Day 88 - Earth Day Smirth Day

Happy Earth Day! I am not what you call a green person. I recycle because I have to or I'll get fined by our township. I use more paper towels than the average family of 6 (and we're a family of 2). I leave lights on all the time. I drive really fast and they say that wastes gas. Oh well. I am thankful that God gave us an earth that He holds in His hands but sadly (or should I be sad at this?) I don't do much outside of what I'm required to do by law to conserve it. So today, April 22, 2010 I am going to start putting a dish towel in my kitchen and think about using that to dry my hands instead of a paper towel sheet (except I don't like knowing that someone else could have used it to wipe their hands on it while they were handling raw chicken - eww, germs - wait, it's just me and Martin in the house and he doens't handle raw chicken.). There. I feel much better.

Well there are a few things running through my mind. I'll just go down the list I made here on my desk.

1. ***Has Been Removed Until I Pray About It Some More***

2. Resting - Martin and I along with his brother Tim just booked another week in the Outer Banks, NC for September. We did this last year and honestly it was the most restful vacation I've ever had. I did nothing all week except read, sleep, float in the pool, and occasionally fix breakfast, lunch, and dinner (by my own choice - I was not about to go out every night for dinner when I knew I could throw some burgers on the grill and be done with it!). It's something that we all agreed to do again but I've been feeling guilty.

We are supposed to be taking this year to "pray and pay" about adoption and that's a chunk of change that could go towards that. Maybe this year we should just stay home. This is what I've been wrestling in my mind. But I feel like I got a little message from the Lord today while listening to a sermon here at work. Matt Chandler has a great series from 2004 called "Art of Living" and one of his sermons is about rest. He says that God intended for us to rest - truly sabbath one day a week. I don't do this much. I take Saturday for house work and if not, I feel guilty and Sunday if we are home I'll get an hour nap but that's about it for resting and not working.

He also talked about how we just need to get away. Our bodies need an extended amount of time to recharge. For Matt Chandler that could be turning off his cell phone and doing a week long hiking trip (gag!) but for me that's a week at the beach with no schedule. If we think that all life would fall apart at work or home if we are gone then we have built a place that feeds our pride. Wow. That hit me hard. Because, I'm the only one at my job that can do what I do so I'm really important. No, I'm not. I need to rest. I see how God has provided the money for that week and how I need to take that week and rest. I need to recharge. Be with my hubby and some really good books and music by the pool and rest. That's comforting to me. So, now more feelings of guilt - starting now!

3. Weight Loss - I weighed yesterday and I have lost four pounds. Please don't get too excited. The four pounds I lost is the four pounds I gained from the previous four pounds I lost. Follow me? So I'm only at -4 pounds instead of -8 pounds BUT that's okay. I'm enjoying working out after work with Martin and sweating like a guilty man on trial in August in Mississippi. I have seen improvement not only in the way my clothes feel but my endurance on the elliptical machine.

I saw a saying recently, "Nothing taste as good as skinny feels." I'm pretty sure whoever said that didn't have a good bowl of mashed potatoes. So I was thinking about this saying and I think it would better fit me if it said, "Nothing taste as good as pursuing God with all your heart feels - and who knows, you might get skinny while you're at it." Not as catchy huh? Oh well. I don't care.