SORRY - NO TIME FOR …..

I did not write a blog last week and really do not have one for this week. Way too many things to do last week, this week and even next week:

• Granddaughter's graduation
• Teach Sunday School and attend Church
• A CASA meeting
• Small group discussion
• Rotate tires on the car (Well, no I didn't do it but I had to take my valuable time and take the car in.)
• Write a message for Chapel June 4 at a local retirement community
• Got the 24 hour bug that seems to be enjoying arriving at people's homes uninvited
• Riding along with my daughter today to shop for her son's open house
• A family celebration tomorrow for our 50th Anniversary which is June 4
• An open house for our granddaughter tomorrow
• A grandson's graduation and open house next week
• CASA continuing education
• Watch the dust pile up on the table tops
• A mountain of other things like laundry, cooking, ---

You get the idea? Plus I threw in there a few projects I had not planned on. There just has been no time for writing. No time for ---

Oh, my!

Lord, please excuse me. It seems I have had no time for you either. Yes, a few quick prayers when we sit down to eat and even Sunday School has been a discussion time that did not require me to search your word. You are there when I get up. You are with me throughout the day and when I go to bed. You are even there while I sleep. And I have pushed you to the side while I do things that ….. things that…. Lord, please forgive me. You are the light in my day. You are the love I give to others. You are my strength and my foundation. Please forgive me for not taking time for You. Amen

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But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.            Matthew 6:3

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I need to memorize this verse. How about you? Do you seek the kingdom of God or do you seek the kingdom of "I have a list of things to get done and by golly I will get them done no matter what"?

HATS? GLOVES? COATS?

I just love to read and I picked up a book that is absolutely hilarious. As I turn page after page, I am sure my laugh will go from a chuckle to a full out belly laugh. Are you wondering what book has caught my attention? What author could cause such glee?

Page seven caused a visual image that made me smile: Formally, a man introduces another man to his wife. "Mr. Brown, may I present you to my wife?" I had to smile because my hubby has presented me with many things -- unending tomatoes to be canned, letters to send, work clothes to be washed and, of course, a few flowers and some nice shiny things to wear on my fingers -- but he has never presented me with a man. If he wants to present me with a man, Matthew Macconaughey would be perfectly acceptable.

Opening this book to page 464 brought a whole new revelation. Oh my! I am supposed to wear a hat with street clothes in the daytime but not with an evening dress. Plus, my hands are to be properly concealed in gloves when I go to church, when I am on the street in a city, in a restaurant, in a theater and when I go to lunch, a formal dinner or a dance. Thankfully, I can remove said gloves to partake of my meal but, heaven forbid, those gloves must stay on when I shake hands.

Standing in front of Bill's closet, I turn to page 483. Goodness! Bill is going to have to go shopping. Nowhere, among the jeans, slacks, shirts and sport coats, could I find a Tail Coat, a Single-breasted Tuxedo, a Double-breasted Tuxedo or even a Cutaway with Striped Trousers. I quickly concluded that the Frock Coat, Black Sack Coat with Striped trousers, Business Suits, Country Clothes, White Dinner Coat, White Mess Jacket and Sack Suit must be at the cleaners.

Have you figured it out?

Etiquette, by Emily Post, 79th printing, 1953.

I can hardly wait to get to chapter 53: In Official Washington. That will be the belly laugh chapter - me getting invited to the White House.

I do think people today need to pay more attention to manners. We need to hear thank you, please and you are welcome. BUT this book is 635 pages long. There is no way anyone could follow all these etiquette rules and regulations.

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Sometimes we read the Bible much like people read Emily Post. We see it as a list of do's and don'ts. We realize there is no way we can do everything that is written. We worry about what we should and should not do. Being a Christian - is it really that complicated?

"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."        Matthew 22:36-40

Start with the greatest commandment and the rest will be far less complicated.

THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED --- AND ALL THE OTHER ONES TOO

I love going down a road when there are no other cars to be seen.  Not one car ahead or behind for as far as the eye can see.  It does not seem scary or lonely.  It just feels neat.

Those are the rare times.  Most roads are full of people going to work or soccer or off to see a movie.  Roads allow people to --- "Watch out you idiot!"

"My gosh, are you blind?  That is a stop sign you blew through.  It is a good thing I am paying attention."

Now, where was I?  Oh, yes.  Roads allow people to travel and see the Grand Canyon and the mighty Mississippi and grandma.  Roads wind around a -- "For goodness sakes."  

"Have you forgotten where the gas pedal is?  Drive or get off the road. Some people!  Calm down, Mary, there will be a passing zone soon."

You would think the world is full of people with one goal:  To make my life difficult.  They run stop signs.  They turn in front of me.  They slow me down.  And road construction!  Of course I want smooth roads to drive on, but road construction seems to attract the "I will wait till the last minute to get over" driver.  And the "I will turn down this side road my GPS says will miss the construction" driver who soon finds out the calm voice has sent them down a lane to someone's house.

Yet, even with all the bad drivers, I love to -- "Put down the phone!!"  

"THINK!  Your life.  My life.  The lives of your children.  All way more important than a text message."

My goodness.  All these crazy drivers! Will I even make it to the store for a loaf of bread?

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Does it ever feel like the universe has one goal?  A single goal of making your journey through life one road hazard after another?  One distraction after another.  A road block here and a stop sign there.  And someone slowing you down when you want to fly.  People making it hard for you to stay on the right road.  People making you think that loaf of bread isn't that important after all.

Well, listen up.  Hang in there!  It is important for you to be alert and complete your journey.  To stay the course.  To finish the race.  To cross the finish line.

And all you have to do is listen to the voice of the greatest GPS ever.  The voice of the Shepherd.

The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.

I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. John 10:2-4, 14-15 NIV

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Psalms 23:1-3 KJV

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Do you know the voice of the Shepherd? The calm, sweet voice of the One guiding you on your life's journey?  Trust the Shepherd to be your GPS.  He will not lead down the wrong lane.

REAL? OR NOT REAL?

Chalk art fascinates me and I do not understand how something can be drawn on a flat surface and appear real. Lifelike.

This little guy is so cute.

Chalk art is whimsical and a crack in a wall becomes the home of a rabbit.

Then some are ----

Admit it. The bears look real!

These deer appear to be escaping under the sidewalk into a winter wonderland.

Looking at these make you believe there is a cute green character lifting up the sidewalk and that a rabbit lives in the roots of a tree.

If you were walking by the bears, you would, most likely, do a double take and wouldn't you love to walk into that peaceful winter scene with the deer.

Sometimes it is hard to tell what is real and what is not.

REAL? OR NOT REAL?

Life is like that. Many times something or someone seems real. Honest. Until, we realize we are being deceived.

For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. Matthew 24:24

The Bible warns us to be on our guard because that ole Satan is a sneaky, evil being. He is false. He will lie.

He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life. Revelation 13:13-14

No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 2 Corinthians 11:14

The beast - Satan - wants us to turn from God to him. He will try to convince us he is great by performing "great signs" and promising wonders he cannot give. Satan will even present himself to you in a disguise. He might just show up at your door looking like an angel. You see, Satan is a liar. His words are not real!!! Satan is a liar. He can fake how you see him.

God has not left us on our own to fight those that try to deceive - those that just plain lie to us.

Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. Ephesians 6:11

The words and actions of Satan are not real. THE WORDS AND ACTIONS OF GOD ARE! The scriptures are full of assurances as they tell us of God's character. They tell us God does NOT change. They tell us God does NOT lie.

He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a human being, that he should change his mind. 1 Samuel 15:29

To declare that the Lord is upright. He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him. Psalm 92:15

For I am the Lord, I do not change. Malachi 3:6

In the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time. Titus 1:2

One last scripture, from The Message, by Eugene Peterson, Hebrews 6:13-18:

When God made his promise to Abraham, he backed it to the hilt, putting his own reputation on the line. He said, "I promise that I'll bless you with everything I have - bless and bless and bless!" Abraham stuck it out and got everything that had been promised to him. When people make promises, they guarantee them by appeal to some authority above them so that if there is any question that they'll make good on the promise, the authority will back them up. When God wanted to guarantee his promises, he gave his word, a rock-solid guarantee - God can't break his word. And because his word cannot change, the promise is likewise unchangeable.

We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. It's an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God where Jesus, running on ahead of us, has taken up his permanent post as high priest for us, in the order of Melchizedek.

I do not know about you, but I WANT THE REAL DEAL. I WANT WHAT IS REAL, TRUE AND UNCHANGABLE!

O God, Dress me in your armor so I will not believe lies nor be deceived by false prophets. Allow my grip on your promised hope to be strong so I will never let go, always trusting in Your unchanging truth. Amen