do you ever get in a slump?

"How was your day today," a friend asked. My reaction was, "Oh, its a great day!" What a lie I told. For some reason I am in some kind of funk, and I just don't like it. I have read my bible, I have finished my Sunday school lesson, I have read other blogs, and I even resorted to reading my own! I was trying to find some inspiration, something to lift me out of this pit, and remove the fog so I can see clearly again. I have struggled with a migraine for almost three days now, and I know that takes much out of me, but when we feel bad for some unknown reason it seems to catch on to those around us. When I am feeling bad my husband will say to me,"Are you ready to go to church and be fake?" Ofcourse I answer,"Yes, I will put on my best smile and great everyone with a hug." He doesn't mean being fake as in loving others, he means hiding my pain. I have become so good at it, he is about the only I cannot fool. When I wake it takes me at times an hour to get out of bed from the pain of my fibromyalgia, and put a migraine on top of that and I am not ready to move. I have tried overcoming my pain by pushing myself. That I have learned only makes it worse the next day. I hate taking pain medication, but it has become a part of my life. It is the part I wish I could change. At times I can struggle not wanting to take something, but knowing I have to in order to move or lift my head. I am not having a pity party today, I usually do not do those. I know there are so many hurting people around me, so many who do not know Jesus and if they did, He would change their lives forever. It is hard to take your own advice at times. I often think of the Women of Faith. They travel around and put smiles on their faces to meet everyone, and to speak. I have wondered do they too wake up and find themselves in a funk and they really don't know why? For me, I have really had a week of blessings. To have my daughters in my life again, to have my work in girlsgoneGod has been humbling to me and just a joy. To see my mom feeling better, and to share each day with my husband who made us a wonderful lunch today. For my son to be beginning his last year of school soon is an amazing award teaching him at home his whole life. I am blessed with friends that I know love me. Its hard when we don't all see each other all the time, but life changes for us. Babies come, school begins, life seems to happen before our eyes and time flies by so quickly. So why feel so down when all is looking up? For my husband to still be out of work takes a toll on everyone. I hate to see him come in the door with his head down, only for him to hear,"Your over-qualified." Meaning you have too much experience and your just a tad too old. He is such a hard worker and has taken care of his family so wonderfully. I am proud to call him my husband. I hate to see him feeling the way he does. For a man not to be able to take care of his family is hard for him. My heart breaks for him. I try my best to lift him up, but I know he is struggling inside. But through this trial we have learned its not what we have, its love, life, and being together, putting a smile on your face and praising God for another day. As I write this I don't really know just where its going. But I know there are thousands out there who feel the same hurt we do. But I keep saying to myself,"It could always be worse." Just turn on the news and you can cry for those hurting. Turn to your neighbor and you can feel their pain. I know I will wake tomorrow and be a whole different person than today. I will have gone to bed in prayer and the Lord will touch me and spread His grace upon me. He will forgive me of my thoughts today, and for being so down. But I think God understands, He knows we have pain and hurt. Trials that last at times for years. We have to ask ourselves, what are we going to do when the unemployment runs out? We have so many questions, but for those questions, I know God has the answers. I know that He will take care of us, and provide all we need. It is during these times that we learn the most. We learn to trust God and turn to Him for His wisdom, and His mercy. During our Sunday school lesson today we learned about heaven again. We are doing the series of Randy Alcorn on his book Heaven. I encourage you to read it, and do the workbook also. It is such a wonderful read and learning tool. To come home and think on heaven, makes me only yearn for it more. To be learning about all the intricate parts, will we know each other, will we have bodies, will we eat, will we have jobs? All the answers are there, just as my answers for my down day are. When we get in a funk we tend to try to blame everyone around us. We complain about the smallest things. But on my down day, aren't I just spending too much time thinking about me? What if, just suppose I took my eyes off me today and turned them on someone else, and I stepped out to help them, to encourage them? I would not only lift up the other person, give praise to God, but I too would be lifted because I wouldn't be sitting here thinking of me. We all have these down days, some last longer than others, but if we just take the time to turn our eyes elsewhere, we will find a rich blessing by blessing someone else. Jesus had those days too. He was heartbroken over the lost, He was hurting for His friends and all those He came in contact with. Jesus knows what pain is, He felt it, He lived it, and He saw it with His own eyes. When we are sad, He is sad with us, but He doesn't want us to be in that pit. He wants us to be lifted out, and in order for us to be lifted out, we must look up, we must reach up for that hand pulling us out. That hand comes from God. Can you imagine the hand of God reaching out for you? That alone should lift your spirits too. Whenever you are down, don't allow yourself to drown, don't think the worst of a situation, and don't think you are all alone. Christ is throwing that life preserver out to you to grab. He wants you to hold on, so He can pull you up, dry you off, and set you on firm ground. Find that thing that you can do to bless others, get out a prayer list, and begin praying for all those He lays on your heart. When we give our best to God, He will bless us also. I have to keep telling myself that Jesus loves me, He cares for me, and it really doesn't matter who else does. What matters is my relationship with Him, and if we are okay, then all around us is okay too. So get out your party hat, put on some music, put on your dancing shoes, cause we have reason to party. We have a Savior who loves us, and is looking out for us. Me, is a word that we can use too much, just as I. We need to take those out of our vocabulary and learn to repeat Him, Jesus, Savior, and Redeemer. It is never about us, its always about Him. For me, I just need to change my stinky attitude today, turn my frown upside down as my son would say, and know that all is well, because I have the Holy Spirit alive and living in me. So what about you today? Did you put on a smile and fool your friends? Did you wake up a crab as I did? Its okay, just put it away and think upon all the blessings that you have, and begin with the smallest to the largest, and you will always end up with Jesus as your biggest blessing ever to come. No day is a day without Jesus in our hearts, shining through touching others like me and you... "Be still and know that I am God" Psalm 46:10 "Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing" 1 Thessalonians 5:11 "Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak; O Lord, heal me, for my bones are troubled. My soul also is greatly troubled; But You, O Lord-how long? Psalm 6:2-3 "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not seep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior." Isaiah 43:2-3 If you are having a down day, don't let it get the best of you, you get the best of it, and give it to God as a praise to His name...