I Don’t Pray for Patience

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I don’t pray for patience, because I’m afraid I’ll get it.
I’m OK being impatient.

You know I’m kidding.
(Or am I?)

I’ve been up since 3:30 a.m.
My flight was supposed to leave at 5 a.m.
I travel 42 weeks/weekends a year, and I’m learning to discern what some of the pilot’s announcements actually mean.

“Delayed due to mechanical difficulties” really means we forgot to gas up.

“Delayed due to unforeseen problems,” means we can’t find the keys.

Pilot: Got the keys?
Co-Pilot: No. I don’t have the keys. I thought you had them.
Pilot: I don’t have the keys. Where are the keys?

And during the actual flight . . .

“We’re experiencing some unexpected turbulence,” really means the pilot’s son who’s traveling shotgum, got bored doing his homework and pulled a lever, turned a knob or pressed a button.

Pilot to son: “Don’t make me stop this plane. Cuz I’ll do it. I told you to concentrate on your homework!”

So I was supposed to depart at 5 a.m.

3:30 came way too early. I’m thinking on these early flights, maybe I should start calling the airline about an hour ahead of time and just check in with them:

ME: “Did someone gas up the plane? Got the keys? No children in the cockpit for this flight? Are the windshield wipers working OK? Gas pedal and brakes good? Toilet paper in the dollhouse bathroom?”

I finally leave the OKC airport at 8:45 a.m., and of course I’ve missed my connection from Chicago to Flint, MI. Now I’m enjoying a five-and-a-half layover in Chicago. That’s how long it takes to fly from OKC to London. As in England.

London, England!
I could be touring Madam Tussad’s wax museum right now!
Or the Doc Martin four-story headquarters.
Or taking pix with William and Kate and the babies.
Or being issued a restraining order from William and Kate and the babies.
Instead I’m eating an Auntie Ann’s pretzel and picking off the salt.
Almost as good being in London.

I finally arrive in Flint, Mich., at 8 p.m.
The service I was scheduled to speak at started at 7.
It’s over. I  totally missed it.
They turned it into a prayer meeting instead.
And God moved.
Without me.

What a great reminder.
He so does NOT need me.
I’m extremely grateful He has chosen to use me.
But He doesn’t need me.
He could make the rocks cry out, or the podium speak His Word,
or have the carpet sing His praises.

Father, I’m frustrated.
Exhausted.
But thankful for the lesson You’ve taught me today.
It’s not about my schedule, is it?
It’s not about my speaking, is it?

IT. IS. ALWAYS. ABOUT. YOU.

All the time.

Every day.

In every way.

Yes, Lord.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on what God uses to get YOUR attention to remind you of this truth.

Where’s Your Heart?

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God spoke a lot about a man’s heart.

Know it by heart . . .

When you break someone’s heart

He’ll want a heart-to-heart with you.

David was a man after God’s own heart

But he soon had a heavy heart

After breaking God’s heart.

From the bottom of his heart

He had a change of heart.

David crossed his heart

That he would follow God’s heart

With all of his heart.

He did.

And God still refers to him as a man after His own heart.

Cool how God finds it in His heart to forgive, forget and   restore!

 

Did You Know . . .

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• Michael J. Fox’s middle name is Andrew.

• My middle name is Sue. (No, it’s not Susie Sue. Susie is my nickname for Sue. I’ve always been called Susie. My first name is Marjorie—after my mother.)

• Twelve percent of all the Coca-Cola in America is drunk at breakfast.

• That God collects your tears (see Psalm 56:8)

• Anthophobia is the fear of flowers. (I’m glad I don’t have anthophobia! I love flowers. My favorites are roses. Around my front porch area, I have several rose bushes in bloom. I’m growing pink, yellow, red, orange, light green, peach, white and even purple.)

• There are some things God can’t do. He can’t go against His nature of holiness. He can’t lie. He can’t sleep. He can’t fail. He can’t lose. He can’t stop thinking about you. And He can’t be blamed if you don’t make it to heaven.

• Summer on Neptune lasts for 40 years! But the temperature is minus 328 degrees Fahrenheit.

• If you’ll read three chapters of the Bible every day, and if you’ll read five chapters every Sunday, in one year you will have read the entire Bible.

 

 

Have you read the Bible in its entirety? Some folks make it a priority to do this every year. I know an evangelist who reads his Bible several times through in a year.

My pastor mentioned in one of his sermons that many Christians don’t read the Bible at all—except for what’s flashed on the screen each Sunday in church.

Where are you with reading the Bible?

Just Being Careful

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There’s a tan spot on the outside of my hand that I’ve had for a few years. It just looks like an age spot, and I never thought twice about it—until the other day when I happened to touch it and noticed that it was slightly raised.

I panicked.
Skin cancer.
Melanoma?

I made an appointment with the dermatologist only to find out it’s “nothing to worry about.”

But as I left his office I couldn’t help but think, Better safe than sorry. I mean, it’s good to be careful, right?

God is calling us to be this careful in our spiritual lives.

What kind of boundaries are we establishing?

When we hear or see something on TV that goes against His character, shouldn’t we be repulsed?

JUST WHAT IF we took the same measures when seeing something we shouldn’t that we do when we see something suspicious on our bodies? “Oh, no! It’s harmful. Get rid of it.”

I realize we can’t help but be “in the world.” But, of course, Christ calls us not to become part OF the world.

That can be a fine line, can’t it?

Are you drawing the line where it needs to be drawn?

I’d love to know your thoughts.