Don't Just Listen

But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. James 1:22-25

So I will be honest. I haven't been doing much "listening to God's word" the last few days.  Truth is...get ready 'cause here comes my long list of excuses...it's the last week of school, I had 2 big meetings this week, I am speaking at a Jr. High, there are 3 daily mentoring programs to finish writing and editing, summer curriculum starts in 2 weeks and I am still compiling resources, Matt's working afternoons and we wanted a date day, teen camp is soon, I am not ready for the family hike, there was a death in the family (true), there was a birth in the circle of people I call friends (true), there is laundry, and food shopping, and the placement of 4000 bricks that needs to take place.  Every single bit of that is truth.  And every single bit of that is a BIG FAT LIE.  None of that is the reason that God and I have not spent face time together like we should this week. None of that has kept me out of God's word in my private (and not for other people or ministry) study of God's real time truth for me. Truth is...I am lazy. I slept in. I fed my words with friends habit. I played. I went on a field trip. I ate ice cream. I sacrificed what matters most for "lesser things". None of those things are bad, or wrong. None of things are things I think I should not do from time to time. In fact I think God wants me to invest in my relationship with my husband and my kids and my friends and my community. It wasn't the things that tripped me up. It was me. My choice. And yeah, I think that maybe, just maybe I grieved my Savior a bit. I let Him be less that what He desires - to be first.

I told you this might get ugly.

Look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free. When I look carefully at God's plan, and when I remember to live by His truth life just gets easier. My attitude is better. My stress level is lower. I am better able to respond to my day - and all of the surprises that it brings - with God's perspective of what really matters and what is just temporary.

I guess you could say my day started at 5pm today. That's when God and I got real. He said hmmm and I said ohhh. It may not seem like much to you, but I understood everything He meant. So glad that my Abba is patient, forgiving and full of love. So tomorrow is the first day of summer break. The Wilson's have no place to be. No alarm to be set. No rush to get out the door. But tomorrow things will be different, God and I got that settled today. Tomorrow my day will start with some cafe mocha and a strong dose of God time. I miss it. I need it. It matters. To both of us :-)