a. Serenity now!
b. More than ever, I'm learning how to have peace in the midst of chaos. Cetelia quoted John 14:27 this morning. I looked at a few translations, and here's the one I like the best: "“I leave behind with you—peace; I give you my own peace and my gift is nothing like the peace of this world. You must not be distressed and you must not be daunted" (Phillips)
c. While "Serenity now" is funny, it is powerless to combat the stress and fearfulness I feel regarding our next steps. I can usually see weeks if not months into the future. Right now I can see the next 3-4 days, and it scares me.
d. I'm really having to lean into Jesus' command - not suggestion - to not be distressed. The reason I don't have to be distressed is because of the promise in verse 26: "The Father is sending a great Helper, the Holy Spirit."
e. I'm willing to admit that I lost my cool today (what's this, the third straight day)? When under pressure (cue Queen), the smallest things get to me - like the kids leaving the door open or water bottles being left on the kitchen table. I keep apologizing to the kids, and strive to stay connected so I can bear good fruit (love, joy, peace, kindness, ...)
f. I can hear my man AB saying, "KB, roll away from the pressure." I hear you, AB. I didn't realize I'd be rolling so much!
g. It's kind weird posting these thoughts publicly because I don't want to look like a weakling or lose my cards (man, spiritual maturity, good guy, whatever). But, I guess it doesn't really matter that much. If I can't admit that I'm flawed ... and get scared ... and lose my temper, then what everyone believes about me is not really true.
h. At the height of my stress today, Sweet Cetelia walked up behind me and gave me a hug. I have a great lady. (thanks, God!)
i. We saw a payphone at one of the gazillion Walmarts down here. Looking like tourists in a different country, we snapped photos of the children and the phone. How sad. Clearly the heat is getting to us.
j. Speaking of Walmart, I was amazed by how small the flag was in relation to the store. Somebody got the measurements way wrong on this one.
k. Cetelia was in organic heaven tonight when we found a taco joint that had healthy food. While she loved it and kept going on and on about how great it was, the rest of us left quite disappointed. My meal was less than tasty (replace the first "T" in "tasty" with an "N" to see how it really tasted to me),
l. We came home tonight on the same highways that we used last night. Without traffic being backed up to the Texas/Mexico border, we got home two hours earlier.
m. Max is a quick learner! When we got home tonight, he haunted the girls by telling them to watch out for coyotes. He's made me a proud father!