Last night my usual Tuesday evening plans fell through becuase my daughter's arm is still too sore to crochet so we didn't meet up. Hubby went off to his study with his friends and I stayed home. I did some things that I wanted to do when hubby wasn't home (cause he always thinks he needs to 'help' and some things I just don't want help on - I want to do it myself!!) and then worked on my on-going puzzle for a little bit. Then I decided I'd watch a movie instead of reading. In fact, I watched two that I had seen before, and that's ok. Didn't remember all and it was good to watch again. And, while I was doing that, I was able to crochet on a Christmas gift. Yeah, I have no idea what to get people this year so am starting on certain things early. It was a wonderful, enjoyable, and quiet evening and I enjoyed it very much. As you can probably figure out from my whining the past two years, I don't get those evenings - or days - very often. I treasure them right now cause it is a break from my normal busy days.
I haven't started a new book to read yet, although I have a few beside my chair. Two I have read before, but I learn from them every time I read them. Yeah, they aren't romance novels. I leave that to my movies. I love to read biographies of Biblical people. Elijah is my favorite, then David, and Daniel, and of course Jesus. There are a few others I like as well that I read specifically about. And I don't care if I re-read; I get something out of them each time. I am doing a study on James and have completed the first lesson. Found a free online study from Dallas Theological Seminary and the first week was good. I about 'froze' when I saw there was a test to complete and submit. But I passed it 100%. Haven't watched the second session yet, but I have ...ah, I remember writing about it the other day now. It's a bear getting older and forgetting things. But I have the commentary now and I can read about James.
This morning, though, I need to cut my time short and get ready to head out. I'm meeting my boss this morning for our breakfast and catch up. I'm so grateful we are friends as well, and have been for over 25 years. She is an amazing woman and I have great respect for her. Plus she likes me, which helps. I love meeting her for breakfast or lunch and it starts my day off good. And, because I'm with my boss, and we do discuss some work, it's ok if I am gone 2-3 hours at the start of this day. I will be online for about an hour before I head out. Need to let my other boss I'm going to be 'out' for a little bit this morning. Looking forward to enjoying breakfast with her.
My garden bed isn't doing so well. It started out good, and then I saw that something was eating my leaves. I 'worked' on my garden some yesterday, pulling out dead and dying parts and found a little green worm that has obviously been eating on my plants. I did remove it from my garden, but are there others? It's green, so I can easily miss seeing it. Hopefully my garden will continue to grow some. That worm has already 'killed' two plants so I'm hoping it was the only one. I need to cook and use up my herbs - cut back a lot of my mint yesterday, thanks to the worm eating nearly every single leaf.
It's kind of like life, isn't it? Life seems to be going well, growing in ways that it should, and we let a worm get in. That little worm could be anything. It could be attitude. It could be conflicts. It could be distractions. It could be, well, just about anything. That worm gets in and little by little eats away at our lives and causes conflict. It eats away at us until we are grumpy and irritable, and no fun to be around. Things bother us more because we are being eaten up with anxiety, with worry, with our thoughts on how we are being treated. (after all, it is all about us, right?) We let the worm in, and it slowly works it's way through us and literally eats us alive.
Kind of like the serpent in the garden, you think? You remember the Garden of Eden, right? And how the serpent Devil tempted Eve in the garden about eating from the tree of Life that God had told Adam and Eve not to eat of it. Oh, that evil serpent, the worm, not only enticed Eve, but worded it so that it made Eve pause to believe what the serpent said. And Adam, whom God had told specifically not to eat of that tree, after Eve had bitten into the fruit, took it from Eve and ate it. What can we learn from this story?
If God says don't eat it, then don't eat it!! No matter how much you are tempted! No matter how much you want to give in. If God said it, and you know He said it, you better believe you better not do it!
Sometimes we can relate that to our children. As parents, it is our 'job' to raise our children in the admonition of the Lord. We are to teach our children to love the Lord and obey him. Just like we teach our children to obey us. We want them to do what we say without argument, without commenting back. We should learn from that, you think? When God tells us not to do something, or to do something, shouldn't we also immediately do it - because God said it?
If the Holy Spirit brings to mind the name of someone, do you pause and wonder why? Do you pick up the phone and perhaps call or text and just ask 'how you doing'? Or do you ignore the thought and just go on with your day? What if that name came to mind and you didn't do anything and then later you heard that something happened to that person? Or not, it may be only that at that time they needed a friend to say they cared. So many times we read stories of people who are so sad that they have no will to live any more. They wish that someone would reach out that they care.
I read a story one time about a young woman who was going to end her life. She was ready to do so, and yet, something inside of her caused her to pick up the phone and make a phone call. She somehow misdialed and the call went to a pastor who was on his way out the door to go home after a long day. He paused, thinking whether or not he should answer - if he answered, he could be there for awhile and he was tired; or he could ignore the ringing and go on home. They could leave a message, right? He chose to answer the phone. After a lot of silence and questions/answers, he realized that he had answered that phone for a reason. God had directed that call to this pastor so that he could share Hope with this girl. It all hit home when she told him that if he had not answered his phone, she was going to end her life, because she had told God if no one answered, then no one cared, and there was no reason for her to live. God showed her she had every reason to live, for in life, there is always Hope.
Hope. What is your definition of Hope? Have you given up hope? Hope for life changes that never happen? Hope that your marriage will turn around? Hope that your children will come back into the fold? Hope that you can keep the job your have and hope that you have money to pay the bills? What is the Hope that you have?
Psalm 33:20 (NIV) "We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield."
Our hope can not be found in material things. Our hope is found only in Jesus. Jesus is the Author and Perfector of our faith. Our Hope is in Him alone.
What are you hoping for? Have you taken a moment to talk to Jesus about it? He is always available; you only need to open your mouth and speak. You don't get a busy signal. You don't get voicemail when you call Jesus.
Philippians 4:6 (NLT): "Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done."
Blessings!
