I Found God At The Edge Of The World...

Having just returned from a week at the beach for my brother's wedding, I'm eager to expound on some of the sights and sounds of God.... When you stand at the edge of the world watching the waves lapping at the coastline, it's almost too easy to picture God's hand as the creator of this nautical masterpiece. I've been reading a fabulous book (Looking for God in Harry Potter by John Granger... and yes, you can expect future posts on this topic!), and he says:

The ocean as it stretches to the distant horizon is a symbol for the infinite power and breadth of God....as a symbol of God, a way of seeing the unseeable, [the ocean] can take our breath away or bring tears to our eyes.

How true! The ocean stretches on... seemingly forever... spanning miles and miles... packed with LIFE beneath its aqua surface. What a metaphor for God's never-ending, all-encompassing love... love that goes on forever... love that hugs all living creatures... love that is fierce AND gentle.

And how sad that to an atheist, the ocean must just look like one big ol' bathtub for fish.

You don't have to travel all the way to the ocean to see evidence of God's handiwork... just open your back door and peer outside... trees and plants stretching their arms up to the Heavens... insects, literally, buzzing with life... God has a hand in all of creation. To paraphrase from Genesis Chapter 1:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

He created light.

He created the sky and the seas.

He created the plants and the trees.

He created the day and the night, the sun and the stars.

He created all of the creatues of the land, of the sea, and of the sky.

He created man and woman.

And when He was done, He rested... but God created it ALL.

If you want to see just a bathtub, look in your bathroom.

If you want to see a miracle, a small sign of God's power, visit the ocean.

Take care of you!

:) Mags

I Found God in the Lord's Prayer...

I found this conversation with a gal praying the Lord's Prayer... There wasn't an author mentioned, but I'd like to think it was God-inspired...!


"Our Father which art in heaven ..."

"Yes?"

"Don't interrupt me. I'm praying."

"But you called me."

"Called you? I didn't call you. I'm praying. Our Father which art in heaven ..."

"There ... you did it again."

"Did what?"

"Called me. You said, Our Father which art in heaven. Here I am. What's on your mind?"

"But I didn't mean anything by it. I was, you know, just saying my prayers for the day. I always say the Lord's Prayer. It makes me feel good, kind of like getting a duty done."

"All right. Go on."

"Hallowed be thy name ..."

"Hold it! What do you mean by that?"

"By what?"

"By 'hallowed be thy name'?"

"It means ... it means ... good grief! I don't know what it means. How should I know? It's just a part of the prayer. By the way, what does it mean?"

"It means honored ... holy ... wonderful."

"Hey, that makes sense. I never thought about what 'hallowed' meant before. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."

"Do you really mean that?"

"Sure, why not?"

"What are you doing about it?"

"Doing? Nothing, I guess! I just think it would be kind of neat if you got control of everything down here like you have up there."

"Have I got control of you?"

"Well ... I go to church."

"That isn't what I asked you. What about your bad temper? You've really got a problem there, you know. And then there's the way you spend your money ... all on yourself. And what about the kind of books you read?"

"Stop picking on me! I'm just as good as some of the rest of those people at the church."

"Excuse me. I thought you were praying for my will to be done. If that is to happen, it will have to start with the ones who are praying for it ... like you, for example."

"Oh, all right. I guess I do have some hang-ups. Now that you mention it, I could probably name some others."

"So could I."

"I haven't thought about it very much until now, but I really would like to cut out some of those things. I would like to ... you know ... be really free."

"Good ... now we're getting somewhere! We'll work together, you and I. Some victories can truly be won. I'm proud of you."

"Look, Lord, I need to finish up here. This is taking a lot longer than it usually does. Give us this day, our daily bread."

"You need to cut out the bread. You're overweight as it is."

"Hey, wait a minute! What is this ... 'Criticize me day?' Here I was doing my religious duty, and all of a sudden you break in and remind me of all my hang-ups."

"Praying is a dangerous thing. You could wind up changed, you know. That's what I'm trying to get across to you. You called me, and here I am. It's too late to stop now. Keep praying. I'm interested in the next part of your prayer ... (pause). Well ... go on!"

"I'm scared to."

"Scared? Of what?"

"I know what You'll say."

"Try me and see."

"Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us."

"What about Ann?"

"See? I knew it! I knew you would bring her up! Why Lord, she's told lies about me, spread stories about my family. She never paid back the debt she owes me. I've sworn to get even with her!"

"But your prayer? What about your prayer?"

"I didn't mean it."

"Well, at least you're honest. But it's not much fun carrying that load of bitterness around inside, is it?"

"No, but I'll feel better as soon as I get even. Boy, have I got some plans for that neighbor. She'll wish she had never moved into this neighborhood."

"You won't feel any better. You'll feel worse. Revenge isn't sweet. Think of how unhappy you already are. But I can change all that."

"You can? How?"

"Forgive Ann. Then I'll forgive you. Then the hate and sin will be Ann's problem and not yours. You will have settled your heart."

"Oh, you're right. You always are. And more than I want to revenge Ann, I want to be right with you. Ann, I want to be right with you ... (pause) ... (sigh). Alright! Alright! I forgive her! Help her to find the right road in life, Lord. She's bound to be awfully miserable now that I think about it. Anybody who goes around doing the things she does to others has to be out of it. Someway, somehow, show her the right way."

"There now! Wonderful! How do you feel?"

"Hmmmm ... well, not bad. Not bad at all. In fact, I feel pretty great! You know, I don't think I'll have to go to bed uptight tonight for the first time since I can remember. Maybe I won't be so tired from now on because I'm not getting enough rest."

"You're not through with your prayer. Go on."

"Oh, all right. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."

"Good! Good! I'll do that. Just don't put yourself in a place where you can be tempted."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Don't turn on the TV when you know the laundry needs to be done and the house needs to be picked up. Also, about the time you spend having coffee with your friends ... if you can't influence the conversation to positive things, perhaps you should re-think the value of those friendships. Another thing, your neighbors and friends shouldn't be your standard for "keeping up with." And please don't use me for an escape hatch."

"I don't understand the last part."

"Sure you do. You've done it a lot of times. You get caught in a bad situation. You get into trouble and then you come running to me. "Lord, help me out of this mess, and I promise you I'll never do it again." You remember some of those bargains you tried to make with me?"

"Yes and I'm ashamed, Lord. I really am."

"Which bargain are you remembering?"

"Well, there was the night that Bill was gone and the children and I were home alone. The wind was blowing so hard I thought the roof would go any minute and tornado warnings were out. I remember praying, 'Oh God, if you spare us, I'll never skip my devotions again."

"I protected you, but you didn't keep your promise, did you?"

"I'm sorry, Lord. I really am. Up until now I thought that if I just prayed the Lord's Prayer every day, then I could do what I liked. I didn't expect anything to happen like it did."

"Go ahead and finish your prayer."

"For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen."

"Do you know what would bring me glory? What would really make me happy?"

"No, but I'd like to know. I now want to please you. I can see what a mess I've made of my life. And I can see how great it would be to really be one of your followers."

"You just answered the question."

"I did?"

"Yes. The thing that would bring me glory is to have people like you truly love me. And I see that happening between us. Now that some of these old sins are exposed and out of the way, well, there is no telling what we can do together."

"Lord, let's see what we can make of me, okay?"

"Yes, let's see."

Don't so many things in this prayer ring true for us in everyday life? Sometimes, we do our "religious duty" by reciting a prayer and then expect everything to be "square" with God. Sometimes, we make bargains. Sometimes we even ignore Him. In all honesty, if you were to suddenly find yourself in a one-on-one conversation with God, would you really be thrilled with what He has to say to you?? Would he remind you of your tendency to overeat? Your temper? The grudges you hold? The times you were selfish? Would He call you on the promises you've made to Him... and broken? God speaks honestly - would you want to hear Truth?

But what if you started cutting the fat from your life?

What if you let go of all of the old grudges... even if it means having to actively forgive that person each and every morning, again and again... until you mean it... and believe it?

What if you took a moment to be grateful and thank God for all of the blessings He has given you?

What if you prayed honest, heartfelt prayers - instead of the rote memorized ones you've held on to since childhood?

What if you gave up the tight rein you have on your own wants and desires and give your life over to God - to His plans for you? Surely, whatever God has in mind for your life MUST be bigger and better than anything you could imagine, right?!

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the Lord... Jer 29:10-14 (NIV)

God hears your prayers. He knows when you open your heart and are authentic, honest, and true. Start with one piece of your life and trim the fat. Clean it up. And tomorrow, take another piece. Ask God to help you... and in time, you will feel lighter... in body, mind, and spirit... and your prayers will ring True as well.

Take care of you,

♥ Mags

I Found God In Vegetables...

I received an email today entitled "God's Pharmacy." I thought you might find it interesting as well...

• A sliced CARROT looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye . . . and YES science now shows that carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.
• A TOMATO has four chambers and is red. The heart is red and has four chambers. All of the research shows tomatoes are indeed pure heart and blood food.
• GRAPES hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows that grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.
• A WALNUT looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds are on the nut just like the neo-cortex. We now know that walnuts help develop over 3 dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.
• KIDNEY BEANS actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.
• CELERY, BOK CHOY, RHUBARB and more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet the body pulls it from the bones, making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.
• EGGPLANT, AVOCODOS and PEARS target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats 1 avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? ..... It takes exactly 9 months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).
• FIGS are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the motility of male sperm and increase the numbers of sperm well to overcome male sterility.
• SWEET POTATOES look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.
• OLIVES assist the health and function of the ovaries.
• GRAPEFRUITS, ORANGES, and other CITRUS fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.
• ONIONS look like body cells. Today's research shows that onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes

Anyone still sitting around and thinking that people as well as all of nature arrived on this Earth by accident.....?!?!?!

Above Graphic from http://living4him2.blogspot.com/2007_07_01_archive.html. It's a great blog - you might want to check it out!

I Found God In A Coincidence...

If Julia had lived, our family would have been to a 2-year old-birthday party for my niece on Monday, April 21st.

Sadly, Julia was born in 2006 with Trisomy 18, a chromosomal abnormality that is incompatible with life. She exceeded doctors' expectations, though, by living 6 days instead of passing away immediately or being stillborn.

So on this 2008 Monday afternoon, I was just watching mindless TV - waiting for my first grader to return home from school when my mind started wandering to Julia. I was thinking that, had she lived, we'd be getting ready to go to my sister-in-law's house for a family party... that Julia would probably be wearing some ridiculously-cute, pink frilly dress bought by Nana... that my sis-in-law, Stephany, would have baked a cake and adorned it with pink or lavender icing... that my boys would've helped pick out a fun 2-year-old-GIRL toy for Julia - grumbling that they "hate Barbies" of course - but all the while being careful to choose just the perfect gift...

As I was thinking all this, I felt a voice in my head say "Call her." I wondered what I would say... after two years, there are only so many ways you can verbalize "sorry about your daughter," you know. But, I figured maybe we could all go out to dinner - and while it wouldn't be the same as a real party, maybe we pick a place with balloons and send them up to Heaven with birthday wishes written on them (I keep a Sharpie in my purse for that very reason!). :)

When I called, I could tell Stephany was teary... she said she had just been looking at some of Julia's pictures - and that 4:30 (the time I had called) was the time of day that Julia had been born...!

I made my dinner offer, and they accepted... so she and my brother-in-law (Tim), my two boys, and I went to Red Robin. We had the onion ring tower (of course!), our dinners, and then splurged on dessert in honor of Julia. The boys helped write messages on the balloons and then released them to heaven outside. We watched those balloons sail straight up to the clouds - and the moment they blinked out of sight, my kids knew that Julia had reached out to snag them. :)


Was it mere coincidence that I felt the urge to call Stephany at 4:30 that afternoon... the exact time she was remembering her dear daughter? I doubt it... because that little voice you sometimes hear in your head.....?

That's GOD talking to you.

You can override His request by choosing to do the opposite.
You can mute His voice by filling your head with other thoughts.
You can be so busy with trivial things that you aren't even aware that He is speaking to you.

But if you open your mind and L I S T E N... you will start to hear Him talking to you. Speaking. TO. YOU.

And when the creator of the entire universe chooses to send you a message... don't you think it would be wise to listen up?! I did the random opening of my Bible just now (The Message translation) it opened to Psalm 119...starting at verse 129:

Every word you give me is a miracle word -

how could I help but obey?

Break open your words, let the light shine out,

let ordinary people see the meaning.

Mouth open and panting,

I wanted your commands more than anything.

Turn my way, look kindly on me,

as you always do to those who personally love you....

And at verse 139...

You ARE right and you DO right, God;

your decisions are right on target.

You rightly instruct us in how to live

ever faithful to you.

Are you listening?

Are you really and truly listening?

Because God might have something to say to you... and you wouldn't want to miss it.

By hearing God say two simple words: Call her. I believe that we, in a small, simple way, helped lighten the heavy burden that my in-laws were feeling that day. I could've ignored it. I could've have "planned" to call later. But I chose to listen - and I (and, I hope, my in-laws) were a little better for it.

Thanks, God, for giving me a shout-out! I invite you to call on me anytime!

Take care of you and yours,

:) Mags

God Didn't Lose His Marbles... We Did..!

My 7-year old swallowed a magnetized marble last week. The swallowing part was, undoubtedly, an accident. WHY he put it in his mouth is anyone's guess!

This "marble madness" has resulted in two 2-hour visits to the Urgent Care, 2 sets of x-rays, daily "poop watch" as we check his output for the marble, and a lot of stress.

I stopped several times over the last couple of days to listen for the lesson that God was telling us... (remember, the "God allows hardship in our lives to warn us we're on the wrong path" I talked about a little while back?). But right or wrong, I've determined that there isn't a specific lesson for us... this time. Sure, my son will hopefully never put a marble in his mouth again (ooooh... maybe THAT'S the lesson!). Yes, my husband was amazingly calm about the entire incident (and I'm sure God was helping him AND me not go off on our kid by yelling asking such helpful questions like "WHY WOULD YOU PUT A MARBLE IN YOUR MOUTH ANYWAY?! IT'S NOT FOOD!!!"). So I started thinking about others impacted by this wayward marble...

Maybe one of the nurses, or doctors, or x-ray technicians at the Children's Urgent Care NEEDED this marble experience for some reason or another. Maybe it was a learning experience for a resident - and tiny experiences like this, will one day help her (or him) save a child's life. If you've ever read The Five People You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Albom, you know that the main character, Eddie, had believed his life to be a complete waste of time... a series of failures. But after his death, he learns (from the five people he meets in Heaven) all of the answers to his questions... that is life was a series of connections from one person to another and that even the routine moments in his daily life had MAJOR (positive!) consequences for other people - even complete strangers.

The people you meet in your life are there for a reason - so while I would have REALLY appreciated it if God had zapped my son with an ounce of common sense the moment before he put that marble in his mouth, I know that one day, in Heaven, I'll have the answers to what this incident really taught someone... whether it be me... or some other person. But for now, I'll have to be content to go and check my son's next BM for a flash of spherical metal!! *wink*

An Invite To God Big Party... A Reason to CELEBRATE!!

There's been a lot of death around here... :( In a span of a week, my sons AND their two closest friends all lost a great-grandparent! It can be tough explaining "death" to kids - my husband and I are of the mind that we won't block our kids from knowing when someone close to us dies. Though they are only 7 and 4, they've already gone through the loss of their infant cousin, Julia, two years ago, and Great Annie - my aunt - who had lived with my family for over 20 years and was like a 2nd mother to me...

She died on January 1st, 2006, and our oldest son, Jack, was almost 5. I'll never forget our conversation the morning after... when I had to tell him that Great Annie had died:

Mom: Remember how I went to the hospital with Great Annie last night?

Jack: Yeah - is she sick?

Mom: Well... she died, honey.

Jack: (yells) THAT'S FANTASTIC!!!!!!!

Mom: What?

Jack: (still hollering) SHE GOT TO GO TO GOD'S BIG PARTY?!

Mom: (now ready to cry at this excited display of emotion) Well... yes... she went to Heaven to be at God's big party.

I then explained that the little hospital she was at had air-lifted her by helicopter to the big UC Hospital...

(please forgive the all-caps... but he really was yelling...) :)

Jack: (now clapping too) WHAT A GREAT DAY FOR HER!! SHE GOT TO RIDE IN A HELICOPTER AND GO TO GOD'S PARTY ALL IN THE SAME DAY?!? WOW!


Isn't that just amazing?! Here I was with this jagged grief-hole in my heart, and my son was giddy... jubilant... ecstatic that Great Annie had not only gone to Heaven to be with Jesus... but had ridden in a helicopter to get there!!

And, isn't that how we all should be when a loved one dies...? When we know that they have flown off to Heaven to the biggest and best party in the universe hosted by God, Almighty, himself?! I try to hold onto my son's words when I hear of someone's passing... because out of the mouth of a child came true wisdom that day. I have no doubt that God gave those words to my son... to help lessen my grief and to show me that in death, there IS eternal life.

Amen!

If this blog has touched your heart, please leave a comment below... it makes me feel like someone is reading it!! THX! :) - Mags

Did You See God On American Idol?!?!

I know! I know!
At the end of the Idol Gives Back charity show, the remaining contestants sang "Shout To The Lord!" And at the beginning of the results show the next night, they sang it again... this time without changing the word "Jesus" in the first verse to "shepherd."

This is so NOT something you usually see on "regular," live TV. Typically, shows try their hardest to remove God from the program or to insult or defile Him in some manner. What a refreshing moment to see God glorified with so many viewers in watching His work in progress!

Here was a 2-hour show with it's primary focus being to raise money to HELP PEOPLE in America and Africa - to help CHILDREN, specifically who are battling povery, disease, loss of one or more parents, homelessness, hopelessness. Can you get any more "Jesus" than that? He was the first to extend a hand of help to the poor, the undesirable, the repugnant. He was the first to "give back" - there could not have been a more fitting finale to this program on Wednesday.

Of course - the comments on just one of the YouTube videos is nearly 400 with people arguing back and forth about various portions of the show:

• The lyrics change - using shepherd instead of Jesus in the first verse
• The obnoxious bleeped-out comments by Ben Stiller that aired immediately after this heartfelt song.

One comment said this regarding the lyric change:

Yea, I heard that and thought, 'wait it doesn't go like that,' I guess they were afraid that if they sang His name this would happen: Mountains bow down and the seas will roar, At the sound of Your name...

*grin* I love that comment!

I don't know what affected the change in lyrics in the first place nor the fix on the second singing. What I do know is that regardless of what "word" was used, this particular song is one of the most well-know CHRISTIAN contemporary songs of all time. Like one comment by archerAU said:

"Even with the name removed... it's pretty obvious this song's got nothin' to do with Buddha, so i think it's safe to say, despite it being removed, we should still be joyful that such a song as this would have been played on such a grand scale, for so many people, who'd never have expected this! It was awesome, Ithink!"

Amen to that! :)

God knows when "baby steps" need to be taken with people's hearts. Millions of people watched the charity show... as well as the results show. While some may be angry, others may feel a softening of their hearts and minds... an yearning to find that peace that elludes them. Think of this as just one small chink in an armor of Godless media that we are bombarded with.... enough cracks, and the armor is useless. God will find His way into the smallest of openings in someone's heart. So I'm so happy that someone at Idol stuck up for God and incorporated this song - whatever words.... "shepherd," "savior," "Jesus," "Lord," "King," "Almighty" - it is all the same ONE and loving God.

Thanks, American Idol!

Link to originial performance on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1n61AllirA

Link to reprise performance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WOzF9ZGA7A

(Of course - there are several postings of this!)

I Found God At The Gym...

It is the only possible answer - that God has been coming with me to the gym... because Lord knows, I've not been working out entirely under my own power!!!

A lil' bit of history:
I lost 30 pounds in 1998 (before kids), went from a size 14 to an 8, and kept it off for 2 years. This was due entirely to "portion-control" - I did MINIMAL exercise - and swore off French Fries (if you've read the "My Thighs Are Made Of Thighs" poem in an earlier post, you know this must have been extremely HARD for me!!!).

Eventually, (of course!), I let fries back into my life, gained it all back, and more, had two kids, still didn't exercise, and ended up about 60+ lbs. overweight!
(surprise, surprise... insert eye roll here!)

Going back to the strict diet was not working for me - I was hungry ALL of the time and thought about food ALL of the time... it seemed that I needed to finally "move on purpose" to help get myself fit.

So dear hubby and I joined Lifetime Fitness (along with half our neighborhood - it really helps to work out with friends, for sure!).

And I prayed: Dear God, I invite you... PLEASE!... come with me to the gym. Help me stay focused. Help me see results. Help me not require oxygen or a life squad. Help make the sore muscles, sweat, and fatigue all worth it. And help me feel empowered to take this weight-loss task on.


And so God came with me to the gym...as did my friend, Steph. :)

I've been doing some kind of tortune machine (cardio, Cybex, elliptical, or treadmill) or a class (with some perky aerobic queen in a sassy, short skirt) 5-6 days a week.

Okay, it's only been one week.

BUT, I lost 4 pounds!!!

And I did eat this week - no binging (that helps), but I did have lasagna, and bread, and even BBQ wings. But what I found out was that when I asked God for help, HE HELPED!

He gave me the strength to do a workout... and even gave me a small bit of... was it really?!...EAGERNESS... to work out.

He gave me the lack of hunger so I wouldn't snarf down every piece of crap I could find in our "magic pantry."

He gave me some significant results quickly so I wouldn't give up.

And He gave me friends at the gym.

What is your biggest challenge right now?

Can you take a moment to invite God into to help you with it? I promise you, he's got the stamina to keep up with you in whatever your task... even when he's pushing me to do those last 5 minutes on the elliptical!

:) Mags

I Found God In An Invitation...

I'd heard pastors preach about "inviting God into your life," but I don't think I really understood what it meant until recently ... "recently" being the "big computer crash of '08!".

I decided that God might need a more formal invitation from me - more than the pleas that occur during a problem ("Oh God! Oh God! Please don't let my computer be busted!"), so I stopped for a moment to say

"God, I invite you into my life today - please join me as I work to create new digital images. Please come with me to workout at the gym... because I know this IS NOT my favorite thing to do and I'm likely to run out of steam."

And crazy enough, I've actually felt a little bit empowered since then! I think that if I invite God into my life and into each day, that if I pay attention, I'll see hundreds of little signs each day of which diretion to go. That's not to say that God ignores people who don't invite Him in - I'm just thinking that those people who DO might be more attuned to the little signs that God provides them each day.

What do you think?

Feel free to leave you comments below - I'm still trying to work this all out in my mind, myself!! :)

Happy Day,

:) Mags

I Found God In A Computer System Crash...

Yup... think I did... my laptop system crashed in a near-fatal way last week. Some registry file went missing or corruped, and it was unable to start-up.

• 3 Phone Calls to Dell,
• $40.00 in "support fees,"
• 6 installation disks,
• over a week,
• and several headaches later...

I had manually re-installed the entire XP operating system.

This week, I reflected on the events leading up to the crash... mainly that I had been neglecting my Sunday School duties for about 3-4 weeks (I do the class weekly email-newsletter), although I was still spending a TON of time on my computer working on some new digital scrapbooking items for sale. I had also neglected this blog - even though I knew, when I started it, that I felt some pull from God to create it in the first place.

And I remembered this quote from our Pastor that has always stuck with me:

"God allows hardship to enter our lives

to warn us we are on the wrong path."

At first I wondered if God was trying to tell me that a (financially-rewarding?!) hobby of selling digital scrapbooking elements was NOT in my future. But, all of my files were safely backed-up and ready for use after the re-installation. I think now He was trying to tell me to get my priorities in-line - that my job of providing the announcements, praises, and prayers of my classmates was more important than the tasks I had set above it. That contributing to this Blog... even if I had no readers (yet?!) was also more important.

Consider this verse from Malachi 1:7 (The Message Version):
"When you say, 'The altar of God is not important anymore; worship of God is no longer a priority,' that's defiling. ..."

Take a look at the things, activities, or people in your own life that you are placing ahead of God, and committ to re-prioritizing that list into one that has God at the head rather than at the caboose. When you honor God, you will be blessed.

:) Mags