I did. While I have been away this weekend with my girls, I have also read a book! It was one of those that you get caught up in and just can't put it down - except when you have to. It's a book written by a friend of mind. She has started writing books and this is one of a new series that she has done. It is called "Relentless Heart". Besides the fact that it is a story with characters in it that you become intrigued with, it is written in the time from of the late 60's, a time when I was in high school, graduating, and getting married, and sending my man off to a war.
The book tells of a time in Viet Nam, TET, and personalized through the characters some of the actual happenings. Some of the characters are real. I remember when some of the incidents happened.
So when I finished the book last night, I couldn't believe it was 10:30PM! I started teh book Friday evening when everyone was in bed and they play games on their phones. I grabbed my kindle to play my WWF games and then jumped to my books. I read for about an hour then put it down. Good start.
Yesterday was a fun day. We girls ate breakfast in our room of blueberry muffins that we had purchased the night before at Walmart. Very disappointed that we don't have breakfast at the hotel anymore, but it is what it is. Thank you Covid. We hung around the room until about 11:30AM, me reading, them playing games on their phones.
Daughter got us tickets to go see a movie. "Heaven". It just came out yesterday. Daughter thought that I would enjoy it. Don't.bother.going.to.see.it. It started off ok, but there were times it would 'flash back' to another scene, and that was ok, but often it did it more than once. It was hard to follow and all three of us - two of us knowing what is in the Bible - found this very mixed up. I will tell of one part.... at the end, when 'all those in Christ shall rise to Heaven', it was a scene of cars crashing - which will probably happen, but it showed a couple bloody people from an accident, (and the main character was an EMT) and we were expecting him to go take care of them. Instead, it was like an atomic cloud was shown over the city and a loud noise like a low siren going off (was that to portray a trumpet?) and they are holding their ears....and he goes back to being with Jesus. It was just very confusing for me, and if a non-believer went to see it, I am sad at what they may get from it.
One positive may be that the Bible was shown a few times and was told it was the 'Road Map' to follow in life. And IT IS. Don't get me wrong. If you follow the Bible, you can't go wrong. Everything you do will profit you, (maybe not financially, but you will know you are doing the right thing) and God will pour His blessings out on you. God is so good. All He wants is US.
It isn't easy to follow God's commandments given us thousands of years ago. There are some that are pretty easy to follow.... Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt now covet your neighbor's wife..... but there is one that can get people even when they don't realize it has happened. 'Thou shalt not make any graven images'.... does that one sound familiar?
What does not mean? It means we are not to have any thing that comes before God. I know, but it says 'make any graven images', right? So I'm not to make something?
We do that, you know. We 'make' lots of money and then our desire is make more. Money in itself isnot bad, we need it to survive in this world. But it is when it becomes our focus. More money. More things to buy. Oh yeah, that is another one. When we buy something (or want to get something) that is our focus, it takes our focus off God and it becomes our god. Yeah, little g.
For some people it could be a tv show. They can't miss it. They look forward to it. 'Oh I just enjoy watching it they say,', but it's all they think about about and talk about. For others it may be their families, or the jobs. 'I've got my dream job', this is all I've ever wanted to do'. And that's ok. But does it come before God?
I often have to sit back and evaluate where I place people and things. I love people; I love my family, but do I put them before God? I enjoy my job (at times) and love my boss... do I put it before God? I enjoy doing activities. Do I put them before reading my Bible, going to church? Have I made them my God?
When I was growing up you didn't have games on Wednesdays nor Sunday mornings, those were times that were dedicated to God. When 'they' started having games on Sunday, men and women alike, and then the families of these men and women, would stay home to watch the game on TV, instead of giving that time to God. Wednesday nights used to be church - a time of study and learning more about how awesome and good God is and all that He wants to do in our lives - and again, it was stripped away when school games required practice on a Wednesday night.
I think you get the picture. When we allowed people to entice us with the things we enjoyed - or our children enjoyed, and we began putting them before time with God, before worship, those things became our idols, and as they say, our nation 'went to hell in a handbasket'. We have children who do not know God. They have no desire to understand who He is and how much He loves them. And we have failed as parents and grandparents to teach them.
I will leave you with a couple thoughts- what do you have that you have put before God, that is your idol? What controls your life? What do your children see in you, that would make them want to follow Jesus? That is your main job in life. To teach your children to walk with Jesus. Have you succeeded? Who is Jesus to you?
Just think - all this from reading a book and watching a movie. LOL
Blessings!
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