Streams of Consciousness

This morning I woke up around 6:30 and was suddenly aware of all the things that run through my mind that worry me. My dog needs a rabies shot and heartworm medicine. We need to get new state stickers for my car before it expires at the end of the month, and get one for Travis as well as pay the ticket he got for his expired sticker. I have to talk to the mortgage company about an escrow account they want to set up for our homeowner's insurance that we already have. The kids have dental appointments and two will need braces, Kullen worse than Kaitlyn. Travis heard of a job that would be better pay working as a welder and we need to check on that. My trip to West Virginia is looming and seems to be getting further away instead of closer. Some of our outdoor cats are losing their fur in patches. The list goes on and on and it swirls around in my head evidently even as I'm sleeping, which further handicaps my ability to handle the burdens the next day.
I know that the Bible says to "cast all your cares on Him for He cares for you". I know that these things are temporary worries, but that as each of them is crossed off the list, new things will take their place. I am weary of the world and the worries and the burdens. I am discouraged. I know that just about everyone has their own list of things like this, but this does not alleviate the load, it only lets me know that I am not on this road alone.
Lord, this is such a weary road. I need a little supernatural infusion of mental clarity, physical energy and maybe a little spiritual pack mule to carry the weight of this load.

T13 Edition #4 - Thirteen Things I Would Do With a Million Dollars

This T13 list is actually inspired by the movie The Ultimate Gift. My kids and I saw it yesterday. I didn’t know it was put out by “Fox Faith”. It was a great feel good, family kind of movie.

13 Things I Would Do With a Million Dollars

1. Send a large check to some of my favorite missions organizations, including personally to any missionaries that I know.

2. Release my husband from the 9-5 daily grind, to free up his creative energies to do things he’s always wanted but never had the time or resources to do.

3. Plan a family mission trip to an impoverished country.

4. Pay for my mother-in-law and both of her sisters to have their homes and property maintained, or help them in any way needed.

5. Get my hair done by a hairdresser with ears. (Refer to previous post!)

6. Set up savings accounts for my children to use for college, a down-payment for their first house, have full body tattoos, or whatever they would choose to do with it that would make them happiest.

7. Buy an RV and make it homey to use on semi-annual visits to see friends in WV, and family in NC.

8. Take a cross-country trip with my family to see places like Yellowstone, Laura Ingalls Wilder exhibits in several locations, the Grand Canyon, DEFINITELY the Badlands, the Rocky Mountains, etc. including every beach, mountain range, plain and forest.

9. Go to Walt Disney World in Florida.

10. Use it lavishly for random acts of kindness.

11. Enroll in Bible college and immerse myself fully in word study, theology, etc.

12. Build a library in Baborigame, Mexico and stock it with good books written in Spanish.

13. Move my house to a more secluded piece of land, and buy our whole family 4-wheelers.

The truth of the matter is, regardless of how hard I stretched my brain to think, none of the things I could do with a million dollars would really make the world a better place. I would not be a better wife or mother, a more loving friend, a more faithful follower of Christ. I could not buy my dad a new back, or heal my mom's mind and heart. I know I wouldn't be any happier.
In the end, the only thing that truly touches the world in an attempt to make it a better place is an abandoned giving of self. The message I got from the movie, one I’ve always known, is that the best things in life aren’t things, and that what you gain when you give of yourself is far more valuable than what you can obtain with money.
It was fun to think about anyway!