Twice As Much Work on Half As Much Time

Paul tells us: “God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength but with your testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Today felt pretty overwhelming as far as demands on my time. Usually my life is pretty stable but because I had agreed to help different people do different things, my to-do list was fairly long.

What should I have done? I should have prayed (duh) and asked for everything to work out. It did in spite of my lack of dependence. I definitely prayed and thank God that it did.

This was just a very small example of how God is a much better “CEO” of our lives than we could ever be.

I remember being younger and my mother always worrying about my psoriasis. Since I had a pretty good attitude about it for the most part, I always felt that God gave it to me instead of someone else because I could handle it better.

Sometimes you just have to take time and realize that God will not give you more than you can handle. If it is happening in my life, it must mean that I can handle it (God said it).

That can be pretty reassuring.

If Dogs Oberved Lent

Here is the email my wife received on Friday from Maddie, a friend of our’s dog who got into a fight with Dolly during her last visit:

i am very sorry that i have such a short fuse. i really enjoyed the time with you and your family in livingston over christmas. i liked your house and the yard was fun to play in. i really wanted to have a good time with you but i am afraid that my own insecurities got the better of me. i am sorry about your ear and i want you to know how much i enjoy being around you even though i ended up making you think i was scary.

as my mom and i enter into the lenten season, i am ever aware of my own limitations as a dog. i am aware of my own sinful nature and i just wanted to apologize to you for any pain and suffering - especially the loss of all that blood. boy was that gross.

after thinking it over, i decided to make you konw how much i do appreciate you as a friend and feel sorry for my actions, you should be expecting a package in the mail. it is just a little something i thought was cool that i hoped you would enjoy.

by the way - don’t tell my mom about it because i ordered it when she was at work. she has no idea i am computer savvy and if she finds out that i am, she might start expecting me to pull my own weight around here, so don’t tell her!

alright, have a good day and lick your parents for me!

love

Maddie

Here is Dolly’s response:
Maddie-

I’m so glad you came to visit me over Christmas- things got a little hectic, a little crazy- but all in all friends are what the Christmas season is all about.

My mom sometimes preaches me her sermon and sometimes she preaches about forgiveness. I want you to know that just as God forgives all of us, I forgive you. In fact, I’ve already forgiven you seven times seventy (which is really only like one times ten since we’re dogs).

I am forever indebted to you and your mom for talking that walk one day in the woods. She’s really my Savior, although I’m fond of Jesus as well.

I love presents! Thanks for thinking of me. I won’t tell about your computer aptitude if you won’t tell about mine- I sometimes do blog posts on my mom and dad’s blogs when they’re not looking- ha!

You are welcome at our house anytime. Grace abounds (but not that mean cat kind of Grace that you live with).

Much love,
Dolly

Every Opportunity

Be wide in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Colossians 4:5 (NIV)

A few months ago I was walking around Books-a-Million in Cookeville, Tennessee. More than once (in several different businesses) people will walk up to me and ask me a question like I work there. I’m sure it’s because I wear khakis and walk around aimlessly most of the time (I don’t wear a red polo in Target anymore it got so bad).
Anyway, this lady walked up to me and asked me to recommend a book for her. I asked her what type she was looking for. She said some kind of self-help book because she was bankrupt, depressed, and her husband had recently left her.

It would have been easy to say I didn’t know or to point her to the self-help section. I instantly saw that this was a chance God was giving me to do something for him (whatsoever you do for the least of these, you do for me).

I told her I only knew of one book that could cover that long of a list of troubles and I took her to the Bible section. I was a little nervous about being any more intrusive than that. I invited her to our church, said we’d be thinking and praying for her, and went on my way.

I’m sure God knows that I get annoyed with people who ask for money in public places. I rarely believe their sad tales of being a stranded traveler needing money to get to some location that holds the key to a better life. He didn’t do that to me this time. He sent someone genuinely in trouble and hopefully I did the right thing,