Some days... there just isn't enough time to do everything on your list.
My mother taught me a couple verses from Proverbs 3 when I was a child. They say "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and don't lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."
Those verses have stayed with me for many years. And as is often true with the Word of God, I can come back to them over and over. Isaiah 40:8 says the word of our God stands forever. I guess that's why some verses just never go away.
Some days... there just isn't enough time... so when those days come, I have to look to the Lord for guidance. What would He have me do today? It may not be the same as what I think. And those beautiful words from Proverbs poke back into my life. So I ask... and maybe you can ask this of yourself too... How can I trust Him with all my heart? How can I lean on HIM instead of my own understanding of how things should be? How can I acknowledge Him in everything I do? And has He made my paths straight?
...Leaning on the Everlasting Arms...
What a fellowship, what a joy divine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
What a blessedness, what a peace is mine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.
Oh, how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
Oh, how bright the path grows from day to day,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.
What have I to dread, what have I to fear,
Leaning on the everlasting arms?
I have blessed peace with my Lord so near,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.
Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms;
Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.
Showing posts with label busy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label busy. Show all posts
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Friday, November 14, 2008
.FULL. (by DeeDee!)
This is the TENTH installment...
This month, we had a "guest writer," my beautiful bride. I was talking with her about what I should write... and she came up with (in my opinion) an even better idea than the two ideas I had, so I asked her to go ahead and write it! Let her know what you think! Her email is: deedeeshirley at hotmail dot com.
.FULL.
Someone once told me that there are lots of things that we think of as spiritual, but that when we get right down to it, may not be exactly what God wants us to be doing at that time. Like we think that, in order to be spiritual, we need to read our bible, and serve at our church, and visit people at the nursing home, and baby-sit our neighbor’s kids, AND wash the preacher’s dog, AND hold a prayer circle at our house, and, and, and, and the list can go on and on. But God doesn’t just want everything FROM us, He wants the BEST FOR us.
Sometimes the most spiritual thing we can do is to... GO TO SLEEP.
I reflected on that today, as of course lately I have been running around like a crazy person getting ready for Vacation Bible School. Yesterday about 8:30pm I just totally ran out of steam. I laid down for a few minutes, just to “pull myself together” a little... and I fell asleep. I was in the middle of putting my kids to bed and I FELL ASLEEP!!! Oops. So I slept, the kids went to sleep without me, and all was well, and I slept, and slept, and slept. 11 hours I slept.
Then today, I woke up feeling good - refreshed and ready to hit the day head-on. I proceeded to meet the cable man, clean the house, work on VBS and more, but most importantly I played Whack-A-Mole with the girls.
So I guess I didn’t really see it yesterday, but the most spiritual thing I could do for the Lord, right then, was go to sleep - and today the most spiritual thing I could do for the Lord was play with my kids. That’s not an excuse to be lazy; some days the thing the Lord wants from me isn’t nearly as fun as taking a nap, but it is still what he knows is best for me. Jesus says, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10) That means that whatever it is we do each day needs to be what He says, so our lives can be full. Not just BUSY, but FULL... full of HIM.
So what is the most spiritual thing you can do today?
Is it time with your family?
Or is it serving His church, or hosting a prayer group?
Could it be reaching out to your neighbor?
Or visiting the nursing home?
...Or is it maybe a nap?
Only you can find out what it is that God wants you to do today. Ask Him.
Hoping you have a day Full of God.
Love, DeeDee
(Originally published July 7, 2008)
This month, we had a "guest writer," my beautiful bride. I was talking with her about what I should write... and she came up with (in my opinion) an even better idea than the two ideas I had, so I asked her to go ahead and write it! Let her know what you think! Her email is: deedeeshirley at hotmail dot com.
.FULL.
Someone once told me that there are lots of things that we think of as spiritual, but that when we get right down to it, may not be exactly what God wants us to be doing at that time. Like we think that, in order to be spiritual, we need to read our bible, and serve at our church, and visit people at the nursing home, and baby-sit our neighbor’s kids, AND wash the preacher’s dog, AND hold a prayer circle at our house, and, and, and, and the list can go on and on. But God doesn’t just want everything FROM us, He wants the BEST FOR us.
Sometimes the most spiritual thing we can do is to... GO TO SLEEP.
I reflected on that today, as of course lately I have been running around like a crazy person getting ready for Vacation Bible School. Yesterday about 8:30pm I just totally ran out of steam. I laid down for a few minutes, just to “pull myself together” a little... and I fell asleep. I was in the middle of putting my kids to bed and I FELL ASLEEP!!! Oops. So I slept, the kids went to sleep without me, and all was well, and I slept, and slept, and slept. 11 hours I slept.
Then today, I woke up feeling good - refreshed and ready to hit the day head-on. I proceeded to meet the cable man, clean the house, work on VBS and more, but most importantly I played Whack-A-Mole with the girls.
So I guess I didn’t really see it yesterday, but the most spiritual thing I could do for the Lord, right then, was go to sleep - and today the most spiritual thing I could do for the Lord was play with my kids. That’s not an excuse to be lazy; some days the thing the Lord wants from me isn’t nearly as fun as taking a nap, but it is still what he knows is best for me. Jesus says, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10) That means that whatever it is we do each day needs to be what He says, so our lives can be full. Not just BUSY, but FULL... full of HIM.
So what is the most spiritual thing you can do today?
Is it time with your family?
Or is it serving His church, or hosting a prayer group?
Could it be reaching out to your neighbor?
Or visiting the nursing home?
...Or is it maybe a nap?
Only you can find out what it is that God wants you to do today. Ask Him.
Hoping you have a day Full of God.
Love, DeeDee
(Originally published July 7, 2008)
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