Tired...

When you are tired...I mean the tired, exhaustive, fatigued tired, and cannot make yourself go on.  

                              When you see a cat in its nap-time-escape, and that's how you feel, is simply to lay, curl up, and sleep.  

           Sometimes you don't know how you will get through another day, there is so much, so very much you want to do, so much that needs done, and yet, you just can't fight through this fog to.do.anything...yet, you are still grateful, 

                         grateful to watch a sleeping cat, grateful when it curls on top of you, grateful for 2,578 things, times 10,000,                              Yes.Just.Grateful.For.Even.Fatigue...

I sit on our lovely porch and watch Comet, our horse, and her friends.  This brings a smile to my face.  Comet and our chickens hang around together, but she has a special relationship with one of the hens.  It is such a joy to watch, funny yes, but this hen absolutely loves to stay right with Comet when she is on their end of the field.  Maybe she sees her as protection, but it is too funny to see at times.  

        Such good friends the chicken and her horse...sounds like the name of a good book :) . 

Then, oh my, we caught sight of this!!!  We had a momma skunk and her 4 babies living UNDER OUR BACK PORCH!!!  Oh my!!!  Normally, yes, (sorry for you extreme animal lovers) we would have "gotten rid of" the skunk; that's what you do on a farm.  They dig holes in the ground and boy do they smell!  But, this time My darling husband said, they eat the bugs and aren't bothering us, so we let them be.  We didn't think we could trap all of them, so we got an education in skunkery for a few weeks.

Literally, we learned alot about skunks from watching them.  The momma would go out to eat in the evening, as skunks are nocturnal animals, or at least we think so, and the babies would go out a bit, but not too far, then run and waddle back under the porch, never staying out long, that we saw anyway.  Yes, they waddle, so funny.

Momma skunk would go towards our raised garden beds, and I thought she was going to begin eating, but to my surprise she simply took a short cut, which she didn't always do, and went right through and over the bed to the other side.  Smart momma.

The babies would just follow, and waddle along.  They were really too cute, they would waddle, then stop to eat and their fluffy tails would stick straight up, oh how we laughed!

As the babies became teenagers, a term I do not like to use, they would follow momma and she would bring them back to the house, and go out again, only this time they did not listen and began following her again.  She finally got frustrated with their disobedience and turned and "yelled" at them, actually she nipped and nipped at them and would try to run on ahead.  But this momma had an injured leg and wasn't very fast so they ended up catching up and continuing on, not listening to her telling them to go back, bad babies...

I know this is weird, but in my tired state of mind, it brought joy and laughter.  Seriously, how can one NOT laugh with skunks living under their porch?!?

When we are tired, fatigued, restless, weary, especially then, we MUST remember God's goodness, whether it be watching our farm animals, or the wild ones living in our back yard.  God is so very good, and there is much to rejoice over, much to be grateful for, we are so blessed...

This is an original piece of artwork by Jenny.  She did this a year or so ago, and it had been sitting around, so with our half bath being blue I hung it there.  She included this verse which God had brought to her mind as she painted...

Clean

"Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean;

Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight.

Cease to do evil."

Isaiah 1:16

Even in times of trials we need to have a repentant heart.

                                  A transforming heart, dependent upon the God who saves.

                  Oh, how good He is.  When the fatigue has taken over our bodies, we rely.totally.on.Him.

"                                                                                          And He will give you rest."

Sarah's favorite verse has become one of my favorites also.

                       Teach me, and I will walk in Your truth.
                                               I want my heart to be undivided, to belong solely and 1st to You, Lord,
                                 that I may fear Your Name,
                                                      and have a true heart of worship,
                                                                      of respect, awe, a reverence, and a fear that
                                             You are the One, True, Living God.

(Sarah's chalkboard print - she changes our verses and quotes periodically)

Are you tired this day?  I will pray for you...will you pray for me?

Yesterday I had another doctor's appointment, and we found out some things that will probably help me.  I have been wrestling and struggling with fatigue for many years now.  I may discuss more later, and none of it is life threatening, just didn't want to scare anyone, and  I think it will help, it will just take a few weeks for me to feel better...

How do you stay refreshed?  Being thankful and grateful?  Keeping a eucharisteo journal?  Staying in God's Word?  Listening to praise music?  Hearing the hymns of old? Or simply the pure worship of bowing before Him in awe?

Let me know...be joyful and happy this day, God is too good for us to be down, for long anyway...there is too much to be thankful for...Yes.Write.It.Down...2,578 and counting, in my journal...

Don't forget you may always join and follow this blog at anytime, or have it sent directly to your email, and feel free to pass along to another who may be struggling.  

Always Experiencing Him,

Jody