Mid-Week Motivation

Starting Your Day out Right
Scripture, Short Devotion

 “What a God! His road stretches straight and smooth.
   Every God-direction is road-tested.
      Everyone who runs toward him makes it.”~~Psalm 18:30 (MSG)

Each one of us wants our life to count.  Living in a fallen world, surrounded by the things that remind us we are temporary residents, we sometimes feel off center when we think our lives are not going to matter.  Isn’t there something more to each of us than our jobs, our social identity, or even our familial status?  In the world, but not of the world–yet sometimes we wonder if we are not really defined by the world after all.  Only a few bright stars shoot high enough to cast light over the sweeping gray.  We hope we might be one of them, blazing a trail that will awaken others to the Truth.  As writers, as Christians, that’s what we’re about, right?  Revealing Truth in a kind of unveiling ceremony–and hoping we are good enough to be effective, because it seems the world is counting on us.

Sometimes when I think about this phenomenal responsibility of each Christian, I become unsettled in my soul.  The painfully honest truth is, I don’t have what it takes to be effective.  The Truth is such a glorious thing, and the problem is, I am not in a glorified state.  I am still enmeshed in a sinfully decrepit state, and this path I am on is one of vast challenges.  A voice within seems to scream, “What, you?  Who would you try to be?  You are nothing…”and the voice is right.  My focus can no longer be what I am pursuing, or even the statement I want to make.  My direction can only be towards Him–and somehow He will make the rest come to pass.

Is Your House in Order?
Cleaning, parenting, marriage, organization tips, etc.

I’m making an effort to be positive, now, more than ever.  In our early years of marriage/ministry, there were so many times we faced an uphill climb.  In my immaturity, I would throw my arms around my husband and pull him along the detour of discontent all too often.  Sometimes the negativity was masked as a form of bonding, and I was deceived into thinking we were shouldering through it together.  This was not the case.  A few years into this warfare, I looked down at my husband’s mired legs and realized we were both entrenched in bitterness, a bitterness I had pulled us into.

Now when I find myself sliding into that old minefield, I try to remember how my husband had a harder battle than he had to, trying to pull out.  The obstacles we face are hard enough to overcome without the nagging tug of despair.  I’m not saying I’m Pollyanna, or that I will ever be, but I want to look on the good and pure longer than I dwell on the wretched and warped.  Those are the things that give me hope for the long haul, and if I forsake them, I may as well make my bed in the ashes of defeat. 

Afternoon Pick Me Up
Writing Inspiration

If you could sum up the story of your life in just one sentence, what would it be?  If you can’t pack it all into one sentence, then just write one that describes your biggest life lesson.  Now, take a minute and look over your expression and get your handle on the theme at work there.  Nothing is more inspiring than a lesson learned through blood, sweat and tears.  Nothing touches us more deeply than our own experience with the stuff of life.  Think about your sentence in terms of a paragraph, and what might occur in it.  Now think in terms of a story.  The bigger picture remains the same, only the character and circumstances chance.  Your story becomes the vehicle for your theme, which really began as a seed emplanted in your own heart and mind.  Now, write that story from the perspective of one who has truly been there.

What’s For Dinner?
Grilled Italian Chicken

You’ll need:

Seriously, that’s it.  Pour 3/4 of the bottle of dressing into a bowl and place the chicken in it.  Refrigerate the marinating chicken an hour, turning it partway through.  Fire up the grill to get it hot, then turn the heat down.  If your grill has two burners, turn one of them off and leave the other one on low.  Place a pan of water over the active burner, and place the marinated chicken on foil over the inactive burner.  If your grill has only one burner, place the chicken on the side of the rack on the foil.  Cover and cook about one hour, basting the chicken with the remainder of your dressing throughout and flipping it only once. 

 Serves 6-8

A Restful Night’s Sleep
Scripture for a restful sleep

“For who is God besides the Lord?  And who is a rock? 
Only our God.”~~Psalm 18:31 (HCS)

As you thank the Lord tonight, consider who else you could thank for your most precious possessions.  Who gave you your spouse, your children, your friends?  Who has been beside you through the darkest moments?  Who saw you at your worst and still claimed you as a beautiful treasure?  Who startles you with Grace the moment you would receive it?  The truth is, there is no one who holds a candle to the security of our Heavenly Father’s love.  Not a minute passes in His thoughts that places you on the back burner.  Not one instant has ever occurred in which you held less value in His eyes.  Recieve that complete love right now, as humbling and irrational as it is.  Accept His favor as a gift He is willing to bestow on His beloved–for that is what you are.  Unlike the fickle nature of man, the Nature of our Creator is incorruptible, as immovable as the greatest mountain.  His love will not pass with the tide and season, and your identity in Christ will be the same now and forever, for it is based on Him–and He never changes.