Once upon a time there was a girl,

who had a blog,

who never posted on her blog,

and

she

was

me.

We are finally back in our little RV home with wifi and 4G on our phones! Woot! For the last 3 months, we have been living with my parents due to health issues that rocked the world of our entire family. My mom had surgery in April that went terribly wrong. Then my dad had a severe allergic reaction that required several days of constant monitoring. I will probably post more on these two issues later, but for now, I'll just say both parents are doing much better. Mom is walking again (with a cane) after her disastrous surgery that broke her femur. Daddy is hobbling around after the huge blood clot in his leg that still isn't completely healed. If we can keep them both out of the hospital for a while I will be ecstatic!

Yesterday was my first day to be back to my regular walking. My day started early with a 1 hour commute to sub for a friend at her school. Driving over the water is always refreshing, even when it is foggy and the sun isn't quite up yet. (I may have taken this picture while driving over the spillway at 6:30am. Shhh!)

Walking by the water is even better than driving over it! This is one of the things I've missed the most.  These pictures are from my evening walk yesterday.

There is just something about large bodies water that makes me breathe deeper, think more clearly, feel more gratitude. God is so gracious to have endowed us with such beauty to enjoy. So today I'm choosing to LOOK.

Look at His creation.

Look at the gifts all around me.

Look at how far He has brought me.

Look at the beauty of the earth.

Blessings,
Renea

CHOOSE to BREATHE . . .

Today I have decided to CHOOSE to BREATHE.

Simple, right? Sometimes we have those weeks where we run from morning until night, every day, all day, constantly moving. This has been one of those weeks. Actually, there seem to be a lot of those weeks in my life. I often find myself tired and frustrated by the end of the day and feeling like I have nothing to show for it. It seems there are always things on my 'to do' list not checked off that can't be ignored. And the list just keeps growing. And I get more frustrated. And I find myself taking deep breaths just to avoid the oncoming panic and anger and snappiness that I know is about to happen. Sometimes it helps. Sometimes it doesn't. And my family catches the brunt of it.

I know that when I don't take the time to focus my heart and keep my priorities and line, my day is already starting out on the wrong foot. Not being a morning person, this presents some challenges for the day's preparation. So, for today, for tomorrow, I am going to CHOOSE to remember to BREATHE. I am going to CHOOSE to remember that this, too, shall pass. And, honestly, when this crazy life I'm living right now changes, I will probably miss at least some of these things that are making me crazy. Not all of them, but some.

But for now, I can CHOOSE to embrace the craziness.

I can take joy in the good all around me.

I can accept that I can't do everything I think I need to do.

I can be thankful for the small moments of calm between storms.

I can marvel at how blessed I am.

I can remember that even in the chaos, my Father is still holding my hand and walking with me.

I can be imperfect.

And just remember to BREATHE.

One little word.

CHOOSE.

Blessings,
Renea