Make the Most of Every Opportunity

Another rainy afternoon tempts me to just curl up on the couch and let the day pass by. But again I am thankful for the prompting to start this blog which keeps me accountable to God's call to:

"Be very careful then, how you live- not as unwise, but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, for the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is." Ephesians 5:17

So if you just got all excited because you think I am going to tell you that I have the Lord's will all figured out, sorry to disappoint you. But that's part of the beauty in dedicating this day to hearing from Him about His plan for me, all of the world, and the world to come. I am also realizing that maybe the bigger questions regarding my future are not really as important in God's will as the day to day decisions, character building opportunities, interactions with others, etc. And since there are countless of these seemingly small instances throughout the day, I can see why this verse talks about making decisions carefully and making the most of every opportunity.

Prayer: In addition for praying that Spirit would continue to prompts me to live in this spirit of seizing every moment, I pulled out this pamphlet on my bookshelf called "A voice for the voiceless" and am starting to pray for one of the global issues of injustice each day, because I know that God wants to take every prayer as an opportunity to free these people from evil days.

Food Note: (I am trying to deepen the focus of my prayer and fasting posts but I still think some of the funny or interesting things associated with going without a meal are fun or encouraging to read, so I will put them here at the end, ok?) I am so glad I moved my plasma donating day to Wednesday this week. I still feel hungry and probably need another glass of water to keep some light-headedness away, but now I know it is just associated with my body being so spoiled with my normal eating habits. I am not worrying about any medical side effects, but using the hunger again to drive me towards praise, thanks, and hunger for righteousness.

The's no such thing as 'me' time

As usual, it's nap time in my house as I write this, and I usually think of the quiet, uninterrupted hours of sleeping or (pretend sleeping in the case of my 2 year old) as 'me' time. But today, before I even really cleaned up from lunch or straightened up the house, a neighbor of mine 'had the nerve' to knock on my door and ask if he could hang out for a couple of hours because he was locked out of his house. I welcomed him in immediately, but then started to feel a little strange...Bailey was still barking at him (she's our energeti c Jack Russel if you didn't know), I became more embarrassed of the messy house the more I looked around, and so my thoughts turned from welcoming mode to problem solving mode. I asked if he had checked with the office about letting him in, citing various policies from our past apartment complexes. He said he had not tried, and stood right up to go check, saying he would Accept the invitation to come back if there was any kind of fee. 10 minutes went by and he didn't return, so I ventured over to the office to check on him (I did lock myself out a lot at our old place, so it couldn't hurt to see what the policy was, and get the mail). He was there and said they had given him a key to get in, and even remembered something he had forgotten to do that would take some time anyway. So while I know I would have been happen if I were him to get back into my apartment, I know that I did not welcome him with the heart that Jesus calls us to when He says,

"Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of mine, you did for me....and whatever you did not do for one of the least of these brothers or sisters you did not do for me." Matthew25:40, 45

My actions are hitting me especially hard because this is the second request from this same neighbor that I have pretty much redirected...tried to help, but reservedly. When we first moved into this new complex, we made a point of trying to connect with each of our neighbors, offering baked goods (my favorite), help moving, seeping and cleaning, etc. So that we truly could present ourselves as neighbors who wanted to know them, serve them, and love them. But when someone really had a need (or two), how did I respond...selfishly, because it was 'me' time, or was inconvenient.

So today I am praying to have a heart that is open to serve and love anyone, anywhere...because God seems to do His best work in and through the unexpected, don't you think?

p.s. I am feeling very lethargic and quite nauseous again today, after my second day donating plasma. As much of a blessing as it is to help us save up for Christmas presents, I made a choice to move the day I donate next week so that I could keep the commitment to prayer and fasting on Tuesdays and still provide for my physical needs on donating days.

Coming up with something when I'm coming down with something

I think I'm coming down with something...darn, now I said it, now it's actually going to happen. Maybe I was just feeling a lack of energy because I woke up half an hour earlier than usual, or because I donated plasma for the first time, or that it finally stopped raining and my allergies are not loving being back at the park, but I was just having one of those days where I felt like I couldn't wake up- can you identify? I decided to break a lot of 'rules' I have set for myself, some discussed n earlier posts- a big one being to fast from lunc (kind of the point of this blog, I know!) Having a very early breakfast and donating plasma for the first time, I felt like it was necessary to have something- not to fill my belly and be comfortable, but just to make sure I wasn't going to collapse and be alone with my kids. I fixed some turkey on half a piece of bread- tried to not put too much effort into it, not plan out some delicious feast or anything, just enough. I also began looking forward to the kid's nap time so I could partake as well, but this is fairly common and I usually tell myself how important it is to be fully present in prayer during the day. But...today I let myself take a nap (I didn't really have to go far, I had played with the kids on the floor laying down most of the morning anyway, since I didn't feel like I had the energy to sit up). Again, just trying to partake in the minimum, I set an alarm for 30 minutes and made myself get up after that, not really feeling that refreshed. In all of this, I may have been more prayerful than normal, asking God for his strength, forgiveness, whatever the day needed, etc. I felt a true relance on God for strength for myself, but still wanted my prayers to bless others today, so when we left the house after nap time, I heard these words:

"The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint."
Isaiah 40:28-31

So even if I did not feel enough strnegth to soar, run, or walk too much today, I still felt God's power increasing the love in me at the park this afternoon as I prayed for each other mom, dad, and child that I saw. I'm sure many were as tired as I was, or feeling grounded, weary, faint, in some other way. I pray that they would know the Lord - the Everlasting God- because I have learned by now that even with all my 'rules' and my own will, even other's great support, I will still grow weary, but my Defender never slumbers!

Sparkle or Shine

I was writing some letters to my 'Sparklers' small group ladies last night (hello, if you're reading :), and was thinking about how much I missed them, and miss how leading this group encouraged me to:

"Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds, and praise your Father in Heaven." Matthew 5:16

Today I wrote on my husband's lunch napkin, 'Let's find ways to let our light shine!' It sounded a little silly coming out, and I wondered why- not saying the Bible can't be silly, I think God has a great sense of humor! But I think this was more because we expect youth to be outgoing, take risks, share their faith, invite friends...but adults get in rutts of waking up (tired and worn out), going to work (where they'd rather be doing something else), come home (tired), spend some tme in our own comfortable homes, and go to bed (tired). On good days, we may comment to each other how we saw God at work around us and delighted in it, or went the whole day without getting angry with anyone. The real command here, though, is not just to make it through daily life, keeping to ourselves and making the best lives we can, it's to be actively shining light into the darkness of this world.

My prayer today is for us as the Church, including me, to be encouraged to shine brightly to bring Heaven to earth!