Weekly Thoughts

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?" Psalm 8:3-4

Hmmm… It's been two weeks since my last "Weekly Thoughts" post—or any kind of post, for that matter. It seems I'm a little behind.

This morning I got up and did my "quiet time" (I'm not big on that term, I don't know why.) for the first time in three or four days. I guess I got a little behind on that, too.

It's so easy to blow off our offenses against those we love. After all, they love us and will understand and forgive us, right? So if I'm not feeling well or I've had a bad day or I just don't have time to deal with my husband or my children or my parents or my friends or whoever it is right now, I can get away with treating them badly. I know that they will forgive me when I am back to "normal."

And every once in a while it hits me: it is a privilege—not a right— to have the love of these people, especially at times when I don't feel well or have had a bad day or whatever the circumstance may be. Those times when I am at my worst, I should love them even more for continuing to love me.

How much more does the Lord love me? And how much more do I offend Him when I just don't feel like showing Him my love in return? It is so easy to look at this little blog and think that it doesn't really matter… but it is the outpouring of my heart, the outlet that God has given me to praise Him and share Him with those who read it. It is so easy to wake up in the morning and think, "I don't have time to read my Bible this morning—but God will understand" or "I'm in a bad mood right now, I think I'll just wait until I feel better" or "I just don't feel like it." Yes, without a doubt, God will welcome me back with open arms later that day or the next morning or the day after that. But isn't that all the more reason to love Him and thank Him and praise Him right now?

Let me tell you something: God has one or two things on His plate that are a little more important than you or me. J When I look at who He is and who I am, I am so completely humbled that I would ever think that I am just too busy to spend time with Him. The ridiculousness of it just makes me blush. It is my privilege to have time with Him each day, not his privilege that I would take time to spend with Him.

Can you believe the God of the universe, the God of Abraham, the God who created all things, the God who is and was and always will be… that this God loves you individually and knows you individually and wants to spend time with you individually? Take time today to thank Him and praise Him and get to know Him a little better. And you know what? If you're feeling guilty because it's been a while since the last time or you're not feeling your best or you're having a bad day, He loves you anyway and will hold you that much tighter in His arms when you come to Him.

Have a blessed week.

Weekly thoughts

"Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children" –Ephesians 5:1

Don't you just love to listen to kids repeat all the things that they hear? Sometimes as parents it makes us smile—like when Grace (almost 3) asks me, "Mommy, did I tell you today how much I love you?" (Her daddy asks her that often.) And sometimes it is quite humbling—like the day I'd just had enough and swore in front of Grace AND our babysitter, and Grace felt the need to chime in and repeat what I'd said. Yikes! Fortunately, she hasn't used that word since; but she is much more likely to continuously repeat the things that she hears frequently. She is forever singing "Jesus Loves Me" (which we sing each night before bed), telling her brother, "Oh Buddy, you are just too cute", and of course, asking if I know how much she loves me. J Those, thankfully, are the kinds of things that she hears over and over. They get etched into her brain, and they get processed and repeated.

The same is true of us, isn't it? When I spend my time watching too much "CSI", I can find myself becoming desensitized to the fallen world around me. Listening to certain radio shows may make me gossipy and consumed with rather unimportant celebrity news—or worse, repeating those words and song lyrics I may not want my children to know.

But when I am listening to my Father, I start to sound and act more like Him. Reading God's Word teaches me more about who He is, and cements things that I already know. Listening to worship music puts His praises on my lips. Praying keeps Him on my heart and mind, so that serving Him becomes more natural in my everyday life. Studying about Him helps me to apply the Bible and my relationship with Christ to my life. And following Christ's example helps in turn to make me a good example to my children—and others around me.

"Be imitators of God…" We cannot imitate that which we do not know. I encourage you—as I encourage myself—to spend our time listening to the Father, so that we will make Him smile when we repeat after Him.