A SIP AND A PRAYER

Ah, morning breezes

leaves sway to your melody

sunrays dance along

By Martha L Shaw – ©2015

SIX WORD SATURDAY

SECOND POT OF COFFEE – HEADACHE, GO!!!!

Fudge For Dinner . . .

 

It’s Saturday night

and the house is quiet.

Sensible things done or undone

are set aside for another day,

a “do” or a “do-over” or . . .

it matters not

for now it is a time for rest.

The only wakeful person in the house

is not preparing a fussy dinner for herself.

As the coffee brews,

I long considered what to make for dinner

and what I chose?

It sure won’t make me thinner.

Sigh,

you guessed it.

Pecan fudge, the winner!

Yawning . . . Bleeding . . . Waiting

Interesting how we find ourselves reacting to the unexpected and how often a startling occurence can make us temporarily senseless.  I say this because last night was one of those nights.  I was lazily watching television and sipping ice water, laptop and cell phone nearby since even tired and blurry, I need to have my finger on the “pulse” of cyberspace.  Lol  Sadly, it is during those times that my ability to type and worse yet my ability to proofread my efforts suffers greatly.  Oh, dear.  “Oh, bother” as Pooh would say.   So, when the phone rang I jumped.  Literally.  A dear friend called to say he’d injured himself and thought a trip to the emergency room was called for.  As I drove down familiar streets I realized that my tax rate is lower here than where I used to live because they DO NOT HAVE NEARLY ENOUGH STREET LIGHTS.  Not only that, but THEY RARELY CONSTRUCT ROADS WITH SIDEWALKS, and worse yet THEY ALL HAVE CURVES AND TWISTS.  Okay, the curves are meant to slow us down as we drive through the neighborhoods, but lights would be helpful, particularly since our pretty neighborhood doesn’t have sidewalks . . . I don’t drive at night too often.  The economy, both the nation’s and my own, requires close watching of expenditures so being home at night is recommended over being a party girl about town.  I thought of all this as I drove down streets which just hours before seemed beautiful, bright, and beckoning.  All this came rushing to my mind as the friend inches away from me said “oh, crap” and realized he was REALLY bleeding at that moment.  We got to  the ER.  We waited a long time, then he was taken to be stitched and I waited and waited and watched.  Interesting how folks handle waiting in ER waiting rooms.  One or two go off alone and hold tattered newspapers without reading them and jump every time they hear footsteps.  Most others sit close to the strangers around them, make occasional small talk, giggle over nothing in particular, and take some relief in the presence of other humans playing the same waiting game.  There are also a few who’ve made this late night trip and played this waiting game so often that they just get comfortable in plastic chairs, sip coffee brewed hours ago from foam cups, and have their own books and such from home to read knowing the “routine” entirely too well.  “I’ll be fine” my friend said, with a bandage much larger than the cut that was just stitched.  Smiling and tired, his pain shot hadn’t worn off yet and I hoped he’d be asleep before it did.  Minutes later he was home and so was I.  This morning those same streets are well-lit with the late summer sunshine and the dark skies are now an amazing shade of blue.  I’m sipping coffee once again but it’s freshly brewed.  My “good sense” or what passes for it has been restored.   The wound will heal.  Life is good. 

Where Do You Seek Pleasure?

Pleasure – I love that word. Just saying it brings a smile to my face. It can’t be helped. Seriously, stand in front of a mirror. Relax your facial muscles completely, then speak the word pleasure or the other form of the word, which is please. Did you notice? Your entire expression changes. A smile forms quite naturally. The smile, however, is just the external manifestation of the feeling within. Where do you seek pleasure? Where do you find it? Are the two answers the same or are they in contrast? Psalm 147 suggests where it is not likely found, telling us “His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of the warrior . . . “ and that’s all well and good, but where do I find it? The dictionary defines pleasure as that in which I take my delight. When I get up in the morning, I can’t wait for a cup of coffee. I have friends who look forward to a glass of wine at the end of the day. There’s nothing wrong with a cup of coffee or a glass of wine. The Bible is full of mention of wine and our Lord performed the well known miracle at the wedding changing water into wine, so surely a glass is not wrong. However pleasant these things may be though, they do not provide the lasting pleasure I seek. My delight is not truly found there. Nor are they that in which I can place my trust or seek refuge. Where then?

I looked for the answer to this question in Scripture and the answer started to come to me in the book of Daniel 4:2 “It is my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me.” His words got my attention causing me to thirst for further wisdom on the source for these miraculous signs and wonders. I found my answer in Ephesians 1:8-10 when I read “He lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.” The answer I was searching for! I know that, for me, the only one in whom I can seek refuge, place my trust, and find true pleasure is in Christ. In giving my heart fully to Him, I found life! He is my Savior, the lover of my soul, and the source of such amazing, underserved and unconditional love and it is only in Him that I can ever find true and lasting pleasure! Amen! Come Lord Jesus!