Tag: God’s word

Are You Spiritually Stocked Up?

When moving I lost focus and didn’t keep our storehouse full. The problem is, I tend to do the same spiritually. I put our physical needs before our spiritual needs.

I didn’t realize how long it had been since I added to my blog.  Let me explain in two simple words.  We moved.  It took a month to get everything packed up and now another month to get everything in it’s place here at our new home.  We are finally to the point where we can take time to enjoy our new place and do something besides work.  Now, I’m not immune to hard work.  I’ve hauled hay, built fence, put in retaining walls… but those jobs are hard for one or two days and then finished.  Moving is like the chore that never ends.

After about 4 days in the new house, we had all the boxes emptied and the surface was starting to look normal.  As it approached supper time, I opened the fridge and quickly realized any sense of normalcy was surface only.  We had worked to eat down as much food as we could before we moved, and then during the move we had been eating out for over a week.  It was time for that to stop, but all we had to work with was a gallon of milk I had grabbed at Walgreens and the few items that did not get purged when packing the fridge where I threw away all expired food.  Unfortunately, the pantry looked the same. It was time to make a major grocery run.refridgerator

The thing is, I had done the same with my spiritual storehouse.  During the move not only had I neglected to purchase any food, I had been neglecting my time in the Word as well.  I don’t get it.  Scott is so faithful.  Rain or shine, work or play, he gets up and spends time listening to the word and time in prayer. Yet, I am so easily distracted.  I can always find something that needs to be done when I get ready to sit down with my Bible.

In John 6, we first read of Jesus feeding the 5,000.  That is a story we all know from our childhood, but let’s take a look at what happened the next day.  When morning came, the people began to look for Jesus.  They were of course confused because the only boat missing was the boat the disciples used to leave in for Capernaum.  They didn’t realize Jesus didn’t need a boat because he walked across the sea.  Anyway the crowd took off in boats “seeking Jesus.”  When they found him, they even asked how he got there.  Jesus quickly changed the subject and took this opportunity to teach the crowd.  He scolded them for following Him only for the physical bread he had provided, and offered they should follow him for the everlasting life He offers instead.

I am guilty.  I often put our physical needs and comforts in front of my spiritual needs.  I seek to keep the house picked up more than I seek to spend time investing in my relationship with my Heavenly Father.  Any book you read on relationships will emphasis the importance of spending time together.

I often tease my sister, mother of 4, that if the world is coming to an end, I want to bunker down at her house because she always has enough food on hand to feed an army.  I can remember when Jace was in high school.  I had to always be prepared to fix a meal for whatever group of friends showed up.  I had to keep the fridge and pantry stocked.

Shouldn’t we be the same spiritually?  We never know what life event might happen that will require a us to tap into our spiritual warehouse.  The question is, will yours be full or empty?

Coming next week – Running on empty

I Could Have Killed Him

In my effort to win the “Wife of the Year” award, I try really hard to fix supper on the sandwichnights I’m home and to pack a lunch for Scott and I Monday thru Thursday.  Last Tuesday, I roasted a chicken in the Instant Pot for dinner and then for our lunches, I took the chicken we didn’t eat to make chicken salad sandwiches.  I have done this successfully in the past.  I simply put the leftover pieces of chicken in the Ninja, grind them up, add some pecans, grapes and dressing – voila, chicken salad.  I’m telling you, the sandwiches looked devine as I packed them in our lunch bags for the next day.  However looks can be deceiving.

When it came time to eat my sandwich the next day, about two bites in I came across what I thought was a pecan shell.  No problem.  While this is hard to describe without sounding gross, I separated the shell from my food and discarded it into my napkin so I could continue eating.  It was in the very next bite, I came across what I thought was piece of shell number two.  This time after I placed the piece in my napkin, I took a little peek at it.  sorry for the grossness, but true story.  I was a little bewildered, because the piece didn’t really look like a pecan shell.  However as an obviously slow learner, I kept eating my sandwich.  I was two more bites in, when it happened again.  This time I had to thoroughly investigate.  It was clear what had happened.  I had ground up a chicken bone while making the chicken salad.  I threw my sandwich away and quickly called Scott to warn him.  I was too late.  He had already eaten his sandwich even though he had actually discovered a small bone piece similar in size to a broken off toothpick.  If you know Scott, it won’t surprise you that he ate the sandwich despite finding a bone in it.

All I could think about was how many times have I heard, “Never feed your dogs chicken bones because they splinter and will puncture the dog’s intestines.”  I quickly googled what happens if you eat a chicken bone.  The articles that popped up were centered around a dog eating a chicken bone.  I learned the signs I should be watching for included:

  • Vomiting or retching
  • Drooling or panting
  • Restlessness and looking uncomfortable
  • Tiredness, reluctance to move
  • Refusing to eat
  • Stretching repeatedly or moving oddly
  • Whining, crying when his tummy is touched
  • Bleeding from his bottom, diarrhea, or straining to empty his bowels
  • Other behavior that you don’t normally see in your dog (such are growling) and that might indicate pain or discomfort

I didn’t know how many of those symptoms I might see in Scott so I continued my research based more specifically around humans, I learned that in a few unlucky patients, swallowing a chicken bone causes serious problems. About 10-20% would need to undergo foreign body extraction through endoscopy.   Furthermore, about 1% of patients end up in the operating room to undergo major surgery for serious complications. These include intestinal perforation, bowel obstruction, internal bleeding (hemorrhage), abdominal infection (peritonitis), and abscess formation (pus collection). These complications often develop a few days after ingestion of the chicken bone.  All we could do now was wait….

Obviously, all is well, no surgery required although my “wife of the year” status is in great jeopardy.  While we laugh about it now, there were a few minutes where the worry trait that I inherited from my mom and grandma came rushing over me full force.  If I told you some of the what if’s that went through my mind, you would be convinced I was partially crazy.  I must admit this worry factor can be a real problem.  I notice it more and more the older I get.  Just last week (after we survived the chicken bones), I was in Mobile holding my beautiful, 4 month old grandbaby.  I caught myself at one point looking at her and becoming preoccupied with worry.  I thought of everything that could happen to her from the flu to cancer.  I had to literally push those thoughts from my mind.

The number of scriptures that tell us not to worry are more numerous than I can list here, but there are a few worth mentioning.  Matthew 6 and Luke 12 both record Jesus speaking to His disciples about worry.  These passages include such phrases as:

  • Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink nor about your body what  you will put on
  • The heavenly Father knows what you need, so seek first the kingdom of God
  • Do not worry about tomorrow
  • Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature
  • Do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink nor have an anxious mind

It is also in these passages where Jesus references the birds of the air and the lilies of the valley compared to us as an example of how He takes care of them and accordingly He will so much more take care of us.

There is also:

Philippians 4:6-7, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

1 Peter 5:7, “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.”

Psalm 55:22, “Cast your burden on the Lord, And He shall sustain you.”

All of these scriptures based on worry and anxiety tells me two things.  One, I’m not alone.  Jesus knew this was a real problem for many or He wouldn’t have put it in the Bible so many times.  Two, there are too many wonderful experiences in life to waste any time at all in worry and fear.  Not that this comes naturally or easily, but I’m committed to keeping my mind worry free.  Now this doesn’t mean if I ever think I have done something to put our lives in jeopardy again I won’t Google what to do or what to look for, but I won’t let the worry consume my day.