Lists

I confess.  I'm a list maker.  I make a list for everything.  I have a:

Grocery List-

A To-Do List-

A Wish List-

A Book List-

A List of my Lists-

I even make a Husband To-Do List-

Before I drive into town, I make a list of where I will go first, in between, and what will be my last stop.  Yes, I confess, I'm more than a little OCD when it comes to my daily activities. 

I would like to think that the reason behind my list making is because I like to be organized, and by writing things down I am less likely to forget what is needed, or what is needed to be done.

If I don't complete my list on any given day, for whatever reason, I simply add that task to tomorrow's list along with all the other 'tomorrow' tasks.

However, I have realized that I have shackled myself to these lists.  I have become so wrapped up in what I 'think' must be accomplished during my day, that I leave little room for any interruptions.  I leave little room for 'others.'

I become bogged down in the mechanics of everyday tasks.  I'm going under, have added needless stress on myself, and have invited failure into my life because I just can't seem to get everything done according to my lists!

I start each day by looking at 'my plans' instead of what God has planned for me.

God, forgive me.

Yes, I will continue to have lists, but I will start my day asking God what He would like me to do, before I look at the list I had prepared the night before.

I want my SOLE purpose to be SOUL purposed.

But that's just me!

Psalm 25:4-5  Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths.  

Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.

Adult Children

As parents, we all know the verses:

Proverbs 22:6-Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

2 Cor. 5:20a-Now then we are ambassadors for Christ...

Ephesians 4:1-I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,

Isaiah 30:21-And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.

Life seemed so much easier when our children were small.  We could make the right decisions for them.  If they did something wrong, we could immediately fix the problem, rescue them from the repercussions of their actions, because their messes seemed to be so small.  That all changes when they grow up and are on their own.  They make their own decisions now, right or wrong, and we can no longer help them back on their feet, dust them off, and fix the mess they fall into.  They must face the consequences of their actions, just like we do.  As a parent, I think it's more painful for us, than for them.  We have the same reflex to reach out and rescue them from the hole they dug for themselves.  We want to protect them from the pain they will have to endure to make themselves right again.  Even now, I can think of a time when I was 16 years old, and made a decision that brought heartache for my Mom.  It was something I did, and she could not fix it, yet her love for me never wavered.  I can think of things my own adult children have done that brought heartache for me, because I could not fix it for them either, and my love for them never wavered.

God sees His children make wrong decisions as well, and it brakes His heart, and His love never wavers.  God will always be:

Our Restorer-

Our Rescuer-

Our Redeemer-

There is nothing we can do that will ever remove us from His Love and Care for us.

Yes, we will reap the consequences of our actions, but He is ready to forgive when we call out to Him.

As parents who have children who have made wrong choices, I want to encourage you to trust God and pray for your adult child.  God will hear your prayers.  

And because God forgives, we can forgive too.

    But that's just me!

"Everyone has a chapter that they do not want to read out loud."  Toby Mac

Left-Overs

Webster defines left-overs this way:  Something that remains unused or unconsumed.

The first question that comes to mind the day after Thanksgiving is, "What am I going to do with all the left over food?"  Every time I open the refrigerator door, I'm thinking of new and creative ways to use the remaining food so that it doesn't go to waste.  There is one thought, though, that does not enter my mind;

"Who can I give this too?"

I would never give my left-overs to my neighbor, and I would never invite someone over to my house for a meal and serve them left-overs.

And I would never give my left-overs to God.

Or, would I?  Have I?  Have you?

I'm not talking about food here.  I'm talking about money, time,  talent, and helping those in need.

We read in Malachi about God's people offering God their left-overs:  the maimed offerings, their spare change.  (Malachi 1:6-14, Malachi 3:8-10)

Do I want to do what I want to do, and then if I have extra time, volunteer to help someone?

Do I pay a bill first, and then give God what is left-over?

A.W. Tozer once said, "God gets left-overs....we tend to give Him that which we don't need instead of giving Him that which we need."

I want to first give God, what is rightfully His, not what I have left....but that's just me!

God is worthy of our First-Fruits, not our Left-Overs.

 

Count Your Blessings

Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation.  Selah

Psalm 68:19

In every thing give thanks:  for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus.  1 Thessalonians 5:18

Giving thanks always for  all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 5:20

The first Thanksgiving was decreed by Governor Bradford in 1621 to commemorate the Pilgrims harvest.

Then George Washington proclaimed Thanksgiving on November 26, 1789 for a national day of thanksgiving, and Abraham Lincoln made thanksgiving a repeated holiday and called it the Harvest Festival on November 26, 1861.  But it wasn't until 1941 when Congress passed a Bill, naming the fourth Thursday of November that we celebrate Thanksgiving Day like we know it today.

But even before the 'world' decided to give thanks to the Creator for His provision in all things, His children did just that.  In all things, and for all things.

Sometimes we don't see the daily provisions God gives us on a daily basis because we have either come to expect them, or we take them for granted.  It isn't until we 'name them one by one' like the Hymn reminds us to, that we actual see the blessings, too great in number to count, that God gives us daily.

Every single day.

And no matter what circumstance we are going through right now, I know that when I choose to count my blessings, the worries and the fears and the cares of this world quickly fall away because I know that God will take care of me.  Why do I know that?  Because He proves it to me every single day.

If the world can set aside one day a year to give thanks, shouldn't we, Christian, give thanks every day to the One who meets every need?

I'm counting my blessings!

But that's just me!

"For one who has made thanksgiving the habit of his life, the morning prayer will be, "Lord, what will you give me today to offer back to you?"  Elisabeth Elliot

"Careful for nothing, prayerful for everything, thankful for anything."  Dwight L. Moody

"Gratitude lets us see our cup is neither half-empty nor half-full, but more than enough."  Lisa Appelo

Dust

Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:

And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.  Psalm 139:23,24

Can someone please explain to me how a silverware tray gets so dirty sitting in a kitchen drawer with only clean utensils resting in each cubical?  It's one of life's mysteries.

But kidding aside, I have realized that if I don't pay close attention, I can start accumulating dust in my heart.   I allow things to creep in.  I become de-sensitized by watching the News, or movies.  I justify or make an excuse to what I read or listen to.  Have I gone soft towards certain sins?

King David realized that too.  He called them 'Secret Faults.'  In Psalm 19:12, he asks this question:

"Who can understand his errors?  cleanse thou me from secret faults."

Secret faults are sins committed in ignorance,  those we honestly do not realize to be sin, AND sins that are hidden.  Those we tuck way down deep in our hearts that no one else knows about, and will do them willingly and in secret.

King David wanted to live uprightly and live a life blameless before God, and so he prayed that God would cleanse him from his secret sins.

We should desire that as well.

When we ask God to show us what is truly in our hearts, He will.  And when we confess our secret faults to Him, He will sweep all that dust away, and wash away our sins so that our lives can be pleasing before Him.  1 John 1:9

I want to be dust free!

But that's just me!

 

Salt

Ye are the salt of the earth:  but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted?  It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

Matthew 5:13

Christian, how has your testimony been lately?

Does your life reflect goodness in all circumstances?

How about in your words and conversation?  (Colossians 4:6)

Do you fit in with the world, or do you stand out for Jesus?

We are living in stressful times right now, are you still worth your salt?

Or have we lost our savour, and no longer have an impact on those around us?

I want to encourage you...let's stay salty!

I want to season the world~

I don't want the world to season me....

    But that's just me!

"Live in such a way that men may recognize that you have been with Jesus."

    Charles Spurgeon

 

Milk or Meat

The other night I missed a very important step in preparing our meal, and I didn't realize it until we sat down to eat.  After placing the assorted vegetables on the table, I went back into the kitchen to retrieve the baked chicken out of the oven,  and  imagine my horror when I opened the oven door to find cold chicken!  I  had forgotten to turn on the oven!

So, my family had a nice laugh, and we sat down to enjoy the vegetarian meal, and waited for the chicken to properly bake.

I couldn't help but think about Hebrews 5:12-14.  

"For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first oracles of God; and are become such as have need milk, and not of strong meat.

For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.

But strong meat belongeth to them that are full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil."

A veggie meal is fine physically, but when it comes to our Spiritual needs, we need meat!

Let's put aside our spoons and pick up our knives and forks!  

But that's just me!

But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 

2 Peter 3:18a