This weekend just ending has had some rough edges. Ballgame Friday night, up early and to the church to pick peanuts off the vine for our upcoming peanut boil (we got 3 large trashbags full!); Saturday evening we helped chaperone a teenage party for some friends’ daughters. Sunday is always full, between Sunday School and church in the morning (I teach children’s church), lunch at MIL’s house, children’s play practice on Sunday afternoon, then back to church for evening worship. Then last night’s meeting left me feeling drained…
I know I shouldn’t let things push me past my breaking point, but it happens sometimes, just the same. Too much drama from too many directions all at once, and I’m feeling overwhelmed. I’m still not back to my normal, happy self – I’m not claiming to be a happy camper all the time, but for the most part I operate on a pretty even keel.
I know there are some things that I need to do to prevent this from happening. First, I need to spend more time praying and studying my Bible, so I know where I’m supposed to be (I notice that when I get to this point, my mind tends to start worrying about things that don’t come under my authority).
Second, I need to make sure I’m getting the rest I need – when I start feeling like this, I need to get away, either by walking, riding, reading or listening to music.
Third, I need to talk it over with someone – mostly it’s my husband, but it can be others as well. The main thing is I need to say out loud what the problem is, so it loses it’s power on me.
I feel better now, and I can get back to work…

I hate seeing waste. I don’t care where I see it, I hate it. I hate that we’re a throwaway society for the most part. I belong to a group called Free-cycle (a yahoo group- check it out in your area) just because I hate to see things get thrown away that can be used again.
For example, right now I’m working on a swap to a lady who needed some wine bottles for a craft she’s working on. I don’t drink wine, but I know someone who drinks an Acai berry juice mixture, which comes in bottles that look very similar to wine bottles. So I’m collecting them and going to make sure she gets them.
Anytime I see something lying on the side of the road, my first thought is ‘can’t that be used for something?’. It’s not just the thought of landfills overflowing with usable stuff, but that’s part of it; the big part is that people are not being good stewards of what God has given us.
That goes for everything – my husband doesn’t like to eat leftovers, but they make a very nice lunch for me. I love to drink Gatorade, so I get the ones with the squeeze lid. When they’re empty, I wash them out and freeze them for my bike rides.
I save plastic butter tubs for storing leftovers and freezing soups. I save 2-liter bottles, fill them with water and freeze them to use in our coolers when we camp. I save misprinted paper and reuse the blank areas for note paper- who cares if it’s already got something on it- after I’ve used it up, I can shred it and use it for packing paper.
I feel the same way about people- just because a person isn’t perfect (and who is?), I believe they can have a purpose. Older people have knowledge and experience that we ‘younger’ folks don’t… and I don’t think children are a punishment, either. I believe the Bible is absolutely true, and I have never seen a place where God sent children as a punishment – quite the opposite. He stopped women from having children because of the choices they were making.
I know that sometimes being a parent is tough – but the rewards are so much greater than any effort we have to put out there.

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