Having One of the THOSE Days?

Aw those days that are just .... well ... blah. Your just down on so many things because you have so many reasons... On days like that I just love to pick up and read the book of Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament (right after Proverbs). It's the same author who wrote most of Proverbs, but on a very down day. Today I read Chapter 11 at breakfast about casting your bread upon the water "Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again." Lots of wisdom in this short book with plenty of empathetic "meaningless....it's all meaningless" thrown in to keep it real. So next time you just need a little "I know how you feel" rather than a bubbly pep talk, pick up your Bible and read 12 little chapters of Ecclesiastes and realize even King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, had days like this. (By the way I just love "The Bible Experience". I put it on my Ipod and listen to it on my walks. Best audio Bible EVER!)

The Secret to Being Prepared for the Crisis

Just got the news today that there was a MAJOR shakeup at my favorite publishing house and all but one of my friends are gone from there, just like that, in an instant. Some had been there over 20 years! Changes....we don't always like them, do we? And this is not exactly the easiest time for even the most talented people to be looking for work. It is, however, the time to put into practice all the stuff we have been writing about in Christian publishing these past few years and stand tall during our hard times. I heard Heather Mercer speak last week (she was the missionary who was held prisoner in Afghanistan during 9-11). One of the profound insights she shared was that ONCE a crisis hits you no longer have preparation time, you are just THERE stuck with whatever you put into your head up to that moment. And it was at that moment when she realized that it was the Scriptures, yes those simple memory verses she learned throughout Vacation Bible School and morning devotions over the years, that she had chosen to memorize throughout her life that came flooding back to carry her through her life threatening crisis.

Don't you get it? It was what she had ALREADY prepared for that came back to save her. What are we doing to be prepared for the unexpected in our own lives? None of us knew 9-11 was coming, but it did. No one REALLY thought our economy would collapse, but it did. My friends didn't think the new president of the publishing house would really let everyone go in less than a month, but he did.

Get ready. Prepare by absorbing the Bible each and every day. It never grows old and you get something new out of it each and every day. Pastor Robert Morris gave the most profound Easter sermon I've every heard in my life thus far (check it out at Gatewaypeople.com). We aren't perfect and we never will be, but we serve a God who was and is and is to come. He is our covering and he is right here to carry us through ANY unexpected moment of life. Are you prepared? Do you have a relationship with him?

We may never find ourself in a foreign prison facing the death penalty for talking about Jesus like Heather Mercer, but we WILL face circumstances that will be tragic and in those moments, will you be prepared by knowing God's word by heart? I challenge you to begin today to memorize Scripture and hide it in your heart. Those words will flood your mind when you need them most!