Elizabeth, thank you. I share my struggles with my readers partly because, oddly, once I name them (several times, sometimes), and have them out in the open, I begin to find ways to resolve the struggles. Partly through prayers of kind readers like yourself, partly because naming them makes me very conscious that there is no need to sabotage my body and health with unhealthy food when I can pray and walk. Like you, I succeed sometimes, and fail sometimes, but the rate of success is growing!!

I just read this post. Boy, can I relate . . .

I have many of the same struggles, with many of the same areas of my life. Thankfully, I have been keeping up with my exercise (three times a week at the YMCA gym!). But my struggles with ministry and my periodic wondering about ordination make me downhearted and glum. And because I’m an emotional eater, I eat. (Sometimes. Sometimes God grants me strength, and I don’t!) On top of everything else, I am struggling with spotty employment. Underemployment. All of which add up to a big, vicious circle.

On the positive side, I’ve been praying and also encouraging others to pray for more years than I can remember. Using some God-inspired initiative, I started a blog at wordpress.com called matterofprayer the last week of October. I joined the Twitter-sphere less than two weeks ago, and am wading into the waters of the social media online world.

Thank you so much for sharing your struggles with your readers. I will certainly pray for you! I will appreciate your prayers for me, when you think of it. That’s usually how I pray, since the devil has found a quick and easy way to get under my skin is to make me really guilty when I forget to pray with a prayer list. (This doesn’t work when I moderate and facilitate said prayer list, however! So I am sending out the weekly prayer list at my UCC church in the Chicago suburbs.) God be with you as you strive to walk more closely with the Holy One.

Grace and peace,
Elizabeth

Wow! I will. Keep me updated too, please, Ali!

Thanks so much, Kathy! Indeed!

That’s wonderful, Adriana. And you definitely made the right choice! 🙂

I will, starting with this: Last night when I read your blog post it was around 4AM here in the States. I was up with my four year old son who had wet the bed. After bathing him and changing his sheets I considered all I needed to accomplish for the rest of the day and decided to stay up and get busy . . .

But after reading your post, I changed my mind. Nothing was really more important at that moment than sleep. Now I feel refreshed and ABLE to handle this day with a smile. 🙂

Thank you, Adriana. It will be interesting to track the collapse of your Jericho too. Let me know now and then 🙂

Love & Blessings!
Adriana