Attention

I was trying to check my emails this morning before work and my dog, Chewy, jumped up in my lap and stood in front of the screen and pushed my hand off the mouse.  If I tried to go back to my work, he would do anything he could to block me.  I love the way dogs just tell it like it is.  He was saying that he was more important than what I was doing.  He wanted my time and my attention.  It made me stop and give him some love and take him for his walk.
I think that I would be better off if God would do the same thing to me.  If he would just make the TV shut off or gently nudge me off the sofa when I am being lazy, then I would be reminded that my priorities might be wrong.  Instead I have to rely on my faithfulness to God, which often fails the test.  I get caught up in my activities of the day and lose track of the time.  I need to keep God as my center.  He also wants and deserves my time and attention.  Thank you Lord for your patience with me.

Peace

I feel very peaceful today even though it is Monday and one of the other providers at work was sick and another is on vacation, so I needed to pick up extra patients today.  I feel peaceful today even though it is also the end of our fiscal year, so end of year reports and updates on programs and our self evaluations are all due.  I feel peaceful today even though I have agreed to do a lecture in one week for the Hawaii PA Conference and I haven't even started on my powerpoint presentation.  I feel peaceful today because I spent some good quality time with God this weekend and God's peace is within me.  The peace of God can fill us, so that we don't have to get  or anxious when life gets busy (which is all the time for most of us).  The peace of God is my calm in the storm.  I know that God is in control and as long as I do my part, all the things that I really need to get done, will get done.  Peace - what a wonderful gift!

"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.  And be thankful."  Colossians 3:15

One Month

I realized today that it has been a month since I started this blog.  For the first couple of weeks, I only shared it with 2 or 3 people, then I told a few more each week.  I still have only a small following but I am being faithful to God's direction and trust that God will use it to help or bless someone.  I do ask for those who are following my thoughts/devotions/ramblings, to please share the site with someone that you feel could use it.  Also, I love to have comments, but don't feel obligated.  I try to share what is on my heart and hope you will joint me on this endeavor to live a life of faith in such a way that those around us can see Christ.

As I review the postings of the past month, I can see areas that I still need to work on.  But that's okay.  God knows that I am a work in progress.  I think that it helps me to review my past convictions, so I can continue to focus and pray on these areas.  I know that God is faithful and that through him, all things are possible - even memorizing scripture.  Let's keep each other in prayer as we move forward in faith this week.

Passion

I was thinking on my drive to work this morning about trying to incorporate my passions in life into my ministry.  I have a passion for teaching God's word and for scrapbooking, so I have been investigating ways to bring these passions into service opportunities.  While I was thinking on these ideas, I was immediately convicted on the fact that while God has given me these gifts and in fact has given me the passion for these things, my first passion needs to be for Jesus.  I get so caught up in serving Jesus or teaching about God, that I forget to show my passion about Jesus.  In fact, I think I don't even feel passionate about Jesus.  I hate to admit that but I need to be honest. I love him, I worship him, I try to live my life for him, but am I truly passionate about him?  Do I share with others a passion for Jesus?  Sadly, no.  This is my prayer for today, to develop and display a passion for my Savior and Lord.

seeking

I have been exploring possible service opportunities and don't yet know if any of them will be the right place for me to serve right now.  I am simply following through on ideas and opportunities that jump into my mind or doors that seem to be opening.  I realize that in the past I have often had a sense of call or seen a possible need to fill, but then I don't bother to follow through.  Sometimes, I even have really good ideas but lose interest.  I then will say that God didn't open the right doors, when in fact, it was just that I didn't want to put myself out there.  I was being disobedient to God. I am now trying to be more intentional on my part and then trusting God to work out the details on where he wants me to serve.  To serve faithfully, we first need to offer ourselves up to God and then be active in prayer and action, seeking and then using God's wisdom and discernment as a guide.  Who knows where God will lead us?