Cheerful, Prayerful and Thankful

I have a confession to make… I played hooky today and stayed home from church.  And let me tell you… for someone who has practically lived in church for the vast majority of their life, it wasn’t an easy task to accomplish!  But I have been in sort of a tailspin this last week with all the new house goings-on and it seemed to be the only logical break that I could take before resuming my super-busy schedule tomorrow. 

Since last Sunday, I have been getting up and out early everyday, in order to get everything done.  Yesterday morning, I had the honor of leading the discussion at the men’s Connect Group from the church that I have been attending for a few months.  It was quite the blessing and I couldn’t help but spend the time on the drive home from the restaurant loudly praising and thanking the Lord for His ability, peace and anointing to accomplish the job!  I was so excited and tired when they handed things over to me that I had a hard time deciphering my handwriting on my notes and had to stop and explain how busy I’d been all week.  Then everything focused, the anointing hit and off we went… what fun!

Once I returned home and took Fiver out for a long walk, the rest of the day was like a foggy dream.  My daughter and granddaughter picked me up around 1:30 and we went grocery shopping for a couple of hours.  It was really strange though, as I kept feeling like it was much later in the day than it actually was.  But we made it through the store, Fiver and I got another couple of walks in and the evening went off well… although I turned the light out at 9:30 after dosing on the bed for a half-hour! 

So, today I got up before 7:00 AM, took Fiver out for his morning constitutional and went back to bed!  My plan for the rest of the day is to do absolutely nothing… but knowing me, I doubt that this will actually happen.  I’ve already started a couple of To-Do Lists for the week, am making a move plan and am thinking about starting to pack!

I was telling one of my daughters last week that this new home is different from the last two houses that Piper and I purchased over the years.  After searching all around our home town and one of the neighboring towns for houses, we purchased our first home north of Santa Rosa and got to watch it being constructed.  Then we built parts of the back fence, poured the cement patio (with the help of many friends from work) and planted the front lawn.  And except for needing window coverings, that’s about all we had to do on that home.

The second home in North Carolina had many upgrades and was ready to move in and enjoy!  The previous owners had recently done some remodeling in the kitchen and master bath and replaced just about all of the light fixtures with fancy fan lights.  Then one of their parent’s passed away suddenly and with the tax laws in North Carolina, they found it to be more cost effective to sell their home and move into their father’s which was just down the street!  With our situation, that house was perfect because I didn’t have much extra time to do any major changes.  Therefore, I got to enjoy myself and work off my stress at the same time by working in the yard!

This new house is like a blank canvas.  It was built in 2008 and has had one owner who moved in when she was in her eighties.  And let me tell you, this place is immaculate!  From what I can tell, everything is original except for a few of the kitchen appliances.  It reminds me of the 2009 Mustang we bought that looked brand new with very little miles on it, even though it was over six years old at the time.  The one thing I did notice on Friday as I spent a good portion of the afternoon there, waiting for the water company to show up, was that except for the bright colored kitchen walls, the paint scheme for the rest of the house makes it look like its an old lady’s home… which is exactly what it was!

So, like my oldest daughter agreed when I conveyed this observation to her, I have lots of times of creativity and painting ahead… to which she added “Well, it’s a good thing that you’re surrounded by a creative family who can help you out!”

You know?  I am happy, excited and thankful for all the fun projects ahead!  In many respects, it’s like the Lord is telling me that the story, character and ambience of this home will be created alongside and in agreement with the story, character and ambience of my new life here in Oklahoma!

I found a portion of scripture that seemed to perfectly express my feelings on this new adventure ahead during my Bible study today.  It also confirmed the fact that although Piper had no physical input into the selection of this home, that she is looking down upon me with a huge smile.  These verses are the perfect portrait of the way Piper lived her life and is the way that I have tried to continue to pursue mine now and into my future without her.

I Thessalonians 5:16-18 tells us to “Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. (for) This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.” (The Message) So, yeah… I’m being cheerful, I’m staying in an attitude of prayer and I’m doing my best to be thankful in the midst of everything.  According to the Apostle Paul, this is a winning attitude… and if I learned anything from spending 48 years on this earth with Piper, it is to ALWAYS keep up this winning attitude in everything, during everyday and in the midst of every event that we experience in this life!

How about you?

Have a great week!  You may have noticed that I’ve been way off my normal Monday, Wednesday, Friday posting schedule, and it’s probably gonna be that way for the rest of the year with the upcoming move and settling in.  But stick with me and I’ll get out posts and or updates whenever I can!  In the meantime, say with me… “I am expecting to be cheerful, prayerful and thankful in the midst of any experience ahead!”