Clay in the Hands

Last night I had a very strange thing happen to me.  I have been battling strep throat since last Thursday.  I am on the downhill side, two shots and several pills later (thanks again Greg!).

As a result of the sore throat and the medication, I have some sores in my mouth as well.  I was getting ready for bed and after brushing my teeth, I decided I needed to rinse my mouth with mouthwash.  Key point to the story – I had already taken out my contact. I looked through my shaving kit and found some trial size bottles.  One said “Wash” in big letters and I could not make out the smaller ones.  I suppose my first clue should have been when I had to really squeeze to get the contents of the bottle to drop into my mouth.  Unfortunately for me, I had a mouthful before I realized it wasn’t mouthwash.

Yeah, in case you are wondering, shampoo is not a good substitute for mouthwash – I think I could still blow bubbles if I really tried.  All because I couldn’t see clearly.

How often are you caught off guard because of faulty vision or understanding?  The great thing is that as long as we take the time to spend in God’s word and in contemplating God’s leadership in our lives through prayer, we will have clear vision and solid understanding.

Take some time to work on your vision today – trust me, the alternative is not pleasant!

Be blessed today!

Have you ever encountered someone sleep-walking?  They are up and walking around, maybe even functioning at some capacity – fixing a sandwich or getting a glass of water, but they are not really “there.”  Sleep walking is what many of us do on a daily basis in our approach to life.

I was reading 1 Thessalonians 5 and was reminded that we are to really live life, not just go through the motions.  The Message translates verses 4 – 8 this way:

But friends, you’re not in the dark, so how could you be taken off guard by any of this? You’re sons of Light, daughters of Day. We live under wide open skies and know where we stand. So let’s not sleepwalk through life like those others. Let’s keep our eyes open and be smart. People sleep at night and get drunk at night. But not us! Since we’re creatures of Day, let’s act like it. Walk out into the daylight sober, dressed up in faith, love, and the hope of salvation.

Paul is telling us that we should not just go through the motions, but rather we should always live our lives aware of the fact that there is something more – more than what we can see, more than we can understand.  As I meditated on this passage, I began to think about how one of my favorite authors described this problem.

Ben Campbell Johnson, in his book, Living Before God, wrote that the majority of people exist in “life-sleep.”  We get up each day, get dressed, go to work or school, do what needs to be done, go home, eat dinner, watch some TV and then go to bed.  The next day looks drastically similar; as do all the others.  The majority of folks live unaware of the spiritual depth of the life all around us.  Life-sleep.

That description has stuck with me for years.  Not because it describes everyone else, but because it describes me – maybe it describes you as well.

Have you ever witnessed a breath-taking sunrise or sunset and felt you had a brief glimpse of what God is like and felt overwhelmed by God’s love and expanse?  That feeling is living as God intended, fully alive.  Anything else is life-sleep.

Paul reminds us that we are not to sleep walk through life but rather to stay alert to the fullness of life all around us.

Wake up – God is waiting!