The word I have been focusing on the past couple of weeks is "productive". I have really been striving to be productive each day....get things done, mark things off my 'to do' list. It has become my goal each day. But yesterday was different. I pretty much wasted my day yesterday.....or so I thought.
I woke up (again) with a backache. I could hardly roll out of bed. So, my sweet husband said he would do my "duties" for the day (take the girls to piano lessons, take the kids to the library for their homeschool class, and run errands). I was to stay home and rest. I was in so much pain, I just agreed to it. But after being home for about an hour by myself, I realized that I was not very good at just sitting and resting. I watched a little tv, read, even played on the computer (yes, Vicki, you busted me playing pathwords!)....but eventually, I grew restless. Even though I had plenty I could do at home, I decided to go outside. I took a nice long walk (I was heavily medicated with ipubrofen!) and ended up at the horses. My neighbors (the director and his wife) were out there saddling up the horses. They had some friends coming out (one of them did not know the Lord) to go horseback riding. I helped (but did not lift a saddle....only fetched and groomed the horses) for a while, then did some mild cleaning while they went out for their ride......what a peaceful hour....just me, and the horses, and a the dogs. I can't believe how much thinking I got done with just a few minutes of peace and quiet! It was amazing! I was able to just talk to the Lord and then actually LISTEN and HEAR what He had to say. There were no distractions to cloud out His voice. I feel a little more directed now. So, in that way, it was a very productive day.
I ended up staying at the barn for a couple more hours after that...helping put the horses away, talking to my neighbors and their friends, building relationships, laughing lots. It was a good day. A very productive day. :)