Five Weeks

Good morning, ladies!!! It's been five weeks since I posted. I've checked in here and there, but for the past five weeks, I've pretty much been completely OFF LINE.    This marks the first post. It also marks what feels like the first day of spring. This is the first post of 2013 that I'm putting together in one of my favorite spots...My porch swing on the back patio under a blue sky with birds chirping and sun shining.    It's still pretty chilly...Even though the grass is green and our dog is lounging at my feet, I'm wearing a sweatshirt and am not sipping on a glass of sweet tea.    Anyway...The last five weeks have been so FULL. I've enjoyed time with my friend Heidi and her two kids. I've been reminded what an exciting time it is to have a baby in the house and what a challenging time it can be for the toddler who came before them.    I've enjoyed the last bits of winter and have thoroughly enjoyed the days that almost feel like summer.    When life changes big time, I always step back and think about LIFE. I step completely outside of everything I know and just really think about things with an eternal perspective. I try to look at things that are important and try to see the fickleness of things that really don't matter at all.    Try it...Make a list. And then go back to living life with a focus on what does matter. It's so refreshing.    With those thoughts on my mind, my time with God in His Word has been having so many similar themes....Clearer sight has come in so many areas.    I've been looking at:   * Battling temptation by hoping in God - If there is one thing that makes me a Christian, it is hoping in God. If there is one thing that will keep me Christian, it is hoping in God. Psalms, Ephesians 6, Hebrews 3 and 4, 1 Peter, and so many other places have been used to keep me seeing this truth.    * Life being war and God fighting the battle for us - We pray, we read, we obey, but all the while, it's God and His grace that keeps us standing strong. Everywhere I read or listen, I've been seeing this theme.    * The role of faith in my DAILY life - I'm working my way through Acts now and this is the theme I'm focusing on as I do.    * The power of prayer - Talking with my friend Corina this weekend reminded me of the things that God has done and let me watch Him do as He led me to pray, kept me praying, and then answered according to the promises in His word.    *God's plan- I saw this as I read through Romans in a way that I'd never seen it before. Read for yourself and be amazed at the intricate things God is doing for His people. The verses about the Jews and the Gentiles are what really stood at this time around.    I've spent a lot of time with a lot of people during this time.    I've stepped back and had time to think and breathe and become refreshed.    I have mounds of laundry to do, I have weeds growing like crazy in every patch of garden I keep, and I feel like I've just been on the run....BUT GOD has been doing some amazing things in my heart and mind and life.    It's a mess. And through it all I'm okay because my eyes have been on the things that actually matter.     What's been going on in your life over that past five weeks?    What are you seeing in God's Word right now?    Are things and time neat and tidy or messy for you?