I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
~Philippians 4:13
~Philippians 4:13
This picture could be me on any given Wednesday--minus the red pumps.
Wednesday is my weekly fasting day. I began this habitual fast in January of 2008. Yes, that means I have been doing it for nearly four years. Only on rare occasions have I switched my fasting day because of some very special event. I picked Wednesday because Thursdays are my errand day and I would be so tired on the hour (or more, depending on traffic) drive home after the Princess' piano lesson that I was fighting to stay awake the closer I got to home.
You are probably wondering what one has to do with the other. When I begin eating after a fast, I have quite a bit more energy and so I chose to fast on Wednesday so I would have more energy on Thursday.
Yes, it works!
However,...Wednesday is no longer a quiet hump day with homeschooling and preparation for tomorrow's errands. It is working at the horse barn in the morning and homeschooling in the afternoon.
Working at the horse barn starts with
bringing the large horses into the barn;
feeding them in their stalls;
feeding the miniature horses in their paddocks;
taking hay out to the back pasture;
filling the water basins as needed
or draining them to scrub and refill;
spraying the horses to guard them against flies;
letting them out of the barn;
cleaning the stalls as needed;
spraying the stalls for flies:
and feeding Tucker, the dog.
The food bins have needed to be filled nearly every Wednesday, which means that I haul, using a wheelbarrow over uneven ground, 100 to 150 pounds of feed nearly every week and then lift each 50 pound bag to fill the bins, but thankfully today I did not have to do that as they were full for the first time in weeks.
With one sick mini we also have to administer medicine by mouth and wet his hay so the dust from it does not irritate his lungs and place him in one stall when it is hot with fans on.
Then we clean up the paddock of the deposits, which usually takes about three to four wheelbarrows filled, to be dump on the manure pile. This last part is not something that we have to do but it is a good thing to do and the place looks nicer. Only a few other barn helpers do it, but it would be easier if everyone did.
After this I sometimes make a run to get raw milk at the farm just a bit further out, as I did today. Sometimes I fill up our empty water jugs at the local Koger, as I also did today. Sometimes I fill the gas tank so I will not have that to do tomorrow and I did that today too.
Sometimes I do too much.
Sometimes I think that I should not fast on Wednesday with the horse barn thing and I would move the horse barn time to Tuesday morning in a heartbeat if there was someone to take Wednesday morning. However, if I do not fast on Wednesday, I fall asleep driving home on Thursday afternoon.
Perhaps I am just a bit overtired today. I suppose it would have been a better day if I had not awaken at 3:00 AM to stay awake for nearly two hours.
Because my drive drove away without me today, I cut homeschool lessons to the barest minimum: piano, math lesson, and classical writing/grammar. I could have/should have/would have blown off the entire afternoon, but my daughter was eager to get through her lessons today and I will use that anytime I can get it, even when I much rather have a nap.
Now it is nearly 6:30 PM and I am at an entire loss about dinner, which I will not be even eating. My husband is working in a place where his cell phone does not work, so I have not a clue when he will be home, but most likely not for dinner, so I now have to begin the feeding of dog, inside cat, outside kittens, rabbits, and the Princess.
I really am going to get up out of this chair,
turn off my computer,
stop whining,
and just do it.
Really I am.
~ My Lord, there are times I just want to give up and today was one of those times, but I thank you for them because they remind me that You are my strength. ~
