My beloved and I just returned from a four-day anniversary mini-vacay in the North Georgia mountains. Ahhhhhhhhh....
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| "Sans Souci" means "Without a Care" in French... |
First of all, it was awesome. Nature is cool. Mountains are legit (not many of those in Kansas where I come from.) The cabin we stayed in was cozy. And our baby dog Justus behaved (it was his first overnight road trip.)
That being said-- we have left what we like to call "pretend-land" and returned to reality. I have heard many folks say "I love to travel, but I hate the moment that I arrive home." I have to admit, I used to be one of those people, easily overwhelmed by the TO DO list waiting at my doorstep the minute I check out of pretendland. Time to hit the PANIC BUTTON!!! But not anymore.
Admittedly, this week is going to be busy for me. It is finals week for my masters. Unlike most school weeks, this week doesn't end on Sunday at midnight, but rather Friday at midnight... which shaves two days off my paper writing time for finals. Thus, I have to figure out how to squeeze out 31 pages of semi-profound (and coherent) text between now and then. I am certainly not a procrastinator, but due to the anniversary-ish nature of our trip plus the lack of internet, I wasn't willing/able to work on this paper writing excitement in the woods this weekend.
Ok, so 31 pages of writing to do... plus my blogs this week... gotta do some church-work too... oh, and my running training program kicks up a notch this week as well (still need to go trot-jog 5 miles today). Did I mention I am teaching a class on servant leadership for the youth Wednesday night?
I don't tell you this to gain sympathy. Yeah, no. In fact, I hope that you are empowered by the fact that I don't feel the need to panic. That's right. No freaking out here. I have some profound school-ish things to do, but in the last 4 semesters of school, God hasn't let me down yet-- and I know he will help me to make it happen yet again.
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| Our beloved baby dog... Pre-puke. SIGH. |
I had been praying for the last week or so for God to empower me to make it through this second to last finals week of my masters program with minimal stress and maximum efficiency. We've been home about two hours, and I have accomplished a lot already, all for God's glory... Even though upon arrival, I was greeted with my husband's truck door being left open all weekend because he apparently forgot to shut it which equals dead battery (sigh-- men and their aversion to closing things) I was also greeted by a pile of baby dog vomit in the backseat from the four hour car ride (we are still working on Justus' ability to enjoy vehicle motion.)
God has already granted my request of "No panic needed." It's Monday-- do you have a crazy stressful week ahead of you? If so, never fear-- instead, pray for no panic needed. I have spent the last 63 days of morning God time and Bible study working through the book of Romans. I landed on Romans 12:11 today... and it was certainly no coincidence.
"Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord."
I continue to pray that my 31 pages of writing and all of the things on my TO DO list will be a choice of power granted from God. That I can do it with zeal and spiritual fervor, smile on my face know that this time next week will find me in a 10 day break from school (the first that I have had since the beginning of May!) And that all of my TO DO list items can be used to serve the Lord and glorify Him.
May all of YOUR TO DO's be Soli Deo Gloria, for the Glory of God alone... Oh, and remember: there is no panic needed.
Writing for His Glory,
SGK
“Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise. Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.” --Proverbs 19:20-21
