Battlefield of the Mind and Other Such Stuff

First things first:
Happy anniversary to my most excellent husband. Today marks the 13th year we have been married. I must say thank you to the man who inspires me to be a better person, who drives my passion for life, who catches me when I fall, who knows my insecureties and loves me through them, who makes me laugh and even sometimes cry, who isn't afraid to dream with me and even accomplish some of those dreams, who isn't afraid to make sacrifices for his family, who gets up everyday to face the giant of this world to protect and provide for me and his children, who meets my needs and never stops trying to love me in a Christ-like manner, I love you forever.
I must also thank my Heavenly Father for blessing me with the gift of this man. Only You would know how I would need him in this life you gave us both. Thank You for your divine love and care woven through our life together. I love you forever.

I have been thinking this morning on the battlefield of the mind. I read chapter 7 in the book of Luke and have been considering a point that stuck out to me. In this chapter, Jesus is doing miracles, and not just simple ones like turning water into wine, but raising people from the dead. The thing is, the people STILL don't want to accept Him as the Messiah. They are eager to have Him come and heal their loved ones and believe He can, but when He begins to speak of forgivness, they all shut down and feel He oversteps, that He's blasphemous! He's right there in front of them and they refuse to see Him for who He is. Even John, Jesus' cousin and beloved friend is discouraged and Jesus gently encourages and reassures him.
Well after reading this chapter and sending Shaun on his way to work (we read it together over breakfast this morning) I went to milk the goats. Sometimes my best thoughts come when I'm milking. I think the simple peace of the barn and the acceptance of the animals of me at face value helps with my clarity of thought. Anyway, didn't mean to rabbit trail there.
I have been struggling with a feeling of being overwhelmed the past couple of weeks. The many wonderful and daunting resposibilities of being a mother, wife and teacher have had me down lately. Most days I'm happy and blessed to tackle the everyday challenges that come with my life but others, not so much. I have had this deafeatest attitude lately that no matter what I do or how hard I try I can't seem to get all the things accomplished in a day that I feel I should. That no matter how many times we practice, Tonya can't seem to get the math I'm teaching or Alex's bad attitude about English is stonewalling her progress and that Morgan being sick and demanding on top of the laundry, housework, chores and errands that need to be run are like concrete blocks chained to my ankles. Not to mention that the van broke down and the house payment is due, the preverbial wolf at the door. But this morning after reading in Luke 7 about how the people didn't recoginize Jesus for who He was, a light bulb came on in my brain! I wasn't giving Jesus the recognition He deserved for who He really was in MY life. I've heard all this before, but it struck home today. I am a daughter of the King through Jesus Christ my Saviour. I am NOT defeated and never could be, the battle has already been won, even the battle in my mind. I must remember that those thoughts don't come from above but from the enemy who seeks to destroy me. I have to recoginize Jesus as the Messiah in my daily life, just as the people in Luke 7 needed too.
So, I've come to the conclusion that the only standard I should hold myself to is God's. I know, I know, a lightning bolt right? Look, I knew all this already but sometimes we need a reminder. I need to adjust MY standards to match HIS. I can accomplish ALL things through Christ who strengthens me. Even the laundry!