{"id":863,"date":"2023-03-27T21:44:50","date_gmt":"2023-03-27T21:44:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mari.dekle.us\/?p=863"},"modified":"2023-04-06T17:29:45","modified_gmt":"2023-04-06T17:29:45","slug":"the-old-tattered-monkey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mari.dekle.us\/?p=863","title":{"rendered":"The Old Tattered Monkey!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Monday, March 27, 2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tim and I were driving down the road the other day when we passed an old truck towing a metal work trailer. There was nothing unusual about that trailer, really. We see a lot of those in these parts. What caught my attention regarding this particular one was an old tattered monkey tied to one back corner of the trailer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe\u2019s had a rough life!\u201d Tim commented as we passed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was true. That poor little monkey looked like he had been through many storms. He was one of those crochet brownish gray sock monkeys with a white face and big bright red mouth. At least, he was at one time. This guy was tattered and torn as if he was about to lose a limb. Most of the stuffing in both his torn legs were gone. His color was difficult to detect anymore as he was so faded, including his mouth.  Yes, he\u2019s had a rough life!<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cBut he\u2019s still hanging on!\u201d I replied. His one good arm was even wrapped around the pole he was tied to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There have been many times this past winter where I have felt like that monkey. It has been a rough winter for both Tim and I. We have been overly tired and not sleeping well. For Tim, a lot has had to do with the tremendous pain in his shoulders. They are getting better, but still the sleep is often evasive. For me, it\u2019s other health issues that prevent me from either falling asleep or keeping asleep. We have tried lots of different methods for sleeping better with little results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It\u2019s no fun being exhausted all the time. Motivation is difficult to grasp onto much of the time. It\u2019s a fight to get anything done. I feel like I am just hanging on, just like that tattered monkey. It\u2019s easy to give into the excuse and just not get much accomplished. Some days I win the battle and some days, I feel it\u2019s a losing battle. Then I remember, I have someone I can go to for the strength I need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1 Chronicles 16:11 says, \u201cSeek the LORD and His strength; Seek His face evermore!\u201d<\/em><\/strong> When I am focused on my own strength, I can get little accomplished these days. But when I seek Him and His strength, I am able to not only get things accomplished, but also do things well. This is because \u201cHe gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength (Isaiah 40:29).\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Psalm 28:7 says, \u201cThe LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him and I am helped; Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song I will praise Him.\u201d<\/em><\/strong> In the midst of all the tiredness, He gives not only strength, but also joy. For me, listening to or singing praise music puts joy in my heart and a smile on my face. There is much strength in that!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So how about you? Are you feeling tired or exhausted these days? Look to Him and He will give you the strength you need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blessings, Mari<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Monday, March 27, 2023 Tim and I were driving down the road the other day when we passed an old truck towing a metal work trailer. There was nothing unusual about that trailer, really. We see a lot of those in these parts. What caught my attention regarding this particular one was an old tattered… Continue reading The Old Tattered Monkey!<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mari.dekle.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/863"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mari.dekle.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mari.dekle.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mari.dekle.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mari.dekle.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=863"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mari.dekle.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/863\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":866,"href":"https:\/\/mari.dekle.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/863\/revisions\/866"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mari.dekle.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=863"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mari.dekle.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=863"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mari.dekle.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=863"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}