Perfection & Patience

When you aim for perfection, you discover it's a moving target. ~George Fisher

Do you ever strive for perfection?  It's kind of discouraging isn't it.  Because there is always someone who will come along and let you know that whatever you are striving for is not perfect.  So you struggle some more to try to make it perfect again. 

I learned a huge lesson this week in striving for perfection and patience.  If you have ever done home improvements you know what I am talking about.  We decided to replace our bathroom counter and sink this weekend.  As life happens, several weeks ago our disposal went out so we also decided to replace the countertops and sink along with the disposal.  

This is how it went.  Get off at 3:00pm on Friday and run to Seconds and Surplus to purchase bathroom counter.  Run home and unload said counter then move it into the bathroom to see how it looks.  Admire how it will look once installed. 

Saturday run by Home Depot to get miscellaneous stuff to install plumbing.  Determine that sink is not aligned with plumbing so back to Home Depot.  Start to install said plumbing and realize the connector is missing a flange.  (You notice I have picked up the plumbing lingo).  Determine that the back of the cabinet doesn't quite fit over the existing plumbing.  Call Dad for advice.  Husband goes back to Home Depot while Dad heads over to help measure and cut out the back of the cabinet to fit the plumbing. Determine that this is getting more complicated by the second so decide to start again Sunday afternoon.

Sunday afternoon, trip to Home Depot again for missing part.  Forgot glue so back to Home Depot.  While there go to the countertop department to see what it will take to replace counters.  Find the perfect counters, go back home to only determine that the window behind the kitchen sink is recessed and unable to use standard countertop.  Visit with countertop designer to determine that the countertop will have to be a special order. $$$$$$

Go back home install the plumbing parts to the bathroom sink.  Turn the water on.  More water leaking out of the plumbing than the amount of water coming out of the faucet.  Dad calls.  Discuss plumbing again and the failure of the first installation.  Determine that we will get as many parties together (4 heads are better than 2 or so I've heard) on Monday to see if we can redo the plumbing. 

Monday back to Home Depot and then to Lowe's for a part that is not available.  While Dad and Jerry redo the plumbing in the bathroom, my Mom and I go to Floors & Decor to look at tile to lay on the existing countertop.  Confusion set in here more so than with the plumbing because I have never seen so many tiles in one building in my life.  Select tile and accessories.  By 7:00pm plumbing is done and we are looking at the most beautiful cabinet with faucets that work and plumbing that doesn't leak.  By the way I also figured out that they make enough PVC to circle the globe on this one project.  (Just kidding).  I do know that I have enough receipts from Home Depot, Lowes and Floors & Decor to paper the walls in my bathroom and enough extra parts to redo my second bathroom.

As a side note Mom and I were able to complete the kitchen countertop on one side of my kitchen by Monday night with only 4 trips to Floors & Decor.  They make this great stuff that allows you to lay tile and grout all in one day.

What did I learn from all of this? That it takes patience to do anything in life because you will always need more of it and the patience we needed to complete these projects was only a fraction of the patience that God has with us.  The other thing I reinforced in my mind was the fact that I am a very imperfect person living in an imperfect world and loved by a perfect God.  I will never be perfect, everything I do will never be perfect, but the God of the universe is perfect in every way and I can scale mountains when I take refuge in Him.



Prayer for the Day: Father, I am so amazed by your patience with me.  I fail daily, yet you still love me.  Please help me to remember that I will never be perfect but keep me striving to be more like You every day. 

Scripture:  2 Samuel 22:30-32  With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall. “As for God, his way is perfect: The Lord’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him.  For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God? 2 Samuel 22:30-32 

Understanding God

God is not what you imagine or what you think you understand. If you understand you have failed. ~Saint Augustine

Have you figured out yet that God is beyond our comprehension?  I drive on the tollway every morning and the first bridge I come to passes above the lake.  On a clear day I can see the sun coming up on the horizon with its reflection on the lake.  It never fails to amaze me and the first thing I think of when I see it is that God created that very sunrise and the beauty in it. 

When I go out to my parents farm at night you can see millions of stars.  God created every one of them yet many people often doubt His very existence. 

These are just two of the millions of examples of what God has made and yet there are so many people who don't believe in Him and never take the time to appreciate what an awesome God he is and how amazing his creation.  God provides us an endless array of examples but we will never understand how He does it and that is not the point.  The point is for us to slow down long enough to appreciate them and the One who created them. 

Prayer for the Day: Father, You are beyond what I can imagine.  You made the heavens and the earth and I am so in awe of You.  I am not able to comprehend the greatness of your glory.  I pray that You will help me to never stop being amazed at all you have created.  Holy, Holy is Your Name. 

Scripture:  He provided redemption for his people; he ordained his covenant forever—holy and awesome is his name. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.  Psalm 111:9-10

Shortest Distance Between Two Points

The shortest distance between two points assumes you know where you're going. ~Robert Brault

When you were in school you probably at one time or another heard that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line.  The problem we have with this is sometimes we don't know where we are going.  We wander aimlessly through life trying to find the meaning of it all.  

The thing is, God has given us the directions but we fail to read them and when we do read them we decide that we want to go a different way.  So we take the long way home and on the way we run into all kinds of trouble that God never intended for us.  Then we blame God for allowing us to get on the wrong path and it becomes an endless circle. 

The gate is narrow and only some will pass through.  We have to constantly be diligent so that we won't pass by the narrow gate that leads to heaven. 

Prayer for the Day: Father, I praise you for providing a map to give me the guidance that I will need on this journey.  Please help me to find the small gate and the narrow path that leads to it.  I want to spend eternity with you in heaven.  Satan is constantly trying to get me to take the wide gate and broad road that will lead me to destruction.  

Scripture: “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.  But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. Matthew 7:13-15

Obstacles

When I was a Boy Scout, we played a game when new Scouts joined the troop. We lined up chairs in a pattern, creating an obstacle course through which the new Scouts, blindfolded, were supposed to maneuver. The Scoutmaster gave them a few moments to study the pattern before our adventure began. But as soon as the victims were blindfolded, the rest of us quietly removed the chairs. I think life is like this game. Perhaps we spend our lives avoiding obstacles we have created for ourselves and in reality exist only in our minds. We're afraid to apply for that job, take violin lessons, learn a foreign language, call an old friend, write our Congressman - whatever it is that we would really like to do but don't because of personal obstacles. Don't avoid any chairs until you run smack into one. And if you do, at least you'll have a place to sit down. ~Pierce Vincent Eckhart  

I read this and thought about my life and how often I have faced obstacles in my path and instead of pressing forward I went around, over, behind or turned around instead of trusting God to help me through them. 

The lesson here is that God will teach me something in the process of going through the obstacle.  But if I run from it in fear or rehearse in my mind what could, might or possibly happen, then I have lost the opportunity to learn a great lesson that God alone can teach me. 

We are like the Scout with the blindfold on.  Our Christian life is characterized in the same way.  We must act like we are blindfolded, because in reality we really are, and trust that God will lead us where we are most needed and in God's perfect timing.

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I am guilty of not trusting in You.  Please help me to have blind faith.  Faith that knows You are with me and knows You will reward me when I earnestly seek You.

Scripture:  Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.   This is what the ancients were commended for.  By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead. By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.  And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith. Hebrews 11:1-7

Home

Most of us spend our lives as if we had another one in the bank. ~Ben Irwin

I often think of home and what it means.  You often hear that home is where the heart is.  This is so true.  If your heart yearns for your earthly home then that is where your heart will reside.

We are in a temporary home on earth.  It is not our final resting place.  The Israelites didn't make the desert their permanent home or at least they didn't intend to.  They knew there was a better place called the Promised Land. The problem was they became disgruntled and discouraged and didn't depend on God to provide.  Many didn't make it into the Promised Land because they doubted God and His promises. 

We are often like the Israelites because we become attached to our earthly home and that is not God's intention for us.  He wants us to long for our eternal home and to always keep our eye on that and not the earthly house we live in.  This is but a tempoary shelter where we live until God calls us home.  We begin to doubt God and his promises and we become attached to this temporary home that will never provide what we really long for which is our eternal home.  Is your heart longing for heaven where there will be no pain and sorrow and where we will live forever with God in eternity?       

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I am often so busy in my current home that I forget there is a much better home waiting for me in heaven.  Please help me keep my eyes on what is really important.  I long for the day when I will live in my eternal home with You.  Thank you for preparing a place for me in Your home.

Scripture:  For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.  Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked.  For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.  Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.  2 Corinthians 5:1-5

Fast Food

Never think that God's delays are God's denials. Hold on; hold fast; hold out. Patience is genius. ~Georges-Louis Leclerc

Do you ever wonder how we got to be the capital of fast food?  We have become conditioned by fast.  We want instant oatmeal, express checkout, speedy oil change, pay at the pump, call ahead orders and next day delivery.  We expect instant food, service and meals.  If we have to wait for anything we become frustrated and will take our business elsewhere.  

What would happen if God decided to give us everything we wanted instantly?  We would become spoiled just as we are by the world and its timetable.  God rarely does things instantly and on our schedule.  Have you noticed that you have to do a lot of waiting when it comes to God working in your life.  

We are by no means alone in this waiting process.  The Bible shows us how long people had to wait for things to happen in their lives.  The key is that it was all in God's timing and not ours.  

I think if we all came to the end of ourselves and turned to God and said I am waiting and I will slow down and take my time and not move until you tell me to, we would be amazed at the happiness, joy and peace that would come over our lives.  But that would also mean that we would have to become patient people, and kinder to others because we would be forced to wait, and have self-control.  What it ultimately means is that we would have the "Fruit of the Spirit".   

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, You are an amazing God and you want what is best for me.  I want to have the fruit of the spirit in my life.  I want my life to be an example of what it means to be like Christ.  I need your help daily to make that happen in my life because I am often impatient and moving too fast.  Thank you for slowing me down so that I can see the fruits of the spirit at work in my life.

Scripture:  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Galatians 5:22-24

Life is What You Make It

If you don't decide what your life is about it defaults to what you spend your days doing.  Robert Brault

What is your default?  Is your default rushing around every day in a constant motion of worldly pursuits?  I know I so often get distracted by the things in life that I think must be done.  So I pursue the things that really will not matter to my future life.  

As our pastor said on Sunday, we get born again and we settle in.  We forget the next important steps that include pursuing Him with all our heart and showing others what Christ is all about through the way we live our lives.  But if the way we live our lives is to be in constant motion and never taking the time to meet one on one with God, then that is what our life will show others.  

I have heard our Pastor say many times when talking about spending time with God;  "Shoot for seven, make five, you've had a good week."

If all we ever do is go to church on Sunday and think that we will come to know God in that short amount of time we are fooling oursleves.  The only way we will meet God face to face is to dig deeper in his Word and it won't happen if we don't take the time from our busy schedules to do it.     

Prayer for the Day: Father, I am sometimes so focused on worldly things that I don't take the time to spend with you.  Please help me to remember that You won't be able to speak to me if I don't spend time in your Instruction Manual.  I praise you for your patience with me and for loving me even when I fail to pursue You.

Scripture:  “I do not accept glory from human beings, but I know you.  I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts.  I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him.  How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? John 5:41-44

Mom 

She is the one who knows you best, accepts who you are unconditionally, heals the hurts of life and is your most ardent supporter in everything you do.  She will defend you, love you, never give up on you and comfort you in your darkest days.  Her name is Mom.  Brenda Edwards

With Mother's Day on Sunday I thought I would write about the amazing women in our lives who sometimes don't receive the recognition they deserve. 

In the last few years I have had the pleasure of spending an extraordinary amount of one on one time with my Mom.  She amazes me every day at how much talent she has and enough love to cover anyone who crosses her path.  She has sacrificed for me and my siblings over the years. 

I have had the opportunity to watch her speak to large groups about her farm and I am forever amazed at how she draws people close to her and knows exactly how to make each person feel like they are the only one.  There is no age or generation gap with my Mom.  She looks on everyone she meets as someone to nurture.  There is the college student at the farmer's market who as he says I quote "we've got your back" to the elderly lady that she gave the candle to because she is a cancer survivor.   

My favorite time with my Mom is immediately following one of our speaking events when we go to laMadaleine and sit over coffee and talk about everything or nothing.  I don't know what I will do when I lose my Mom.  There will be a hole in my heart that no one else will ever be able to fill.  I love you Mom.

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I am so blessed to have a wonderful mother.  One who cares about people and loves them as if they are her own.  I pray that you will bless all mothers this week and every day for their sacrifice, their kindness and their love for others.  I also pray that you will comfort those who have lost their mothers.  Thank you for the blessing of mothers.    

·    She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy. When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet…. She is clothed in strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: “Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.” Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate. Proverbs 31:10-31

The Light from Within

What we are is God's gift to us.  What we become is our gift to God.  Eleanor Powell

We are called to live in relationship with God.  The irony of this is that when you are in relationship with God others around you will see God through you and long for whatever it is in your life that is reflecting from you.  They will see the "light" in you.   

When this happens God can and will use us for His purpose not ours.  It is the end of yourself and the beginning of Him.  It is sacrificing what you may or may not have for a higher purpose.

In Mark 12: 41-44, Jesus tells the parable of "The Widow's Offering."  Jesus sat and watched the crowd placing their money in the temple treasury.  Many rich people threw in much but the poor widow came and put in two small copper coins worth only two cents.  He told the disciples that the widow put in more to the treasury than all the others.  They gave wealth but she, out of her poverty put in everything she had to live on.

The widow had little but she reflected a heart that was focused on God.  She showed others God's light through her actions.  

Prayer for the Day: Father, I want to be a living light.  I want to give my all to you holding nothing back.  Please humble my heart and help me to see that everything I have is Yours and I am nothing without You.  Please help me to reflect You and be a light in this dark world.

Scripture:  Wealth and riches are in their houses, and their righteousness endures forever.  Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for those who are gracious and compassionate and righteous. Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely, who conduct their affairs with justice.  Psalm 112:3-5

The Road Less Taken

The future lies before you, like paths of pure white snow. Be careful how you tread it, for every step will show. ~Author Unknown

When we were kids my brother and I spent a great deal of time in the summer riding horses.  We had a road that went by our house and circled around and came back out by our house.  The road had a side drive that cut over to the back of our property.

One day we were riding at a gallop (which means we were going pretty fast in horse terminology).  When we came around the corner and were getting ready to pass the road that led up to our property, unbeknownst to us, our horses decided they were ready to go home.  We came galloping around the corner and both horses turned into the road to go home and my brother and I didn't.  Now when you have your forward momentum going it makes it hard to stop and we didn't.  We both landed in the middle of the dirt road and the horses took off for greener pastures without us.  

There my brother and I sat in the middle of the dirt road looking at each other.  We assessed the damage, found there was none and then we both jumped up and took off running to chase down our horses.  You never wanted your horse to beat you home with no rider because then Mom would come looking for you. 

God gives us a path to follow and we can choose to stay on that path or we can detour.  When we detour trouble is bound to follow.  People as well as things can derail us from our purpose here on earth.  In this life the road less taken is sometimes the one we should be taking.   

Prayer for the Day: Father, I want to stay on the path you have chosen for me.  Please help me to keep my focus on you so that I won't end up taking a detour that could take me off course.  Help me to make every step count and worthy of following.

Scripture: No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame, but shame will come to those who are treacherous without cause.  Show me your ways, LORD, teach me your paths.  Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.  Psalm 25:3-5

 

The School of Hard Knocks

We turn to God for help when our foundations are shaking only to learn that it is God who is shaking them.  Charles C. West

Have you been to the school of hard knocks.  This is not your most popular or sought after university.  Your degree is the hardest one to obtain and there are a lifetime of courses and the thing is you will never earn a degree, but you will earn an eternal reward.

You can't go to the school counselor and select your course based on your interest in any given subject.  Sometimes your subject chooses you and the choice is not ours and sometimes you are back in school when you least expect it.

Life is the school of hard knocks and the only way we can survive it is to put our faith in the One who created us. One of the benefits offered at this school is knowledge and wisdom but we must learn to determine the difference between the two.  We can gain knowledge in this school but if we don't learn to apply it to our lives it will never turn into wisdom.  That is why there are so many courses.  Because sometimes I am hard headed and need a refresher course from the school of hard knocks.  So I flunk it the first time and take it again the next semester. The only way to pass is to gain wisdom from the knowledge you gain from the school of hard knocks.

We also need to realize that we are not the only ones who have attended the school of hard knocks.  Moses spent 40 years in the school of hard knocks.  Then there was Joseph, and Noah and Jonah and the list goes on.

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I thank You for sending me to the school of hard knocks for I will never learn how to lean on You if I don't take the courses designed just for me.  Father, I don't want to graduate from Harvard, I want to graduate to Heaven.

He provided redemption for his people; he ordained his covenant forever—holy and awesome is his name.  The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding.  To him belongs eternal praise. Psalm 111:9-10

People are Like a Box of Chocolates

The tragedy of it is that nobody sees the look of desperation on my face. Thousands and thousands of us, and we're passing one another without a look of recognition. ~Henry Miller

Have you ever received one of those boxes of chocolates that has an assortment of candies and you are not sure what filling is in any of them. So you stare in the box like one of them is going to stand up and yell “pick me.” They make them so pretty with swirls or embossed or maybe even some sort of decoration on top.

So you ponder over which one to choose. Should I take the really pretty one with a flower on top made out of icing or the really plain one that just has a chocolate swirl on top. But then you hesitate because what if it is one of those with the really weird filling that you would never dream of eating. So you pick one up and study it, then you decide to try it. Then that grimace comes across your face as you realize that you have selected the most beautiful one in the box thinking it would be really good, and it turns out it is the one kind of filling you truly hate.

Then there are those who won’t take a chance on any one candy until they see what’s there. So they poke a hole in the bottom to see if it’s filled with something they don’t like and then they put it back in the box. I’ve never done that but I know it happens.

We are kind of like that too. We are all created so very different by a God who created the very universe. We choose someone out of the box and then we realize that they are human just like us and make mistakes so we decide to put them back in the box and try a different one. The problem is everyone in the box has flaws. There’s the one with the coconut filling that you hate or the other one with the fruit filling that you wished was caramel. Or the one with the nut in the middle and you're allergic to nuts.

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I thank You for the differences in the people around me. You created each of us in your likeness. Please help each of us to see and accept the differences in each other. I pray that you will help me to appreciate and love others as Your special creations.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of all he created. James 1:17-18