Two Kitchen Sink Prayers

Sometimes I am more aware than others of my meetings with God just in the normal operations of my at-home responsibilities. It amazes me that He is as interested in my days and what I fill them with as He was when I worked outside my home. This always encourages me, as do these Scripture passages: Psalm 111; Proverbs 24:3-4; Proverbs 16:3. Make note and take note of those.

God is Sovereign

God is Sovereign
Of the universe
And of my kitchen sink--
Not just my future
But here, where I think,
Of the plans I make
And the tasks I do--
The small with the large
Are all the same to You,
And that brings me comfort
Along with responsibility,
Knowing You reign
Sovereign over all
Large and small
There and then
Here and now
The universe
My home.

God, Sovereign of the every-day,
Of the "small things,"
I meet You at the kitchen sink,
You give my days/prayers/heart/work/wings,
Guard and Guide
Who does reside
In everyplace and none,
By Your grace
With You I am one.

How Wonderful and Marvelous and Awesome

How wonderful and marvelous and awesome
To think that the same One
Who sovereignly oversees all creation
Gave for such as me His Son
And with that giving--breathless thought--
Dwells now with me day and night
Yet high and lifted up and worshiped in the highest heaven
Yet with me somehow here 24/7

Reigning over the vase expanses of universe and time
Yet He deigns to be mine--
Sovereign of all the little things
As well as all divine

It can't be fathomed,
No mortal mind can wrap around
Yet this is so I have found
And in this finding is comfort as well:
That the Sovereign One would with me deign to dwell

Is This YES Necessary?

Long ago I misunderstood Proverbs 24:10-12: "If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small. Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter. If you say, 'Behold, we did not know this,' does not He who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not He who keeps watch over your soul know it, and will He not repay everyone according to his or her work?"

My misunderstanding caused me to say YES to every good opportunity which came along, until one day I collapsed at work. I don't know how I managed to get home, but I had to reconsider all of the YES answers I had given.

I had to cut back all of my commitments but one--I had to keep working. All of the others got phone calls explaining why I was cutting back. Only one place tried to put the guilt trip on me whereas all of the others were understanding.

I had to learn the hard way that not every YES is necessary.

Sometimes a NO, sometimes a NOT NOW, sometimes a YES--but all take discernment.

One question I ask is, "Am I the only person qualified to take this on?"

Another is, if I say YES, will someone else miss a learning opportunity they would have had from saying YES?

Then, if I say YES to this, what will I have to say NO to and what will that mean?

Furthermore, am I really helping in this situation or just enabling someone to not take responsibility that is rightly theirs?

Discernment is developed over time.

Reading Proverbs helps as does asking other Christians for their input.

To this day I have to ask, "Is this YES necessary?"

Considering Holiness and Humility

Holiness and humility are twin virtues it would seem,
And in the light of Scripture both gleam.
Both are Christ-like in their origin and goal;
Both only God can use, can cause us to be whole.
Humility is so hard because it slips away
As soon as someone comments on how humble any day.
And holiness is something we won't fully gain until
God glorifies us and then, like His Son, we can dwell
In His presence safely, eternally, well.
Until then, holiness and humility--twin virtues--are sought
That His glory is known, is known from that which is Christ-bought.

Philippians 2:3-11: "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves, do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.  Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.  For this reason also, God has highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."