devotional
Every day we have to make decision whether to push ahead or pull back. It can be as simple as whether we rush into the car park for our daily work, or taking our time to letting someone take our place in the supermarket queue, or jumping in between two people who are arguing. From the simple to the complex, we have to make these decisions.
While cutting back some hedges I had a sudden, sharp, whack to my hand from a branch that had whipped towards me. Unfortunately, there was a thorn on said branch which banged into my hand. The remnants of a thorn were still stuck in my glove! so I got a good chance to examine the offending article – it looked complete, so I’m not overly worried right now about anything remaining in my finger.
“You’ve got a friend in me” so the lyrics go from a song used in Toy Story. Wonder if you’re singing the rest of that song right now, or humming it and annoying your colleagues? We are made to be with other people. God designed us to function in community – not isolation or solitude. He made us so we work best when we depend upon other people. That corporate effort is what can make the world sing, or scream. That depends on the other people…or does it? I’ll let you ponder that one on your own!
Feelings can’t be relied upon. They lie to us, they overwhelm us and they can deceive us. What we feel, no matter how strong it may be, can change at the drop of a hat - or in the blink of an eye. You get the idea! Over the last weekend, as a family, we accomplished an awful lot. Including our usual set of videos to film for the BerryBunch, our regular show for Konnect Radio, chopping the best part of a month’s worth of firewood ready for the winter. All in all, with exercise, cooking, sleeping and resting, it was a very full, and satisfyingly busy, weekend.
While repairing the seat hinge on one of our toilets a couple of things occurred to me. Well, to be honest 3 things occurred to me. Firstly, that I needed to clean the toilet soon! Secondly, that it’s worth remembering the next time I use a toilet in someone else’s home to check if they have a slow close toilet seat like we do - to avoid any embarrassing toilet loud crashes and potential breakages!
In 1996 my girlfriend, and I, were walking through the central heart of Manchester City Centre. We had noticed a very heavy police presence, and police helicopters flying overhead but we had no clue what was shortly coming!
There’s nothing wrong with being busy! But, when you’re experiencing a period of time with a little more to do than normal, don’t forget to take 5 and, in my case, make yourself a mug of tea and enjoy what you’ve already managed to get done!
Sometimes we just need to exercise a little less caution, and be a bit cheeky. I once heard a great sermon from a preacher who was talking about how the Holy Spirit sometimes works in what appears to be a sneaky way. Now, I’d interpret that to mean that the Holy Spirit works in a cheeky way – sometimes the Holy Spirit does things we were simply not expecting.
The seas crash against the shoreline, and the shoreline gets claimed by the sea and it is the same in our lives – things come along to erode away at the very foundation of who we think we are.
Do you ever have those moments when you’re listening to someone who is in the middle of saying something, and it is as if somebody just slapped the back of your hear. Because what they just said was absolutely not what you were expecting.
Excitement is contagious isn’t it. Well, unless that excitement is at the cost of something you’re losing out on. Although, sometimes it can be super exciting to see someone get they something they really deserve – that excitement can even transcend our own disappointment.
Do you ever have feel that something has changed around you? But you can’t quite put your finger on what it is? It’s a little like sitting in your car, when the car next to you starts pulling away – while you’re stationary. You suddenly feel as though you’re moving backwards…our perception can be so easily distorted!
Are you too busy? Are you overdoing it? In a world of 24/7 emails, it’s almost possible to never leave work – especially when we forget to turn our phones off at night (or the phone always switches on when it is charging…just sayin!!).
