Submission

Once again the word submission is on my mind. I even went online to a dictionary to look it up. It means:

1. The act of submitting; the act of yielding to power or authority; surrender of the person and power to the control or government of another.

2. The state of being submissive; acknowledgement of inferiority or dependence; humble or suppliant behavior.

I found these definitions at define.com. This quote was also included; No duty in religion is more justly required by God...than a perfect submission to his will in all things.--Sir W. Temple.

What does that quote mean? Who is in perfect control of everything that happens in my life? Is it me? Am I the master of my own destiny? Or is God in complete and perfect control of all of the circumstances of my life? Do I have the duty to submit to God?

The answer to that last question is of course. I belong to Him and so my first duty after loving Him with all of my heart is to submit to Him. This doesn't just mean on a Sunday morning when I am at church, it means in all areas of my life. When I am at work if my boss asks me to do something I don't really want to do I need to remember that He is the one who put my boss in the position he or she is in. It was God who gave me the husband I have, the church family, my earthly family, all of it.

There are so many times I am tempted to become angry at work when I feel I have been used unfairly but I must remember that God gave me those circumstances. I have watched so many Christian coworkers become angry and bitter because of decisions made by the boss. Their lives have become so difficult because of that. We all have a tendency to blame people when something doesn't go the way we would like it to go but we must ALWAYS remember that God is always in control. He doesn't make mistakes. The circumstances of my life are always for His glory and for my good.

I have noticed that the times I forget that He is in control of all things are the times that I tend to refuse to submit to those who surround me at work, at home and at church. I am learning more and more to rest in Him as He teaches me to submit more and more fully to His will. Thank you, Lord.

Till next time....

PS I rode my horse last Saturday. I did fine and managed not to fall off, get bucked off, stampeded, or embarrassed in any other way!

Horse work

Well, I have to admit that I'm a little nervous! All of my Saturdays and Mondays through October will be taken up with cattle work. The typical fall work; weaning calves, vaccinating, preg-checking. All of the work I haven't done in over 7 years. I stopped helping when I got pregnant with my youngest. I haven't stepped on a horse since then! Will I be able to get on? Will I be able to STAY on? I am looking forward to it. This will be the first time that the little one will be able to help like this. When my two other children were little they came with us all of the time. While it seemed hard at the time to work while taking care of them, it was so good for them. They loved going along and helping Dad. When they were little they would ride with us and we would spend all day together. It was such a blessing to have that time with them. There were other people who had more money and more things than we did. Now that my kids are grown, that time has become even more precious. We appreciate those things we did together. I didn't realize how much until my son shared with us how disappointed he was when his dad lost his job at the ranch. He had big plans to be out every day helping his dad with the ranch work. Truly, I think I was so wrapped up in my own fear and disappointment that the trial the situation was to my children didn't really register. Of course they were 10 and 12 when my husband lost his job so I was guilty of not realizing how hard it was for them even at that young age.

I hope that I remember not to discount the trials of someone just because of their age. I hope that I remember to pray for them.

I can't wait to help out with those cattle. It will be fun. And challenging! I'll let you know how it goes.

Till next time...