Crazy Wasp Syndrome

By Aubrey Spencer –

I spent most of the day today being held captive in my own home. Afraid to enter various rooms. Worried about my children being attacked. Anxious. Nervous. Looking over my shoulder. Basically, just “bugged” out. I’m sure you are wondering what has ruthlessly held me prisoner. It was a WASP! A mean, angry, flying like a maniac, never landing, wasp! I spent hours creeping around, armed with my sturdy flyswatter, just waiting for him to land.

Like so many things, it got me thinking. Does God sometimes have a hard time getting me to “land”? Do I fly about my day in a frenzy forgetting to be still before Him? I have a feeling I’m a lot more like that crazy wasp than I’d like to admit. Chasing him around today made me realize an important fact. I need to spend less time bouncing off the walls of busyness and more time landing in the presence of my Savior. How about you? Anyone else struggle with “crazy wasp syndrome” from time to time?

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, I haven’t caught the wasp yet. He is, however, skillfully trapped behind the blinds in my living room window just waiting for my husband to come home!

PRAYER: Father, I confess that I so often let busyness get in the way of my relationship with You. Please help me to be still before You. Show me how to set aside the busyness of life in order to find rest in You.

“Be still, and know that I am God…” (Psalm 46:10 ESV).

Today’s devotional is by Aubrey Spencer. Aubrey is a minister’s wife and a stay-at-home mom to two little miracles, Oliver and Ava. She has a passion for writing and entertaining but realizes her greatest ministry at the moment is to raise her children to be people after God’s own heart. She loves to see how God shows up in everyday situations. Read more of her writings at http://ministrymama.blogspot.com.

Deal With the Bunnies!

By Robin J. Steinweg –

Bunnies. Furry, cute, comical—and the terrors of my flower garden.

They set up housekeeping under our aluminum shed and did what bunnies do: eat, sleep and multiply. They decimated my strawberries, devoured my moss roses and poppies, shredded the hostas and nibbled my clematis to the ground. The marigolds I planted to deter them? Eaten.

Natural repellants and even the dog didn’t stop them. We got a safe trap and caught a baby. I watched from the window as Little Peter bloodied his pink nose trying to get to his mama stationed outside the cage. Repentant, I ran out, opened the trap and said, “I give up! Live. Eat.”

I started feeding them along with the birds.

For the next years I experimented with flowers they might not eat, and enclosed my favorites with ugly chicken wire. I complained and ranted from the kitchen: “Nefarious bunnies! How I wish you’d be gone!” I watched them play, scratch their ears and stretch out in the shade.

A few weeks ago I realized I hadn’t seen a bunny in awhile. I went to look, and found telltale hunks of fur strewn about. A hawk? A few days later I saw feathers. That seemed to confirm the hawk theory. But no bunnies appeared. The next week I spotted the cause: two young feral cats skulked on our swing-set, eyeing my feeders. I opened the door and they vanished—under the shed—where my cute furry nefarious bunnies used to snuggle. Now we have a family of not cute, tricksy, sneaky cats living off the fat of my birdfeeders (I don’t dare put seed out now), protected from the weather and soiling our former sandbox. If only we had dealt with the bunnies and filled in the area under the shed in the first place.

It occurs to me that sin can be like this. I have my pet “faults”; not too bad, possibly even pleasant. I may complain about them. But if the Holy Spirit convicts me and I tolerate or even nurture them—don’t allow Him to deal with them—those “innocent” sins are swallowed up and replaced by sneakier, faster, more predatory sins. Deal with the bunnies!

PRAYER: Lord, examine my heart for sins I’ve tolerated as cute, acceptable, or even comical. Help me to deal with them before worse ones move in. Thank You for revealing them, helping and forgiving me.

“Say a quiet yes to God and He’ll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field” (James 4:8 MSG).

Today’s devotional is by Robin J. Steinweg. Robin’s life might be described using the game Twister: the colored dots are all occupied, limbs intertwine (hopefully not to the point of tangling), and you never know which dot the arrow will point to next, but it sure is fun getting there!

Fixed

By Robin J. Steinweg –

I’ll fix you! This is beyond fixing. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Daddy, can you fix my remote-control car? I’ll go fix lunch. That election was fixed. We fixed the date for our wedding.

Ple-e-e-e-ase fix my printer! Fix these grades or else. Got the dog fixed. Don’t fix blame on everybody else. I’m fixin’ to head south. No worries, it’ll be a quick fix. It’s easier to toss it than to fix it.

Face it. We are folks with a fixation for fixing things.

Parents fix formula for babies and boo-boos for toddlers. Students fix mistakes. Teachers fix students’ mistakes. Medical personnel fix broken bones or worn-out parts. Computer technicians and programmers fix the world for computer users. Government leaders try to fix the world.

Everything and everyone needs fixing. It’s the oldest problem we have. Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden and introduced entropy—the measure of disorder in a system—the tendency of everything toward chaos, breakdown and decay.

In case anyone doubts that I’ve fixed upon a truth here, let me suggest we imagine how my kitchen looks if I neglect it even for a day. Or the bathroom sink. Or the kids’ bedrooms. Picture the house siding in a month’s time. It’s as sure a law as gravity—left to follow the natural course of things, our very lives are headed for destruction.

Is there a fix for the human condition? Of course there is! God has shown His love for us in this: Jesus Christ died for us while we were still sinners. Like the dirty dishes in the sink, we can’t clean ourselves. We must look to Him to do it for us. And then He makes plans for us, plans to give us a future and a hope. A permanent fix!

AUTHOR QUOTE: As we fix our eyes on Jesus in faith, He doesn’t only repair us; He makes us new.

“But my eyes are fixed on You, Sovereign Lord” (Psalm 141:8a NIV).

Today’s devotional is by Robin J. Steinweg. Robin’s life might be described using the game Twister: the colored dots are all occupied, limbs intertwine (hopefully not to the point of tangling), and you never know which dot the arrow will point to next, but it sure is fun getting there!

Marshmallow Fondant—Priceless!

By Donna McCrary –

Cake decorating kit $19.99, two boxes of powdered sugar $3.59, one bag of marshmallows $1.99. “Mom, you’re turning into a smurf!”—Priceless!

This past weekend my daughter and I had a little girl time. We decided to practice our cake decorating skills with the Ace of Cakes decorating station. As we unwrapped the gizmos and gadgets, washed the utensils, and collected the necessary ingredients, we began our girl time. First, we mixed the cake batter and poured the two tablespoons of chocolate mixture into the microwave cooker. I set the timer and stepped back expecting the aroma of fresh baked goodness to fill the air. To our surprise, out of the microwave came a choking black smog. Oops! My daughter fell in the floor laughing when we pulled the Oreo sized black remains out of the smoke. We decided to stick with traditional cake making, the box-to-bowl-to-batter-with-two-eggs-method.

With the fool-proof cake in the oven, we started to make the fondant included in the decorating kit only to discover we would not have enough to cover our now larger cake. We were determined to let nothing hinder our precious girl time so I quickly researched recipes of fondant on the Internet. To my surprise, marshmallow fondant seemed to be a quick easy way to spare our unraveling girl time. I followed the directions. Melted the marshmallows, slathered the table with shortening, and stirred in one box of powdered sugar. What came next was an hour-long battle with four hands and the stickiest pile of goo imaginable—seasoned with side-splitting laughter! In the middle of all the goo the phone rang. We both just froze and looked at each other. Then our eyes sunk to our hands. No matter, it was girl time!

Now time to add the blue food coloring. The next thing I knew my hands looked like Smurffette. My daughter doubled over as she hollered, “Mom, you’re turning into a smurf!”

This time together was priceless. In my quiet time the next day the Spirit of God reminded me of how much He wants to spend time with me creating treasured memories. He says “Seek Me and you will find Me and I will show you great and mighty things.” Now, that is priceless!

PRAYER: God help me to treasure our time together and make it a priority in my daily schedule. Help me seek You in every aspect of my life.

“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know” (Jeremiah 33:3).

Today’s devotion is by Donna McCrary, wife, mother of two, author, and life coach. Busy is an understatement but she is always thrilled to share laughter and life lessons through her writing and speaking. Join her on the journey at www.walkofpurpose.blogspot.com.

Anticipated Event

By Robin J. Steinweg –

Throngs of people leap to their feet, jumping and dancing. They open their mouths and an unbroken roar flows forth. Arms raise skyward, and faces of every pigmentation reflect the excitement. For this occasion, folks have gathered from all over the world. As the opening of the anticipated event draws closer, the shouting magnifies. It rolls like thunder—riotous, pandemonic—like the roar of rushing waters.

Finally a loud command splits the air, and something like a trumpet signals the start. An abrupt, expectant silence quivers in the atmosphere. The Super Bowl is about to begin!

But hold on. This is no stadium. There is no face paint, no hot dogs or soda, and no football team waits to run on the field to the screams of fans.

The crowds drop to their knees; some fall on their faces. The Awaited One appears. This is the King of all kings, the Worthy One. The Lamb who was slain, but who lives forever.

Angels numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand encircle His throne. Countless multitudes wear white robes and hold palm branches in their hands.

“Look, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him…” (Revelation 1:7, NIV). He is the Alpha and the Omega, who was and who is and who now comes!

I can work up a lather over my favorite team on their biggest day of the year. If I had been at Cowboys Stadium on February 6, you might’ve seen me forget myself enough to wear a cheese hat, jump up and down and shout until my voice quit. If I can get that excited over eleven mortals chasing an oblong ball up and down a playing field, how will I respond when my Lord, the Creator of all, appears for the second time to bring salvation to all who wait for Him?

QUOTE: Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel? Will I dance for You Jesus, or in awe of You be still? Will I stand in Your presence or to my knees will I fall? Will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all? —Bart Millard

“Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: ‘To Him who sits on the throne and to the lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!’ The four living creatures said, ‘Amen,’ and the elders fell down and worshipped” (Revelation 5:13-14 NIV).

Today’s devotional is by Robin J. Steinweg. Robin’s life might be described using the game Twister: the colored dots are all occupied, limbs intertwine (hopefully not to the point of tangling), and you never know which dot the arrow will point to next, but it sure is fun getting there!

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