March 11, 2011

We went to Culvers tonight for the fish dinner. While there, we met a gentleman who was alone and clearly wanting conversation. We learned quite a bit about him, at times a little too much about him being that there were 8 ears under the age of 9. Part of me had a selfish attitude wanting to enjoy sitting there with my family without this intrusion. We rarely go out, so this was quite a treat. But here was this man reaching out to us. After hearing his story, I was even more grateful for the family sitting before me. Why should I hoard my family, but rather share it with this gentleman? It was a good reminder to me to keep my eyes focused on my family, but not so focused that I lose my peripheral vision. I don't want to miss those God-intended interactions with people. I also need to continually die to that natural selfish desire within me that wants things exactly the way I want them.

My book talked about mortifications beginning right at the start of the day, like getting out of bed promptly in the morning. Ummm. I really have a hard time with that. I have such a hard, hard time with that. I will go in streaks and go right back to justifying why I need to sleep just a little bit longer and then the day becomes more chaotic because I didn't get up on time. I struggle with self-discipline in so many different areas. And part of the solution is keeping these blog posts reasonable and getting to bed at a decent time. Good Night!