The Right Connection

One thing that always comes along with the Holidays is decorating. I can honestly say that 'decorating' is really not my thing, but my wonderful wife enjoys it so I do my best to help out. One of my jobs this season was the outside Christmas lights. It doesn't sound like a hard project, but I always seem to mess it up. I take them all out of the box and look them over each year. I have learned from the past that it is a good, no great, practice to plug them all in first to make sure they are all still ticking and I proceed to lay them out. This is always the tricky part for me; I try to make sure that the plugs at the end of each light strand are in the right spot so that I can make The Right Connection. I really felt like I had it figured out so I proceeded to hang around the front of my house and thought they were looking great. When it was all said and done, the hanging process that is; I grabbed the extension cord and went for the power shot. It was at this point that I figured out that my calculations were, well wrong. Let's just say all ends coming together will not work. I had no plug, no prongs. I went through it a few times just to make sure and sure enough, I was out of luck.

Isn't that how it goes sometimes? We think we have gone through all the right steps, only to find out that they were the wrong steps or we didn't properly check before we started in our direction. I ended up taking all the lights down and reworking them correctly. It took me a few minutes, but the payoff is lights, that work. I don't think the lights get the full effect any other way....

How many times a day, a week or throughout the entire year do we try to do something without The Right Connection? Or should I say, how many times do we not include God in our decisions? I use to think that I could only go to God for the big stuff or the hard stuff, but the truth is He wants us to go to Him for each and everything. I came to the point of trying to just have a conversation with God throughout my day. I wanted to make sure I was connected and that what I was doing was being considered properly.  I can think of so many past times that, if I had only asked, things would have turned out differently. God wants to stay in close connection to us. He desires for us to keep a close connection to Him. It's about relationship. Just like the cords could not connect, even after all the work up to that point, we can not connect to God unless we stay in prayer.

Make the right choice, make the right connection and it will help considerably!

Do you agree?

The Way through the Fog

I have woke up the last few mornings and found the weather, well, foggy. It's still dark, I jump in my car and head off to work. The fog brings a different attitude than just the typical chilly morning. It requires me to be more aware, more alert of what is going on around. The visibility levels are much lower and the chances for an accident are increased. As I head down the highway, I look up into the tall road lights and there nothing but a distant blur. The closer I get to them, the more clear they become, but just like that they are gone. The fog gets even worse as I near the city, this is mainly because of the river that runs through it. It reminds of living in the country when I was younger. The night would be foggy, but when an opening or a clear in the woods arrived, the fog became really heavy. But beyond the effects of actual fog, I can't help but think of the fog we can get stuck in.

How often in life do we find ourselves in a fog? Caught up at work and no time for family. A couple small lies spiral into a large lie. Fighting in your marriage and can't find a way out. When the fog is heavy, we are more likely to hit the deer. How can we fight through the fog in our life and stay on the straight and clear path? I have a few ideas and would love to hear yours!

1) Turn on your lights! Just like we do when we first get into the car when the fog is heavy, we have to keep our lights on. We have to be careful to not get stuck in the darkness. The Enemy lives in the dark and is impatiently waiting for his prey, us.

2) Stay Alert! I am usually pretty alert when I am driving, but the fog makes me extra alert. I know that people are still anxious get to where they are going and not paying attention. It's important to always be on alert when we go throughout our day. We can so easily get caught up with the drama of coworkers, family and friends. The drama in their life does not need to be the verdict on ours!

3) Take it slow! Driving through the fog usually means going at a slower speed. Don't get so caught up in your day that you forget to breathe. I will sometimes read a chapter of my current book at lunch, or go for a short walk. Maybe text my wife to see how her day is going. Sometimes it is just good to stop and put things into perspective.

4) Have Faith! Navigating through the fog is hard, but keeping the above ideas in check will make the journey to your destination easier. Keeping grounded in faith is so important in life. We're going to face trouble and there are going to be patches of fog here and there, but we must remain faithful. There is always a higher power and plan at work and we must believe it, even in The Fog.