Thoughts

How did your Independence Day go? For us, we woke up groggily after having very little sleep the night before due to early bird fireworks (and I may have possibly started reading "Dare" and had a hard time putting it down *cough, cough*) and then worked on school. I say worked on, but I was really mostly helping younger siblings with their work, not doing any school myself (since I finally finished French! My new nemesis...along with stairs ;) Why school on a holiday you ask? Because we're homeschooled and because we can!! Ha! :P
A nice, relaxing afternoon, that I mostly spent reading the aforementioned "Dare" and wrote a grand total of 712 words in "The Princess & I". I told you I don't get as much writing done on weekdays. B-)
Dinner was hot dogs roasted over our fire pit, and dessert was s'mores at a friend's house where she and her husband had us over along with some of their relatives that were also friends of ours. Yes, they all go to our church. :) (She's a blogger friend as well, and you can check out her beautiful blog HERE).
To top it all off, we went down to the Manchester waterfront and watched the fireworks display with our cousins, aunts, uncles, and Grandpa Olson. We stayed there, huddled under blankets, until 11:00 pm and drove home to drop into our beds exhausted.

And now, because I can't drop you there, I'm giving you another poem. Just because.
I literally thought this poem on a walk around outside one day and wrote it down when I got back inside. Around our property we have several different kinds of birds. I always love watching them swoop and dive in the sky, flying around as if they don't have a care in the world. This was the inspiration for the beginning of the poem and it morphed into deeper thoughts from there.
But I will refrain from going on and on...as I would if I could...and instead jump directly into the poem. Here you go:

Thoughts:
Written by Rebekah Eddy, PK

When I see a bird in flight,
Overhead and out of sight;
I think of moments in our life
Flitting in and out of strife.
I think back upon those times,
I saw and felt telltale signs;
When no matter how I tried
Angry words left others fried.
And I wondered sometimes how
Those senseless things that I'd allow
Snuck into my simple life,
Taking action, waxing rife;
Swelling into greater sin,
Creating a confusing din,
Even now the devil tries
To fill my mind with horrid lies:
"You can't do it, you won't win,
No one knows the trouble you're in.
Hope is gone, you'll lose the way,
Follow others, turn away."
But through it all I hear a voice
"My child, you must make the choice,
A wicked life is easy now,
But later you will pay somehow.
A godly life will bring you pain,
But think of the eternal gain
When heaven's gates are opened wide
And you go to your Father's side."
So which voice will I heed?
Which one fulfills my every need?
Even though this way is hard,
My faith in danger of being jarred,
I'll follow Him through thick and thin;
He who saved me from my sin.
Truth will triumph over lies
Even after we all rise
To greet our Father face-to-face
Thanks to His sovereign, holy grace.

Have you ever had inward struggles? Ever thought about giving up? Ever lost hope? You know why God allows that to happen? I'll answer that last question: He wants you to give your burdens to Him, He'll take them from you and carry them Himself. He wants you on your knees, praying for His help. And you the best part? He'll help. All you need to do is ask.

God bless you all on this random day! ;)