Pop Quiz

If I were to sum up the last 2-3 weeks, I would have to describe it as a time of testing.  God has been teaching me (or should I say correcting me) in so many different ways.  Almost daily I can see Him shining the light in areas of my life that need His help.  He has a gentle way of keeping me on the path that He has for me.  It seems that after He speaks, I am shortly presented with a "pop quiz" to really see if I learned the lesson.  Sadly, I fail more often than I pass.... I guess I'm not a very good student.  :-(   Thankfully God is a very patient and loving teacher.  His grace allows me to try again and again until I get it right.

For instance, God has been showing me that I need to be more active to reaching out to those in need.  He's been opening my eyes to the poor, and showing me that I need to change my attitude and judgmental thoughts.  He's been teaching me that everything comes from Him, and "my" finances are really "his".  He will fully fund me for anything He needs me to do.

So after all this, He plants a homeless man on the curb right in front of my office!  Then for 2 weeks my business comes grinding to a halt for no reason at all -- slower than it had been in years!  And then a different man in need, knocks on my door asking for money and food two days in a row.  Oh my!  It's hard to explain just from typing, but these things combined with everything He's been teaching me have shown me that I still have so much more to learn about love, trust, giving and faith.

I wish I could report back good news about all of these things.  It would be nice to tell you how I reached out like Mother Teresa and met their needs.  But aside from offering some very trivial help, I pretty much failed.  My business has started picking up again, but only after much prayer and realizing that I still have trust and faith issues that need to be worked out.  I've got so much more to learn.  There's a lot of other things that God has been dealing with me about, but I won't bore you with all those details tonight. 

If you're not hearing God whispering into your life... He is.  Spend some time with Him everyday... read His word (Psalms or the book of Matthew are a good place to start).  Talk to him like a friend, worship, pray, and finally be still and listen.  Don't listen with your ears (unless you're Moses!)... listen with your heart.  He wants to spend time with you and don't be surprised if he starts smoothing out your rough spots too.

God Bless You Friends!
-Me