Faith

Monentarily. Then out came the things that get used to “do” things. Pens, paper, file folders – on and on it goes, and then the once clear plain that was my desk is filled again. It’s like a growing virus. We start one thing, but that leads to another and another. You know the routine. A simple project does not always end up “simple”.

Looking over my desk, there are cables, CDs and DVDs, and of course books.

Ah, there lies the problem – get rid of the books. That would not solve the problem, because among the books are two bibles, a Max Lucado devotional and my Study Guide from church.

Perhaps “neatly arranged” is what my desk needs to be, with only what I am working on at the moment in the forefront. Might be the best choice. Working at it a little at a time might accomplish more than trying to get it done in one fell swoop.

Kind of reminds me of James 5 verse 7 where he mentions the patience of the farmer. Nowadays (is that really one word?) most farmers use some kind of irrigation. They learned that what they have to do is be ready for the early rain, and wait for the late rain in the growing season.

Farmers wait for the crop – they know it does not happen overnight. But they also know that they have to plant the seed, keep the weeds down and tend their field. Ok, I’ll be patient as I tend my desk, but the Bibles stay near by.

I’m sorry folks, but it was cold this morning. I would expect that if there was global warming, it would not have been 46 degrees farenheit! Even now, at 8:30, I have on a sweat shirt because it’s too cold to wander around in a short sleeve shirt. Went out to get the newspaper, and could feel the “cold in my bones.” Maybe it’s the old bones, but nonetheless…

The birds are doing well, and the first of the hatchlings is out and being fed by mom and dad cockatiel. It’s fun to stand by the cage and listen to the little “chirp, chirp” that comes from the babies. We discovered with the first pair, that they even chirp in the shell while they peck their way out.

Getting near the end of James, but was reading chapter 4, verses 11 through 17 this morning. Ran across the term “double-minded”. It does not mean that you have two brains, or are crazy. Did my research and found that it has more to do with people who know things (truths) but can’t quite bring themselves to do or not do something. This used to be called failure by “commission” or “omission” – you know, like knowing something is not right, but still doing it. Or… knowing something is the right thing to do, and not doing it! Does it make more sense now?

Basically, James is telling us that if we know what is right, we ought to be doing that! Period! To stand by and not do what is right is “sin”.

While researching the “double-minded” thing, the trail led me to 1 Kings 18:21 where Elijah came to the people who could not decide (would not decide) between God and Baal. Long story, but well worth the read.

This one was not a personalized plate. It was just a regular California license plate, but the three letters and three numbers caught my attention. Aha! My eyes beheld John 8:16. Even said so to Karen, sitting next to me. She looked for a personalized plate, but then understood what I was saying.

When I finally got time to look up the verse, it was not something that would stand alone. However, it did bring me back to Jesus saying “I am the Light of the world…” Interesting that way back then (when the Bible) was written, there weren’t things like bold face type or italics or underlining.

During my speech and drama classes in college, we used to play with sentences, speaking them with different emphasis or different words. Amazing how you can change the meaning of a sentence just by emphasizing a word in a sentence. Wonder how Johs would have made Jesus’ words much more emphatic if he were writing in 2008.

Would the way he wrote John 8:12 make any difference in your life? Would you better understand how to live each day based on what Jesus had to say in these verses? Remember the last the power went out? How much light did you want?