Eternal Perspective

Well yesterday went much better than the day before and for that I am very thankful. I found some resources yesterday that I have been able to put into practice that have really been blessing my evenings (even after just two nights!). I am now clearing the table, doing the dishes, cleaning up all the spills from eating and preparing, sweeping the floor, and putting away dishes immediately after dinner. I had been waiting until Emily went to bed for most of these things, and I was finding myself too tired (a.k.a lazy) at the end of the day to complete all the tasks. It only takes me 20-30 minutes and allows Emily to get some play time in with Stew. I'm much more relaxed in the evening and mornings too knowing that my kitchen is tidy. Funny how such a little thing can make a HUGE change in attitude and stress level.

So today is day 21 of the husband encouragement challenge. Here's a little excerpt on what we were asked to think about:
If we are living in light of eternity, everything we think, do or say is seen from an eternal perspective. We will someday give an account for our failure to speak words of love and encouragement. Determine today that your words will be sweet and helpful.

It's so easy to be caught up in today, in the now. It's easy to forget that God, not Amy, is the author and finisher of my faith. It's definitely a challenge for me to maintain an eternal perspective. It's very easy to get lost in "my perspective". I have an idea of how I would like things to go, and I know that might not match up with what God wants for my life. Sometimes it's very hard to see past disappointment when you can't see what God has in store. In the past year, some recent events have opened my eyes to how I need to trust in the Lord and maintain that eternal perspective. I am in no way perfect, this is definitely still an area where I struggle. I've been trying to maintain that eternal perspective on some big pictures in life, but today's challenge points out the need to keep that perspective even in the small things such as our every day conversations. I've been reminded of some verses that have been an encouragement to me through some difficult times:

"Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed: for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness."
~Isaiah 41:10

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."
~Romans 8:28

I've been able to start applying these truths to some big pictures in life, and now my challenge will be to apply these truths to every area of my life.

Some positives about Stewart today:
~He just offered to play cribbage with me when I get done typing instead of playing another game of Madden! Woohoo!
~He bathed the kitten, changed the litter box, and washed out his food/water bowl today when he got home without complaint (our daughter had a litter throwing incident...and don't worry, it was literally a 30 sec. incident until I turned around and saw what was happening...and it won't happen again). :-)
~He's been encouraging my new routine with Emily by asking about it when he comes home and helping out in any way that he can.
~Today he offered for me to take some time for myself on Saturday, which I think I'm going to take advantage of, I'm in desperate need of a hair trimming.