MARK, a l.o.n.g-time family friend posted this on FB this morning…
“I got a question for you…” (cause I already answered it for me)
OK, here it is: What do you think would benefit you more, more time alone with God (meditation, prayer, etc)? Or more time in His Word? (the Holy Bible)
My comment was as follows:
I used to think the only time I was with The Lord was when I was quiet, reading and/or praying. Or at church worshipping.
When I’d wake up in the morning, already too late to get to work on time, I’d make Him a promise as I rushed past our “morning place” – “Tomorrow, Lord, I Promise!” Until then, “Well, see’ya later…” I figured if I didn’t make time for Him, He didn’t have time for me.
But I’ve learned SO MUCH more about How He Loves Me!
To answer Ur Q, Mark, let me ask U one… “Is it more important to talk to my wife or listen to her?
“YES!”
This post applies: “Have U ever DATED God?”
https://itreallyisjustthatsimple.com/2015/03/23/have-u-ever-dated-god/
and this one: “Morning Time”
https://itreallyisjustthatsimple.com/2013/07/27/morning-time/
GOD can give me ANYTHING but more TIME
I need to be Generous with EVERYTHING in my life, including my TIME, but I need to guard my time, because what I have is all I get.
I thought this the other day, and I expected it to just be one of those passing bits’o wisdom that comes and goes. But it’s sticking around in this hotel I call my mind. The more I think about it , the more it grows.
Tell me… Whatcha think?
“PaPa! Look at this!” Said my Favorite 10 year old!
“PaPa! Let’s Snuggle!” Said my other Favorite 10 year old!
Yep, Twinz! One’s my Favorite(Oldest) The other is my Favorite(Youngest)
10 year old.
While snuggling, I’ll say to one: “U’re my Favorite“. He always snuggle a bit deeper. Then I’ll say: “And who’s my other Favorite“? The answer is always:
“My Brother“
They are very secure in knowing how much I Love them.
They KNOW that one of my favorite things is spending time with
my “snugglebubs” each morning.
I treasure these days. Life circumstances have them living with us now.
2.1/2 years ago, my WW’n I went from an “empty nest with a cat” to “ahouseo’6plus2dogsandacat” (if I say it fast it sounds better)
We knew at the time it was a “God Arrangement”.
We even said those words to each other.
Little did we know what the future held.
But HE knew! And He gave us PEACE as we began the journey.
Uh Oh, I hear footsteps down the hall. H.e.e.e.r.e comes a Bubba…
More, later – Priorities, U Know!!
Love these BOYZ
IT’S (ALL) ABOUT… TIME
Jan 6, 2014
3:41 am
Part of me says “Ugh”.
Another part of me says: “WOW, What’s up”? Besides me, I mean.
Yesterday, I shared the following on FaceBook:
For SOME reason, the last 3 morning, I’ve been wide awake at 3:44…
Hope this is not a foretaste of things to come. I sure got a lot of things
taken care of in the office this quiet morning. I see a nap being squeezed in this afternoon. Hope it’s not during THE GAME. Green Bay vs 49ers vs Freezing Weather -15’C. BRrrr! (That sounds LOTs colder than 7’F) Wind Chill: -29’C
By the way – 49ers pulled it out, 23-20. Field goal with 0 seconds
YEA! on to Carolina
For the 4th morning in a row, I woke up at 3: 45+/-. Today it was with the thought:
“It’s about TIME”.
As I sat down and opened my journal, the thoughts continued…
When it’s boiled down to the bottom line, the bare essence of it all is that
IT’S ALL ABOUT TIME.
That’s all we possess. We don’t have money. We don’t have things.
We just have what we’ve traded TIME for. We have TODAY.
60 minutes. …Perhaps.
“I don’t have enough TIME” is a lie. The truth is: “I DO have TIME.” That’s ALL I have.
The Q then becomes –
“HOW DO I SPEND IT?”
“WHAT DO I DO WITH IT?”
“WHAT PRICE WILL I PAY”
IT’S ALL ABOUT TIME
For Today, Just for Today…
The other day, I was talking with a good (my best) friend and said: “If God is not pleased with you and your walk with him, there is absolutely NO hope for me. I might as well give up now.” This turned out to be a very important statement for both of us. I had been going through a time that I realized that I was(am) addicted to more. Whatever I have in my life, I want more.
This has played out in every aspect of my being. Food.(especially ice cream) Money. TV. Relationships. Alcohol. God. …GOD? Addicted to more of God? Are you kidding me? A person can never have too much of God, Right? Well, let’s look at it in a different way….
Addiction can NEVER be satisfied. Addiction can show up in an area of your life that in most other people would be considered normal. AA calls those people “normies”. Normies can take it or leave it. Addicts are never satisfied. Never satisfied. A normy can take a drink (or two) and leave half of the second glass at the table and walk away. An alcoholic looks at that half-filled glass on the table and wants to drain it as he gets up. For him, one is too many, a thousand won’t satisfy.
You’re probably saying… “Jim, what in the world does addiction to alcohol (or ______ younameit) have to do with my relationship with God”? Never satisfied. Let me ask the question another way: Is it possible to be satisfied in my relationship with God? For the majority of my life, I would have answered – “NO!!” “Oh sure, there are times that He fills me and satisfies my desire for Him, but it never lasts.”
As I have come to recognize my addiction to more, and began to be healed in the many ways it affected me, it finally came down to my desire to have more of God. I recognize that so many of the expressions of needing more is because I have a hole in my soul that the wind blows through and nothing in my life can fill that hole. Not even more. I began to recognize that the deepest longing of my soul can ONLY be filled by an ongoing, dynamic, daily relationship with God. AA calls it a “higher power”. I call Him JESUS.
But – back to the question – Can I be satisfied in my relationship with God? As my friend and I were discussing this and he was expressing his dissatisfaction in his relationship with God, it dawned on me that For Today, Just For Today, I need to be satisfied with(in) my relationship with God. See, if I compare my relationship with God with my friend’s walk with him, I fail. He’s a trained minister. He’s had biblical training. He preaches the Word. He sings and leads worship. He studies and writes much more proficiently than I do. He…. “If God is not pleased with you and your walk with him, there is absolutely NO hope for me. I might as well give up now.”
Part of this post has to do with “comparing yourselves among yourselves”, but I’m not going down that path. Instead, I’m going to ask this: Is it possible that For Today, Just for Today, I need to be satisfied with the work that God has done and is doing in me? You see, I believe in PROCESS! I believe that the growth and changes that happen in my life because I have a relationship with Jesus are progressive. I am not at the same place in my life, in my walk with Him that I was 5 years ago. 2 years ago. 6 months ago. 6 weeks ago. Yesterday. And I will be different tomorrow. Next year. 5 years from now. But For Today, Just for Today, I need to understand my privilege of finding a place of rest. In Him.
Since the day my friend and I had that discussion, I am comparing myself less and less with his walk with Jesus. He has his walk, I have mine. OK, I’ll preach that sermon just a little bit… Comparison IS the thief of JOY! But it’s not only the comparison of me with my friend; it’s the comparison of ME, today, with where God is going to have me tomorrow, next week, next year. Or where I was yesterday. Last week.
Today, Just for Today, I need to be able to lie down in green pastures and rest in Him. As I find rest in His Presence, I can honestly pray; “Search me, Lord. Show me anything in my life that is not pleasing you.” As I pray that prayer, He is faithful to complete that work He began in me. Relentlessly Faithful!
The Process of becoming all that I can be for God has a lot more to
do with HIS work in me than it does MY work on me or for Him
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W H A T P R I C E ?
I look at today and find
A list of things I am doing
I look at yesterday and find
A list of things I have done
I look at tomorrow and find
A list of things yet to be done
When all is done
When all is accomplished
WHAT THEN?
WHAT WILL I HAVE?
You see,
All things demand a price, whether;
money
TIME
energy
friends
family
Will I pay a price with diamonds?
To obtain a lump of coal?
Have I sacrificed life in a mansion?
To build a shack?
Will I give all I possess?
To seek that which can never be mine?
When life is done…
When today is yesterday…
When tomorrow is eternity…
WHAT THEN?
WHAT WILL I HAVE?
What then will make my life worth remembering?
TODAY… is Life’s Gift
LOVE… is God’s Gift
TODAY… Give Love
When Love for the things in my life
Crowds out Love for the People in my life
THE PRICE IS TOO HIGH
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It Really IS Just That Simple 