Whoa! What happened to 1998??? Gee, you take your eyes off the calendar for a second and look what happens!

I've asked the Lord to use me. The problem with that is I never know when He will and HE WILL! I have to prepare for things that I don't expect and that I don't always understand.

A person who gets in an auto collision on their way to work didn't expect it to happen. That is similar to being used by God. You get your day planned and it turns upside down in an instant.

There is something you can do to plan for unplannable things. You can keep your mind on the Lord and keep yourself prayed up. You need to be full of God's Word so it will pour out of you when needed. You need to be full of God's love so it can pour out of you when needed.

You just never know when you will be called upon by the Lord. You also never know what types of things He will bring your way.

No matter what, He will equip you. He will never give you something you can't handle. The most important thing is that He is right there with you through it. He will give you the words to use and tell you what to do if you keep your mind on Him.

I'm wearing myself out today. Every once in a while I have to scrub the bathrooms. I don't mean clean the bathrooms, I mean scrub. Well, I couldn't put it off any longer. Today's the day. Unfortunately for me I'm the type of personality that does more than one thing at the same time. I got out the vacuum to vacuum the bathroom floor. So, I'm moving back and forth from vacuuming to scrubbing. So my question is, "When do I start having fun?"

Well, if I am doing what the Bible tells me I am cleaning the bathrooms and vacuuming for the Lord. In Colossians 3:17 it says, "And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him." Well, it still isn't fun work, but it gives me a really good reason to be doing it other than I want things to look good if someone comes over!

If you haven't visited "My Prayer Closet," I invite you to do so. It is about some of the spiritual things I've been experiencing this past year. I've had some real eye-opening things happening lately. God has been taking me on an adventure. You can get to it through the door right after the Bible Study.

Link to the 11/2/98 Bible study.

This world holds so many distractions it is a wonder we don't all go crazy! It seems every day there is one more thing to think about. Sometimes I just don't want to bring in the mail or answer the phone.

We have to think about what long distance carrier to put on our phone, what electric company will provide us with the best service for the least amount of money, which candidate will actually be the best one to give our vote, and much more. We have to deal with products that break or malfunction when they should still be usable, employees who are careless and mess up our medical billing, door-to-door or phone solicitors, and much, much more!

All these things serve to take our eyes off the Lord. When we are confused and busy it becomes difficult to find time to read our Bibles or sit down and talk with God. We are so busy thinking about other things that we forget to think about God or even ask for His help.

It is important that we prioritize things. If we just attack things as they come along we will eventually get into trouble. The first things we started won't get finished. Some important things will be set aside and never completed. We need to continually evaluate our situation and prioritize everything. At the top of the list should be the most important thing. That should be our relationship with God.

Prayer and reading the Bible should not just be done whenever we find the time. Of course, we intend to get around to doing those things, but usually don't if they are not at the top of the list. satan is going to try to fill your time and mind with other things to keep you away from developing your relationship with God.

You will probably find that, as you place God first, the other things become less important and easier to handle. After all, when you are having difficulties who is the one who knows what the best solution is? (HINT: It isn't you.)

The activity-filled fall season is winding down. Charlie's football team is not going to the play-offs this year again. This Friday will be the last game of the season. Casey's team has its last game Thursday. If they win they will either be league champs or co-champs.

The band has two more Saturday competition days. So, in two weeks things will get back to normal. (What's normal?) I am very much looking forward to it. We have had very little opportunity to be a family since our August vacation.

If you haven't visited "My Prayer Closet," I invite you to do so. It is about some of the spiritual things I've been experiencing this past year. I've had some real eye-opening things happening lately. God has been taking me on an adventure. You can get to it through the door right after the Bible Study.

Link to the 11/9/98 Bible study.

Our high school football season is over. My husband and my son will not be spending hours and hours at practice and games. Band marching season is over in another week. The hours my son spends at practice there will end as well as my booster parent volunteerism. Wow! This has been a long and hard couple of months!

Now I have to focus on Christmas rapidly approaching! Normally by this time I have some direction as far as what I need to do and buy for everyone. I have to get my brain to change gears so I can figure things out!

My prodigal son is coming home next month. I covet your prayers for him that he be able to have the will power and strength to get his life back on track. If he turns his eyes on Jesus and keeps them there then he will have no problem.

Here's something you can try . . . when you read your Bible, do it out loud. I was surprised how some things changed meaning when I spoke them aloud. Not only that, my cat is getting filled with the Word!

Link to the 11/16/98 Bible study.

Marching band season is over now. What in the world am I going to do with myself on Saturdays now? Gosh, I can't think of a thing I can do! HA!

For some strange reason everything here waited for me. The ironing and mending piles are actually higher. My desk is buried under a pile of paperwork. The dust bunnies are nibbling at my ankles. I should probably put blinders on so I can't see too much at one time. It is too depressing to look at all of it. I'd clone myself, but I'm afraid we'd be so much alike we'd be continually arguing between ourselves! ;^)

Thursday is Thanksgiving. We are going to be extremely thankful that we can finally have a day where nobody has anywhere that they have to be. We can stay home, sleep in, and relax. Our Thanksgiving meal is going to be one that is enjoyable and satisfying to all. . .hamburgers and fries!!

After all, like I told my Sunday school class, Thanksgiving is not about eating like many people would have you believe. It is about thanking God for all He has given us and all He has done for us. The Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays have pretty much been warped beyond recognition. Christians must take a stand and proclaim the truth about those special days.

Too many people have been lulled into a false security thinking that it is OK to ignore God. The more they ignore Him the more insignificant He becomes to them. Pretty soon they are starting to believe there is no God. God does not go away. God does not become less powerful. They need to heed the warning in Galatians 6:7-8, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting."

God is always going to be God. He created the universe and created each one of us. Everyone owes God thanks.

Many people think God never did anything for them. Well, if you ever experienced giving or receiving love then you got that from God because God is love. The food you eat was given to you by God. The warmth from the sun was given to you by God. The very air you breathe was given to you by God. There are so many things everyone can be thankful for that it would take forever to name them. Take time every day, not just on Thanksgiving, to thank the One who created you.

Have a wonderful week and come back next week to see what's shaking!

Link to the 11/23/98 Bible study.

Well, what kind of Thanksgiving did you have? Did you have a lot to eat? Did you watch football on TV? Did you slave away in the kitchen? The most important question of all: Were you thankful?

Well, we barbecued hamburgers. Charlie cleaned the garage and I worked in the house. We both got a lot done. The hamburgers were excellent. Charlie had the little TV out in the garage so he could watch football. (You really didn't think he'd pass up Thanksgiving football to clean the garage, do you? Ha!) Last, but not least, we were thankful.

I think the nicest thing for me was not having to get up when the alarm clock says to get up. That and the calendar wasn't filled with places to be and things to do. It has been a long while since that has happened!

I am excited because Jeremy, my middle son, is coming home tomorrow. He will be staying with us while he goes to college.

As a mom, the thing that makes me the happiest is seeing my sons happy. I love them so much that it fills me with unspeakable joy to see them doing well and being happy. I give them advice and help them in ways that will lead them to happiness and success. Every decision I've ever made on their behalf was for their own good. They had the choice whether to listen to what I said or to ignore what I said. They had the choice to do what I told them to do or to be disobedient and do something else. Unfortunately, they often felt like their way was the best way and acted accordingly.

It is the same way that God feels about us. He loves us so much that it makes Him happy when we are happy. However, when we are walking in disobedience then we are only making ourselves miserable. We often pull away from God because we know what is best and we can handle things just fine without Him. God knows the beginning from the end. He knows what is best for us. He knows what we should say and do. However, it is our choice whether or not to seek God's will.

When things start going really badly we have a tendency to get mad at God because He allowed it to happen. He could have done things differently, after all- - -He's God! If we are walking closely with the Lord then things are different. We are making the best decisions. We are treating people the way God intends us to treat them. We are doing things for Him rather than for ourselves. God will bless that kind of obedience. We will be more full of joy, peace, and love. Trials seem to shrink or vanish.

This is not to say that bad things still won't happen. We don't always understand the whys of everything. Like I said before, God can see the end already. He knows what is happening and why it is happening. Besides, it won't be all that long before we are able to be with the Lord for eternity. Think about it. This life on earth is a speck in time. Ask yourself the question, "In the light of eternity, what does it really matter?"

I read a poem entitled, "The Weaver" that has ministered to me over the years. I've given it a special page of its own. Take a minute and go read it here.

Link to the 11/30/98 Bible study.