Trouble

I'm sitting down to write and I have so much to blog about, and yet so very little to say. Mostly, our family is feeling down. We have all been sick with Levi's cold. In fact, I think we are single handily keeping Puffs and Kleenex in business. We've been up at night with a certain little boy who for 2 of the last 3 nights felt as though 1 - 3 a.m. is "party time". Steve and I disagreed. Strongly.

I'll post photos in the next post - some of them are great from our NEW camera. We love it.

If you came to our house tonight, you'd notice the little clouds over each of us. Steve's facing trouble at work, I'm missing having him at home, Ben has to do homework and Ella doesn't get cake because she didn't eat dinner. Trouble, trouble, trouble. Trouble isn't just in our household - it's all around us. Job loss, the economy, cancer, illness, death and depression. There is so much to be thankful for, but somehow, trouble speaks louder than blessings sometimes.

The bible talks about trouble A LOT. God must have known that we would need lots of opportunities to hear truth about feeling down. My favorite verses come from 2 Corinthians 4:16 - 18. "Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

Sleepless nights: Light and momentary
Job losses: Light and momentary
Sour Economy: Light and momentary
Pay cuts: Light and momentary
Problems with Friends: Light and momentary
Health Issues: Light and Momentary
Homework: Light and Momentary
Cake Loss: Light and Momentary

After meeting with God this evening, I am fixing my eyes on what is unseen: The molding of 3 beautiful children, God providing for our every need, hope for healing and relational restoration. Hope for a future not on this Earth. "Do not loose heart."

On an unrelated note, I'd like to tell you that I mopped my kitchen floor today. For those of you who follow my blog, you'll remember that the LAST time I mopped the floor was the day we received the good news of Levi coming (and YES that was almost 3 weeks ago between moppings!). I couldn't help but remember what a joyful day that was. It will always be a highlight in my life. Today's mopping was a necessity. Levi has spilled more Cheerios, grape pieces, yogurt, and crackers on my floor in the last 3 weeks than I could have imagined. Then again, there is a lot that I couldn't have imagined 3 weeks ago...