wake up call

One of Ivar's cousins taught him how to smile like this. To use his fingers to push his cheeks way up. It was funny for a good week or two, but now its sort of overpowering each picture I take of the boy.

But I'm going to take it as a good reminder that we get to choose our mood and attitude. I probably could use two fingers shoving my cheeks up once in a while to help change my expression too.

Last night Rory and I prayed before we went to bed. It's been a long, long time since we have done this and it feels like we found our footing again in one heartfelt prayer time.

While praying, I started asking God to help me with my mood in the morning. I asked that I would wake up with a spirit of joy instead of exhaustion. My days sometimes feel like I'm just trying to get to the next nap or bedtime.

So I asked God for a new attitude come Monday morning.

We went to bed. And at 6:15 am I heard the roosters. As of this morning, they had finally cleared the last of the phlegm from their throats and were celebrating their perfect cock-a-doodle-doos. I woke to this sound and it made me laugh.  Sort of a what-on-earth-are-we-doing-on-a-farm-with-roosters kind of laugh. I lay there while Rory rolled over and decided that this was my wake up call. God woke me up amused and with a grin on my face and I took it to mean my day should begin. So I got up. And the very first thing I did was read Psalm 51. It's my favorite.

Then I went out and fed the chickens telling them to pipe down. I warmed some milk for the kittens and gave them a snuggle. I started a load of laundry, unloaded and loaded the dishwasher. I made myself a cup of coffee, read a few blogs and then I made muffins.

It was the best morning of the summer. Because I woke up for it.

When Ivar came downstairs he was so excited to see me and I told him I had made him muffins for breakfast. He was in the living room when I said this and his response was, "pretend ones?!!" Which gives you a little clue as to how often I make actual, edible muffins.

The thing that blew my mind this morning is that I prayed for this just last night. And I am sure that part of it was my own participation in the attitude shift. But I've been trying with my own might for an attitude shift for a long, long time now. This was so clearly not by my own strength. This was God's Spirit coming along side of me, helping me feel ready for the day ahead. And it made me feel very loved.

"Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me." Psalm 51:12

And it was a lovely day.