Perfect Days

Well, except for the outcome of the election.
Saturday was beautiful fall weather. I cleaned the inside of the house like crazy - it just felt like one of those days where it should be done. By that afternoon, with the sun shining inside so brightly and everything dusted and swept and scrubbed, my place looked sparkling! Tim did outside work while I was inside. I helped him rake leaves for a bit in the afternoon. We had so many all over the backyard. Of course, by Sunday afternoon, the leaves were getting their revenge already. Today I raked the front yard because the tree in front decided to drop almost all its leaves at the same time this morning. I couldn't even see the grass by this afternoon. I did it so Tim wouldn't have to pull in from work and see all the leaves. I already catch him mumbling out the back door window at the leaves sometimes. He feels so defeated by them.
Today was another good day, except I woke up to find that Obama is our next president AND that the proposals passed in Michigan. I have to admit I was more upset about the approvals of the proposals than Obama. Proposal One was for the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes. I am completely against this because I think that things are going to get out of hand. Proposal Two was for the support of embryonic stem cell research. I am against this for so many reasons that I don't even know where to start...especially after it has been proven that there are stem cells from other areas that are more effective for research! I won't go so far as other people who I have talked to who are convinced that this is all the beginning of the end times but it makes one think, I'll say that. I don't think that we can predict when Christ will return and any guess is a poor one. Every day we wake up brings us closer to the end no matter what else is going on in the world. I do know that Paul and Timothy in the Bible thought they were also living in the end times.
So back to my otherwise perfect day. I worked out. I'm trying to work out 3 times a week. Last week I worked out twice. So far this week...once. But hey, I still have three days left. This afternoon I raked all those leaves so it was almost like a double workout today. Noah works out with me...kind of. He likes to try some of the moves, although he never does the entire thing. It is amazing to me the flexibility that preschoolers have. He was correcting me on some of my lunges! "No, mama. Like this." Then he would perfectly demonstrate it. Maybe he'll be the future trainer of "The Biggest Loser."
I got along with my kids today. That always make for good times. We went on a walk this morning. Noah rode his tricycle and I pushed Ellie in the stroller. When Noah is on his bike we never go very far or fast, but he loves it and I find it nice to be outside in great weather.
I called Deidra and we ended up talking for three and a half hours. It always goes like that. We don't talk often on the phone but when we do it's never for less than two hours. I'm not kidding. Today we talked politics, religion, and a little bit about family. She picks my brain and gives me things to think about. Today she said something that really struck me which I can't put on here because it's still sinking into my head but when I brought it up with Tim tonight he agreed with my thoughts. Let's just say it was one of those moments where you feel like you've been hit in the head and you say, "Oh! That's my problem! That's what's wrong with me right now!" So thanks, Deidra (I don't even know if you're aware of it.)
Monday night Tim was at a Coldplay concert on the other side of the state. Matt won tickets and took Tim with him (it was an early birthday present for Tim, who turns 28 in a couple weeks. I don't know how I'm supposed to come up with something better than that!) He didn't get back until after 1:30 in the morning. I do not sleep well without him. Especially when I'm the only adult in the house. I stayed up for a long time reading blogs and on Facebook. Then around midnight I tried to fall asleep while keeping the nightstand lamp on. Then I realized how ridiculous I was being but was still scared. I decided to read my Bible for a little bit in hopes of being calmed. I'm reading through the Bible right now and am currently in the Psalms. I have to admit, I was a bit nervous to open it because you never really know what you're going to get in Psalms. David might be fearing for his life while hiding from King Saul. It might be a chapter on being in a pit of despair and surrounded by enemies. It might be praise. You never really know. I tentatively opened it to Psalm awaiting me and laughed when I found God speaking directly to me:
Psalm 56:3 - "When I am afraid, I will trust in You."
Sure, the first couple verses start out with him being chased by his enemies. However, this verse makes me laugh because Noah has a CD and DVD by Steve Chapman (not to be mistakenwith Steven Curtis Chapman) that are full of Bible passages made into songs. This, to me, is great because Noah LOVES music and singing and it's an easy way to teach him verses and help him memorize them. On the DVD are videos: they are very early 90s and extremely cheesy, but again - Noah loves them. One of the songs is Psalm 56:3. In the video there is a little girl in her bed and she wakes up because of a thunderstorm. She is afraid and notices her Bible on her nightstand. She reads Psalm 56:3 and then bows her head in prayer. The songs says, "When I am afraid, I will trust in you, I will trust in you, I will trust in you. When I am afraid I will trust in you, in God whose word I praise." There are a couple more lyrics, but not many.
After reading some more Scripture and praying, allwhile having the song run constantly through my head, I turned off the light and was asleep in seconds. Tim came home a half hour later and I briefly woke up but not for long.
I think it's funny how God speaks to us sometimes to tell us exactly what we need to hear.