Checking email led to responding to email. Checking Facebook messages led to taking my turn at Scrabble. You get the idea. And because I only have so much time at home before I have to head out from my day, my time with God got shorted.

I made a new commitment just two weeks ago. Time with God comes first. Since the computer is a temptation it doesn’t even get turned on until after. And you know what? My time with God has already grown longer and sweeter. And I anticipate our time together more. Long for it. It’s funny what God will do when I put Him first.

What about you? What are some things that keep you from having regular, quality, and quantity time with God? Let’s talk about it.

Remi is an eleven pound, mixed breed blend of constant motion. He never walks anywhere. He reminds me of the little ball in a pinball machine. Ding, he’s off this direction and then ding, like a shot he’s off in a completely different direction. Even during the brief moments he is standing in one spot his little head jumps this way and that determining his next catapult.

Mark has had some success in training Remi. He finally got the potty thing down. Hallelujah! And he can “sit.” Be it ever so briefly. They’re working on “come.” That’s proving to be a challenge. But the one command meeting the most resistance is “stay.”

The other day I lent a hand while Mark attempted to impress Remi with the concept. Mark held the tennis ball and told Remi to “sit,” which he did. Mark told Remi to “stay” and then threw the ball. Ha! My job became holding Remi in the sitting position until Mark said “go.” All I have to say about the experience is it’s a really good thing the dog only weighs eleven pounds.

Hyperactive Remi reminds me a bit of my relationship with God. I find it much easier to go and do tasks God gives me than to sit quietly at His feet. Prolonged periods of listening, praying and simply sitting in His presence are hard-learned disciplines. I know that God not only wants me to be still, I am also missing out on blessings I can’t experience any other way. Last year I stenciled this verse on the wall of my home office:

Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10

This year I just want to do it. What about you? Do you have trouble sitting still before God?

I admit I haven’t felt at peace. In fact, it seems my life has been overly chaotic and busy recently. The last three weeks have been filled with Thanksgiving cooking and guests, helping my son train a new puppy, and preparation for an elaborate annual ladies Christmas event.

The theme for this event was “All I really want for Christmas…” The answer as displayed on the printed materials and the decorations? “Hope, Joy, and Peace.” How ironic. The day of the event was especially “unpeaceful.” In addition to the many last-minute tasks that had to be completed we were doubtful our speaker’s plane would be able to make it in because of the 60 mile an hour winds blowing across our city that day.

I spent two hours preparing something to say just in case. However, God was good. Our speaker was late and frazzled but she made it. Her message – experiencing the hope, joy, and peace God wants us to have. I think God is trying to tell me something.

Yes, I am convicted about this whole “peace on earth” thing. I will slow down and focus on why we celebrate this season. I will cut out the distractions of performing tasks that no one will remember by the new year. I am determined to accept the peace of Christ that the angels announced to the shepherds. And I will… right after the party at my house tonight.

Hmm. After a brief pause to consider how I should respond, I pulled my car into the line behind at least six others. Two more pulled in behind me. I guess that proves it. Coffee really is that important.

I – and many others it seems – was willing to sacrifice precious time to wait for my morning latte. Even with tasks waiting for me at the office. I wanted it that much. Do I care that much about spending time with God? I’ll sit in a drive-thru for twenty minutes to pay four dollars for espresso and milk, but hesitate to give up half an hour of sleep to tarry longer in God’s presence.

Why is that? For starters I’m a product of my environment. I bought into our harried, must-have-it-now, self-indulgent culture. But an even bigger problem is that my desire for God is just not great enough. My priorities are out of order.

I’ve got some things in common with a friend of Jesus’ we read about in Luke 10:38-42. You know the story. Siblings, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, welcomed Jesus into their home. (Actually Scripture says Martha opened her home to Him.) While Martha scurried about cooking dinner and getting the guest room ready, her sister Mary sat at Jesus’ feet soaking up His every word. Martha complained. There was much to do, Mary should be helping. However, Jesus lovingly pointed out to Martha that she had her priorities out of order.

It’s not that Martha was busy with wrong, evil, or even unimportant things. After all, she was preparing food for Jesus. But, spending time with Jesus was more important – and better. Unfortunately, we often chose the pressing over the important and the better.

Poor Martha. We always hold her up as an example of what not to do. But let’s look at the rest of Martha’s story. Later, near the end of Jesus’ ministry, Martha had another encounter with Him we read about in John 11:17-27. Jesus arrived in Bethany four days after Martha’s brother Lazarus died. When Martha met Jesus on the road, He engaged her in a conversation about the resurrection. When Jesus asked Martha if she believed in Him she replied, “Yes, Lord. I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world (John 11:27).”

Wow! Martha made an overwhelming profession of faith about Jesus. The only other one made before Jesus’ death and resurrection that even compares is Peter’s. Apparently Martha took Jesus’ earlier rebuke to heart. Martha must have spent some time getting to know Jesus. Her confession reveals some first-hand knowledge about Jesus.
Psalm 46:10 decorates the wall of my home office. Be still and know that I am God. Unfortunately, I’m usually moving too much to know Him as well as I should. Too many other things are more important than they should be. And I know just what Jesus would say. Kathy, Kathy, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed (Luke 10:41-

Take this June for example. Two big things were scheduled. First, friends were hosting a bridal shower here for my daughter who lives in another city. Second, I was leading a team of twelve people from our church to Alberta, Canada. In my mind, the shower was on a certain Saturday and I flew out to Canada on the following Friday. Everything was in order. Or was it?

About a month after I purchased my airline ticket I was struck by a horrendous thought. A calendar check confirmed my fear. My flight to Calgary was Friday, June 26th. Kelley’s wedding shower in Texas was Saturday, June 27th. My not-so-young brain had made a terrible mistake.

Failure to double-check my calendar meant the bride’s mother would not be attending the shower. Unless… Unless, I forked out big bucks to have my plane ticket changed. Since I had made plans to go several days ahead of the team to visit friends my schedule had some wiggle room. But last minute flight changes can be very expensive.

I admit I shed a few tears and called a couple of friends before I prayed about the situation. With a wedding and a mission trip to pay for we did not have extra money just lying around begging to be spent to fix my mistakes.

After my wise friend Lisa calmed me down and prayed with me on the phone I called American Airlines. The agent was very understanding. However, it would cost me a $150 change fee plus any difference between what I paid for the ticket and what it currently cost to attend my daughter’s shower.

I waited quietly while she checked. “Well, Mrs. Howard, you’re in luck. The ticket price has gone down $120. So you owe just $30 to make the change.” Hmm… I don’t think “luck” had anything to do with it. As soon as I hung up the phone I thanked God that He cares for people who don’t check their calendars.

Do you ever wonder if God cares about the little things in your life? Just recently I read a small, seemingly insignificant story in 2 Kings 6:1-7. Elisha and some other prophets were constructing a new dwelling place on the banks of the Jordan River. One of them was using a borrowed axe to cut down trees. In the course of the work, the iron axe head came loose and plopped right into the river. The distraught man turned to Elisha for help. After asking the man to point out the place where the axe head disappeared, Elisha tossed a stick into the water. The axe head floated to the top and the man retrieved it!

This little story shows us that God cares about all the little issues and difficulties in our lives – even calendar conflicts. What is troubling you that you think is too small to bother God about? Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you (1 Peter 5:7)!

Recently I led a volunteer mission team from my West Texas church to Calgary, Alberta. Our team of twelve consisted of four adults and eight teens. We tackled several projects to help the local church fulfill their God-given call. Half of us – all the males – gladly helped a Calgary church with a major building expansion. In fact, the teenage boys loved taking sledge hammers to the cinder block wall that had to come down. The other half of us – the females – tackled two projects. First we canvassed a Calgary community of 3,000 homes with flyers to publicize an upcoming sports camp and a kids’ clubs. Then we painted student housing at the local seminary.

On Tuesday morning of our work week, Randy, one of the adult men, told me he had been sick during the night but was feeling much better. His symptoms? Headache, nausea, difficulty breathing, and a real heaviness in his chest. What? Uh oh. But Randy insisted he was fine, that there was not a problem with his heart. He had no history of heart trouble. So he ate breakfast and headed off with the guys to the worksite.

Half-way there Randy became sick again. This time he knew he needed to get medical help. Terry, our team’s other adult male, was driving. He dropped off the boys at the worksite and got Randy to a medical clinic. After hearing the symptoms they sent them straight to the hospital ER where the doctor confirmed that Randy had indeed had a mild heart attack. By Tuesday night, they had done an angiogram and an angioplasty, opening up the worst blockage with a stint.

The teen members of our team had lots of questions. Why would God ask Randy to come to Canada on a mission trip and then let him have a heart attack? Why didn’t God protect Randy? What is God’s purpose in all this? They looked to me, the team leader, for some answers. But to be honest, the teenagers weren’t the only ones with questions.

I was visiting Randy on Wednesday morning when his cardiologist came by on rounds. The angioplasty had gone well. Randy was stable and out of immediate danger. But he would have to immediately get under the care of a cardiologist back home. According to the doctor, if Randy had not had this relatively mild episode that revealed his heart condition, he would have had a massive heart attack within three months. Hmm, maybe God was in the middle of this after all.

Then God began to use Randy’s situation to teach us all something important. Every night during our trip the team spent more than an hour together discussing a Bible study on discipleship we were each doing individually during our quiet times. On Wednesday night we talked about why we hesitate to share Christ. We are afraid of how people will react. We aren’t sure what to stay. We don’t feel a sense of urgency because we think there is plenty of time. Well, Randy’s scare sure put that last one in perspective. We all realized that there is no guarantee for tomorrow, not for us and not for those who don’t know Jesus.

We can’t know God’s full purposes in allowing Randy’s heart attack while on a mission trip to another country. But we can trust that God does indeed have His purposes and that He cares for us in every circumstance. And God did allow us to see at least a little of what He was doing. For starters, Randy’s trip to Canada possibly saved his life. And God used a heart attack to teach eight teenagers – and four adults – that the time to share Christ is now.

I thought I knew what I was getting myself into. I’ve known these kids for years. They’ve all spent time in my home. I certainly wasn’t taken off guard by their “zest for life” or their voracious appetite. But they have surprised me.

Before we left Texas I selected a Bible study for us to do as a team. Each person works through the assigned material during their individual morning quiet time. Then we discuss it together during our evening team devotions. In addition to a time of service, I really wanted this mission trip to be a time of spiritual growth for these young people. I had it all figured out. I would be a mentor to each of them. A spiritual encourager. An inspiration! Well, the truth is, they’ve challenged me.

The Bible study we’re going through together as a team is on discipleship. We are exploring what it really means to follow Jesus? What does it look like in our day to day lives? Are we prepared to pay the cost? Because, like the author said, “You can’t go into discipleship halfway.” And “when you’re a disciple of Christ, there’s no graduation.”

I was prepared to share all my wisdom and years of experience of following Christ with these young Christians. But as they shared with the group I realized that they are truly living in the trenches of discipleship. I wouldn’t want to be a teenager today. I don’t know if I would take the stand for Jesus that these kids from my church make during an average day of high school. They love Jesus and they want people to know it. They’re my new heroes. Burps and all.

If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? Luke 9:23-25

Jackson spent forty years in the world’s limelight. From singing with his brothers and a tremendously successful solo career to starring in movies and being an innovator in music videos, Michael Jackson seemed to have it all. In fact, his 1982 release “Thriller” is the best-selling album of all-time at 45 million in world-wide sales.

I’ve seen nothing else on the news today but stories about Jackson. The circumstances of his death. The mourners around the world. Speculations about who will raise his children. Will those holding concert tickets be reimbursed? I don’t remember there being this much hoopla when Elvis died. And yes, I’m old enough to remember.

What kind of legacy does this 50-year-old pop star leave behind? According to Sir Howard Stringer, Chairman, CEO and President of Sony Corporation, Jackson was “a genius whose music reflected the passion and creativity of an era. His artistry and magnetism changed the music landscape forever.” Yes, all this is true. Michael Jackson was an incredible music talent. A once-in-a-generation kind of star. But what of eternal value did he leave behind?

Jackson’s death has prompted me to think about my own legacy. When I’m gone, what will my children remember about me? Will it be the cheesecake I make for special occasions or will it be the things I taught them about Jesus Christ? When they think about me, will they picture me sitting at my laptop or with my Bible?

What things of eternal value will I leave behind? Will there be lives forever changed because I shared Christ? Encouraged the discouraged? Comforted someone with the comfort only God can give? Or will my life only impact physical, temporal circumstances. I pray not. What about you? What kind of legacy will you leave behind?

Here’s just a small sampling of the things I read about in the news today:

- A Chicago man has been accused of planning to kill his wife with a puffer fish. Incredible as it sounds, the man was arrested by federal agents when he attempted to accept delivery of vials of tetrodotoxin. This toxin, made from poison found in puffer fish, is 1,200 times more deadly than cyanide. When agents searched the man’s home they also found syringes, needles, and a book on how to poison people. And it just so happens that the man recently took out a $20 million life insurance policy on his wife. You can read more about his story here.

- Two California teens have been arrested in the brutal murder of a 47-year-old woman. The woman was the mother of one of the teens, a 14-year-old girl. The other teen was the girl’s 19-year-old boyfriend. A possible motive was the woman’s attempt to file statutory rape charges against the teenage boy. Read more here. 

- Despite sanctions and warnings by the United Nations to stop its development and testing of nuclear weapons, North Korea remains defiant. Kim Jong II threatened to retaliate a thousand-fold if the US or its allies attempt to infringe on their “republic’s sovereignty.” For more on this story read here.  

If you’re like me, you read these kinds of stories and wonder how God can allow this kind of evil, greed, and arrogance to go unchecked. While two of these stories include arrests, there are so many more in which evil seems to remain unpunished. The psalmist asked these same questions in Psalm 73. Here are some of his observations:

- I saw the prosperity of the wicked (vs. 3)
- They are free from the burdens common to man (vs. 5)
- They clothe themselves with violence (vs. 6)
- The evil conceits of their hearts know no limits (vs. 7)
- In their arrogance they threaten oppression.
- They say, “How can God know?” (vs. 11)
- This is what the wicked are like – always carefree, they increase in wealth (vs.12)

After noticing all these things, the psalmist begins to feel like he has wasted his time following God. He wonders if his life would be better if he were like those who did evil. “Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence (Psalm 73:13).”

Have you ever felt like that? Have you wondered “what’s the use of obediently following God and trying to live a holy life when those who scorn God seem to be prospering?” That’s what went through the psalmist’s mind, until…

“When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny (Ps 73:16-17).” The psalmist was discouraged about the state of the world until he entered the presence of God. Spending time with God corrected his perspective. He remembered that this world is temporary at best. God is sovereign. God is just. God will judge those who do evil. He will “cast them down to ruin (vs. 18).”

God, in His perfect timing, will judge all evil. Until then, He is always with us. The psalmist remembered this truth when he took time to enter into God’s presence. This should encourage us not to forsake a daily time with our heavenly Father.

“Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Ps 73:23-26

SCS Senior of 1979

The weekend began last Thursday with an eight-hour drive back to my home town. With my freshly colored hair and my brightly painted nails, I headed east on I-20. For the first couple of hours I blared rock-n-roll hits from the seventies, while singing and dancing along. Well, I danced as well as I could from behind the steering wheel. The Guess Who, Carly Simon, Foreigner, WAR, and Seals & Crofts were all part of the repertoire. For some reason, Bread was not on my three CD set from Sam’s.

After spending Thursday night at my parent’s house, the reunion officially began during lunch on Friday with Margaret and Tammie, two reunion co-planners. For the next two days I did a lot of talking, listening, laughing, and hugging. We reminisced about old times, giggled over photos and yearbooks, caught up on each other’s lives, and debated who had more gray hair – or the least hair. And we took pictures, lots of pictures.

On Saturday night we exchanged phone numbers and email addresses and promised to keep in touch. The reunion was only temporary, a brief blip on life’s time line. On Sunday we all had to return to the present, back to our families and jobs and middle-aged lives. Sure, we may have another reunion in five or ten years, but until then, we who were inseparable thirty years ago will be separated.

There’s another reunion coming. But it isn’t for the Shreve Christian School class of 1979. No, it’s much greater and much more permanent than that. It’s for the people of God, those who have trusted in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 1 Thessalonians 5:8

Are you ready for the last and greatest reunion? When Jesus returns, just as He promised, He will separate those who know Him from those who do not (Matthew 25:31-34). Those who belong to Him will be ushered into the Father’s inheritance, the kingdom prepared for us before the creation of the world. And there we will spend all eternity with our holy God and Savior and our precious brothers and sisters in Christ. Ah, come quickly Lord Jesus!