We had been talking about moving Riley's room around for several days. For many reasons, but one major reason was that we couldn't clean behind his bed, (and believe me this was something that really needed to be done). Things had to be moved around to get his bed away from the wall. It has a built in book shelf as a head board. This makes it very hard to move so we just hadn't gotten the energy to do this yet. That is until yesterday.
While I was down in the kitchen I could hear that Riley was getting up, by the fact he we making noises in his room, and the next thing I know he is down stairs in the refrigerator getting Rodney a Starbucks Vanilla Coffee. I ask him what was going on. He said that Dad needed to get up so he needed his favorite drink. Looking back on it, I think it was bribery. A few minutes later here comes Rodney down the stairs, still very much in sleep mode. He ask me if I knew what was going on. "No, what?" I ask. "I guess we are moving Riley's room around today" he said. "All of the stuff that Riley can move is in the hallway". I just started laughing.
Apparently Riley was tired of waiting on us. So he started the ball rolling on his own, but he could only get so far. We had to help move the heavy stuff and we also had to get everything else moved back in so that we could get into our bedrooms, to sleep, last night.
Aren't we like that with God? We want something to happen and we want it now. God may have a different timing than us on this so we start the ball rolling without Him. We make a cluttered mess, with everything we can do. He then has to come in and move the heavy stuff and put everything back.
I wonder what God thinks of us on this? I laughed at the way Riley got us to do what he couldn't. Do you think God laughs at us? One thing is for sure. Riley needed us and knew he needed us, well at least he knew he needed Dad. He was the one with most of the muscle. We need God for the very same thing. He has all the muscle in the world. We should always depend on Him. We should always know we can count on Him. The people in the Psalms knew this.....Psalm 33:20
Contemporary English Version (CEV)
20 We depend on you, Lord,
to help and protect us.
Psalm 124:8
Contemporary English Version (CEV)
8 The Lord made heaven and earth,
and he is the one
who sends us help.
We as humans are human. We do make messes. God is always there waiting to put things right even without a Starbucks coffee!
Blessings!
PS: This morning Riley came down to get another drink for Rodney. I wonder what he wants him to do now?
It has been a couple of weeks since I have had the chance to vacuum the carpet, downstairs, in our home. The last few days every time I walked into the house it just felt so dirty and cluttered. This afternoon I finally had a few minutes to straighten up and vacuum. Now the house seems so much cleaner. It is amazing how just a simple act like that can change the feeling of messiness in our home, to freshness.
It seems to me, that this is the same with our hearts. We get so busy, life beats up on us and we get to feeling dirty, cluttered and overwhelmed. We have troubles feeling good about ourselves and doubt our worth here on this earth.
We just need to find a place of refuge, a place of wholeness. This is when this passage in Psalms comes to me....
Psalm 57:1-2
New International Version (NIV)
1 Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me,
for in you I take refuge.
I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings
until the disaster has passed.
2 I cry out to God Most High,
to God, who vindicates me.
I get so mad at myself, sometimes, because I forget to turn to the one who will always be there for me when things are going well but most certainly when times are tough. I need this reminder.....
Ephesians 6:18
The Message (MSG)
13-18 Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long.
There really is no reason that any of us have to get to feeling being beat up and filthy before we ask God for help and peace. If we would keep in mind we have the scriptures and the gift of prayer everyday, all day, in every day of our lives, we would never feel unprotected and unsafe.
He wants to be there for all of us, always! Hold tight to the promise of this verse.....
Psalm 144:2
New International Version (NIV)
2 He is my loving God and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer,
my shield, in whom I take refuge,
My hope for all of you is that you feel the cleansing, loving, safe, protecting, power of our God, there is nothing better.
Blessings!
The yard at the parsonage has been the been a bit of a pain since we moved in over 3 years ago. It get's full of crazy weeds that I just can't seem to get rid of in the heat of the summer. This was going to be the summer I just wasn't going to let that happen. I fertilized in late spring and it looked pretty good. Then we had a hot streak so I waited for the next round until there was a bit of a break in the heat. I decided it was time for a weed and feed application this time. So I pulled out the drop spreader.
There seemed to be something wrong with the drop adjuster so I tinkered with it and thought I had it fixed but that was not the case. It took two bags to cover the yard when it should have taken, probably only one to one and a half. With this weed and feed fertilizer you need to wait 24 to 48 hours to water it in, so that the de-weed part has a chance to work. We got lucky and it rained right on the day I needed to water. I thought that everything was going to be great with the yard but the day after it rained I noticed brown lines coming on in the grass and the next day most of the grass looked like it was dying.
Apparently too much fertilizer fell on the yard. We hopefully are not going to have any weeds but now it looks like we may not have any grass either. But there is hope....
One good thing about grass is it will come back. It looks like it is dead but it is just, usually, in stress shut down mode. And after it recovers it comes back better then new.
Sometimes we need a stress shut down mode. We need to take a break to get away from everything. A vacation on the beach or in a cabin in the woods would be just the ticket but that is not always possible.
When excess stress gets to me, and I can't go on vacation, I head to my favorite chair in the house, shut off the TV and open up the scriptures. I know that that may sound goofy to some but you'd be surprised how much this helps.
God wants to be our refuge in the stressful times of our lives. He cares so much for us and does not want us to suffer.
The author of this scripture in the Psalms knew this too....
You are my hiding place and my shield of protection; I hope in Your word. Psalm 119:114 VOICE
My hope for you is that you are not in deep stress right now, but if times are tough you do have a place to escape to.
If you do not have a Bible to open a great websight for you would be...
http://www.biblegateway.com
Let God wrap you in His comforting words of love and grace so that you can come back refreshed and good as new!
Hopefully like my grass will!!!
Blessings!
We had been talking about moving Riley's room around for several days. For many reasons, but one major reason was that we couldn't clean behind his bed, (and believe me this was something that really needed to be done). Things had to be moved around to get his bed away from the wall. It has a built in book shelf as a head board. This makes it very hard to move so we just hadn't gotten the energy to do this yet. That is until yesterday. 