But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:33)

Today, I was listening to a sermon from Joyce Myers, and I was feeling inspired. It also helps that my pastor has been preaching the same thing over-and-over again.

Whether it is television, music too loud, my schedule booked beyond capacity,  work, Christmas shopping, decorating, cleaning, cooking, playing with the kids, figuring out a preschool schedule for a year-out … my list goes on and on and on and on. The point is I have not been spending time with God.

Something has been gnawing at me, and lying on my heart, and I could not figure out what it was, but the truth is that I have not sat down to open my Bible and read. I have not prayed more than my simple repetitious prayers before going to sleep or eating my meals. There has been no commitment to seek out God or spend time with the number one most important Being in my life. I have been settling for the mere Sunday church service and feeling that it was enough because I was busy.

Read an inspirational quote on Facebook – there’s my scripture for the day! (A sarcasm sign is really needed right here.)

Ugh.

Taking a reality-check upon myself, I can hide from my faults, and hide them from others, but I cannot hide them from God. He knows that I have been ignoring Him, and yes there has been a big difference in my life. I find myself bickering more, worrying more, sleeping less soundly… joy is not resting in my soul. Peace is not settled in my mind.

It’s time that I do something about it. And the solution is simple.

I am going to recommit time to God.

This is the time of year where the world tells us we are to remember others, and think happy thoughts, and make our lists of things that we think will make us more complete. Yet, it is really year-round that we need to seek God, and look for that joy, find that peace, and put the “stuff” aside.

If we are to remember anything specifically at this time of year, it is that God came in the form of a little baby, and He is always thinking of us.

Could you imagine if God ignored us for just one moment? I shudder at the possibility.

Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. (James 4:8)

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I challenged my husband. How about you?

Click on the books to be led to the King James Version of the Bible @ http://www.christnotes.org/bible.php?ver=kjv

Old Testament

• Genesis
• Exodus
• Leviticus
• Numbers
• Deuteronomy
• Joshua
• Judges
• Ruth
• 1 Samuel
• 2 Samuel
• 1 Kings
• 2 Kings
• 1 Chronicles
• 2 Chronicles
• Ezra
• Nehemiah
• Esther
• Job
• Psalm
• Proverbs
• Ecclesiastes
• Song of Solomon
• Isaiah
• Jeremiah
• Lamentations
• Ezekiel
• Daniel
• Hosea
• Joel
• Amos
• Obadiah
• Jonah
• Micah
• Nahum
• Habakkuk
• Zephaniah
• Haggai
• Zechariah
• Malachi

New Testament

• Matthew
• Mark
• Luke
• John
• Acts
• Romans
• 1 Corinthians
• 2 Corinthians
• Galatians
• Ephesians
• Philippians
• Colossians
• 1 Thessalonians
• 2 Thessalonians
• 1 Timothy
• 2 Timothy
• Titus
• Philemon
• Hebrews
• James
• 1 Peter
• 2 Peter
• 1 John
• 2 John
• 3 John
• Jude
• Revelation

I pray about everything – literally everything. Sometimes, I do not even realize that I am doing it.

For example, I find myself praying a lot about parking my car.

“Dear Lord, I pray you find me a parking space that does not require me to look like I am driving a ‘big-rig’ when I am pulling in.”

“Dear Lord, I pray there are more spaces than those that are available for parallel parking.”

“Dear Lord, I don’t care if I have to walk five blocks. I just need a spot where I don’t bump another car while backing up.”

To say the least, I am not the most confident when it comes to parking my car. Therefore, I turn to the Lord for assistance rather than the insurance company because I don’t want to take off someone’s side mirror instead of praying to steady my nerves.

At one point, I was very good at parking – okay, not very good, but good enough that I did not panic when I realized that if I wanted to park by the aquarium, I had to pay the parking meter and get my car parallel to the sidewalk with the appropriate amount of inches away from the curb.  A few years of being able to pull directly into a driveway took away what little bit of practice I had when I initially passed my driver’s test. Without that consistent practice, I had lost the ability to tackle the situation.

Now I live at a location, where parking is always on the street, or I have to park around back and traipse through the backyard to reach the door. So yes, I find myself on a regular basis, walking through mud, snow, and fallen leaves – ruining some nice shoes – just so I do not have to parallel park. It does not seem to matter how many times my umbrella turns inside-out during a storm. I still go the long way around.

We all tend to do things the difficult way, until one day it clicks that if we would just learn the correct way to do the things we are struggling with, life would be so much simpler. Instead of going the long way around in a storm, and letting our man-made umbrellas protect us, we need to go directly to God. His directions are already written down for us to learn and practice daily, so that we may go through the front door instead of the mud.

Joshua 1:8

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

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Driving into work this morning, I was so focused on my commute that it took me until I walked inside the building to realize that I had not looked at the sky. Sitting down at my desk, my thoughts drifted to this weekend and how busy I was going to be. Plans started forming immediately about what needed to be taken care of, and how it was going to get done. As I sipped my cup of coffee, it came to mind that I needed to buy more, so I planned to add it to my grocery list when I got home.

As I glanced out the window at the rain, I began wishing for the sunshine that was presented to us the day before. While mild, it was a bit chilly, and I wanted warmer weather to enjoy in the season I know is coming very soon. Settling into my routine of work, I put in my headphones and enjoyed the tunes of the band Owl City, while thinking about the doctor appointment my son has in the coming weeks. Setting an alert on my phone to remind me about it later, I noticed the date of my daughter’s birthday party. I smiled as I looked forward to her surprised expression when she would see all of the activities set before her on her special day.

Reaching for my bagel, it took me a moment to realize that I had eaten it in the car, and after the guilt that I would have probably eaten a second one if it had been sitting there, I started thinking about what I was going to make my family for dinner – this weekend. I like to plan meals for my crockpot. As my co-workers entered the office, I showed them the pictures of the kids at the park the day before, and as they cooed over their adorable faces, it hit me how fast my babies were growing, and I wished for the days when they were still teeny tiny little beings.

All of these thoughts bring me to a harsh reality when I take into account that I am constantly wishing for yesterday’s circumstances and the plans that the mysterious future holds. Learning how to enjoy today is a difficult task, but one that should be undertaken in order to live my life to the fullest extent. Each day is a gift presented to us by God. Tomorrow is not a promised day, and the future is never going to be certain no matter what plans I lay out for it. So I am going to “PAUSE” my thoughts about the past and future, and press “PLAY” on today. Maybe by doing that, I will actually enjoy my bagel …

James 4: 13-17

Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.

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1 Samuel 17: 45-47

David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.  All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”

Once upon a time, there was a little girl who loved to hear stories told about wars, giants, and a stone throwing hero. More than anything she wanted to be that person, fighting ahead of the army that cowered behind their man-made shields. To stand and be the one that God called to fight and win was something to aspire to and become. A sling shot using shepherd boy was her idol, and giants cowered at her feet.

Today, children have a different set of heroes to idolize. Oftentimes, when asked who their heroes are, moms and dads are at the bottom of the list, while the latest pop singer or celebrity on television, is at the top. Hardly ever is there a biblical figure mentioned on the ever growing list. Yet there are so many great possibilities to choose from!

• Daniel faced down lions and had faith so great that he did not get eaten;
• Noah built a huge ark in the face of adversity and mocking;
• Esther risked her life in order to save her family;
• Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown in a fiery furnace for not denying God, yet they did not burn;
• Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh time and time again, even when plagues were tormenting the Egyptians, until the Israelites were set free.

This very short list does not even begin to encompass the expansive amount of people to be idolized in the Bible. In fact, that is only a couple of people in the Old Testament. Moving into the New Testament we have people like John the Baptist, Joseph who took a pregnant woman to be his wife, Mary mother of Jesus, and of course, Jesus himself. When it comes to inspiring our children, and telling them that they can be someone great, there is no better example than the ones that God handpicked to be great, and letting them know that they too have been handpicked.

Proverbs 22:6 – Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

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