Endurance & Encouragement

Setting:
Last day home on break and I want to get some stuff cleaned out, organized, sorted and so on. Rosie from church is having a garage sale this month to raise money with the kids for World Vision and it's the prefect opportunity for me to purge some things in my house and make room for all the stuff that comes with a tiny baby.

When MJD went down for a nap, I cleaned out the book case and went through an old bill box I used to use for organization. Inside I found this tiny piece of paper that my Abuela had written for me. It's Proverbs 31:30 written in Spanish. She used to just write these little verses and tuck them into our belongings so we would find them on us every now and then.

Don't remember the occasion for which I received it, but it must have been special because I had saved it hidden away all these years.
It's now taped inside my favorite Bible.

I went to my devotion station while nap time is progressing and began my new study on Esther. With working there's no way I can make it to ladies morning Bible study and trying to work and go to a study at night makes me feel neglectful of my family, exhausted and way to far behind on household needs during the week, so I don't make it at night during the school year.
But in all honesty, if I don't have a systematic study with a daily requirement and something I'm interested in, I simply lack the self discipline to do it. I would like to say I can just open the Bible and do it, but I am to ADD for that. Just laying it out there.

So on New Year's Day while we were in Ft. Myers I went to the Christian book store, picked out a new Beth Moore study and decided I would just do it on my own and download the video each week. I know it costs more money and all, but at least this way I am investing something into it and it gives me accountability.

I downloaded the video but it's not compatible with Macs so I have to find a way to convert the file to MP4 before I can view it. Not wanting that to hinder the start....I began anyway. As I got close to the end of the first lesson....and while somewhat wondering if I had chosen the right study for this phase of my life, God gave me this verse.

Romans 15:4-For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

I needed that. Today I needed to see the words of the past to encourage my heart and strengthen my endurance.