"Messy Lives"

Seems that the longer we live the more stuff we have. Sometimes a purging of our possessions seems in order. I have had the blessing of condensing my life down numerous times. Somehow stuff seems to reappear and add to it once again.

Kind of parallels our lives, we have our past and it is gone. It will leave some impact on our present. We can all do our best to use that past mess and pull from that experience a positive and less cluttered present. No matter how much we discard more stuff will enter our lives. Our choices in what we keep and what we don"t will greatly affect our future.

It is nice when others can help us to clean out the old and unwanted stuff. Many a group I have been involved in has done just that. Other peoples' experiences and insights can help us to grow. We likewise can help others as well. God desires we all be in community and share in our struggles and successes. God has the master plan in front of him and our guide book ,(bible) to help us out on our journey. Praise God for cleaning up our messes!!

Verses: 2Peter 3: 11-18 John 3: 16-21 Romans 7: 7-25

"Messy Houses"

I visited a dear and womderful friend a few weeks ago. I was amazed at how clean and organized her new home was. She had only been there a few months and had it all looking pretty nice!

We on the other hand, had lived in our new house for twice as long. Our house still had boxes lying around and clutter and a sense of not quite done,ie, messy!! Not that there is some standard we all must live up to but more that we can always do better in our lives.

This last weekend I decided to improve our situation and straighten it up and put stuff away and organize it all. Now our home feels inviting and clean more homey!! All because of someone elses home that felt just right to me.

Messy homes are like the natural environment we live all live in. We could all do better to clean out some of the mess and fill it up with its' natural beauty. Pray: God, help us all to look at the clutter in our lives and put things in their proper places. Guide us in what is important ans what needs to be discarded.

Verses: Matt 12: 43-45 Psalm24(all) 2 Kings 20: 1-11

"Patience"

Actually there is a song by "Guns and Roses" with this title. Like all songs there is quite a bit of truth in it. Patience in any part of life can seem so overwhelming at times. Waiting and watching while we anticipate something requires a lot of patience.

Some of our careers and hobbies require quite a bit of patience also. Ever build a model and patience will be key! God has had patience that far surpasses all others. The plans of man are nothing compared with the plans of God!

God patiently takes us from birth to death with a patience only a holy father could have. God patiently waits on his creation to evolve and grow. And yet through it all we can see his handiwork and love shining through! God never tires or loses patience, only steadfastly encourages and amazes all of mankind.

Verses: Col 1: 3-14 Psalm 40 1-3 Romans 8: 18-27

"Running"

Ask me about running and I will tell you it cleanses and fills me. Ask my youngest daughter and she will say, WHY!!! Given the health benefits both physical and mental it is hard to beat.

Running away from something may be a good idea? Especially if it is a bear or mountain lion!! Running away from life is not wise. Running towards a goal is usually met with success. Running around in circles may be all we seem to be doing at times. Well at least we are running!!

The bible tells us of running to something, like something, for something. What are we running to? God. like? God. for? God!!

Running our lives may seem like an easy enough pursuit, but sometimes even that can be difficult. Running on empty is a hard place to be. Running free and like the wind is awesome and a grand gift from God. Running along side Jesus is so important and necessary for all of us. Thanks to God for all the races in life, we couldn't do with out him!!!

Verses: Gal 5: 7-15 1Cor 9: 24-27 Heb 12: 1-13

"Wake Up"

Most all of us will see tomorrow. We will "wake up" and most likely get out of bed. Some may opt to stay in bed for a few more ZZZZ's. Some may even read a book or listen to music, but they still have awakened.

There also is wake-up calls to us. Some may realize that a long term habit of smoking, drinking, cheating, etc. has to stop. They will have to decide how to best heal from their addiction. Unfortunately some may get a wake-up call about their health.

Cancer, diseases, all kinds of ailments can affect any of us. Not a pleasant wake-up call but often a part of our lives. All of us will ultimately face some sort of wake-up. We could just wake-up to a new realization of how we would like to live our lives.

Throughout it all our strength will come from God. Our decisions too, need to be God inspired! Verses: Psalm 17:14-15 Exod 23: 1-9 1John 3: 7-10

"Decisions for Life"

I have throughout my years of life had many decisions I have had to make. Some may have seemed to be of poor quality? Others seem to have served me well. All of those various decisions have been in some way beneficial. Take out the parts that seem to be wrong and there still is quite a bit right!

New ones seem to be better approached with a desire to follow God. Most of the time we think we are doing just that. We may or may not initially be under Gods' hand. The amazing thing is that it will still work out if our hearts are for God.

Our stories of our lives continue to grow and prosper each and every day. Thanks goes to God. Once again my praise is that our lives will have significance and purpose if we just follow God!! Verses: Prov 16: 33 Joel 3: 9-16 Jonah(all)

"Timing"

Ever wonder what is happening right now and why? Ever desire to change that and not been able to? There is a large part of our lives that we have no idea why and how we got there. It takes a leap of faith to allow God and his wisdom to shine through. We may not quite understand it but it has a way of making sense later on.

The very story of each of our lives is on going and unknown except by God. I am glad that throughout it all a master of timing and creation is in charge. Having faith and confidence that God is, and always will, provide the proper timing for our lives is a blessing to all of us.

Where I am and where you are today is where God needs us to be. Our part is to pay attention and listen and follow a Godly path. If we should sway God will draw us to him and put us back where we belong!! Verses: Eccl 9: 11-12 Rom 9: 6-9 Acts 1: 7-8