Tired

I'm tired. No real reason or deep thought to it. I'm just tired. My brain is firing slow, and I'm low on motivation. I find myself jumping from thing to thing this morning, without accomplishing too much. I'm irritable and edgy. Don't you wish you were actually with me face to face right now? :)

BUT, God is more than faithful. Even as I confess how I feel, I can tell He is pouring love and grace into me. I've just got to run and hide in Him. It's so nice to be safe when you are unable to protect yourself well.

What a Beautiful Mess...

Phew!

Yeah, phew!

• Let's see... Middle School retreat at Springhill Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
• Got home at 3 pm
• Started setup for Senior High worship night at 4 pm
• Played in worship band and directed event.
• Got home at 10 pm.
• Ran to Taylor on Monday and taught my first class, but almost showed up late.
• Annie came home from school early sick on Monday.
• Stayed home with Annie on Tuesday.
• Ran a huge game night for middle school on Tuesday night with two hours prep.
• Stayed home on Wednesday.
• Ran to staff meeting and back during the day on Wednesday.
• Now it's Thursday and I'm tired and overwhelmed.

What do I learn from this stuff?

• I still stink at delegation.
• I try to carry too much on my own shoulders.
• I'm not planning ahead as well as I should.
• I overestimate my abilities on a regular basis.

Change is in the air, once again. I must keep learning to get better at this stuff. It's just frustrating, because you'd think I'd be better at it by now.

Here is what God did in the middle of my mess.

• Two boys accepted Christ for the first time over the weekend.
• Several girls made significant decisions.
• The worship night was powerful and enjoyable.
• I got to spend time with Annie and love on her some.
• The game night was a raging success due to my leaders.
• I appreciate my wife, family, and friends so very, very much.

Just gotta keep learning and moving forward. Be faithful; cause God likes to make beautiful things out of our messes. He never gets tired or gives up.

Thank goodness.

So it's ONE! TWO! THREE strikes you're out at the .....

Today was such an interesting day. It was the first day of Liv's (my 9 year olds) softball season. Jill and I are coaching again, and I always feel out of my league. Never, ever played softball. (Baseball has really different rules a lot of the time.) Thirteen 9 and 10 year old girls. I don't necessarily like doing things where I don't know what I'm doing half the time. So, it's a bit stressful. (Did I mention the 30+ mph winds blowing across the infield the whole game?) Plus, I hate to lose. Very competitive. I just keep it buried anymore. BUT, I don't want to be one of those coaches I had (there were many) who could care less about how much fun it is, they just want to win. So, it's a huge balancing act, and it leaves me tired.

But I also saw Liv make an amazing catch, and look right at me to make sure I saw. I watched some girls do better than they've done at anything in a long time. I watched one little girl whose parent's just finished up a divorce have some time to laugh again. I am amazed at the power of positive encouragement in the life of a young girl. They just beam from within.

So, yeah, I'm tired. But it's a good tired. I fully realize how worn out that phrase is, yet its true. I'm going to bed now. . . . . Very slowly. . . . . .