one for now, maybe both ends later

So I was thinking about the expression, of burning the candle at both ends and I'm not there yet but I might be by the end of the week. I'm preaching this Sunday, which isn't normal, so I'm excited, but definitely feeling the time crunch. As I woke up this morning, I was thinking about needing to write a sermon between now and Sunday and before I got overwhelmed, I remembered that God cares. I know that sounds pretty simple, but if God cares about his people and preaching is an important thing in caring for them and strengthening faith he'll take care of me. This doesn't mean that I am going to slack off or something, but that the responsibility of it all doesn't rest on my shoulders. Jesus said to the weary and heavy laden that we should take his yoke upon him and learn from him because he is gentle and lowly in heart and under him we will find rest for our souls. This is a wonderful promise and something that I need to hold onto.

Fixed

Wow! I just received word that my computer is fixed and I shouldn't have lost anything. How excellent!

ka-boom, but hopefully not

There was this slightly nagging voice in my head a week or two ago, telling me that it has been a while since I've backed up my laptop. I agreed and thought I should do something about it and then put it off. Then Friday night when I went to turn my laptop on I unpleasantly surprised when things did not work. I'm not sure if it is a total loss or if it can be fixed but I'm having it looked at right now.
It is really strange as to how I can feel somewhat lost without my computer, as I am unsure what to do next. I know there were some emails I needed to respond to. I distinctly remember documents I had to print out, and I find myself remembering all these files which I would love to access today. Regardless of how my computer situation works out this is an important week as we have our first Youth Group of the fall, start a bible study, resume volunteering at the Elmwood Community Center, and go before Presbytery on Saturday. We had our kick off event for teens this Friday night and had a great time as 7 kids came over to our house and enjoyed a night of recovery from the school overdose they had been experiencing.

exploding plate

Sometimes as I'm thinking about life, certain images will come to mind. It has been a busy few weeks as I've been getting into the fall with youth and children's stuff starting up. I was thinking, oh man, my plate is full. But as I was thinking about it, I thought, "My plate is more than full, it is bursting!" Sometimes it adds up and it can weigh down on me, but so much of it is my attitude. When things get overwhelming inside my head I can get discouraged pretty easily. But as I was thinking about it, God never told me life would be easy. Actually, Jesus talks a lot about suffering and remaining steadfast despite difficulty. It is amazing how a small shift in my thinking makes me feel so different. So, even if my plate is exploding at points, I can still have joy. I can still love the people around. I can still move forward and be faithful in the things God has called me to. Knowing that there is a loving, wise, and strong God behind the various circumstances and exploding plates makes life workable