In My Weakness, He is Strong

"He said to me,

"'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.'

"Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

I am an excitable person. I am nearly 32 years old and I still do not sleep Christmas eve .... or Easter eve .... or Thanksgiving eve .... or Flag day eve ..... You get the picture. I often am quite impulsive and speak before I should. I act before I think things through and often fall on my face.

I was thinking about my menu after shopping today. I spent more than I should have. I got excited about sales and didn't stick to my list. I decided today, on my second trip to Kroger (more on that later), that Kroger is my shopping weak spot. At Target, Rite Aid, and CVS, I can shop and use Gift Cards and Extra Care Bucks rather than spending out of pocket money. At Kroger, I go into hoard mode and buy anything we will eat that I have a coupon for. I get a tingle of excitement down my spine as I walk the aisles. I need to keep my tushie OUT of Kroger if I am going to be intentional about sticking to my super low budget for the month.

What is your weakness in regards to money? Daily living? Do you struggle with saying the little word "no?" Do you give in to the "tyranny of the urgent?" I know I do. I struggle to follow advice from a very wise woman. She told me I need to sit down before the Lord each morning to see what HE has for me to do that day. I get caught up in daily life and don't do that. Today, I did not have the TV on until late afternoon. I did not get on the computer for any leisure activities until around 9pm. I got so much done today. What about tomorrow? The rest of the week? The rest of the summer?

I know I am weak. I know I have a lot of growing to do (those of you who know me are probably chuckling and thinking of witty comments on my short stature - I am not even 5 feet tall). I need to harness some excitability and put it to good use. I have a plan for tomorrow. I have laid out a few small goals. Thank you for letting me share them as it helps me stay on track.

• shower (I realized just now that it has been 3 days since my last one - ick!)
• pray/have a quite time for more than 5 minutes
• put laundry away
• craft next blog post
• work on baby napping in crib rather than on me (fell into this habit again recently since we removed the bassinet insert from the pack n play - the transition hasn't gone well)
• start working on dinner earlier so I am not tempted to change my plan and make something quick and super easy and not very healthy
• watch my Penguins win!

Now for a quick story about my two Kroger trips today. I realized when I got home that I had purchased an open pack of hot dogs and that the cashier had shorted me on a coupon. After stewing for awhile, I decided to go back. Within minutes, I had a new pack of hot dogs and a full $1.67 in cash for the coupon (it was for a free ketchup - the cashier only took $.20 off!) and I went home happy.

I hope and pray that in all of my weaknesses, God is using me. Sometimes He gives me a glimpse of how. Other times, I just don't see it. I'm human, fragile, fallible. We all are. In our weakness, He is strong.