Today's Verse: Isaiah 46:11b-13a

"...What I have said, I will bring about: what I have planned, that will I do. Listen to me, you stubborn-hearted, you who are far from righteousness. I am bringing my righteousness near, it is not far away..."

Yes, yes, yes. I know I haven't posted anything in a few days. Between nursing a migraine, spending most of Sunday either on the road or in church, and just being exhausted and deep in thought in general, I have neglected several things, save kids and laundry. Sorry for the excuses.

I don't know why I'm like this, but I'm a cyclical person. I'm guessing we all are, and not in the way most women are thinking right now (thanks to Lybrel!). I'm cyclical in my thinking. I get going down the road of life and come to something in the road. I identify it, ponder it, occasionally usually overanalyze it, smack myself into gear, and resume my journey down the road. But for some ridiculous reason, that thing shows up again! It might be just after I round the corner, or it might be miles down the road, but invariably that "thing" will come right back and I go back through this process. Being a lover of logic and efficiency, this is quite frustrating to me, and in turn becomes frustrating to R., S., S4J those who have to hear me talk about it all the time. So why do I, or any of us, keep coming back to stumbling blocks in our roads?!?

I wish I had an answer for that, I really do. As I sat down today to write this blog, my heart was heavy with care. I'm at a real loss for how to handle a situation upon which I have a lot riding. If it didn't matter to me, it wouldn't register on my emotional radar, but since it matters quite a bit, it's like looking at a Category 5 hurricane on the doppler. I felt pressed to head to my good ol' standby, the Psalms. But as I opened my Bible, this verse smacked me in the face like a foul ball at a summertime t-ball game.

Yes, I know that I have taken a verse out of its socio-historical context, but sometimes when God really wants to catch your eye and make a point, usually before He does it the painful way, I think it's entirely possible that the Holy Spirit lets your eye catch on a word or phrase. For me, that phrase was LISTEN TO ME, YOU STUBBORN HEARTED!!

It's a rare thing to have something so obvious and pointed show up, as I like to say, in black and white on a billboard right in front of my face. How many more times am I going to blog about the same things bothering me? How many more passages of Scripture am I going to have to read before I get the point? How far gone is my situation going to have to go until it either smoothes out or completely unravels? I don't want it to unravel. In my effort to "work against that," I'm afraid that is exactly what is going to happen. I feel like God is trying to tell me to quit being a backseat driver and to get a grip, and I'm finding it so hard to do this. I am humbly asking for your prayers, both from those who are regular readers and those who stumble upon my posts, those who are Christian, those who are Jewish, Muslim, or any other "flavor" of religious expression. Please pray that God would give me the added measure of faith to rely upon His faithfulness, massive amounts of patience for all the people in my life, and for outrageous amounts of strength as my character is being developed, my relationships strengthened, the events of my life unfolding. I feel so trapped and paralyzed by my own stupidity sometimes! Please pray for me to be more optimistic about my life and to not be in such a hurry to live my life that I don't appreciate everything and everyone for exactly what and who they are for me. Thanks in advance.

And with that, I'm off to take the kids to see "Kung Fu Panda." :)