A good, but strange place

I've said it once, I will say it again. Waiting on something so major is a strange place to be. It is a very hopeful place to be, but with nowhere to put all those excited little energies running around in my heart. With a pregnancy, at least you have a general idea when baby will arrive. We are given an "expected" timeline of events, but over the past 6 months it keeps changing. I've somewhat resorted in my head to having no timeline...it seems safer that way. So, I will once again remind myself that the Lord will bring this child home when He knows is right - and in that I rest.

Lately, the Lord has been prompting me (strongly, I might add!) that I need to get my act together a bit more before this new little one comes. I don't know if there will be extra unusual challenges that this new baby will bring or if in the normal course of life I have just been avoiding organization for far too long. Here is how progress is going.

5 a.m. club: Victory! I am getting up most mornings at 5 am or shortly thereafter. It has been wonderful to have 2 full hours of uninterrupted time to study my bible, pray, check up on blogs and whatever else I can fit in. In my quest for self-discipline in this area I ran across some wisdom that stated the real self-discipline comes in making yourself go to bed at a decent hour! So true! If I just do this, then it is a cinch to roll out of bed at 5. Craig has joined me in the 5am thing and we are doing our best to be in bed at 9. This at first seemed like a really strange schedule, but it seems to be working well for all involved :)

Bible study: Again, I have always resisted structure not always for good reason. I have tried daily reading plans but fizzle out quickly as I get frustrated at inevitably falling behind. Lately I have been reading my bible, but with no plans after that - I just read what I feel like reading. That plan, or lack of, allows for much flexibility (which I love) but falls short of being diligent which we are called and equipped to be. Not being sure where to start, I started with 2 Timothy as it is one of my favorites. 2 Timothy is FULL of emotion as it is Paul's last letter to Timothy, who was like a son to him. At the time Paul wrote it he knew he was going to be killed soon and was passing along all of the "most importants" that a dying father would share with his son. Ooooh, very emotional! Anyway, taking a few verses at a time and reading cross-references has provided a sweet time in the word in the mornings. I'm not sure what book I will go to next...that plan is yet to be determined.

Meal planning: I went to the store the other day for the purpose of writing down prices that I might have a better handle on our grocery budget and meal planning. I hope to really buckle down on groceries and get rid of most prepared foods that we buy to save money. Really the only thing we buy that is prepared is cereal and a few snack type foods. I have gone back to using an oatmeal mix for breakfast and I have a granola recipe I'd like to try. I started making popcorn on the stove as one of our daily snacks - cheap and healthy! I guess the big picture is that I have been buying what I think is cost effective and I really need to figure out if what I am doing is most healthy and economical. Ugghh. In any world other than one in which I am a pharmacist, I HATE dealing with details. I also have had a goal in mind to make rotating meal plans so that every two weeks I am not starting with scratch to make a menu. It really does make me laugh as I see what I am writing about. I feel pretty far from being domestically skilled in this area, but I know that the Lord is faithful to equip me and grow me in this as I am obedient to tackle it!

Cleaning schedule: Yet another organizational goal that I have yet to touch. I have gone as far as to carve out my mornings from 9-11am as being kid-focused and 11am-12pm being time to clean and cook. This will be good preparation for when Juliana will be ready to start school. It seems to be working well. I do need, though, a general plan for cleaning so that I am more efficient. I'll let you know if I find anything revolutionary!