April 15 and Taxes -- What Procrastination Will Cost You and How to Avoid It

On March 1, 1985, the International News Network released the results of a survey taken the previous year in the United States Workplace. The survey found that the average worker wastes nine weeks a year procrastinating. Nine weeks wasted just by putting off decisions or delaying actions!

With the April 15 deadline for income tax filing right around the corner, I wonder how many of us who have put off filing our taxes will spend a significant portion of the weekend surrounded by W-2s and piles of receipts?

While some personality types lend themselves more to procrastination than others, we all have a tendency to put off unpleasant projects, difficult conversations, and important tasks. Although some procrastination is conscious and deliberate, oftentimes we postpone activities simply because we "haven't gotten around to it" yet.

Felix, the Governor of Caesarea, was a procrastinator. And it cost him a place in Heaven.

Serving the Romans in 40 AD, Felix was assigned the duty of hearing a criminal case between a group of Jews and the apostle Paul. While waiting for more information on the case, he sent for Paul to dialogue with him about faith in Jesus Christ. Knowing that Felix was well acquainted with "The Way," Paul skipped the preliminaries and cut to the heart of the matter.

He spoke frankly to Felix and his wife, Drusilla, about what it means to be righteous, how God calls us to live self-controlled lives, and how we will all stand before the judgement seat of Christ one day.

This kind of talk scared the robes off of Felix, because not only was he corrupt in his business dealings, often accepting a well-timed bribe to help him decide a matter, he had destroyed Drusilla's marriage and stolen his young wife from another man!

When faced with straight talk from the apostle Paul about his own sinfulness, God's standard, and the coming judgement, he did what many of us do--he procrastinated.

"That's enough for now," he said hurriedly, "You many leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you. . . " (Acts 24:25).

"When I find it convenient. . ."


"When I get around to it. . . "


"I'll do it tomorrow. . . "

How many times have we said these words? How many good things have we put off to another day? How many opportunities to make a difference in someone's life have we lost because we ignored the Holy Spirit's prompting and did what we wanted to do instead? How many people have missed eternity in Heaven because, like Felix, they put off making a decision for Christ until a more convenient time?

He was going to be all a mortal should be--tomorrow.
No one would ever be better than he--tomorrow.
Each morning he stacked up the letters he'd write--tomorrow.
Who can say what a credit he might have been--tomorrow.
The world would have known him if only he'd seen--tomorrow.
But the fact is he died and faded from view.
And all that was left when his living was through,
Was a mountain of things he intended to do--tomorrow.
                                                                            ~Anon

What are you putting off 'til tomorrow?

Is there something or someone God has placed on  your heart?

             a relationship you need to make right?
             a phone call you need to make?
             a gift you need to give?
             a conversation you need to have?
             a confession you need to speak?
             a forgiveness you need to ask for or grant?
             a lifestyle you need to forsake?
             a relationship with God you need to begin?

Don't wait 'til tomorrow.

Do it today. 



" Today if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts."
                                                                                        (Heb. 3:15)

"Now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation."   
                                                                                        (2 Cor 6:2)

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• Is my situation hopeless?
• If God already knows what he’s going to do, why bother to pray? 
• Why have you allowed this to happen to me? 
• No one appreciates what I do. Why shouldn’t I quit? 

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Going with God -- More Thoughts on Sending a Child Off to College

I've lived most of my life without fear. I mean REAL fear -- the kind that makes your heart race, your knees weak, and your palms sweat.  Teaching my children to drive was an exception.  For the first time in years, I felt genuine fear-for-my-life-I-think-I-am-going-to-die fear.

I naturally assumed that the longer they drove with a licensed driver (me) in the car with them, the better drivers they would become.  Not so, said the driver's education manual. According to their research, students benefit greatly from having an older, more experienced driver coaching them through the ins and outs of learning to drive, but only to a point.

After that point, research showed, a new driver's ability to learn necessary decision making skills actually becomes hindered by having a coach in the car with them at all times. Studies showed that the student would become too dependent on the coach, and begin to rely on the coach's instruction instead of developing their own decision-making skills necessary to learn to navigate roads safely.

This principle applies to parenting as well. God entrusts children into the care of their parents for a season.  During those 18 or so years, it is the parents' privilege to teach them all they can about how to navigate the roads of life. We teach them practical skills, interpersonal skills, and spiritual skills.We teach them everything from how to feed themselves, to how to treat others, to how to maintain a relationship with God.  As best we can, we teach them all the skills they need to succeed in life.

And then we get out of the car and let them drive.

All by themselves.

It is necessary, and it is good.

What we as Christian parents know, though, is that they aren't really all by themselves.

They go with God.

God who will never leave them nor forsake them. God who walks the path ahead of them and prepares a table before them.  God who is present in the darkness and in the light. God who is their teacher, their provider, their constant companion, and the lover of their souls. God who loves them even more than we ever could. God who wants to work in their lives to do something we could never do.

If you've climbed out of the car this week, be comforted.

God didn't.

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Never the Bride

Book Review -- Never the Bride by Cheryl McKay and Rene Gutteridge

As an unsaved teenager, I read Harlequin Romances like four-year olds eat candy.  After I became a Christian, one of the first things the Lord removed from my life, along with my bikini and the television show Dallas, was romance novels.  As I began to apply God’s word, Philippians 4:8 shone a spotlight on my entertainment choices and convinced me to put better media into my mind and heart. 

 “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” 

Even in my spiritual infancy, I realized that these novels did not encourage me toward purity of thought.  In addition, they held up an unrealistic and unattainable standard for my future husband and my future love life.  Ever since, I have avoided any novel that smacks of romance, even Christian romance, because most of them are just Harlequins with a few token spiritual overtones and the sex taken out. 

(Before you start sending me hate mail, keep in mind that this is how the Lord has led ME. I am just sharing my journey, not criticizing yours.  If you feel that my concerns have merit, perhaps the Holy Spirit is using my thoughts to challenge yours.)

I share this long introduction to explain that the only reason I agreed to review Never the Bride by Cheryl McKay and Rene Gutteridge is because I love Rene Gutteridge.  She is my favorite comedy fiction writer.  I loved Boo and its sequels, so my expectations for Never the Bride were high from the start.  I was not disappointed. 

Her book jacket says this:  “Since she was a little girl, Jessie Stone has dreamed of hundreds of marriage proposals, doodled the romantic ideas in her journal with her treasured purple pen, and fantasized about wedding dresses and falling in love.  She’s been a bridesmaid nearly a dozen times . . . “

Classic story about a 30-something year old single gal who desperately wants to meet the man of her dreams and will stop at (almost) nothing to catch him.  This is where “classic” ends and “classic Rene Gutteridge” begins. 

Jessie Stone is drowning her sorrows in yet another box of chocolate after another failed attempt to catch a man when. . . God steps in.  Literally.  And He looks like a really hot guy.  Are you intrigued yet?

Through a series of conversations and bizarre events, God invites Jessie to turn over her treasured purple pen and let HIM write her love story.  Jessie responds less than enthusiastically, “Everything I’ve accomplished in my life, I’ve done myself.  Me.  Alone. Why should I trust you now?”

God replies, “You haven’t asked me for help. . . Of course, you can keep doing things your way.  If that’s working for you.”

The remainder of the book is a contemporary allegory of how God wants to write each of our love stories.  Suffice it to say that I loved it. I laughed at it.  In Jessie Stone, I saw myself and every other woman who desires to be loved with an everlasting love.   Does Jessie find true love?  Does she finally get her man?  No spoilers here.  One thing I will tell you is that this romance novel hater gives Never the Bride two thumbs up!

In exchange for my honest review, I received a free copy of Never the Bride from WaterBrook Press.

Who Do YOU Say That I Am?

“He (Jesus) said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’" (Matthew 16:13)

I am a mother who loves to hug my children, but hates to discipline them.

I am a woman who enjoys wearing cute shoes, but hates shopping for them.

I am a wife who enjoys dates with my husband, but hates paying for them.

I am a dental professional who loves keeping teeth healthy, but hates it when my patient loses one.

I am a writer who loves creating a story, but hates to edit it.

I am a friend who loves laughing together, but hates crying together.

I am a neighbor who loves to lend, but hates to borrow.

I am a puppy momma who loves taking Winston on walks, but hates taking him to the vet.

I am a daughter who loves her parents, but hates that they live out of town.

I am a Christian who loves pleasing the Lord and hates failing Him.

One day when Jesus and his disciples were walking, He asked them, "Who do men say that I am?"

Their responses were varied, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

Then He asked them another, more important question, "But who do you say that I am?" 

Peter, known for speaking first and thinking later, got it right the first time.  "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God."

Jesus commended Peter for his answer. "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven."

Jesus asked and Peter answered the most important question that each of us will ever answer.  Not "Who does your mother, father, sister, brother, neighbor, pastor, grandmother, Sunday School teacher, lady-next-door think that I am?" 


But

"Who do you say that I am?"

If you cannot claim with Peter, that He is the Christ (YOUR Savior) then please visit the page to the right that asks "Do You Know God?"  and settle it today.  It will be the best decision you've ever made.  

 

 If you do have a relationship with God, take to heart what Peter admonished the believers in 1Peter 3:15, "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;"  Be part of sharing the message of Christ to a lost world that desperately needs to know Him!

 "Blessed are you, ____________! (your name here),"

I Turn the Heat Up, He Turns It Down -- Thoughts on Differentness

I turn the heat up; he turns it down.

I like vigorous walks; he likes vigorous channel surfing.

I like fruit, veggies, and pasta; he likes chicken, beef, and pork.

I like making lists and planning; he likes to be spontaneous.

I think chocolate without nuts is a waste of good chocolate; he thinks nuts belong in the bird feeder.

I sleep like a swaddled newborn; He sleeps like an end zone ref declaring a touch down.

I like sweet stories with happy endings; He likes action movies with guns and bad guys.

There's no doubt about it.  We are different.

A wise counselor once said that some of the fights in our marriage would be over matters of right and wrong.  Others would be caused by selfishness.  The vast majority of our fights, however, would be over  what she called "differentness."

It took me about ten  years to begin to realize that just because my husband, David, thought differently than I did, he wasn't necessarily wrong.  Prior to that revelation, I assumed that there were two perspectives -- my way and the wrong way.  Albert Einstein is famous for saying, "Insanity is doing the same thing the same way and expecting different results."  I don't remember the subject of the stalemate, but I do remember being frustrated enough to say, "Fine, we'll do it your way."  And it worked.

That success caused me to begin to wonder what other pearls of wisdom might lie buried beneath my husband's alternative point of view.  Guacamole on hamburgers?  Eeeew!  Let our daughter attend youth group in the sixth grade?  Intimidating!  Buy a newer car before the wheels fall off  the one we have been driving forever?  Frivolous!

As I learned to say, "This is the way I see it, honey, but what do you think?"  I began to discover a depth of wisdom and insight in my husband's often very different perspective. God also revealed to me the root issue in my own heart -- the sin of pride.  Simply put, my unwillingness to consider another's viewpoint was arrogant and presumptuous.  I was also guilty of usurping my husband's God-given position of authority in our home.

I would love to say that I was cured of my pride in ten days like strep throat after a good round of penicillin, but I'd be lying.  To this day, after almost 27 years of marriage, I still catch myself making important decisions without getting my husband's input.  God's Word, however, encourages me with instruction on how to live life in respectful consideration of the husband with whom He has gifted me.

"Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others" (Phil 2:3).

Guacamole on a hamburger?  Still not a fan.  But I did have a really good steak with my pasta salad the other day!

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"No! It's MINE!" Thoughts on My Own Selfishness

It was a brilliant idea, really, taking the huge Rubbermaid treasure chest of Barbie dolls and accessories down from the attic so the visiting children could play.  For over an hour, the girls sorted through the 10-year collection of clothes and accessories in order to outfit a dozen naked beauties.  Some they dressed as princesses, others queens and other royal personages.  Ken became a handsome prince, well-dressed businessman, or sports hero, depending on the whim and imagination of the girls.

And then I heard it, shrill and stark in contrast to the previously quiet murmurs of camaraderie.

"NO!  It's MINE!"

Whether it was a pair of shoes the size of a pinkie nail or a miniature royal robe, it didn't matter.  What mattered was that one girl had it and the other girl wanted it.

No matter that the glorious wealth of ten years of Barbie collecting lay scattered all around them.

No matter that the wealth had been freely shared.

No matter that there were other similar items that would serve equally well.

What mattered was that one had it and another wanted it.

As I listened to the battle escalate, glad that my babysitter daughter was in charge and not myself, I was surprised to hear my own voice coming out of the children's mouths.

"NO, Lord!" (How can those two words sit presumptuously on the the same line?  How can they emerge from the same mouth?)

"It's MINE!"

In the twins, I saw myself.

Oh, my treasure was not a tub full of Barbies.  My treasure was a day stretching fully before me, replete with my to-do-list and items I had selected as worthy of my time and effort. I was bustling along, happily checking off the next thing when the phone call came, or the knock on the door, or the email, or the request.  Somebody wanted part of my day, and they were not on the schedule.

 "NO, Lord, you cannot have my day, It's MINE!"

No matter that the glorious wealth of this day and 17,108 others before it lay scattered around me.

No matter that the day had been freely shared.

No matter that there was the promise of other similar days that would serve equally well.


What mattered was that I had the day, and God wanted it.

A wise man once said that "people aren't an interruption to my ministry, they are my ministry."

"Lord, help me to hold each day up to you as a fragrant offering, and say, "Not my will, but thine."  Help me to hold it loosely. Help me to say at its beginning, its middle, and its end, "This is the day that the Lord has made.  I will rejoice and be glad in it."  Help me to trust that everything that comes into my day is filtered through the screen of your love and purpose for me, and that purpose is to conform me to your image."

God didn't come to make us happy.  He came to make us holy.

Will you join me in offering up our day today as a fragrant offering to the Lord?

"All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."  (Psalm 139:16)

Tornadoes and the Valley of the Shadow

News footage of the Tuskaloosa tornadoes reminded me of the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew on Florida's coast. . . only there was no coastline, only a wide, waterless path of timber and brick that was once a neighborhood.  The images played like a kaleidoscope of pieces swirling around a hub of sorrow -- a man sitting on the front steps of what used to be his home; a woman with her arms wrapped around a damp dog, staring but not seeing; a husband and wife embracing, thankful to be alive . . . and together.

In a voice thick with disbelief and still tinged with fear, I heard one man describe his nightmare.  "My wife and I, we got into the tub, and I laid on top of her, and all we could do was pray."  I pictured that man, loving his wife so much that  he used his body to shield her from the demon that roared over the top of them . "Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."

With my heart still bruised from Easter and the reminder of the cross, I heard Jesus in that man's voice.  I saw Jesus in that man's actions. We love because He first loved us. . . By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 

Just like that man in Alabama loved his wife sacrificially and was willing to put his body in the path of a tornado to save her, Jesus was willing to sacrifice his sinless body on the cruel cross of Calvary to save me.  Instead of covering me with his arms, He covered me with his blood.  Like that woman emerged from the horror of a tornado safe and whole, I too can one day pass through the valley of the shadow of death and come out on the other side.  Safe and whole.

Many are they who say of me, "There is no help for him in God."  But You, O LORD, are a shield for me, My glory and the One who lifts up my head.

Thank you Jesus, for loving me to death.

Sneezes, Snakes, and Life’s Big Questions

 

On Friday, I did something I haven’t done in a very long time. I went to the zoo with my daughter and the twin four-year olds she was babysitting. Our primary mission was to try to catch a glimpse of the elusive baby koala, Owen. The process was not an easy one. I had forgotten how complicated a simple outing could be with small children. Car seat (x2). Lunch (x2). Raincoats, band aides (just in case), and dollars for the carousel. When did the price change from quarters to dollars? Obviously sometime in the last fourteen years or so. 

I had also forgotten how much fun it was to interact with four year olds who tell you everything. “My daddy works out, that’s why he has 100 muscles,” and “My hair is short because my sister was playing with the scissors, and I got in the way.”

I had forgotten, too, that little legs tire easily, and piggyback rides are the easiest way to transport small children who ask, “Let me hold you!” I had forgotten how sweet it felt to hold a little hand in mine, and how wide a smile could get when riding a “flying tiger” on the carousel.

Hundreds of questions kept me thinking. “Why is that snake sticking his tongue out at me?” “Can fish hold their breath?” “Do alligators get tired of eating fish all the time?” I felt like a Jeopardy contestant working her way to the jackpot after I fielded category after category of potential brain stumpers.

I had forgotten how good it felt to answer black and white questions that have only one answer. The questions are harder now that I have young adults. I can’t fake any of the answers, because the stakes are higher than any Jeopardy game.

Christian parent, if you have young children, savor every moment. Even when they sneeze on you. Hug them before they get too cool for such nonsense. And encourage them to ask questions. Someday those simple questions will pave the way for harder ones.

If you are the parent of older children or young adults, savor every moment. Even if they bring you to your knees in prayer. Especially if they bring you to your feet in praise. And don’t fear the questions. Claim the promise of James 1:5: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all men liberally without finding fault, and it will be given to him.”

God bless you as you parent your children in faith!



This post was submitted to the Proverbs 31 scholarship contest to the She Speaks Conference.  The She Speaks Conference is about women connecting the hearts of women to the heart of our Father God, and my heart is to serve Him and His daughters, as He leads.  For more information about the She Speaks Conference or this scholarship opportunity, be sure to check out the links below:

http://shespeaksconference.com/

http://www.aholyexperience.com/2011/03/how-christians-create-art-she-speaks-scholarship/