And, some days, I don't feel joyful. I just feel crabby.

It should have been a lovely day; it started out that way. We went to church. We love our church. There was an adorable new baby there today that I was able to admire. The sermon was from Micah 6:6-8.

⁶ With what shall I come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?

⁷ Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

⁸ He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Then, I came home and ran my hills run. Took a lovely shower and came down to watch the Steelers dominate with Eric. Eric made me a yummy sandwich. While we watched them play, the kiddos played in the backyard with the girls next door. They decided to start practicing their Halloween play and were all jumping on the trampoline, wearing Halloween costumes, and writing invitations to the party they have decided they are hosting next weekend. They spent three hours doing this!

And, then, I took a nap.

Sounds lovely, hun? It was. And, I should have been able to forgive what happens next, but it just turned my attitude sour. The dog knocked over Jonathan's not-quite-closed BLUE Gatorade bottle onto the cream colored carpet. And, that is how I ended up not getting a nap.

I tried, I really tried, to snap out of it. I tried to remember the joy of the day, but I couldn't get there. I knew I was being unreasonable so I tried as best I could to keep it inside.

We tried to clean the carpet, but the cleaners will have to come out and I'm not certain that it won't result in a new carpet.

Then, we went to the dog park - and that is usually a great time - but naturally occurring kid occasional whining was more annoying than usual. The dog was more annoying than usual. I was just crabby. And, then, at the end of the day the dog peed on my bed after an accident free weekend. And, Lauren wants, naturally, her Sunday night Mommy night (she sleeps with me on Sunday nights) and I just didn't want it. And, for the first time in an exceedingly long time, I actually yelled at the kids. I apologized and Lauren is having a Mommy night and I know that I'm crabby, but I'm still not yet ready for humility. I did not incorporate the lovely sermon from church today.

It is always so much easier to walk humbly with God when one is well-rested, well-nourished, and has almost no one needing from them (say, small children and pets), but the true test is being able to walk with humility and Grace when humility and Grace feel so far away.

I think I will require a full night of sleep for that. And, then maybe I can act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. But, right now, I'm rather human.