Remain Confident in This

This morning while listening to a great Worship song the words,  "I will  remain confident in this, I will see the goodness of the Lord".  Have you ever prayed for someone or in my case a buyer or business person to make a decision in favor of our getting an order or additional business?  I've been doing that for some time now only to find things moving at what I think is a snail's pace. 

Then it hit me recently, I just wanedt the Lord to touch their minds to place an order with us and pray for God's Favor in what we are doing.  Yet I never thought about the person, just the position.  It was then that I had to change my prayer.  Yes, I pray daily for the Lord to find Favor for us and what we are doing but I take the time to pray for the person who is the decision maker that they can find a relationship with God.  If they have a relationship with the Lord, may it be strengthened by doing business with us. 

My attention is now focusing more on the people who are the decision makers and their relationship more than just God inserting a favorable decision to give us business.  When I mentioned that to someone, they said, "And what has that gotten you.  You still do not have the orders."

That's where faith in God's creation by chasing after Him to use us and demonstrate our relationship with the Creator. 

God is not surprised for what we need or desire, so focusing only on one small part of our needs does not open our hearts to help others see the Lord through us.

We have the confidence and faith that the Lord is pouring blessings out to us all each day.  Are you ready to receive or are you focusing only on your hands held out? 

I am confident in this that each day I see the goodness of God!  How about you?

What is Exciting to You?

My wife says it takes a lot to get me excited about an event, but here it is Saturday and I am excited about my son, daughter (daughter-in-law) and their beautiful children coming to the mountains to visit.   I usually don't blog on the weekend but this morning I was at work and during my quiet time had to write.

Doing the extras is no chore when you are excited about the prize.  I love my children and their families as my pride swells in how they have become responsible adults.  (Wasn't sure about it when they were 15)  When you start to get in your senior years you have a different perspective of the value of relationships.

In our lifetimes we will have as many as 300 acquaintances who we call friends but during that time you will only have five really personal friends.  But over time, in the world we live in, we lose track of them and their lives.  Facebook and other social networks have allowed us to peek back into those long ago relationships but in the end we just observe how their lives have turned out.

We are not guaranteed one more breath and yet we treat our friends like we have years to develop a close relationship.  So you need to get excited about relationships!  Getting excited at an event like a UT football game can be a part of life events, but the real event is a one on one relationship with someone who you can really call your friend.

Everyone knows I push the fact that you need a personal relationship with the creator of the Universe who is passionately giving unconditional love to you and am excited to have that relationship. 

Now add to that of getting excited about loving a friend that way.  Unconditionally!  WOW!  What a rush!

Think about someone you need to connect to today and give them a call or write them a letter.   My next assignment for me.

p.s.  In three weeks my daughter her fiancee is coming to the mountains. Hard to control my excitement!

Tapestry We Call Life

 

 Do you admire a hand sewn rug, pillow, or other craft and thought about what it takes to go into the final item.  In college as a way to help anger issues, I began hooking potholders, toilet seat covers and other items.  I had the frames and being ADHD I had a hard time getting the patterns to look like anything like the picture.  Frustrated, I had to find other ways to help my problems.

Yet when you think about what it takes to make any fabric craft, you have to be impressed.  Starting with the cotton, wheat, flax or other raw material to make fiber and thread.  Then it is died to a beautiful color.  Next the crafts person visualizes what the end result will look like and begin weaving the fabric.  

Take a look at someone's handiwork this weekend and you will see the efforts beyond the finished  product.

Now stop and consider everyone who has had a part in your life.  As you get older, know that your tapestry of life is being completed.  Others are weaving their thread into your life and in the same way your life is being threaded into everyone.  

Know that you are a vital thread into every life you touch and there is a reason.  So never dismiss any encounter with someone but know that the Lord is still weaving your tapestry and those you meet. 

Be a colorful thread and get to weaving!