Two weeks ago I recounted our educational journey about selecting logs for our log home at the Reserve in Montalba, TX. In case you hadn’t already deduced this, we elected to go with northern white cedar logs for the main construction. Northern white cedar is incredibly stable, is naturally bug resistant and tends not to twist over time. We will use some other woods for particular uses inside, but northern white cedar will be trucked to Montalba in June.

How did we learn all of this about logs? We met with several log home suppliers. From attending a couple of log home events, we learned that it’s important to select a supplier that is financially sound. With the recent recession many suppliers went bankrupt. Also, a supplier should be easy to work with–if people don’t return your calls or emails, obviously, there are going to be problems down the road as construction begins.

Thinking prayer is right up my alley. Ask the hubby and he will tell you that one of my worst faults is overanalysis! Hence (Does anyone even use the word hence anymore??? Point made about over-analysis!), when we were asking to pray using our “thinker,” my fear was that I would learn nothing new. HeartPaths has taught me so many new ways to pray that my faith is growing by leaps and bounds and thus, when I encounter a way of praying that is my “wheelhouse,” I can lapse into thinking it will be boring and I will not continue to learn.

What foolishness! Because if something is geared for how God designed you, then of course, God is going to use it for your growth. Duh.

For this prayer exercise we were asked to remind ourselves of Biblical virtues (like the fruit of the Spirit) and then pick one that “called” to us. We were asked to ponder these things in reference to it: Define it. What happens when it guides your life? What happens when it isn’t guiding your life? What changes might have to take place in your life to see it as a guiding force?

Here’s what happened in my journal when I decided to ponder self-control:

“Self-control is about trusting that God is in control. It’s very tied up with our ability to trust God’s timing, love and ability to provide for our needs…When self-control guides my life, I feel better physically; I am at peace; I am in awe of God;….I remember others’ needs better and am more loving; I am on time and I have space in my life for all that’s important….I pondered what my day would like if I gave 8 hours to rest; 8 hours to work; and 8 hours to nurturing my walk with God. I probably would be a model of efficiency and be amazed by what I could accomplish with such discipline. I would be happier and feel freer.

Tears came to my eyes while praying and I asked God what that was about: “Sadness” came back. Sadness about what, God? “Sadness at how a lack of self-control has wreaked havoc in your life and that you won’t fully yield and trust Me with your life. You won’t let go. It scares you. This bewilders you because of your health issues.”

I would love to say that that little revelation from God has transformed me into a woman of self-control, happiness and efficiency. The happiness is coming, but the self-control and efficiency are still “at-large”. But I am still glad that God can take that old “lens” of mine, aka thinking, and work “magic”. One day I will let go and let God and on that day I will be “fearfully and wonderfully” re-made. I’m looking forward to over-analyzing that, too.

How about you? What fruit or virtue is calling to you today? Over-analyze away!

Friday’s Post: Log Rhythms returns!

You Might Also Like: Coming to My Senses; Slow Reader Friday: Praying Our Experiences; and How’s Your Intuition?

Good morning, Word Nerds! Last week’s WOW (Word of the Week) was: mellifluous. The daughter guessed that it was “sweet sounding, musical, etc. ????” Let’s see how close she got.

Merriam-Webster Online says that mellifluous means having a smooth, flowing sound. So, she’s pretty darn close! Glad to know all those music lessons paid off! 🙂

Today’s WOW is ne plus ultra. Again, my French “bells” are going off, so let’s see what I can conjure up as my definition guesses for it:

ne plus ultra (nā-ˌpləs-ˈəl-trə) 1. no longer special 2. not noteworthy or significant 3. subtraction

What are your guesses for ne plus ultra? Submit a comment to this post to let me know!

Wednesday’s Post: Put on your thinking caps…

You Might Also Like: Word of the Week: mellifluous and Word of the Week: longueur