My Dwelling Place

Sometimes, due to circumstances outside your control, you just know you are going to have to fight for joy a little bit harder in the day that unfolds before you.  SITAG lost power around 11:30 one night this week.  Aaron got up and walked down to the generator shed to see if anything could be done, but he came home unsuccessful.  No power meant no fan.  And no fan meant no breeze and no white noise.  Which pretty much meant no sleep.  Our alarm went off, followed just a few seconds later by the return of the power.  When we returned from wogging, we still didn't have any water (which needs to be pumped from the rain tanks into the house) or internet.

So my super problem solving husband poked around downstairs in the Conference Room and discovered there was no power.  Finding the breaker box proved a little bit more of a challenge, but eventually he found it in the little flat that connects to our current SITAG house.  Finally, we had water and internet again!

One of the small things I chose to do to help combat the sleep-deprived crankiness I felt?  Put a pretty breakfast on the table.  This simple egg bread braid with raisins did the trick.

Another thing I knew I HAD to do was use the Sword of the Spirit to fight for joy.  So I set one of my favorite scripture songs by the Gettys on repeat:  My Dwelling Place (Psalm 91) 

Early afternoon is always the hardest for me to fight the lack of sleep, especially since I was trying to do a little professional development.  The video about quantum physics found me nodding off and struggling to grasp the concepts, even though I was excited about learning new things.  I chose instead to walk down the hall to observe a simpler science experiment.  I found Katherine delighting in magnetism and playing/learning with a few simple tools.  Observing my children as they blossom always brings me joy.

When I stepped outside to take Aaron an afternoon tea break of apple cake leftover from company the night before, I noticed we had billowing smoke coming up the hill behind SITAG.  That's not unusual, because burning piles of leaves and yard waste is the best way to get rid of it around here.  What was unusual was seeing several of our employees moving quickly toward the burning and realizing that my Eagle Scout husband was down there with them.  The neighbors on the other side of the fence had set a fire that quickly spread to the debris they left on our side of the fence when they recently downed a tree.  Thankfully, our guys had it quickly under control.  

So by the time supper rolled around, we had fought hard using all of the tools God had put at our disposal, and we limped, exhausted, but still smiling, to the table.  A round of our new favorite quick game, Sushi Go!, for those times when you need a quick injection of fun, propelled us as the sun set and laughter rang out.  And then we all collapsed into bed, thankful that the Lord is our Dwelling Place, and He is the one that gives joy and peace regardless of what our day may hold.