"like a tree planted by the waters..."

Psalm 23:1-3

 God, my shepherd!
    I don’t need a thing.
You have bedded me down in lush meadows,
    you find me quiet pools to drink from.
True to your word,
    you let me catch my breath
    and send me in the right direction.

Take time to meditate on that passage for a moment. Can you say it's true for you...today? We often don't feel like it is, but perhaps it's because we are too busy looking away from where He's leading us.

I often bristle with "fix-it" thoughts on my day: teach the kids, grade the essays, vacuum the floors, grocery shop, respond to that call, email the group, do your Bible study homework, exercise, pull meat out of the freezer, clean the tile around the toilet (again), change the sheets, schedule that meeting, organize the piles, scrub the tub... the details can overwhelm.

Want a snapshot of my day today? It's a quiet one at home--a blessed gift after a few days of "going." Usually my Type-A self doesn't permit writing time until my chores are done, but right now my couch is piled with laundry, the sink is overwhelmed by dishes, and Legos litter the floor. I'm battling a bladder infection and my body wants to curl up in a ball and nap...but I'm wearing sweatpants for the first time this season (yippee, fall), my son is quietly munching popcorn and my daughter is on the phone with her bestie in Montana.  So, it seems like a prime time to write, wouldn't you agree?

For even though there is this...

There remains this as well...

And we can choose to rest in the beauty of what is and what will continue to be over 

what passes, fades, and falters. 

Mom and I took the kids to Silver Dollar City yesterday and toured the artist and craftsmen vendors. That festival is my absolute favorite; it inspires and challenges me...and the people there are so dear. We talked to a sweet kindred sister, Karla Dornacher, and heard more of her story. 

She didn't start painting till she was 40, but she kept exploring and asking God what He had for her, and as she learned the craft (and stumbled through techniques that didn't work) and listened to God, He kept expanding her borders. She leaned toward us with an expansive smile; she was doing exactly what God had designed her to do...and she was so happy. The complete surrender exuded from her being--she was living out her life with joy.

And I am too: despite the hard days, despite the screaming sessions and the potty on the floor and the defiance over reading lessons, and the laundry...oh, the laundry, He still beckons me to still waters and asks that I rest (despite the chaos blowing around me). I am choosing to focus on the calm of His presence. 

Last night my daughter and I had "date time" at home. With chocolate cookies and When Calls the Heart, I was able to rest in the sacredness of something passing...something soul-binding. I read the biography of Helen Keller to the kids this morning and rested in the sacred of the everyday...and privilege of living out this mundane with three passionate kids that God has pre-programmed to do something incredible for Him.

So, I will leave you with this: as I tell my children every night, God has a special plan for your life. 
If you don't know what it is yet, keep asking, waiting, listening and resting in His presence.