The Extra Hour

Don’t forget to set your clocks back Saturday night!

The long-awaited extra hour that we always dream of is here!! What are you going to do with it?? The first thing that comes to my mind is sleep!! But, what are all of those things that we talk about doing if we had an extra hour… if I had an hour, I’d get the laundry finished … or clean out the closet … or …

A few years ago, I forgot to set my clock back. This was before the Edge … so maybe it was quite a few years ago. Where I normally arrived at 9:30 for Sunday School – I was there at 8:30!! As I walked into the empty church, I realized what I had done and wondered what I should do. I could go get breakfast, or go home and do something … but I decided that since I was already at church, I’d spend a little time with God.

I found a seat in the sanctuary near the front and just started talking… “Hi, God, here I am … what can we talk about?” As we chatted about how silly I was to forget to set my clock back – and wondering if that was intentional on God’s part … I began to ramble about things that had been on my mind. Now, I couldn’t tell you now what was on my mind – but I remember feeling a sense of peace as I sat there. Things seemed a little clearer, and as that hour came to a close I remember feeling almost disappointed that the time was over. I wanted to hang on to that feeling, but as the church filled with my fellow worshipers, my quiet moments were gone. But the peace that I found remained. I was amazed at how the overwhelming stress and situations that had been with me as I walked in – seemed well under control and no longer a problem.

I’ve spent some alone-time with God in the Sanctuary with God since then – and it’s been very good for me. But it’s never been the same as it was that day. That unmistakable sense of peace that only comes from God himself. When I walked into church that morning, I was scolding myself for forgetting to set the clock back. At the end of the hour, I was quite certain that whether I set it back or not … God wasn’t going to let me miss our talk!

So, on second thought … forget that reminder to set your clocks back!!

Feast on the Word

Last week, Filly Puppy gained a new insight into the word of God. When it said ‘feast on the Word of God’ I think he took it quite literally. We came home to find my Bible covering the living room floor. I don’t think two pages were still connected or in one piece!

It’s not like he had torn up a magazine, or a book … it’s the Bible for goodness sake - it's Holy! You can’t tear up a Bible – poor Filly’s goin’ straight to Hell!!!

The next morning, I got up, fixed my coffee and sat in my ‘quiet spot’. I reached for my Bible and … it wasn’t there!! I remembered the scene from the day before - and then looked over at sweet Filly sitting happily at my feet with a bone in his mouth!

What was I going to do?? This is what I do every morning. I sit down with a cup of coffee and read my Bible. And there is no Bible … and for a moment, I was lost without my Bible … or was I lost without my routine??

So, I took a sip of my coffee, and said “Ok, God … now what?” He reminded me that while reading His word is a very good thing, I still have to talk with Him. Thinking about my morning routine, I realized that I couldn’t tell you what I’d read the day before … or the day before that. I was reading, but I was in such a routine, I was just going through the motions. That’s not what I intended to be doing.

I thought about other aspects in my day … my time with Morgan, tasks at work, nighttime routines – and realized that there were many areas in my life that I needed to look at with a different set of eyes.

There is a big difference between ‘looking’ and ‘seeing’ … between ‘listening’ and ‘hearing’. Sometimes we get so comfortable … so familiar with the routine of our day, we forget to actually pay attention to what we’re doing… or not doing. I ‘heard’ Morgan say ‘Mom, can we watch a movie tonight’. Gotta fix dinner, do homework, clean up the kitchen, take care of the critters, bath... What?? Watch a movie??? I heard her … what I didn’t do was listen to the fact that it wasn’t a movie she was wanting … it was 2 hours of my undivided attention.

We did end up watching a movie that night … other things could wait.

Take some time this weekend to think about your routines … your comfort zones. It’s gonna be cold and rainy – a perfect time to reflect on life! Make sure that you are getting the most out of what you are doing – whether it be quiet time with God or noisy time with your children – give it your undivided attention!

Halloween ... yes, for Christians, too!

As all of the Halloween activities begin to surface, I thought that the rambling I wrote last year would be worth sharing again!!

Morgan asked me the other day if she could have a Halloween party. Aside from the thought of punch and pizza all over my new floor, I thought it was a great idea. Then there was a comment made from someone about allowing her to celebrate ‘Satan’s Day’. I know there are all sorts of opinions and I can see both sides of the coin – so I did a little research. There are opinions out there that range from locking your house up and you’ll go straight to Hell if you hand out a single piece of candy or show your face – to the other side of the spectrum where you should be on the street corners preaching the gospel and handing out Bible tracts in an attempt to ‘save’ all of the little trick-or-treaters.

So what do we, as responsible Christians, do? I don’t have the answer, but for what it’s worth, my take has always been that although All Hallows Eve has a dark history, so do some of the traditions of other holidays we celebrate. But the point is, they are children – and their purpose is to dress up, be creative, have some fun, laugh and get candy. If Morgan were to dress up as a witch – she’s not promoting witchcraft. I’m not fearful of her converting to the wicken belief. But I understand the other side of the coin, too. Is it pleasing to God to dress up like His enemy?

In my trip through the internet, I stumbled upon an article, and it had this quote in it from Martin Luther. "The best way to drive out the devil, if he will not yield to texts of Scripture, is to jeer and flout him, for he cannot bear scorn." Satan demands to be taken seriously – teasing and making fun of him would just drive him insane!

Hmmm – isn’t that kinda what we do at Halloween? Make fun of all of the costumes – laugh and jeer and flout? How do you ‘flout’?? “Ha ha ha – look at your devil costume – one of your horns is crooked – ha ha ha laugh laugh laugh.’ I wonder what Satan thinks about that? I wonder if he’s sitting down there – angry - thinking ‘you silly people – I don’t have a tail like that – and my horns aren’t PLASTIC!!!’ Do you think he gets mad at us for making ‘his’ day so fun and jovial and we make so much fun of him?? Do you think it makes him sad that for all the children, it’s about silliness and candy? And now, we’ve even brought ‘his’ day into the church for more fun and laughter. Do you think it makes him angry that all of these precious children are filling the halls of WGBC and other churches that offer such a positive way to spend the evening?

I’m pretty sure that Satan doesn’t like all the fun and frolic, but I’m not sure what God would say. Then I think of Matthew 18:19, “Where there are two or more gathered in my name, I will be there”. Our children, whether they are trick-or-treating in the neighborhood, attending Hallowed House (where we could use a few more volunteers, hint, hint) or having a party – they are still gathering in the Lord’s name. God is still in their heart, and their faith is still as strong as it is on Sunday mornings. And I’m sure that God is there with them, even if they dress up as ghosts and goblins.

Now, I’m quite sure that there are some radical people in this world who spend the day in celebration of Satan – and I’m sure that makes him quite happy to see. But if you look at all the children who are making fun and laughing at him – compared to the few radicals who give credit to him – I would think that based on Martin Luther’s logic, Halloween does more to take away from Satan than it does gives it credit.

Have a wonderful day!

TGIF
Thank God I’m Forgiven