A P31 sort of day

I feel very P31 so far today. I woke up this morning to the announcement of my husband that it was pouring rain outside. This was great news to me because one, I would not have to worry about watering the garden or landscaping outside which means that two, I could do both the laundry and run the dishwasher today :-), and finally just because I love rainy days and cooler weather! I realize that most people love jumping out of bed on a bright sunny day but I prefer mild and rainy to hot and sunny any day of the week. So while Jon fixed his hair, I made up some eggs and we were able to have a relaxing 15 minutes on the porch listening to the rain. After that, I worked out, dropped off some clothes to the Goodwill, dropped produce from the garden off to a friend, bought some fresh produce from a local organic farm, gassed up the car, got books from the library for the weekend ahead, and then purchased some scotchgard for the new sectional on the porch...all before noon!! After I got home I spent and hour in the garden pulling weeds that I really should have taken care of weeks if not months ago while listening to a great sermon on my ipod.
So, my day was very productive to this point but was also very enlightening. The sermon I listened to was from a church called Apex Community out of Dayton, Ohio. I went there during college and have recently begun downloading the sermons to listen to when I am working outside. This one happened to be out of the book of James and it was about planning. Which was funny because directly before I turned it on I had just outlined some ideas to my mom that I had for our farm. (Sometimes God just isn't so subtle, He can really just knock you over the head if you need it!) The plans discussed included possibly starting a CSA, taking a master gardeners course, doing some hands on gardening classes here at the farm, etc. Now the sermon focused on James 4:13-16.

13Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." 14Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." 16As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil. 17Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.

At first, I thought the message was pretty simplistic, don't plan what you will do just say "if it is God's will" this is what I will do. Pretty basic, but on a deeper level it really means that you plan your life based on and with great input from God. So all these ideas I am having or plans I am making need to be based on what God wants from my life. I may have a strong desire to go in one direction but is that where God wants me to be? I know that I need to be more cognisant of God's will and asking Him what I should be doing next. I felt pretty convicted about my prayer life and including God in my decision making on a daily basis. The other part of the passage that talks about boasting was interesting as well. I would normally say that I don't boast. I am not out there spouting all the great things I do in my life, how awesome I am, etc. However, in this context, the boasting is actually about making plans. Saying that you will be doing this or that in the future, as if you know what the future holds. Basically, the exact thing I was saying to my mother 1 hour earlier. It is pretty neat to see how God is continuing to work in my life and show me areas for improvement.