Life according to John

It's amazing to me that within minutes, life goes from good and comfortable and then within an instant it's flipped upside down and very awkward. This week has been just that. Sunday was a good day...tried a new dinner...and then life was flipped. I was startled to hear of trouble my little brother is having. Trying to be there for him (4 hours away) was quite difficult. So as I tried to calm him down, and myself...the mins turned into hours...and the hours got longer and longer. Before I knew it, it was 2am...and I was still awake.

Then Monday came. Normal day, except that I was exhausted...running around with meetings, eye apt - apparently I'm color blind now :( Then work, then teaching lessons....all which led to the perfect ending to the day. My phone broke...I left the sunroof in the car open and it poured down rain inside my car. The rest of the week definitely had its challenges for sure...but by Friday, I had thought that finally things were better. My best friend in the whole world achieved his Doctoral program and is now Dr. Ware!! Congrats Patrick!!! So to celebrate we all went out for dinner! Good food, great friends, amazing conversation! I am so proud of Patrick for reaching his goals even with all of the distractions he has in his life. I am so proud of him!!!

The weekend pretty much followed par with the rest of the week....having it's good moments...of shopping for the girls, and cleaning up the apt...enjoying the sun...and definitely catching up on some much needed sleep!! And yes, there were the down moments as well...but as I sit here typing...life is pretty good.

I went to church this am...couldn't get out of bed in time for the usual 9:30am time...so ended up going to the 11:15 service. Nevetheless...the sermon was pretty fitting for the week I had. It focused around "not forgetting" who we are in Christ. And that when we do, all of the "stuff" and non-important things control our lives. The perceptive management becomes so important. But when we remember "who we are" in Christ, that perceptive management doesn't matter anymore...and we live for ourselves with Christ. I found myself reflecting in the car driving home today, thinking about how sometimes I get so caught up in what others think or will perceive...based on who I used to be and things I have done of which I am not proud of in my life...and not who I am now and the way in which I am choosing to live...and I came to the realization that I was forgetting who I am in Christ, and my perceptive management was too important. So I have taken the lesson from this am, of "wake up, and embrace who you are" to heart. It's time to once again live for me through and with Christ. And to let all of the "stuff" go by the way side.

It's amazing how when times are tough...He is always there to comfort us, through a pastor, or a reading, a song or a friend!

~Happy Sunday everyone!