I took a rare nap late this afternoon.  When I finally opened my eyes I could see that the light coming through the bedroom window had dimmed and that soon it would be dark outside.  Rather than jump right up I laid in bed and watched the room get darker.  When a certain point of darkness arrived the insects, frogs and a few birds began their evening chorus.  I am always amazed when the seemingly impossible happens like that.  How do these essentially brainless insects and frogs know when to begin to sing every day and all at the same time?

I questioned my ability to be so in tune with God that no matter what is happening the words that come out of my mouth are the ones that He wants me to say.  I feel like maybe I should be a little more like Paul and Silas when they were in prison and sang praises to God.  In the reality of my day I can be too hot and too cold in the course of 24-hours and complain about both!  I can complain about the brightness of the sun or the clouds that block the sun.  I complain because my cat ignores me, but when she insists on too much attention I complain about that also.  I think I will ask God to make the following text part of who I am so I can be a little more like the insects who know when it is time to sing: “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18)  I want God to remove my heart of stone and give me a heart of flesh.  (Ezekiel 11:19)

Richard’s bare feet hit the cool wood floor at 6:00 a.m.  His thoughts raced ahead of him in anticipation of running the marathon.  He carefully prepared his pre-race smoothie filling it full of all the latest super foods.  He didn’t bother pouring it into a glass, just tipped it back and chugged.  Ugh, a little thick, but he reminded himself that it was good for him.  He stretched a few yoga poses and jogged out the door feeling light as a feather after his talk with his personal trainer the night before.  He usually ran with a backpack of varying weights, but his trainer had insisted he run the race without the weights.

Richard stood with the other runners at the starting line.  He noticed some of the other racers carried their bag of weights.  He began to worry, maybe he should have taken his bag with him after all.  But, his personal trainer had said to trust him, he knew the best way to run the race, he had run it before and won.

The starting gun cracked and the racers feet hit the pavement.  Richard ran at the pace predetermined by his trainer, but he noticed some of the runners with bags of weights on their backs running ahead of him.  His mind raced with worry again.  Then he noticed his roommate standing just ahead to the right with his bag of weights.  He needed them, he just knew it.  He reached out and grabbed the bag from his roommate as he passed by and struggled to put it on.  He felt heavier, but he was used to running this way, he gritted his teeth and determined to run faster, the voice of his personal trainer nudged his conscience but he ignored it and soon it disappeared all together.

Richard doggedly raced on.  Other racers passed him and when they did he stopped to pick up more weights that he saw lying discarded next to the road.  About two-thirds of the way through the race his legs barely stumbled forward, now he noticed that all of the other runners near him carried bags of weights also.  He determined to give it all he had to pull ahead of them, forgetting that it would do him little good at actually winning the race, since all those who raced without weights were nearly to the finish line.

Richard finally stumbled to a halt when he tripped over a small pebble in the road.  He sank to his knees unable to go on as the other runners slogged by him.  He half-sobbed, ready to give up his goal of just finishing the race, never mind winning it now.  He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up.  Surprise and then remorse filled him when he saw his personal trainer.  He knew he should have followed his advice.  He tried to get up but the weight proved too heavy.

Richards personal trainer offered to take his bag, but Richard felt too unworthy and stupid to let him take it and struggled forward another couple of inches on his knees before he finally gave up.  He looked up at his personal trainer to see him reaching for his bag.  Richard hesitated then reached into his bag and pulled out a few of the weights and gave them to his trainer.  He tried to get up and finish on his own again, but his legs refused to carry the weight.  He sat down in the dust and pulled out a few more weights and gave them to his personal trainer as well.  His bag felt lighter and he continued on about a quarter of a mile before he sank to the ground again.  He could see the finish line now, but knew he couldn’t make it unless he gave all the weights to his personal trainer.

Richard looked up afraid that his trainer might not be there.  But as he lifted his face from the ground he felt such relief to see the feet of his trainer directly in front of him, waiting still to take the rest of his burden.  Richard didn’t bother sifting through his bag deciding which weights to give and which to keep, he just tossed the whole bag in front of the feet before him.  Then he remembered the last thing his trainer had told him on the phone the night before, “Give me all your worries and cares because I love you and if you let me carry your burden, you will finish the race a winner!”

Colby left for school today. He loaded up his car with some clothes, two large computer screens, a computer, some sheets, a blanket, and a whiteboard. Considering he has a very small car, I was surprised he could still see clearly out the back window. After all he was leaving for college, he should have more stuff.  Being his mom, I do wonder what he has forgotten.  I certainly did my part suggesting he take more things with him.

As a Christian my life here on earth is like a trip to heaven. Everything I do here is stuff that is either preparing me for heaven or not.  How I spend my time here on my trip to heaven is building my character, creating who I am, and the who I will be when I arrive at the proverbial pearly gates.  Have I packed up plenty of truth? Righteousness? Faith? Peace? The Sword of the Spirit? Love? Kindness? Gentleness and self-control?

I wonder if God were to suggest I take more stuff with me than what I already have, what would it be?  If I were to take a good look inside the car I’m taking to heaven, I’d guess I’ve probably forgotten something that God is trying to tell me to take.  Just like I am willing to send anything with Colby that he made need for the next few months, God is even more willing to give me what I need so that when I arrive at the proverbial pearly gates I will not be lacking in any good thing.

If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!  Matthew 7:11

Colby baked cookies tonight.  He opened the pack of cookie dough and dropped the little squares on the cookie sheets, put them in the oven and went downstairs to his room.  Soon after Aspen asked for a drink of juice so I went out to the kitchen and poured her a glass of orange juice.  The smell of slightly overdone cookies tickled my nose.  I opened the door to the oven, removed the cookies, and put them on a cooling rack.  Just as I finished I heard Colby running up the stairs to rescue his cookies.  They were still edible so all was not lost.  He still had more cookies to bake so he repeated the same process, once again going downstairs despite knowing that the only way to bake cookies is to do just that, bake cookies with no distractions.  Once again he raced up the stairs just a few minutes too late and removed the slightly overdone cookies from the heat of the oven. 

The cookie dough package comes with instructions.  It tells the prospective baker how long to bake the cookies and at what temperature to set the oven.  If I follow the directions my cookies will turn out perfectly.  But, if I don’t follow the directions, even if I deviate by only a few minutes the cookies will become unpalatable.  My spiritual life suffers as well when I don’t follow the directions it comes with in the Bible.  When I ignore the proper instructions,  rather than my spiritual life being a sweet cookie, I’m a little burnt and not nearly so tasty.  Just like Colby should have spent the time baking the cookies in the kitchen so he wouldn’t forget them, I need to spend time in God’s spiritual kitchen waiting for His perfect timing.

 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10

Lead me in Your truth, and teach me; for You are the God of my salvation; on You I wait all the day long. Psalms 25:5

Brett and I had recently moved to a new state and wanted to easily find our way around.  Acquiring a  GPS seemed like a perfect solution.  We drove to Best Buy, scanned the prices of the GPS’s in stock and quickly narrowed it down to the two that fit our budget and came with all the right bells and whistles.  We asked the sales clerk which GPS was the better option.  She quickly named one, we picked it up, paid for it and walked out of the store with our new “Take Me Where I Want to Go” device. 

Over the past year we have used the GPS numerous times to take us to our destination.  Gone are the days of unfolding and then trying to refold a paper city map all while desperately trying to remain the picture of Christian perfection.  Now I just punch in the address, wait for the satellites and follow the directions.  Though I have to admit there are times I miss the paper map.  The map on the GPS is small and I can’t see a large area which is frustrating if I am going for a long distance or I want to see more clearly  the detour the English accented voice is taking me on.  But, while I do like the larger paper map, it also doesn’t show me everything.  Since the map is bigger it leaves out the smaller details. 

God clearly says in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” ( You can even picture Him saying it with an English accent if you like.)  I know that, but sometimes I just want to see the bigger picture.  But just like the bigger map, some of the details are still missing.  This is where I need faith to believe that God has the map with everything planned for my life  and as long as I keep following the next direction his voice gives me, just like I follow the GPS even though I can’t see the whole map, I will get to the place He has prepared for me. 

Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen. It gives us assurance about things we cannot see.  Hebrews 11:1

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.   1 Peter 4:10

When Jesus spoke again to the people, He said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’  John 8:12

Whoever serves Me must follow Me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves Me.  John 12:26

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

This is what the LORD says–your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.”  Isaiah 48:17

I stood in the pouring rain trying to arrange a shopping cart and a half of newly purchased items into the Baja.  This created a few problems.  First of all, because of the rain, I had just the space in the front seat and the back seat.   Another problem were the dozen tiki torches I bought, fitting them into the car proved a real danger to their longevity.  But those were the least of my worries,  after jamming everything in as best I could I still needed to get Aspen in her car seat which was filled up with the tops of the tiki torches.  The bottoms of the tiki torches were in the front seat with mounds of miscellaneous other items.  By now I looked as if I had just gotten out of the shower fully clothed.  I pushed the tiki torches over as best I could though they wobbled precariously back and forth as if they already heard the music of the party they were about to decorate.  I took a leap of faith and told Aspen to hop into her car seat for the ride home. 

I can compare the above scenario to my relationship with God.   I had a car seat in place for Aspen.  I have a space reserved for God.  In the meantime I had “stuff” and it temporarily took over Aspens reserved space.  Sometimes I have “stuff” that takes over the space I had for God.  But, since Aspen was my most important cargo I couldn’t go anywhere without her.  God should be so important to me that I don’t go anywhere without Him.

The school picnic is scheduled for this Sunday.  Brett made a list of everything he needed and I volunteered to do the shopping.  I stopped by Wal-Mart, filled up a cart, checked out, loaded it into the car in a downpour, then  went back into the store for a second cart full of items.  Unfortunately, Wal-Mart did not have everything I needed so I drove next door to Home Depot to purchase a few items.  I was still missing a few items on the list so I  drove down one more store in the strip mall and went into Dick’s sporting goods to complete my mission.

In a way God makes a list for us as well.  If we are bold enough to step up and take it, life will never be dull and will certainly include twists and turns we never expected, including the occasional downpour while doing our work.

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  Jeremiah 29:11

Yesterday, before we pulled out of the school parking lot, I told the kids I was the “Seatbelt Nazi”.  On the trip to the water park and back we made stops for gas, snacks and to use the bathroom.   Each time before we made a move to get back onto the road I made sure everyone was buckled up.  My mind had a hard time comprehending  how quickly they seemed to “forget” that they needed to buckle up before we went anywhere.

I have a couple of reasons the kids need to buckle up before we drive anywhere.

1.  It is the law (and as I told the kids, “I am here to enforce it”).

2.  Should we be involved in an accident and should any of the kids who were not buckled up die in the accident then I don’t like the consequences of going to jail for manslaughter.

After we dropped the kids off at school and went home I read the news online.  I noticed a story of an SUV that had rolled and five children died because they had not been buckled up.  It seemed a timely story after my consistent reminders to “Buckle Up” before we went anywhere.

Now I’m sure the kids thought I was just a crabby old lady, when in reality I just had their best interest, (and mine!) in mind.  There are times when I know that God has my best interests in mind.  Times when He says the following phrases: “Love your neighbor as yourself” and “Forgive him” not just once or seven times, but seventy times seven.  I don’t always like what God says, and I sure would like to think I can pick and choose the best way to put into practice what He says.  But, God didn’t say “Love thy neighbor” and then list all the exceptions to the rule.  He didn’t say, “Forgive him” and then list all the times I wouldn’t have to.  I don’t always like it, but I will be happier if I choose to live the way God tells me to.

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”  Proverbs 3:5-6

The school my husband teaches at took the kids to a water park today.  Several of the staff families, Aspen and myself included, tagged along for the fun.  The water park was located at a resort, half of it was inside, the other half outside.  It had the usual assortment of slides, several hot tubs, a wave pool, lazy river and even a boogie board pool.  Despite all the options for entertainment I couldn’t help but wish we were at the beach!  Fresh air vs chlorine laden oxygen molecules.  Soft squishy sand underfoot vs hard cement.  Open space vs tall fences.  The sound of voices dulled by the wind and waves vs the ear-piercing screech of the life-guards whistle.  The option to wade in as deep or shallow as I please vs suddenly having cold water dumped on my head as I float around the lazy river or walk between water slides. 

Today made me realize how much I appreciate the “real thing” rather than an imitation no matter how attention grabbing and well put together it may be.  It made me realize how much I appreciate the realness God has to offer vs the imitation the world offers.

“I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Hebrews 13:5

Early this morning a thick fog  settled down over our town.   As I look out the window to the backyard I can’t see but a few feet beyond the line of trees at the edge of the yard.  But, I don’t have to see what is there in order to know what lies beyond the fog.   A large field, just past that a road, and a house just  the other side of the road.  I know it’s there even though I can’t see it right this minute.

Faith is like that.  I can’t see the future, but I do know that God is there and in charge of everything.  I’ve seen Him in the past.  So even if momentarily I feel as if I can’t see Him, I know that when the fog that temporarily blocks my vision dissipates, I will see Him.  He is still there,  He hasn’t moved.  He won’t move.  He will always be there.

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”  Joshua 1:9