{"id":209,"date":"2012-07-26T12:58:00","date_gmt":"2012-07-26T12:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/?p=209"},"modified":"2012-07-26T12:58:00","modified_gmt":"2012-07-26T12:58:00","slug":"empty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/?p=209","title":{"rendered":"Empty"},"content":{"rendered":"
Today begins a new chapter in my life. My oldest child, Philip is moving cross country for a job opportunity. While he hasn\u2019t lived with or near me his entire adult life, he has been living with us for the past five years.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

I get all the aspects and importance of this move, but in reality, it makes for a difficult day. We will miss him. His sisters will miss him. His niece and nephew will miss him. And he will miss us.<\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
The good news? He\u2019s moving close to where my entire family lives. He will be near aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. It really couldn\u2019t get any better than that.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
I ask that you join me today and tomorrow to pray for his safety as he drives across the central plains of this wonderful country of ours. Pray with me that his car has no mechanical issues. Pray that God will protect him each mile that he drives. After all, he is my baby.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Yes, I\u2019m starting a new chapter in my life. One step closer to empty nestedness.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
I\u2019m sure God was feeling a bit like me in the very beginning. Genesis 1:2 (NIV) says, \u201cNow the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.\u201d<\/i> What a description! It\u2019s no wonder God wanted to create something of beauty.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Look at some of the terms. Formless. Empty. Darkness. Deep. For us, these terms might be related to how we are feeling emotionally. If we aren\u2019t careful, we begin to feel this way when we encounter times of loneliness, depression, or change. <\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
But remember, God didn\u2019t want to remain in that situation. He chose to create something better. Something more splendid. Something more uplifting. He created the earth in all its glory.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
God doesn\u2019t want us to stay in a state of emptiness either. He would love to take your life and create something beautiful out of ruins. Beauty from ashes.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
God wants to take away all of your hurt, your anguish, your pain. He wants to replace these feelings with joy, love, and grace. <\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
I do love Isaiah 61. There is such hope in this chapter. If you are in this empty place today, pull your Bible out and read through it. Take it to heart. Learn how God wants to heal your brokenheartedness. How God wants to release the prisoner. How God wants to comfort the mourning. How God wants to replace the spirit of despair with a garment of praise.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
This list could go on and on. It is the perfect passage for anyone that is hurting. God provides hope and promises that can take us from the depths of despair to the heights of favor. Don\u2019t let another day go by without calling out to Him.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
I\u2019ve only experienced the empty nest feeling one time in my life for a few short months. All the kids were gone. It was just me and Mason. To keep from being bored, we went to book stores and looked for new material to read while drinking flavored coffees. We took short road trips in the evenings to see interesting parts of our state. We even went to the zoo to take pictures of all its inhabitants. We really were quite the pair.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
I don\u2019t see us reverting back to our old way of life any time soon. We really are content being at home together. And besides, my nest isn\u2019t empty yet. But all too soon it will be. And that for certain will turn the page of yet another chapter in my life.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
I\u2019m truly thankful for all the people, friends, and family in my life. May God bless each of you with great abundance on this day and every day that lies ahead.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Grace and peace be yours in abundance,<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Donna<\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today begins a new chapter in my life. My oldest child, Philip is moving cross country for a job opportunity. While he hasn\u2019t lived with or near me his entire adult life, he has been living with us for the past five years. I get all the aspects and importance of this move, but in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_s2mail":"","_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,13,20,15,11,19,21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-asking-god","category-finding-god","category-hearing-god","category-knowing-god","category-loving-god","category-thanking-god","category-trusting-god"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=209"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}