Each week we will provide you with

new words of encouragement

that will help you, and us, to see

the markers that Christ has set out before us.

Do you have the time? 4/12/11

I have the time; well sometimes I have the time. 

My girlfriends ask me often how I get all that I get done, done.  If they only knew the truth.  I've shared the truth with them, but they don't believe me.  They really don't.  Ask them sometime! 

Most of what I get done, I either do at 5 a.m., when the kids are still sleeping, or I do in the afternoon when everyone is mellow around the house after a long day at school or running around. 

But often time alludes me.  My house is never quite clean.  The laundry is never quite caught up.  There are dishes in the sink, on the counter, on Mike's dresser, in the garage, bathroom... well maybe not in the bathroom but you would be surprised where I have found Mike's coffee cup around this house over the years.  And then the phone rings, buzzes, or vibrates.  In fact the phone has done that three times since I began writing this and I can type 80 words a minute, when I'm not interrupted!

So often I find myself thinking that I would love to try doing something new, or catch up on a project that I began 2 years ago.  I have always wanted to make a rag rug.  I even have a kit to do it that my mother in law gave me 10 years ago.  I still haven't found the time.  My gardens need to be weeded.  Some day I would like to learn more about photography.  And there goes the phone buzz again!

As I was reading a few days ago (I do that to escape the stuff that really "needs" to be done.), I was thinking more about time and God.  Last week I wrote about God creating time, in my post Tick Tock.  But this week I'm thinking more about us, the people He created, finding the time to for Him.  I asked myself if I thought God would wait for me to find the time for Him.  And the immediate response came to me that, of course He will wait.  Isn't that what He does all the time?  I think that there is so much more important stuff that I need to take care of before I spend time with Him, the creator of time.  How arrogant of me. 

How much better would my life be if I remembered each and every moment was a time to spend with God.  God doesn't want me to just set aside a bit of time in my day or week for Him.  He wants all of me.  He wants all of my day, my week, my year, my life.  And believe it or not, that really isn't hard to do, if we just do it. 

In Deuteronomy 30:14 it says, "the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart..."  In the book of Acts, we see the Spirit of God descending on the believers and becoming a part of them.  When God created you and me, He breathed His breath into us.  The breathe of God was breathed into each and every one of us.  God is with us always and just wants us to acknowledge that, to invite Him to walk with us instead of following silently behind us.  Behind us is where He stays, quietly supporting and loving you, until we invite Him forward to walk with us, to lead us, to spend time with us.  Do you have the time for God?

Like this post?  Please share it! 

And we would love to hear from you!

Comment   Share   Tweet

Organized chaos is kindness!  4/9/11

I am so proud of my girls, Abs & Cole.  They held a garage sale to raise money for ICO, our church's version of the American Belarussian Relief Organization.  They made over $350, shared their faith through a whisper to almost all who came (they told them what they were raising money for), and best of all, they had a blast doing it! 

Thanks also to all of our friends and family who donated stuff to the sale!  We couldn't have done it without you! 

Like this post?  Please share it! 

And we would love to hear from you!

Comment   Share   Tweet

Each in his own way...  4/6/11

Earlier this week I had the privilege of leading a Bible study for another teacher at our church.  It always amazes me how much I learn from new people that I meet. 

Each week one member of the group prepares a devotion to share with the rest of the class.  I knew that I was just a warm body in the room when Iris began speaking.  She shared with us a handmade cross that she had been given many years ago from a gentleman.  She did not know the man and had not seen him again until a few weeks ago when he walked into the Senior Center here in Matthews. 

Memories came rushing back to Iris of this gentleman's ministry and how he shares Christ with others.  I can not tell you the story, I would not do it justice.  If I had known just how amazing this ninety minutes of my life would be, I would have recorded it.   The biggest thing for me is the encouragement that I received knowing that this group of ladies, all in their retirement years, have trully figured IT out.  They know the Lord.  They desire to know Him better.  They are excited still to be able to serve Him.  They are Leaving a Trace of their faith on the world. 

The cross pictured above resides in Ms. Iris' kitchen window now.  Attached to the cross was a note that read, "This handmade Cross has two sides, a smooth side and a rough side.  It reminds us how we'd like our lives to be as "smooth" as the smooth side.  We know that life really is as "rough" as the rough side.  The Cross reminds us that the only way to get to the "smooth side" is through Jesus.

Like this post?  Please share it! 

And we would love to hear from you!

Comment   Share   Tweet

Tick Tock 4/5/11

In the beginning, the very first day, right after God "created the heavens and the earth (Gen. 1:1)," God said, "'let there be light;' and there was light (Gen 1:3)."  Then "God separated the light from the darkness (Gen. 1:4)."  It's right there.  Did you see it?  Did you hear it?  A clock started ticking. Tick, tock.  Tick, tock.

Why did the clock start ticking?  Did God need it?  Nope.  He sure didn't.  He still doesn't need time.  He is eternal.  Always was; always will be.  He created time for us.  And probably most curiously to us, He said it was good.  Right there in Genesis 1:4 it says, "God saw that the light was good."  The light that is our daytime, time that we so often feel is against us, God saw it as good.

Tock, tick, tock...

How often do you feel the stress, anxiety, pressure of finishing something on time? How often do you feel rushed to meet the deadlines or complete your to do list in the prescribed time?  Where do you find the time to spend with your family or God himself? 

What is it that makes your forget the good times?  The happy times, the memorable times?Is it the bad times that make you tick?  Do you have a big "drain" on your time in your life? Do you have something that really has no purpose or meaning that takes up all of your time?

It is a gift.

Time is a gift from God.  Time was created on day one.  What can you do with this gift that you have been given?  Will you use it to further the Word of God or will you let it just tick like a bomb in the background of your life?

Like this post?  Please share it! 

And we would love to hear from you!

Comment   Share   Tweet

Consignment Sale, Garage Sale, Chocolate Cake, formatting issues and a little bit of Jack... 3/30/11

... leads me to not post for 2 weeks!  Oh my!  It is amazing how a bit (or a lot) of chaos can lead you down a path of inertia (I couldn't get myself moving).  Click here to see the original post that started me stopping.

And how is this for irony, in a month that has been about stumbling, this picture is of the other Donna's knees.  She fell when running, during the day.  Of course she never fell all winter when she was running at night.  Somehow that must be a lesson.  But my brain is fried.  Maybe she will come up with something good. 

Like this post?  Please share it! 

And we would love to hear from you!

Comment   Share   Tweet

LeaveaTrace.net, Leave a Trace, O.A.K.s, and Whispers are Trademarks of Leave a Trace.  All images ©2010 - 2011, Leave a Trace. All Rights Reserved.

All writing published on www.leaveatrace.net is meant for inspiration.  Any similarities found with personal experiences are considered a "God Thing."