It is often in the absence of things that God grows my awareness and my gratitude. I had to sleep upright in a chair the other night because everytime I tried to get horizontal, I would have a non-stop coughing attack. So, as I sat there trying to fall asleep in a chair with a cold that had also taken my voice, I found myself being grateful for that which I normally take for granted...the bed I usually sleep in and the voice I usually have.
I believe God often opens our eyes further, teaches us, and grows our gratitude quotient when we practice disciplines of both abstinence and engagement. So, as my family moves into week 2 this month, there are a few things happening around here. One thing for me is that I have the NIV Bible on CD in my van. I got it when we moved 25 minutes out into the country and thought it would be a good use of travel time to listen to the Bible. I think one month I listened to the book of James over 30 times. And another time I memorized a couple of my favorite chapters of the Bible. It's such a good thing....however, my natural inclination is to put someone like singer Nicole Nordeman in my cd player. I just don't stay regular in listening to Scripture. So, for me, over the next week, I'm going to listen to a portion of Scripture repeatedly when I'm in my van by myself. The Hoy's are also going to have rice/beans this week for supper. Easy menu! (Though I imagine that my children might rebel and end up making pbj sandwiches behind closed doors.) And, we're going to cover one of our doors with bulletin board paper and just make it a "thankful " graffiti wall for the remaining days of this month.
Those are just a few additions to our plan we're making this week. Again, I am grateful for the conscious effort of this. Our family picked up a teenage friend of ours today. We usually go out for a meal and then go to a movie, rollerblading, etc. Today, we came back here, had mac n' cheese, played games, made beaded necklaces, and spent a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon together without spending money.
Please share what is happening with you! The more bloggers the better! :)
Laura Hoy
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2 comments:
I told Chad the Hoys are eating rice/beans all week for supper and asked if he wanted to try that - he said "er, uh, maybe for one night..."
You're brave! I'll be interested to hear how that goes for you guys. :)
I basically engineered Sara and Nathan to "choose" the rice and beans for a week, as I presented them with 2 options. I presented option A...because many of our neighbors eat only once a day or once every other day, we could eat one meal only(consisting of rice and beans) once a day for a week, or option B: they could eat their normal fare for a day and then eat rice/beans for the supper meal for a week. Of course, option B sounded like a feast day when I laid it out that way.
As for Mike, he is such an incredibly disciplined guy when it comes to things like money and food. So, being the good sport that he is, he'll often join in various hairbrain ideas of his wife's without much pain on his part.
And by no means are we purists in this...Nathan didn't eat much of his lunch yesterday at school, so about an hour before rice/bean supper, he's digging in his lunch box eating a a turkey/swiss sandwich and a baggie full of kissable chocolates. And so it goes.
But, we'll see what we've observed after a week of rice/bean suppers. That our daughter, Sara, even tried the beans last night is a miracle in itself. :)
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