How a Cup of Coffee Taught Me to Obey

I had an interesting conversation with God last Monday.  It went something like this:

I was pouring my first cup of coffee, thinking of all that needed to be accomplished and asking God to direct my path when I heard Him speak.  I had just told Him how I would do anything He wanted, if He simply told me what to do…and then He said, “Pour out your coffee.”

Instantly I laughed.  

Like God would tell me to pour out my coffee.  

I mean seriously, I LOVE COFFEE, I NEED COFFEE.  God would not want me to suffer by doing something so silly.  

As I was laughing I heard Him tell me again, “Pour out your coffee.”

Now I wasn’t laughing…I was moving on to rationalizing.

“Okay God, if you REALLY want me to pour out my coffee…” I waited, ready to hear Him tell me I could drink my warm beverage.  

All I heard was silence.

“Okay God, seriously, if you want me to, I will.  But it seems ridiculous.  How will pouring out my coffee serve You?”

“It will prove you obey.”

Ouch!

“Obey. Yes, I will obey.  But do I have to pour out my coffee?  I just made it.  Can’t I just tell You I’m willing, do I actually have to do it?”

Silence.

“Abraham in the Bible didn’t have to sacrifice his son; do I have to pour out my coffee?  I really am willing to serve You, promise.” (yes I really went there in my conversation with God)

“Pour out your coffee.”

God spoke, would I listen?

I’d like to tell you I instantly poured out my coffee. 

 Instead, I spent time in prayer.  

Yes I prayed over my coffee, but more importantly, I asked God to help me be willing to listen to EVERYTHING He commanded and not just the stuff I liked.

I found myself asking these questions:

Why was I willing to do something BIG for God, but not willing to follow the simple command to pour out my coffee?  

Why would God trust me with something BIG, if I wouldn’t listen to the small stuff?

The answers- I don’t know and He won’t.  

This led me to this simple, yet profound truth:  If I want God’s blessings and I want Him to use me for His Kingdom, I have to be willing to listen to EVERYTHING and not just the things that make sense, (because pouring out a perfectly good cup of coffee did not make sense).  

But God’s ways are higher and His knowledge greater- I must be willing to FOLLOW and OBEY! 

My brain quickly jumped from my willingness to follow, to my sister who is training a new dog- it’s not going well.  The dog isn’t willing to follow simple commands.  My sister is ready to teach the basics so she can move on to more complex commands, but her dog isn’t complying.

I wonder, if like my sister, God isn’t waiting for me to follow the simple stuff so He can give me more complex tasks.

“Okay God,” Deep breath, “I’m willing to pour out my coffee. I don’t understand and I don’t really like it, but I’m willing.”

Silence.  Not sure if I was waiting for applause from heaven, but I wanted some recognition that God had heard…after all, this was a big sacrifice!

“I’m really willing God, lead me.”

I started moving towards the sink, ready to pour out my steaming cup of joy when I head,“You don’t have to pour it out.”

Now I was confused. Was Satan trying to trick me?

“God, I really want to follow You.  Please lead me, give me peace, I don’t want to be a fool.”

I didn’t hear anything else, but peace filled my heart.

I drank my coffee, full of happiness and contentment, down to the last drop! 

As I drank, I realized it wasn’t that God wanted me to pour out my coffee, it’s that He wanted me willing to pour out what I desired. He wanted me to place Him above even the smallest things.

I was ashamed, because at first I was only giving lip service to Him, I was trying to convince both Him and myself that I was willing to pour out my coffee.  But I wasn’t fooling God, He knew my heart and until my heart matched my lips, I had to pour out my coffee.  

So glad my toaster didn’t have to go up in flames for God to get my attention (referencing Moses and the Burning bush). 

Question:  What are you holding onto that God is asking you to let go of?

How I Research News Stories

I’ve been asked where I get the information for my current event/political posts or what sources I use to get my news.  

The answer is complex.  First I don’t take any news story at face value- I do my own research, sometimes more extensively than others- it depends on the topic, how much it seems distorted and my interest level.

I will tell you I listen to both right and left wing media, though both of them make me want to pull my hair out. Though I do listen to some left wing commentary, primarily I listen/read from conservative sources simply because they tend to grate on my nerves less. 

I question everything and I hope you do the same. I hope when someone is using a book as a reference you don’t just take that person’s opinions/inferences from that book, but you read the book yourselves.

Two recent examples as to why you shouldn’t take popular opinion and run with it, but why you should read the actual book - 

1.        Hunger Games- It is being touted as a great book/movie though it has stirred some controversy within Conservative/Christian circles due to its violent nature. That it involves killing has even disturbed a few liberals. I heard a liberal friend say she couldn’t believe people let their children watch it due to the killings.  On the flip side, I’ve also had a Christian friend say she found that the author wrote it in such a way as to make one understand killing is wrong.  I have not read this book, so I will not pass judgment on it and unless you have read it, you shouldn’t either. You can decide based on others reviews if you want to read/watch it, but you shouldn’t praise or criticize this work unless you have actual firsthand knowledge.  

2.       Jefferson Bible- I have recently read a few blogs on this topic and I must say it is getting on my nerves! It makes me want to yell at BOTH sides- HAVE YOU READ THIS BIBLE AND THE HISTORY AS TO WHY IT WAS WRITTEN… OR ARE YOU TAKING OUR WONDERFUL GOVERNMENT AT THEIR WORDS? RESEARCH FOR YOURSELF!!!! History has been distorted for more years than we care to admit, or realize, and this is just one more example of something being taken out of context. David Barton has written a book about Jefferson titled, “The Jefferson Lies”.  While I have not read it, I will say Barton is a man I have come to respect and I look forward to reading it AND researching its content for credibility.  For a different perspective on the Jefferson Bible than the one currently being circulated, go here- I think you will be amazed, this could be a post by itself! (go to about 5 mins into this video if you are short on time):  

http://www.glennbeck.com/2012/04/20/watch-david-barton-the-jefferson-lies/

I hope from this you can see I don’t just question the authenticity (facts) of a story, but I also question the motives behind the story (example, why is our history being altered, what purpose does that serve and who is doing this manipulation-and if you don’t believe this is happening you need to do some homework because you are buying into a big fat lie!).  Equally important, yet more challenging, is placing myself in another’s shoes in order to try and understand all perspectives- even the ones I don’t like,  but that is vital for me to know why I believe something.  I am convinced you can’t say you know your own convictions until you challenge them.  Know why you believe something.  You must build your beliefs on a solid foundation; otherwise you can be easily persuaded with the changing winds. You have got to stand for something or you will fall for anything - so do your research!   

Often I will provide links to where I get the majority of my material for a post, but not always, and I rarely provide all the links simply because it would overwhelm you.  

I want you to be able to do research for yourself.  That being said, here are a few sites to help you begin:

LEFT LEANING                                                   RIGHT LEANING

Huffington Post                                                                TheBlaze.com

Media Matters                                                  Wall Builders

New York Times                                                               Wall Street Journal

Al Jazeera                                                            GBTV (Glenn Beck- radio program and online TV shows- 14 day free trial at gbtv.com as well as 24/7 free streaming- http://www.glennbeck.com/publish/themes/glennbeck/live_player/)

Politico                                                                 The Savage Nation Radio Show

MSNBC                                                                 Fox News

Los Angeles Times                                           American Thinker Blog

Going Through the Sea of Fear and Doubt

When you or someone you love is diagnosed with cancer your world turns upside down. It begins the moment you hear the dreaded words.  Instantly fear grips your heart:  paralyzing you, consuming you, overpowering you and overshadowing everything else.

Your world is changed and nothing makes sense.

How did this happen?

Why did it happen?

Is this real?

Maybe they are wrong?

Did I cause this?

What am I going to do?

On and on the questions and doubts flow, fear motivating each and every thought until you think you are going crazy!

And you are going crazy, for that moment in time, you are crazy…crazy with fear.

The question isn’t IF you are going to fear but HOW you are going to deal with that fear.

Everyone deals with fear differently.

Hysterical laughter.

Tears.

Anger.

Withdrawing.

Drugs/Alcohol.

Work.

Avoidance/denial.

Prayer.

Rejoicing.

A combination of these...

Let’s take a look at how Jesus handled fear.

He knew His time was drawing near, He knew the pain He was about to face and He was scared!

So scared He asked His Father if maybe there was another way to save the human race, even knowing there wasn’t.  He asked anyway, He was scared and He wanted to make sure all options had been explored.  

The Gospels tell us of the night He spent in prayer, Luke even describes the physical agony He endured, “And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.” Luke 22:44 NIV

Jesus feared what was before Him.  He wouldn’t have been human if He didn’t.

He understands fear.  

Fear is not a sin. Thinking fear is sin is a trick of Satan, a trick meant to consume us with guilt or drive us to avoid what is causing the fear.

What you do with fear, that is what can lead to sin.  But fear in and of itself is not sin -Jesus lived a life without sin and he experienced fear.  

So how did Jesus overcome His fear? 

The Book of Hebrews tells us not only how Jesus overcame His fear, but how we can too.

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2 NIV

Fixing our eyes on Jesus.  He is the author of our race, He is the finish line.  

But you don’t want to die yet.

I get that.  I don’t want you to die, not until your time and that is the whole point. Jesus knows when your time is.  He knows the race you have to run, how much further you have to go and the hurdles you have to overcome.  

He WILL NOT take you until your race is FINISHED! 

And only He knows when that is.  No one, no doctor or psychic can tell you when your time in this world is finished.  

So if He knows when the end should come, and there is no way for you to know this information, why worry about it?  

Your ending is full of JOY- if you know Christ as your Lord and Savior.

So endure this trial, for great is your reward in Heaven!

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.” James 1:2-3 ESV

Hard times are going to be part of your race.  

How you face these challenges, that is up to you.

So how are you going to handle, when and if, your world ever turns upside down?

Are you going to realize your fear and take it to God the way Jesus did? Are you going to walk through the storm, trusting that in the end, there will be joy?

Or are you going to look at the waves, like Peter and sink?

When Peter asked Jesus to call Him out of the boat to walk on water, he was already aware there was a storm going on!  That wasn’t something new that occurred while he was meeting Jesus in the middle of the sea.  

A storm, with large waves, was already in progress and Peter ASKED to step out of the boat.  Knowing that, why did he suddenly have doubts and fears?  Why did the waves suddenly cause panic?

Because he took his eyes off Jesus.

When we focus our gazes on the waves crashing down, instead of on the finisher of our race, we will sink!  No if ands or buts’ about it. 

So keep your eyes focused on your goal- keep your eyes Heaven ward.

You may not be ready to go there yet (or to have someone you love go there) but God may not want you there yet either.  

Ultimately it is His decision when you leave this world.

So enjoy the time here, no matter the storms that come.

And remember, if you are breathing, God has a purpose for your life; He’s not finished with you!  

Ride through the storms; don’t let them paralyze you in a sea of fear and doubt.