S Club Mama

I can't remember if I first read or heard Annie Downs. I know she is a frequent speaker at the annual IF:gathering (ifgathering.com) but I've also read Let's All Be Brave (perhaps a devotional based on that?) and Looking for Lovely (which I enjoyed). That to say that I enjoy her. I haven't listened to her podcast but I know that we would be fast friends. I knew right away I wanted to read "Remember God" by Annie F. Downs because I've been through some things in the past few years that make me wonder "if He is really kind - really deeply always kind" as she writes on the back cover. Watching my son have seizures and brain surgeries that affect our whole family (another son dealt with anxiety and still does to some extent...just today my daughter who is three was pretending she was having a seizure...oh dear...it affects us), makes you not doubt but just wonder about God and His character and what you know to be true and how it doesn't seem to...

I've been dwelling the past few days (after my stint in the complaint department), but it's not what you think. I have been dwelling on my blessings. I'm going through Lord, Change My Attitude in my Wednesday morning Bible study. The first two weeks were about replacing a complaining attitude with a thankful attitude. Which has been my exact week, this week. We have friends going through some tough times: some financial, some marital (one set of friends for one of their parents and one set of friends for themselves), and one tough time that is a blessing (a newborn baby - which is both a tough time- although they haven't said this is a tough time for them, I'm just assuming because newborns are a lot of work and just an adjustment- and a blessing). These tough times make me think back to our own tough times: numerous job losses, postpartum blues, moving so frequently, financial woes, lonesomeness, anger, envy/malcontent, autism diagnosis. I don't dwell on the ...