Today's Perfect Plan

I awoke this morning and found the day was like any other day.  The sun is rising on the horizon and there is a soft haze/fog across the tree tops.  With a careful ear one can here the birds in distant trees singing out their praise to rising sun, while squirrels play and frolic from roof top to roof top.  The cicada bugs are buzzing already as they talk back and forth across the trees and bushes, and my neighbor’s dog barks periodically to see if any of his friends are out and about.  Sitting on the front porch is a great opportunity to slow down, take it all in and just relax in the presence of God’s amazing world.

We are often times lost in the hurriedness and the busyness of trying to check things off our to-do list that we are blind to the world around us.  It’s easy to dwell on the problems in this life and fail to take in all of the goodness.  Think about it for a moment.  When is the last time you completely stopped and just breathed in God’s beauty and amazing wonder?  I realize it’s often times difficult to just put life on pause and rest without worrying about what’s not getting done.  Even as I say this, today’s to-do list begins rolling through my mind.  At that point, I look up, close my eyes and listen.  Listen to the world around me and realize that God gave me everything I have.  Not as a burden, but as a blessing.

I recall younger days, right after Lisa and I were married.  We lived in an apartment by the Railroad tracks in Britton, Michigan.  It was barely 300 sq ft of living space: living room, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom.  That was all we could afford at the time.  We spent our spare time decorating those walls, hanging pictures, painting and going to garage sales on the weekends to find furnishings.  We had very little at the time, but we had each other, we had a roof over our head and we had food on the table.  We would drive by homes where husbands and wives would be in the front yard mowing, planting flowers and tending to the maintenance of their home.  We would envy them and their ability to have a yard to mow, a fence that needed painting, a porch to sit and laugh and a flower bed to hoe. 

Now, I sit on the front porch of our spacious 2 story home and can’t stop thinking about the list of things that must be fixed before we sell it.  My laptop is open as I look at my unmowed grass, weed filled flower beds, paint peeling off the window sills, 2 broken down cars and kids bikes strewn about the driveway and feel like complaining.  My gosh how spoiled I have become in the last 28 years.  How can I be so blessed and yet still feel like whining.  Where is that man I was, who was fun always happy, content with the little things and wanting for nothing.  Eighteen years in this home has made it seem more of a burden then the blessing it truly is. 

God has given us every thing we have.  I know it is so easy to get wrapped up in what we don’t have, but that is nothing more than selfish desire and wants.  When we are focused on Him, the things we have or don’t have shouldn’t matter.  We get caught up in trying to live in our comfort that often times we forget why we are here to live in the first place.  Let us keep in mind that this is not our home, this is nothing more than a residence on our journey to the eternal presence with God Almighty.  The people in our lives, the simplicity of laughter, the embrace of a friend, the love shared with others and the peace found in serving God are the jewels in this life.  The iPhones, the computers, the flat screens, the cars, the houses, the vacations, the square footage, the aged wine, and so on and so on mean nothing.  I mean it.  They mean absolutely nothing in this life. 

If that is how we are defining ourselves, than shame on us.  Shame on us, for allowing this world to control our perception of who we are, and what we have become.  I want to share with you this one closing thought.  God made you perfect.  He doesn’t make mistakes.  He has loved you since you were conceived and has never stopped loving you.  His love is not dependent upon your possessions, your accomplishments or your actions.  It is freely given without reservation without strings attached.  There is nothing you can do to make Him love you more than He already does, and nothing you have done makes Him love you less.   You need only accept that He alone is your purpose for getting up each day and stepping out into the world.  If you allow Him to be involved and help you through each day, He will use you to help His Kingdom on this earth.  You have to allow Him to use you though, He will not force it upon you.  So stop looking at the problems of the day and realize that you have the next 86,400 seconds to change the world for Him.  Now what are you going to do about it?

Take a Break and Rest

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"He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.” – Psalm 23:2-3a
When the Lord created the heavens and the earth, and everything in it, he came to the seventh day and rested.  Not that God needed rest, but as an example for you and I of the importance of setting aside the Sabbath as a day to draw close to Him and find peace, comfort and replenishment of the vital resources that we need throughout the week.  It was so important that God saw to it to include it as the 4th of the 10 Commandments, Exodus 20:8 “Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.”  God’s desire is that we seek Him and only Him to meet our needs.  He has set aside one day a week to remember this principal.

In Psalm 23:2 we again hear from David the loving words of our Father.  We can picture the flowing green pastures of the promise land, rich in vegetation and comfort.  In the distance is a cool stream for quenching the thirst of the hot middle eastern desert traveler.  In this single scripture, there is so much more than come and lay down in the grass.  God is making us to lie down in the green pastures, fully satiated, fully fed with His word and love, not needing anything.  I can imagine the Lord’s gentle voice, “Come and find rest, and worry about nothing in My presence.  For I have given you everything you need and will watch over and protect you. “

The soft cool grass, the quiet rippling of the river bed and the presence of God.  To bask in His presence, how could anyone not be restored and overflowing with peace and compassion?  The Sabbath was put in place to reconnect with the Lord and restore our soul in line with His plans and purpose.  Through this simple prayer of the 23rd Psalm we can envelope ourselves in God’s  restorative process every single morning.  You might want to add this single verse to your daily prayers each morning, to remind yourself that when you rest in the Lord and trust in Him for all of your needs, He indeed will restore your soul.

PRAYER:
Almighty Father,
In Your loving presence and compassion we come this day seeking to be made whole once again.  Take our burdens and relieve our stress.  We give it all to You Lord, knowing that through Your word we find truth and wisdom.  We trust in Your promise to walk with us, provide for us and guide our paths toward righteousness and for Your sake.  We come to rest in You Lord, to drink from Your spring, and be restored.  Amen
             

© Sondove Enterprises, 2013
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Take a Break

Read It, Learn It, Live It, Share It

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” – Exodus 20:8

My great Grandfather was a farmer in Michigan.  As a child I remember going up to his house on Sundays after church and having the best time with my brother and sister, all of my cousins, aunts and uncles, parents, Grandparents and great Grandparents.  It wasn’t necessarily a family reunion, but everyone just showed up.  Lot’s of great food, playing out in the barns and fields, chasing baby chicks and climbing up in the hay loft to see who was brave enough to jump down into the pile of hay below.  Great Grandpa John would pretend to take out his teeth, and set the “laughing teeth” (little wind up toy teeth that chattered and vibrated across the table) on the table and we would laugh for what seemed like hours.  Grandma and the ladies would all be in the kitchen helping prepare the incredible feast, while the men sat around telling stories of fishing, hunting and farming.  We would get to ride on the tractor, or if Aunt Shirley showed up, we would get to ride on her motorcycle.  The day was filled with laughter, hugs, love, togetherness and just plain fun and we never even turned the TV on.  I recall one of the stories my father and uncles were having one of these Sundays about crop rotation and letting the fields grow over the next year.  I couldn’t imagine why they would let the corn field or beans grow over and not plant the field.  I learned the principal of the land sabbath that year.  Every seventh year a farmer would not plant his fields and let the nutrients replenish.  This principal had biblical roots in Leviticus 25:4; although neither man admitted it that day – my uncle had a way of taking credit for knowing all things about farming the land.  These days at the farm will forever be etched in my mind as the simplest and purest form of joy and it didn’t cost a dime.

God’s word is clear in Genesis 2:2, when he takes a rest on the seventh day after creating all things.  He expressed this same principal throughout the scriptures and wrote it with his own finger upon the stone tablets that Moses carried down the mountain.  As the fourth of the 10 Commandments, it is something that we ought not take for granted.  To most people Sunday represents just another day to get the work done around the house, shopping, eating out, watching sport on TV or going to the movies.  Our lives have become so busy that this time is also beginning to look a whole lot like Monday through Friday at the office.  Aren’t you burned out yet?  Aren’t you tired of running and always having to be somewhere? 

God’s word is Holy, His 10 Commandments are not suggestions, they are laws – laid down by His own hand.  In His infinite wisdom, He knew before time began that mankind would push ourselves as hard as possible to succeed and in doing so forsake the time necessary to rest, rebuild and spend time focusing on Him and our relationship with Him.  You see, the point of the Sabbath is to focus on God and His plan for your life.  We run so fast trying to accomplish life, when we should be slowing down and living it.  God has a plan for your life, but you need to take your eyes off of your plan in order to focus on His, and accept that it may not be the same as yours.  In either case though, you must make time for resting and drawing in His presence.  Find that time to spend with the Lord, just breathing in His love and mercy.  Find the time to rest, breathe and laugh.  Make it an official part of each week, and you’ll be surprised how much easier life becomes.  God knows what’s right for your health, happiness and peace; our job is to execute to His plan. 
             

© Sondove Enterprises, 2012
For an archive of Daily Thoughts go to: http://www.10minutereader.com