I got a call yesterday from a co-worker that I am friends with and she invited me to join her and her women's group on December 6th at noon for a holiday luncheon, and to speak at her group. I did that about a year ago, if you recall. I immediately said 'yes' and even looked up hotels, thinking hubby and I can go down the day before, stay at a hotel for the weekend, like we did before. And I did that before I paused to look at the calendar. It had sounded like so much fun and I wanted to be a part of it. Luckily, I had not made any reservations, but paused to check the calendar.
OOPS. I'm off work on that Friday because my boss and I are doing the Christmas Idea House that we have done for the past several years. That is part of my Christmas gift from her. We meet at the 'old' office and she drives to wherever the Christmas Idea house is that year and we have brunch (catered) and then browse through nearly every room in the house, looking at things we can buy. And yes, I tend to buy Christmas gifts while there. And bags of cinnamon rolls. This year will probably be the same.
I have Needles of Hope that Saturday, the 6th, and although they wouldn't care if I skip, that is the only time I see most of them and I try to take a small gift (bread) to each one. And then, on Sunday, that is a speaking engagement at one of the RV parks (start in November). So, yeah, I need to skip the women's luncheon an hour's drive away and attend MY women's knitting group and finish preparing for the message on Sunday. I just sent a text to my friend and apologized for not checking the calendar first and that I would not be able to attend. If Needles of Hope gets cancelled, perhaps I can change some plans. If it wasn't an hour's drive away, I might still try to make it, but I think I will be putting too much on myself. And, I'm trying to take better care of my time and sharing it.
Glad today is Saturday and I do not have anything on today's calendar. I am wanting to get some baking done today, and may just be able to do it. Hubby is out of his peach muffins and I have two peaches left so may make up two batches; that would get him through most of the a month. I still need to make banana pudding and may get that done today as well and maybe I can talk hubby in letting me deliver it to different ones.
You know I don't do 'cool' weather, and because hubby commented about this yesterday, I am expecting him to pop his head in soon for us to do it. With the 70 degree or so temperature in the mornings, he is wanting to go sit in the front courtyard on our patio furniture with a cup of coffee and talk. I would need a jacket and a blanket for me to sit out there at 70 degrees! I heard him open the front door a little bit ago so I know he is itching to get out there - and heaven forbid he should take the initiative and go sit out there by himself. He needs me to remove the seat covers and open up the umbrella for him. When I open the door to this room it will be to go and cook breakfast; not to go sit outside!
Got a call from my youngest this morning and he drove all night but they made it to New Hampshire early this morning. Couldn't get his hotel room until later, but his sister in law is already at the hotel (they are hanging with them a couple days) so she had them come up to their room where they could rest. Son is telling me he is thinking of going and laying on a couch in the lobby and go to sleep so that with his snoring - which sounds like a freight train running through an amplifier - they will quickly clean his room and let him have it. I begged him not to! LOL
Psalm 27:14 (NKJV): Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!
So many times I get ahead of myself and commit my time to things before I pause and ask God what does He want me to do. A good example is what I shared at the beginning. I didn't pause and ask God if I should commit to it. If I had done that, I could have checked my calendar, prayed about it, waited on His response, and then made a decision. Instead, I got ahead of myself, ahead of God, and decided I wanted to do it so 'yes!' I will do it. Then I have had to eat humble pie and decline. Yes, I could have put off telling her 'no' and waited to see if I could work things out to still do it. And, I probably could still do it. But as I paused and thought about what I need to do and should do - and the preparation I need to focus on in preparation for delivering a message on Sunday, I have to decline. I could have saved myself humble pie if I had just said "Let me get back to you on this" When will I learn? I need to keep the focus that I do not manage my calendar, God does, and if He wants me to do something, He will clear my calendar and show me what to do.
Yes, God can do anything He wants to with my life. I was reading in one of my books this morning how important it is to let God manage our lives and us not make quick decisions that generally screw us up. We make our plans - but they are always prone to be changed when we don't allow Him to guide us in some of the decisions. Does that make sense?
Charles Stanley impressed on me in one message many years ago in which he talked about waiting on the Lord. A young couple needed a car. They started praying for it, but after a couple weeks, they went out and put themselves in debt by purchasing a car. A week after that, a couple in the church offered to GIVE a car to anyone in the church who needed it ... Charles Stanley said that if they had continued in prayer, and waited on God to provide, they would have gotten the car free and clear. Instead, they were 'stuck' with a car payment that they really couldn't afford.
How many times do we do that? We 'need' that big house, or we 'need' that fancy car.... only to find it puts us in a situation that we really don't want to be in. Why don't we realize that God will provide ALL that we need, and just what we need? I don't need a big fancy car, my 2017 is perfect for me. It may start to have things go wrong with it, but God will provide a way for me to get it taken care of. I don't have a car payment. I love that. When we wait upon God and keep praying, sometimes we will find that we don't need what we think we do... because God will provide something better.
I can remember a time when my daughter had braces and money was extremely tight for us. The orthodontist payment was $210 each month, and I was already late with that month's payment. She had an appointment, but the orthodontist wouldn't see her without a payment. It was gut-wrenching for me, what could I do? I did the only thing I knew to do. I got on my knees and prayed for help. I told God I didn't know how He could do it, but I needed $210 to pay the orthodontist so that my daughter could get her braces checked. Guess what He did!
I am so serious. The next day was payday and there was an issue with payroll. Somehow the system neglected to take out taxes and insurance on my check. The 'extra' was a little over $200 in my check that week, and I was able to pay the orthodontist. Yes, they took it out a little each payday until they had it all, and that was ok. I had only asked that I get enough to pay the orthodontist. The funny thing about this? Only a few people were affected with this on their paychecks. And I was one of them. Yeah, God provided because I asked Him to, and I waited upon Him. Hallelujah!
I don't want to come out of my room this morning, and yet, I know i need to. Sigh. It won't be long before hubby pokes his head in to see if I've fallen asleep. I love this time alone to write, to read, to just pause the world for a moment and be still.
Psalm 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God."
Take some time to pause this morning and realize that He is God, and you are not. You can not control the things going on in your mind or in your body. You cannot control the circumstances that are going on around you. You can't control God. But you can pause and seek Him, ask Him for what you need (yes, sometimes that means humbling yourself before Him), and thank Him for whatever answer He gives you. Sometimes the answer is 'Yes'; sometimes it is 'No'; and sometimes it is 'continue to wait and ask'. Yes, you can ask more than once. Keep seeking Him for Him, not for the answers. We don't always get our own way (I know that for a fact!) when we ask Him for something, but trust Him and believe that He will answer, and that your mind will receive what the answer is.
Show us Your glory, Lord! Do it again, Lord! Answer the prayers of Your children when they call out to You. You are Almighty, All Powerful, and Loving, and Kind. Holy is Your name. Thank You for answered prayers, Lord. Help us to walk in the way we should walk, that we will find You.
Blessings!
