Unexpected Messes

On a recent lazy Saturday morning, while leisurely drinking my coffee and reveling in the fact that I had a whole day at home with nowhere to go and lots of time to catch up around the house, I spotted this:

On my back porch the cat had knocked over my plant. Not a big deal, but the back porch is almost the only place where my plants thrive! It brings such joy to look at my flourishing plants, but now one was in a mess. This was an unexpected mess. I hadn't planned for it, didn't want to deal with it, but the only solution is to clean it up. No use in being annoyed or irritated, but to move forward to make it right.

Unexpected messes. I thought about in life how each of us faces unexpected messes. When things seem to be going along great, something will pop up to disrupt and distract us. They may be minor messes or major messes, but most messes cannot be planned or fit in nicely with our schedules, they just come.

. The only predictable thing about them is that they will come. God's Word tells us we will have troubles..." In the world you willhave tribulation;". But our hope is that as we face our messes and move to deal with them, we can trust and lean on the Lord..."but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Messes in our lives usually don't go away by themselves, but they must be dealt with. Thinking over and perhaps agonizing over them wtih dread will do nothing but put defeat in our heart. We must be stirred to action. As I re potted my plant, it immediately looked better and I even gave it a little bit more attention than I would have if it had not been turned upside down. When we face our messes, God can bring out the better things in us. Areas we may not have looked at in a while, may need some attention. We have a loving God who can gently take our messes and bring something good out of them. "knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope." Romans 5:3-4.

As we face the messes of life, we have a help and a hope that can help us deal with them and clean them up. He is HOPE!

"Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13

Sometimes We Score, Sometimes We Block

Our family is in the midst of little league soccer season. My youngest son is playing and his enthusiasm is contagious. He is pretty good at the sport, but what makes it so great is that he loves it! He counts the days until the next game or practice. He loves his coach and teammates. He has moved up an age level this year and the players are working more like team, passing to each other and watching out for each other during play. During the last game, my son scored two goals, they were the only goals of the game. In today's game the team scored eight goals. My son came up afterwards to me and said, "I didn't score today, but I blocked". What a powerful truth those words can hold. In life, sometimes we score, sometimes we block. Sometimes we do great things, we excel, we achieve, we meet our goal - we score! There are also times we see the needs of others, sometimes they are sad or hurting, we block their hits. We look out for them so they can score. We

Top 10 Workout DVDs

Prevention Magazine is a leader in health and fitness news and products. They recently came up with the top 10 list of workout DVDs. They have examined the many fitness DVDs out there and narrowed down a list of the best ones. There is a DVD for every fitness level. If you are looking to incorporate some exercise into your day in the convenience of your own home, take a look at this list. Here is an additional money saving tip: If you see a DVD that you are interested in, check out Amazon or Ebay before ordering. Many times they have pre-owned DVDs at a fraction of the cost of a new one.

Word Filled Wednesday – Act Justly

He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8 Sometimes we struggle so hard with the question “What does God want us to do and be?” This verse is a simple yet powerful reminder of some simple things that God requires of us. Act and do justly, love mercy and walk humbly before God. There are numerous opportunities each day to do justly, to do the right thing or to make the right choice. We love mercy when we show kindness or mercy oftentimes to those who do not deserve it. Walking humbly before God is acknowledging He alone is God. He is the I AM – no one else is. When we give Him the glory He is worthy of, it will humble our heart before Him. Obeying God doesn’t have to be unattainable or impossible, but can be a joyful, beautiful journey as we go by step and follow Him.

TammyAugust 31, 2011 at 2:04 PM
Good word! I love that God reminds us of things in our simple messes. I prefer that over learning it during BIG ones :) Thanks for linking up with The Wednesday Word!! So glad to have you :)
e-MomAugust 31, 2011 at 2:48 PM
A very nice post! Very wise words.

I spilled water on our tile floor yesterday when I was watering my plants, but failed to mop it all up properly. Imagine my surprise when I slipped and landed on my right arm. I should have done it right the first time. :~D
JenniferAugust 31, 2011 at 5:07 PM
I, too, am always surprised - even amazed - how often things look even better after the mess...and the necessary re-planting. Happy Wednesday, friend.
RebeccaAugust 31, 2011 at 5:29 PM
Yes, those messes....they sneak up on us at times...the ones we create and the ones we don't...we have to face them and clean them up! So blessed by your post! Thank you for linking up!
AnonymousAugust 31, 2011 at 10:29 PM
NICE WARM BLOG.. LOOK FOR TO VISIT MORE GOD BLESS YOU
Sharon ClaassenSeptember 1, 2011 at 6:52 AM
Thank you for sharing this. Messes definitely do not clean up themselves; hiding from them doesn't work. I'm thankful for a God who loves to help us clean up our messes.
Savannah McQueenSeptember 15, 2011 at 8:08 AM
Very good message. I just found your site...love the colors and your posts.

Joyfull Living

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