Pastor Wrinkles: Chapter Charts Pt. 142

 The longer I am a Christian the more I come to realize that Christianity is not a “Shock and Awe” campaign; It is a war of attrition. Our enemy will not be completely defeated until the Lord remakes the Heavens and Earth. So we have to be vigilant. We cannot afford to let our guard down on this side of glory. Our chapters today have something to say about that.

Here’s what I see in today’s chapters:

II Samuel chapter 10 sermon topics/ titles:

1. Don’t Let Insecurity Ruin Your Relationships: II Sam. 10: 1-5

2. Making War Instead Of Amends: II Sam. 10: 6-8

3. Warring In the Anointing: II Sam. 10:9-19

II Samuel chapter 11 sermon topics/ titles:

1. What Happens When We Rest On Past Victories: II Sam. 11: 1-27

2. Playing the Cover-up Game: II Sam. 11: 11-27

3. Letting the Heart Lead : II Sam. 2-27

Now tell me what you see. 🙂

A 21 Day Spiritual Journey: Day 13

“The function of prayer is not to influence God, but rather to change the nature of the one who prays.”
― Søren Kierkegaard

I lost my new boots! Just before what may be the coldest snowiest week in winter 2013 I have put my boots somewhere and I cannot, for the life of me, find them. To top it off they were a Christmas gift from my mother and now she is obsessing over the fact I’ve lost them.

It is truly amazing how little things can side track a whole day. Our momentary frustrations can easily dominate the psychological landscape, blotting out our view of God’s plans. I know if I am not careful I could lose valuable dream- reaching- time to what God calls the “little foxes”:

[Young Women of Jerusalem] Catch all the foxes, those little foxes, before they ruin the vineyard of love, for the grapevines are blossoming! Songs 2:5

When I get frustrated over something my knee-jerk reaction is to get angry and get- a- fixin’.  My emotions tend to blot out the logical side of me which would ask the questions: Is this immediately important? Do I need to be taking care of this? Is this something that needs to be dealt with now?

I am learning to catch the little foxes and stop them from stealing my time and energy. I’m accomplishing this  by stopping…breathing…asking the questions above…and planning from the answers to those questions rather than from my initial emotions.

Today’s quotes:

“To conquer frustration, one must remain intensely focused on the outcome, not the obstacles.” 
― T.F. Hodge

“It’s a lack of clarity that creates chaos and frustration. Those emotions are poison to any living goal.” 
― Steve Maraboli

“At times the whole world seems to be in conspiracy to importune you with emphatic trifles. Friend, client, child, sickness, fear, want, charity, all knock at once at thy closet door and say,—’Come out unto us.’ But keep thy state; come not into their confusion. The power men possess to annoy me I give them by a weak curiosity. No man can come near me but through my act.” 
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

What are the little foxes that are trying to distract you from your dreams?

Share Your World With Cee Cee 2013 Week 4

This week Cee asks:

Almost everyone has heard of a bucket list which is a list of things you want to do before you die.  List 4 things off your bucket list that you would like to share with us.  Assume that money is no object.  Have a lot of fun with it.  Would you like to fly to the moon, dive to the bottom of the ocean, live a month in India or learn how to tap dance?  What is on your list?

Oooode lawly (sound it out)…this is a good one!

Here are my four things:

1.I want to be this guy! I would love to ride a horse in the warm surf on a tropical island. It seems like this would make for some great thinking time. First, though, I guess I should learn how to ride a horse. I imagine adding waves and shifting sand to horseback riding doesn’t make the task easier…hmmm.

2. I would like to take a month and seal myself away hereor hereor hereto write a novel. Just me plenty of food and drink and a type writer. Sounds heavenly!

3. Before I go on to glory I hope to visit each of my children at their respective mission stations around the globe. Of course before that happens they have to graduate from college, pay off loans and obtain  missions stations. Soon and very soon! Two of them graduate this spring.

4. Finally on today’s bucket list of four things, I would like to have dinner with the Kennedys. My grandfather had dinner with both Robert and John F ( that was when they were all in state politics here in MA). My father had his picture taken with JFK before he was President. I would like to keep the tradition alive.