Tick Tock

Tick Tock 4/5/11

In the beginning, the very first day, right after God "created the heavens and the earth (Gen. 1:1)," God said, "'let there be light;' and there was light (Gen 1:3)." Then "God separated the light from the darkness (Gen. 1:4)." It's right there. Did you see it? Did you hear it? A clock started ticking. Tick, tock. Tick, tock.

Why did the clock start ticking? Did God need it? Nope. He sure didn't. He still doesn't need time. He is eternal. Always was; always will be. He created time for us. And probably most curiously to us, He said it was good. Right there in Genesis 1:4 it says, "God saw that the light was good." The light that is our daytime, time that we so often feel is against us, God saw it as good.

Tock, tick, tock...

How often do you feel the stress, anxiety, pressure of finishing something on time? How often do you feel rushed to meet the deadlines or complete your to do list in the prescribed time? Where do you find the time to spend with your family or God himself?

What is it that makes your forget the good times? The happy times, the memorable times?Is it the bad times that make you tick? Do you have a big "drain" on your time in your life? Do you have something that really has no purpose or meaning that takes up all of your time?



It is a gift.

Time is a gift from God. Time was created on day one. What can you do with this gift that you have been given? Will you use it to further the Word of God or will you let it just tick like a bomb in the background of your life?

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Visual Tapestry Design: Week 7: Lagniappe for this week

Visual Tapestry Design: Week 7: Lagniappe for this week

The Irony of Falling...

It seems that each month I have a writing, journaling, reading "theme." Many of these are not planned, they happen. So a few months ago I decided to embrace what was happening and go with it.

December was praise for the Savior.

January was renewel.

February was love.

And here we are in March and most reading and writing that I do, conversations I have, and now life experiences, surround tripping, stumbling, falling, and picking myself or someone else up. It actually began in February, when I hurt my back

March has been absolutely crazy and we are not even half way through! Yesterday I decided to take some pictures so that you can see what I mean. These are just from ONE day.

Ams sitting with ice on her foot. We don't know what she did. Maybe when running relays in PE.
  

J. on his way to the "big" band concert. Extreme pressure and he isn't subcombing! Luckily Mike is chaperoning today and not me.
 
You can see more pictures at www.leaveatrace.net
   
 
Crash and go to bed or...

As you can see, there were a lot of trips, spills, and falls today. The trick to keeping joy in my heart came from looking to God for guidance and confidence along the way. When I felt overwhelmed by information, I said a little prayer. When Ams' tears came about what to tell people when they asked what happened, I silently prayed to God for strength.

When I worried that J would panic at the band concert, I gave it to God.  
N. Joseph was just along for the ride. He slept some in the car. Got a fast food treat for lunch; medicine to make him comfortable and I'll work on making him better today.

God's grace came with the sunshine that peeked through the rain mid-afternoon; the grass that is now emerald green and smells so fresh; the outstanding ratings that the 8th grade band got at the concert/competition. God is good. He walks along the trail with you. All you have to do is invite Him. Ask Him to walk with you, carry you, hold your hand, or dust off the dirt when you fall.

How can you be kind to others? 3/5/11

I was given the opportunity to teach 2nd and 3rd grade Sunday school at my church recently. The coordinator asked me to present Leave a Trace from the perspectives of positive role models and being kind to others. My automatic response was OAKs.

I told the story of Elisha and Elijah from 2 Kings and how Elisha learned from Elijah to treat others with kindness and serve the Lord. We then re-labled water bottles with Christian messages and put together candy and hand made bookmarks. The challenge was for the kids to give both to someone, not in their family, during the week.

We also spent some time as small groups brainstorming other ways that we can purposely be kind to people we come in contact with. The picture above is a scan of one of the sheets the class did. I think the kids have awesome ideas!

How have you delibertly been kind to someone recently? We would love to hear about it!