answer, I would think, is to simplify, to eliminate at least a few of the plates. But I can't really find anything extraneous to cut. There are the kids, the baby who is about to crawl, just started eating solid food and peeing on his potty on occasion. I can't cut him. I don't want to either. He's the best part of the day, most days.

There's the nine year old Boy with so much intelligence and talent and I'm his teacher. It's a good thing he likes to read because most days I just hand him a book and let him learn on his own. And he teaches himself his math lesson now and does his work. His voice and ear are excellent. I should be giving him voice lessons and vocal exercises. I should spend more time policing the piano practice. He'll thank me later, I know he will.

The Girl is reading, right on the cusp of…

Jesus Before Pilate27:11-26pp -- Mk 15:2-15; Lk 23:2,3,18-25; Jn 18:29-19:1611 Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?""You have said so," Jesus replied. 12 When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer.13 Then Pilate asked him, "Don't you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?"14 But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge--to the great amazement of the governor. 15 Now it was the governor's custom at the festival to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. 16 At that time they had a well-known prisoner whose name was Jesus Barabbas. 17 So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, "Which one do you want me to release to you: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?"18 For he knew it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over to him. 19 While Pilate was si…