Surroundings

I had not planned on writing a blog post today.  Mainly because my house is a train wreck at the moment- Christmas decorations are still in boxes all over the floor and counters since we have to wait for Saturday to get a tree.

Things have come to a screeching halt on projects since our little one has a stomach bug going on.

I'm not always a clean freak (ask my mom and she'll back me up on that one) and I am usually the calm and patient one in my and Robert's marriage.  But...

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Everyone has their bad days.  And amidst the chaos of a fussy toddler, a cluttered house, and a very long to-do list, I found myself much more on edge this morning than usual.

When I finally got Olivia down for her nap, something told me I needed to step away from the to-do list and use my hour and a half of freedom to watch a sermon.

Naming my blog Bless'er House was no accident.  I try to focus on God's blessings daily.  Some days are harder than others to find that focus.  And today I needed to call in reinforcements.

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So since Robert and I have missed church the past couple of weeks, I caught up on my pastor's sermons.

Through November, my pastor Steven Furtick preached on a series called Surround.  And in the sermon I watched today he said, "It is amazing the power that our surroundings can have."  The entire sermon addressed exactly what I had been struggling with all day.

Woah.  How does that always happen?  When the exact message I needed to hear is the exact sermon I happened to click?

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So I felt compelled to take a second and share it with all of you, my sweet readers who take a moment out of your own surroundings to see what's going on in our home.

I love the Christmas season and the joy in the air this time of year.  But it's also a season of stress for me.  Because I know it's this time of year that people, myself included, get caught up in their surroundings: the pushy shoppers at the mall, the magnified discomfort of missing a lost loved one during the holidays, the tougher-than-usual tasks at work as everyone is ready for a break.

Our surroundings can change us.  But it's also us who can change our surroundings.

So if your surroundings are getting under your skin too, take a little time to watch this message.  I pray it fills you with as much hope as it did me.

Blessings,

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