It's been a long week filled with long days for my husband at work and when the clock above the stove tells me he’s been gone over twelve hours and he still isn’t home, I have to stop and be thankful for the job God has provided. The stability, the money, the blessing for me of being able to stay at home with our baby girl, I can start taking these things for granted. But I know it’s not something I’m owed.

So when he comes home from a long day at work, so ready to just do nothing and I meet him at home so eager to have him around and just do something, we just have to laugh and figure out the compromise somewhere. And I’m thankful again that doing nothing isn’t so bad as long as you’re with the right people.

Today there’s the taste of summer in the air, the smell of wild roses blooming in full bushes and the humidity lying thick on my skin. And while I’m not looking forward to another year of meeting my doggie’s bodily and energy needs with no yard and baby in tow, I am fully intending to enjoy the pool with baby-G who seems to love the water already if bath time is any indication.

We made plans recently to start meeting with two couples from church once a week (one older and one in our season of life) as sort of a mentorship thing. Nick’s work schedule has so far manages to get in the way but I really enjoyed the reading we did for it—the gospel of Mark, paying special attention to the things Jesus prioritized and the different ways people reacted to Him. My list of priorities expanded a little to include thing He placed value on through His words as well. Things like…

Baptism

Following the Spirit’s direction

Preaching/teaching

Solitude

Prayer

Good works—healing, serving, helping

Relationships

Faith and truth

Physical nourishment, rest

Sabbath worship

Repentance

Purity of heart

Sharing life with a select, intimate group

Taking care of believers

Self-sacrifice to avoid sin

Marriage

Children

Generosity

Humility

Looking for the 2^nd coming

Gentleness

I guess whenever I get to wondering what I should be doing with my time, my life, there’s a nice long list of things from which to choose…