30 Seconds Past Amen

O LORD, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill? He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart... Psalm 15:1-2


I bought two boxes of my favorite breakfast bars (they’re more like cookies) on Tuesday. So breakfast this morning was just like usual. I’d been out of them for a week. No tantrums were thrown before school this morning by either me or the kids. Yes. Things started out today pretty smoothly. 

To make things even better I had a TJ Maxx trip and a Mexican food lunch planned with a friend. Plus tomorrow is Friday. The day before Friday is usually my second best day of the week. 

After throwing one of my favorite T-shirts over my pretty good (I must say) hair, I trounced downstairs with a plan that would make my day even better. 

I sat down in my oversized chair and looked up 1 Thessalonians 2 on my phone app. I drank in words, it seemed, meant for me wiping a single soft tear that had formed in the corner of my left eye. 

I then tucked my knees up against my chest and fastened my hands around my legs praying a prayer of thanks for God’s goodness. I repented of both the smallness I had openly displayed and had also kept hidden in my fragile heart yesterday and in fitful sleep last night. I remarked that I would trust God with His plan in all aspects of my life, and I meant it (at least in that moment I uttered the words). I said a hearty amen, grabbed my purse, and headed out the door armed with everything I needed for a Good Friday eve.

 I made it a good seven steps from my front door when I instinctively hit the Facebook icon on my phone. Why not use my WiFi one more time to check and see if anything important had transpired since fifteen minutes before when I had checked Facebook?

The second post I saw (which was really nothing) made me feel a hint of rejection. It shouldn’t have, but it did. And just like that lonleliness stepped onto the sideboards and into the car with me. Before I knew it lonely’s cousin, jealousy and self-pity joined the party. We nearly had a car full by the time I strapped on my seatbelt. 

I only had two miles to drive to get to my shopping destination, but wouldn’t you know that someone had to go and pull one of my driving pet peeves causing irritation to join us for the ride. G-rated potty language (which really isn’t that much more acceptable than PG-13 in the eyes of God, I imagine) filled the air. Self control was nowhere to be found. 

Before I got out of the car I grimaced at how quickly my attitude had went south. A mere 30 seconds after my amen, miserable mortal feelings were vying for control of my heart. 

I’m embarrassed to say how often it happens. I was just telling my middle schooler this week that we need so much truth in our life that our feelings are conquered, rather than living in vulnerability, being conquered by our feelings. I need a more steady diet of truth. How about you? 

These words I speak to you are not mere additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundation words, words to build a life on.

If you work the words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who dug deep and laid the foundation of his house on bedrock. When the river burst its banks and crashed against the house, nothing could shake it; it was built to last. But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a dumb carpenter who built a house but skipped the foundation. When the swollen river came crashing in, it collapsed like a house of cards. It was a total loss. Luke 6:47-49 (The Message) 

So... Book 2, The Village Girl Handbook-Persevering Your Way to Maturity” has been released on Amazon. It’s full of powerful stories that point us to the truth. Be sure and check it out. 


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