Cold Engine

My engine was cold this morning. My clock by my side of the bed has BIG numbers so I can see the time at night without my glasses: 1:15 A.M., 3:30 A.M., 4:10 A.M., 7:40 A.M. WHAT!?!?!? Even my morning coffee (thanks Charlie) was cold. After a short stint in the microwave, the coffee did its job and moved my cold engine to a slow idle. Next - wake up spirit! I turned to devotional reading for this task. Sometimes my readings fall flat. But this morning (Thanks Max Lucado) my spirit was aroused. Wake up sleeping brain! Here are a couple of his thoughts: Nathanael said to Philip, "Can anything good come from Nazareth?" Philip answered, "Come and see." These amazing words are recording in John 1:46. Max pondered these words and wrote: "Come and see the pierced hand of God touch the most common heart, wipe the tear from the wrinkled face, and forgive the ugliest sin. Come and see. He avoids no seeker. He ignores no probe. He fears no search. Come and see." In another devotion, Max writes: "The quickest way to douse the fire of anger is with a bucket of PRAYER. Rather than rant, rave, or seek revenge, pray. Jesus did this. While hanging on the cross, He interceded for His enemies (Luke 23:34) Jesus, even Jesus left His enemies in God's hands." My Facebook friends, why did I share these? You now know what Gini's heart needs and struggles with: Like Nathanael, I need to come and see. And yes, I have anger issues. ❤

INCONSISTENCIES

If life is anything in these challenging days, it is inconsistent. The Book of Ecclesiastes in Holy Scripture addresses these inconsistencies; exploring and explaining them. Because I am an "in context" reader, the who and why of the words of this book draw me in. Although Ecclesiastes was written by the most wise and weathy king, his statement which begins this book is "Everything is meaningless, completely meangingless." How can this be? As I look around, the pursuit of achieving the most and the best seems to be what life is all about. But, the final words in Ecclesiastes nail the truth about life between the two eternities on the doors of our hearts. "Don't let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your Creator...Remember Him before the door to life's opportunities is closed and the sound of work fades. And here it comes: "Fear of falling...your hair turning white and you drag along without enery...remember Him before you near the grave" Then, the Teacher gives each reader his final conclusion: "Fear God and obey His commands..." This little book should be read as a whole. The emotions I felt while reading it reminds me of a roller coaster ride. I want to scream, "Let me off!" Solomen begins Ecclesiastes with the despair of it all. But, then, there He is---my Creator. His love, His plans, His way for me to travel through life all leads me to solid ground. And evan while riding the inconsistencies of the roller coaster He is there with me, showing me what DOES have meaning and worth.