Wordless Wednesday - You Never Know Where Thomas will Turn up...

Or how many pieces he will be in (poor Percy!)

Pictured: the contents of dirty pant pockets before laundry!

For more of Thomas's favorite places, go here!

What to do when you don't feel like it

I've been thinking about yesterday's post and Michael Hyatt's list and I'm wondering...

What do you do when your emotions overwhelm you for whatever reason, or none at all? What do you do when you need to get things done but you just don't feel like it?

I started my own list. Here's what I've got:

*Stay away from the Internet/e-mail/Facebook. These are things I do when I'm stalling. When I don't feel like doing anything else or want to waste time. Forcing myself away from them sometimes forces me into doing what I'm supposed to be doing.

*Set a tinsy, tiny goal and accomplish it. Then move on to the next thing and start building momentum.

* Promise myself a reward if I do what I need to do.

*Play a game with my kids. Sometimes just doing something gets me going. This is a fun something that involves connection. win-win!

* Pray for inspiration on what to tackle first.

* Do something that fills me up. There are times when I get worn down and no amount of handy "tips" will get me going because I'm running on empty. Those are the times I need to do something that fills me up, like reading a good novel or taking a nap.

* Just do it. Push through the "I don't feel like it" and do it anyway

* Spend time with Jesus. Read his word, pray or just being still.

These are a few things that work for me... what works for you?

I don't feel like it.

"If we do only what we feel inclined to do , some of us would do nothing forever and ever...The proof that we are rightly related to God is that we do our best whether we feel inspired or not."

-Taken from My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers

Feelings are deceitful. They cannot be trusted. They tend to blow things out of proportion and distort the truth.

I question my calling simply because I don't feel inspired.

Or, I act rashly because I do feel inspired and don't want to wait.

They make it hard to know what to do. I can't make a decision based solely on my feelings... can I?

Sometimes I do. Especially in the little things.

I don't feel like dusting so I don't. I don't feel like talking so I don't. I don't feel like getting up...

This may be okay on a Monday, but if I let my emotions rule, life can quickly spiral out of control. Pesky feelings.

On the other hand, feelings make life richer. Moments are held tighter. Relationships go deeper. Life is more colorful when we let emotion shade our vision.

Emotions are God-given, it's good to acknowledge them, as long as we don't live by them.

God give us His word and His spirit to help discern what's real and what's not. I'm thankful for that, especially when my emotions are out of control. When they cloud the truth and fog everything I see. When that happens, I try to take a step back, remind myself that feelings can't be trusted, pray for discernment to see the truth, and act on that truth.

Whether I feel like it or not.

I just wish it wasn't so hard to do.

***I just read this post on Michael Hyatt's blog, it felt like a good thing to share. :) ***

Hard Love

I'm participating in 5-minute Friday today. Here's how it works...

She provides the prompt (today's is Hard Love), you write for 5 minutes, whatever comes, no editing, no tweaking, it doesn't have to be "just right".

Hard Love. Go.

Love feels hard today.

It is dark and gray outside. Clouds covering the sun. One of those clouds has creeped inside. It follows me wherever I go. Raining down negative thoughts.

I'd like to say it affects only me, but clouds like this tend to reproduce at a rapid rate. Frustration seeps out of me and, like it or not, affects the little people around me.

Love feels hard today.

I need a good dose of truth. I need to remember the sacrifice that was made for me. The greatest love ever shown in the history of the world. That was a day when love had to feel hard. Physically... the nails pushed through his hands and feet. Emotionally... they weight of the world pressing down on his shoulders. Spiritually... the God of the universe turning his back on his beloved son.

That day, love was hard. And the world has never been the same since. Stop.

Have you experienced any miracles in your life?

Walking on water or feeding 5,000 with one child's meal. Making the blind see or raising the dead. These events scream miracle. Impossible for a mere human to pull off, there can only be one explanation...

This week as I prepare for Easter and think on the life of Christ, the miracles he orchestrated and the sacrifice he willingly made, I think about the miracle he did for me. The miracle he thrills at performing for whomever will ask.

He took my old, sin-stained heart and transformed it into something new and beautiful.

He saw value in me. He looked beyond my selfishness, the filthiness of my attempts at "righteousness" and pursued me anyway. And when I responded to his call and surrendered to his will, he transformed my heart into something new and made me holy.

And while my traitor self is still fighting to do wrong, my heart, my true self, transformed by Jesus longs for righteousness and the God who made me.

An impossible task for a mere human to complete; there can only be one explanation.

A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death...Anyone, of course, who has not welcomed this invisible but clearly present God, the Spirit of Christ, won't know what we are talking about. But for you who welcome him, in whom he dwells...if the alive-and-present God who raised Jesus from the dead moves into your life, he'll do the same thing in you that he did in Jesus...When God lives and breathes in you (and he does, as surely as he did in Jesus), you are delivered from that dead life.

(Rom. 8:2-3, 9-11 The Message)

Praising God for the miraculous work he does in those who follow him everyday!

Happy Easter everyone!

***Head on over to Jill Savage's blog today to read more stories of the miracles God has performed in her life and others. Click on the "click here" at the bottom of her blog post to see other blogger's links.***

Wordless Wednesday - Happy Easter!!!

The Winners

Thanks for all your comments and green ideas! I'll keep this short and sweet. The winner of the book Green Mama is.... Sarah R.!!! AND, The winner of the chicobag... Cara!!! Congrats girls! I'll be contacting you for shipping information shortly.