Daily Devotional – 4/18/12 “It may not be all good but it all God!”

This morning I woke up like any other day, thankful just to be alive! Thankful because God gave me back everything that I had on yesterday even if I didn’t thank him for it. Thankful that in spite my doing, God still gave me a fresh anointing. Even feeling extra tired and with a pain in my arm, I’m still thankful. I had no intentions of having a bad morning but that doesn’t mean I was not intended to have one. See, it started with a letter about summer school for my daughter, which really put me in a bad mood because what makes her think I’d pay $200 for summer school when she had months of free education and didn’t take advantage of it. Then I had to be at work at 8:30 because of this breakfast meeting (I am our group’s top performer for the month) but traffic was backed up on the expressway. Then, I got almost to work and realized I’d left my badge at home. If anyone knows about FedEx you know that you can’t get in, around or through our buildings without your badge and it’s an act of Congress to get through security, just to work! Geesh! Needless to say, I got through security and even through the door and as I was walking up the stairs, a coworker passed and said Good Morning. Now, my first response was to ask her what’s so good about it but I didn’t because in those few seconds of her speaking it dawned on me, I didn’t have to ask what is good about today because that didn’t matter. What matters is what’s God about it because even though my day wasn’t good, it was God’s so I shouldn’t complain.

See, I never stopped to realize that all the things that happened were of God’s doing and not the enemy. Being tired means nothing because I’m alive. Having a pain in my arm means I can feel and yet tolerate it. The letter came as a way to spark a fire under this child of mine before school is out, giving her a heads up to get back on track. The traffic was a way of slowing me down or even to stop me from going into a trap that was set for me by the enemy. Leaving my badge was simply God saying even though the doors may be locked, I can still get you through them! Let me show you what God means. At our security gate, you have to scan your badge that then allows the arm to rise to let you through the gate but when I pulled in this morning, the arm was already up and all I had to do was drive through it. Then when I got to the door to the building, a young lady was right behind me to let me in and when I got to the door to our floor, the Admin was there and all I had to do was knock and she pushed a button that let me in. God is saying, “Keep walking because I got you!” Isn’t that amazing? When I think that a locked door means for me to stop, God is saying just wait until I open it because when God opens it, there’s not a man on Earth that can close them. (I’m inputting a shout here!) It may not be all good but it’s surely all God! I don’t have a reason to frown because the word says in Romans 8:28,“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” I have a purpose for this journey that I’m on, just like you have a purpose. I don’t know your purpose but I know that God has given you a gift because Romans 12:6 says, “We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith.” And that gift will make room for you but you have to use it because 2 Timothy 1:6 says, “You received a gift from God when I placed my hands on you [to ordain you]. Now I’m reminding you to fan that gift into flames.”

See, your gift is specific to you just like a custom made suit, which will only fit the person that it’s made for. Yea, someone else may be the same size as you but that doesn’t mean the suit that is made for you will fit them the way it fits you. That why your gift and your purpose is meant for you but you have to work and use your gift in order to find your purpose! No, not all the days that you’re on this Christian walk will be good but that’s ok because it’s all God. Don’t you know that no matter what you face, you can get through it? Don’t you know that no matter how bad your day seems, it can get better? Don’t you know that although you’re crying now, you won’t cry always and even though you’re hurting now, you won’t hurt always? Don’t you allow one bad day to turn into a bad week because that’ll only lead to a bad month which then turns into a bad year and before you know it, your attitude is bad and then what will you have? No one wants to be around someone whose attitude is always bad, whose mouth is always saying something bad and whose heart only carries bad love. Just because things didn’t start out great this morning, it doesn’t mean you can’t turn it around. Stop for a minute and simply say “Lord, do it!” but when you say it, say it with meaning and like he has already fixed the situation. Say it like you know that God knows because he does.

Your life may not be going good but you’re living so it’s all God! Your job may not be as good as you want but you have a check coming in and benefits so it’s all God! Your health may not be as good as you want it to be, but you’re walking on top of the dirt instead of the dirt being on top of you, so it’s all God! Your spouse may not rich but he provides, he may not be a mechanic but he fixes what’s broke and he may not be a GQ model but he is yours so it makes him God’s. Your wife may not be Rachel Ray but she can fix her family a meal, she may not be an accountant but she manages the bills, she may not be a race car driver but she can get off work, pick up the kids, take them to the doctor, go by the grocery store, cleaners, drop them off at practice and still get home to have dinner cooked before you get there and she may not be the Queen but she is the daughter of a King, so that makes her God’s. Don’t be too quick to count yourself out when you’re not having a good day because no matter how stressful life gets, it’s still all God. God can take the test that’s meant to knock you out and turn it into a testimony. He can take the hell that’s meant to kill you and turn it into your highway to heaven. He can take the stress that’s meant to push you down and turn it into a blessing to elevate you up. He can take the words from folk who spoke evil over your life and turn them into a bestselling book. He can take the scars from the knives that were stuck in your back from so called friends and the burns on your knees from steady prayer and turn you into a walking billboard showing God’s grace. See, your life may not be all good all the time but that’s alright because it’s all God. Your bad days may seem to outweigh your good days, but that’s alright because it’s all God. Your complaining may sometime get in the way of your praise, but that’s alright because it’s all God. You may not be where you think you ought to be but that’s alright because it’s all God. When it’s all over and done and your work down here is done, when your eyes are closed and the blood in your veins is cold, when your mouth no longer talks, your arms and legs won’t move and when all that will speak for you will be the memories of your living, take comfort in knowing that it’s still all God!

Daily Devotional – 4/17/12 “Faith won’t let you down!”

For you whose faith is wavering on today because you think God has forgotten about you, hold on because God hasn’t left, you just need to put your focus back on him in order to see what he is trying to show you. Don’t you know that God has already sent you the answer to your prayers, the confirmation to your request or the solution to the problem? Yes, he has already done his part now you need to clean off your glasses, refocus your eyes and move away some of the stuff that’s blocking your view before you let it pass you by. 2 Corinthians 5:7, says, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” See, many times on this Christian walk we have to walk down paths that we can’t see the end too or we have to journey to a place before we even know the destination but that’s why we have faith. If you have faith in God then you should know that he won’t ever send you to a place that can harm you. Yea, I know that you can’t understand why God allowed you to be a drug addict or alcoholic but it wasn’t God’s choice for you to put a crack pipe or bottle to your lips but it was yours. Now, God is allowing you to walk that path because once you get to the end and he cleans you up, the struggle you had to go through will make you stronger and wiser to now stand and proclaim to the world that God can do anything but fail. He has allowed you to be a living testimony in order to help all the others that are thinking about trying drugs and/or alcohol. So you see, God hasn’t forgotten you but you need to stop forgetting him. Thank him for your struggles because without them you wouldn’t have known how powerful God really is.

For you my brother or sister whose faith is slipping away because you tossed and turned all night and God still hasn’t come even though you keep calling but have you checked the number you dialed? Many times God isn’t answering because we are too busy calling other folks with our problems and then expecting God to eavesdrop or overhear. If you want an answer to your prayer tell God directly. Why should he have to hear about your problems from somebody else? It’s like you sending your husband to the doctor for your back pain, it doesn’t make sense. You ask folk to pray for you and then they go before God with the situation that you should have brought before him yourself. Yea, I know that God is aware of what’s happening to you but the only way for you to get the right way out, YOU have to ask. Stop relying on other folks to solve the problem for you. See, you have to put in knee time to pray. You have to put in study time to know God’s word and you have to sometimes put in face time, in order for God to hear you. I don’t mean talking to God face to face because that’s not possible but that means lying on your face during your time of fasting and praying. God doesn’t press ignore when he sees you calling and he doesn’t let you go to voicemail because he is on the other line. Just because he hasn’t answered, leave a message (that’s a prayer) and see if he won’t return the call because Psalm 50:15 says, “Then call on me when you are in trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory.”

For the sleepless husband or wife whose faith is on the back burner because you’re still mad at God for not healing your spouse of their disease although you constantly prayed, don’t give up now. I know that it’s hard to bury the person you’ve slept next too for years but have you stopped to think that maybe their prayer to God was for rest? Yea, I know that you need them here and that it’s hard for you to sleep without them but isn’t it selfish of you to want them here while they suffer? Most times we don’t take the feelings of those into account that are actually going through the struggle because we are only praying for what we think they need when in actuality they have already had the conversation with God and they are ready to go. See, while we are praying for healing, after the doctors have given up they are praying for rest. I’ve never been in a situation with having to deal with a major illness with my spouse but I pray then if this time ever comes we are on the same page because I wouldn’t ever want him to suffer on this side because I’m selfish enough to want to keep him here. If he has made peace with God, who am I to question that? Would I stop praying for God’s intervention, never but would my prayer be different from my husband’s, no. We don’t know the pain and the suffering that others have to go through when dealing with cancer, heart disease, arthritis, diabetes or kidney disease because we aren’t the ones dealing with the hospital stays, radiation, chemo, dialysis and daily pills. They aren’t alone in their struggle because they have folks here with them but we cannot begin to share the pain. So hold on to your faith during this trying time, whoever you maybe, because God will show you exactly what his plan is, if you are open to receiving it. Don’t be mad at God but be happy that he hears you because when suffering is over on this side, there is rest for the weary over there. When their eyes are closed never to open again on this side, they’ve received the rest that their tired body so desperately needed. When the blood is no longer flowing through their veins, on this side, it just means God’s blood has taken its place. Romans 8:18 says “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

Faith allows you to fall knowing that you’re able to get back up. Faith fills your tank even though you seem to be riding on fumes. Faith gives you favor although you seem to have lost your flavor. Faith paves the way for your fear to be faint and your fights to be few. With faith you get a solid foundation on which to stand and with this foundation you’re able to forgive and through forgiveness you gain favor and with favor you’re fulfilled and with fulfillment you’re fruitful which means everything you touch is flowing with God’s fire and with this fire there is no fault because the Father has filled you with a fresh anointing that makes you feel like running when no one is chasing you, dance when it doesn’t matter who’s watching, sing even if it’s out of tune and shout because God is just that good. Yea, faith is all you need. Even when you can’t see the end walk like you know where it is because faith will be your guide!

Daily Devotional – 4/16/12 “Sad but not sick!”

What’s wrong, honey? You got a frown on your face, what’s hurting you? You’re sad, are you sick? No, then what’s with the face? Oh, is it because the world has beaten you down, folks are talking about you, you don’t have dependable friends, you don’t have money to go clubbing or drinking all weekend or your car won’t start? But you do know that these things are just temporary, right? Then why is it so easy for you to lose, no, why is it so easy for you to give your joy away? You do know the enemy only has the power and folks can only talk about the information you give them, right? How’d they know you went partying Friday and Saturday night if you didn’t post it on Facebook? How do they know your baby daddy is a liar and cheater if you didn’t tweet about it? How could they possibly know your lights got cut off if you didn’t run your mouth so much? Yea, it’s alright to vent to folks sometime but that doesn’t mean you have to spread your business like True Green spreading grass seeds. See, there are folks in the world that rejoices in your misery because they are miserable and misery loves company. They hate on you when you’re doing good but they are ready to cry with you when you’re down and out and you haven’t even realized it yet. One sure way to know if the folks that are around you are for you be happy. If they are around you in your happiness with the sass in their voice, saying stuff like, “Girl, why he buy you flowers, he must be in the dog house?” or will only go out with you if you’re paying; they aren’t for you. But, if they can honestly celebrate your happiness with you, encourage you to stay happy and are even happier for you; then they are for you. You’ve got to stop letting the fun snatchers into your circle because not only will they snatch the fun but they’ll also snatch the joy and once they’ve snatched your joy they’ve taken your God away because to have God is to have joy, you see.

Yea, see Nehemiah 2:2 says, “The king asked me, “Why do you look so sad? You aren’t sick, are you? You must be troubled about something.” Now, this scripture was the king talking to Nehemiah but it can also be applied here because God has to ask us on a daily basis, “Why are you sad,” when you have no reason to be. He’s asking, didn’t I wake you up in your right mind, didn’t I give you a fresh anointing on this morning, didn’t I come to your rescue when you called me, didn’t I show up in the hospital room, court room or on your job when you needed me there, didn’t I make ends meet when you couldn’t see the way how to, didn’t I satisfy your hunger even though you never took a bite of food, didn’t I dry your tears although you never saw my hand, didn’t I heal your broken hurt without cutting open your chest, didn’t I turn you around when you were heading down the wrong path, didn’t I stop you from being hit by that car and didn’t I do just what I said I would? Then why are you sad? Proverbs 15:13 says, “A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit.” You have to make your heart happy and once you complete this, happiness will show by the glide in your walk, it’ll show in the words that you talk, it show in the generous way you give and it’ll show by the Godly way you live. Yes, when you are happy the devil in hell flinches but God above rejoices. When you are happy, your enemy falls but God answers every call because it’s then that your prayers are getting through. Don’t allow folks, whether Christian or not, to steal your joy. After all they didn’t give it to you so stop giving it away for free.

Don’t get me wrong, just because I write this word every day it doesn’t mean I don’t need a reality check from time to time because I did this exact thing on yesterday, in church, believe it or not and it took my husband to point it out to me and once he did, I had to pray and ask for forgiveness. Why, because I was wrong. Even though things happened, I still shouldn’t have allowed it to put a frown on my face because after it’s all said and done God will fight my battles. See, we spend so much time fighting that we haven’t even stopped to realize the battles that were fighting so hard in isn’t even ours. No, we take on other folk’s issues and soon they are gone and we are still in the middle of somebody else’s mess. Isn’t that crazy? Take for an example, your daughter and this other young lady don’t like each other. They have words every day at school and on Facebook and you’ve had enough. Now you spend months sending emails and calling the school because you want something done when they’ve made up 2 weeks back. Teenagers will be teenagers and kids will be kids, so don’t get so caught up in fighting their battles (unless their safety is involved) when they don’t last past the school day. This is also true in grown folk battles. Stop trying to get your sister to leave her deadbeat husband because in the end, she has to make the decision and if you keep pushing, she’ll leave you before she leaves him. Let her fight her own battle. Stop trying to push your brother to get off those drugs because the harder you push him, the harder he’ll push the drugs in his veins. Let him decide when enough is enough because when he decides, he’ll leave them alone for good and not just to appease you.

It’s alright to have your moments but do so to yourself. Don’t allow yourself to be knocked down and then let the person who knocked you down to see you cry. Yea, you may have hurt me but I won’t give you the satisfaction of seeing me hurt. Yea, you may have broken my heart but I won’t wear it on my sleeves for you to continue to throw darts at. Yea, you may have wished death over my life but I won’t allow you to be happy by burying me. So, on today, take back your joy and your peace. Take back all those things you’ve given to the devil. No, the devil didn’t steal it because when folks steal, they usually break in to take it without your knowledge and seeing that the devil doesn’t possess legs and arms you had to bring him in and then give him whatever it is he has of yours, so take it back and do it NOW! You deserve to be happy and when you’re happy those around you are happy. Try smiling today, even through your hurt and pain and then look how much better you look. Then folks won’t look passed you because of your bad attitude but they’ll be looking at you to see the beautiful smile that you’ve hidden for so long. Yes, you do look better when you smile so be happy and let the world know it.

Daily Devotional – 4/13/12 “Yea, it’s Friday the 13th, so what?”

Ok, so I know that you’ve contributed all the bad luck you’ve had this morning to today being Friday the 13th, right? Child, please! The date had nothing to do with you oversleeping, not being able to find something to wear, running late, traffic, the line at McDonalds/Starbucks, the folks at your job acting foolish and the mounds of work you’ve got to do. All of these things can happen on Monday the 16th too. It’s called life! Yea, I know it stinks sometime but what can you do? Stop using all the excuses to put blame on others for your actions. You woke up frowning because that’s the person you are. You speak harsh because that’s how you want folks to think of you. You act mean because you are mean and it has nothing, absolutely nothing to do with the date on the calendar. It’s just like you believing in a person who can predict the future when no one can do it with uncertainty but God. You’d rather pay someone to read your palm rather than read the bible. You’d spend all your money letting someone tell you what the future holds for you rather than trusting in God. Don’t you know the bible says in Leviticus 19:31 “Do not defile yourselves by turning to mediums or to those who consult the spirits of the dead? I am the LORD your God.” If you should be turning to anyone about your life, it should be God because he is the one that created you, right?

We’ve become so caught up in superstitions and worldly stuff that we forget about the purpose and promise of God. Yea, you know that you won’t sit your purse on the floor because “they” say you’ll be broke, when you know good and well that you barely had change in the bottom anyway; you’re already broke. You almost kill yourself trying to turn around after seeing a black cat cross your path because somebody told you that you’d have bad luck if you didn’t but you knew that tire needed air on last night so when you went out this morning and it was on flat, it wasn’t the cat’s fault. You will slap fire from your child from sweeping across your feet with the broom because “they” said, again it was bad luck or some have even said you won’t get married but aren’t you already married? Or, breaking a mirror will give you seven (7) years of bad luck. Haven’t you realized that things only have power when you give it to them? You put all your power in the fear of superstitions when they can’t really harm you. I know that grandma told you about these superstitions, so you’ve held on to them but baby it’s time you give that stuff up. 1 Timothy 4:7 says, “Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly.” Superstition is defined as an irrational, but usually deep-seated belief in the magical effects of a specific action or ritual, especially in the likelihood that good or bad luck will result from performing it. In other words it’s idolizing.

When you idolize things, your focus are on those things and it takes your focus from God and when your focus is not on God, you are easily devoured by the devil. It’s like me asking you to stand on a small box while staring ahead on one object. As long as you stare at this particular object, you are focused on just it and it allows you to stand on that small box that is under your feet but as soon as I call your name or stand beside you and you look my way, you lose your focus and fall off of the box. Why, because you lost your focus point. Well, it’s the same way with God. See, God is your focus point and if you keep your eyes on him, you are able to stand on this small box (the world) while you make your way to the end goal, Heaven. As long as you stay focused on God, you’ll be able to balance yourself from attacks of the enemy, from folks pulling on you trying to pull you down; from the mean things evil folks are throwing at you and those who occasionally walk in your line of sight. When you have your eyes focus on God, all the things folks mean for your bad will bounce off of you. Yea, you may wobble and you may even sometimes fall but you’re able to stand back on your box and realign your focus because unlike the letters on that chart you have to read at the eye doctor, God won’t get smaller the more you look at him but the closer you get the bigger he becomes. Jesus said, “When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me (John 12:44).” Just because the car didn’t start this morning, the coffee wasn’t good when you got it, your heel broke while walking into the job, they wouldn’t give you an extension on your bill and your account went into the negative a day before payday; it’s not bad luck it’s just life. Things, bad and good, happen every day because that’s a part of life. It has nothing to do with Friday the 13th, you not eating black eyed peas on New Year’s Day, not paying your tithes on Sunday or you not saying your prayers but these things happen because it was promised. In Genesis 3:17, God said it to Adam, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life,” and I’m sure you know this verse by hard but I’ll share it again, “Man born of a woman is of a few days and full of trouble, Job 14:1.”

So, please stop thinking that you have a dark cloud of thunder and rain following you around when bad luck comes. It’s just your time to go through your storm but know that just like the storm started, it’ll end. Just hold on through the bad luck, the no luck, the storm and through the rain. You’ll soon see the sun but you’ll always have God on your side pulling you through. Ephesians 1:11 says, “Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.” Enough said!

Daily Devotional – 4/12/12 “Patience!”

There was a young man who never had patience for anything. He couldn’t stand to wait in lines at restaurants, in stores or in traffic. He thought that people should always be in a hurry, because he was. He was always rushing from the time he got up in the morning until the minute he laid down at night. He never had time to talk to the kids because he’d always rush them through the story, so they stopped talking to him. His wife could never have a casual conversation with him because he had so many thought going through his head that he never paid attention. One night after he’d come home, his wife came into the living room because she wanted, no; she needed to talk to him. He replied, “Make it fast because I have some things to do before bed.” She rolled her eyes and as she fumbled with the paper that was in her hands she said, “I had a meeting at Josh’s (their 17 year old son) school today and he is no longer going to be able to finish his junior year there, but …,” He quickly became angry shouting, I can’t believe this, I can’t believe that, what has he done now and doesn’t he know the amount of money we spend making sure he gets a great education? He went on and on for 30 minutes ranting and raving. He told the son that he was always doing things without thinking about the consequences and his actions, this was the final straw. See, their son had gotten into a lot of trouble a few years back but his dad was too busy to notice the change in his behavior for his good. He didn’t notice that he was excelling in school or that he was active and doing very well in sports and well liked in his community because he never stopped long enough too. When the son started to speak, his dad, out of anger, punched him in the chest never allowing him to explain. His son ran out of the house and as he was walking to his friend’s house a block away, he was killed by a drunk driver who jumped the curb. When they returned from the hospital, his dad sat in the living room replaying the night’s actions in his head. He couldn’t believe how fast everything had happened and now his only son was gone and he never got the chance to apologize. As he sat with his head in his hands, his wife walked in and handed him the paper that had been previously in her hand. When he opened it, he realized that his son wasn’t expelled from school for doing something bad, but that he had been accepted into college early because he was beyond his years in education and had already tested out of high school. Instead of celebrating the accomplishment with his son, he was now getting ready to bury him because he didn’t have the patience to listen.

The moral of this story, slow down! Patience is defined as the ability to endure waiting, delay, or provocation without becoming annoyed or upset, or to persevere calmly when faced with difficulties. Don’t you know the bible says in Matthew 6:27, “And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” Plus worrying never made you look better and it surely won’t stop your bills from being due, your car quitting on the way home or the results from the doctor any better. So why are you rushing? Aren’t you still late if you leave the house at 8 and have to be somewhere at 8, so why are you doing 90 on the expressway? Aren’t you still going to be a few minutes late for your doctor’s appointment because you left the house a few minutes late? Wouldn’t you rather make it a few minutes late rather than not make it at all? Why are you are pacing trying to figure out how to make your next move a great move, when God says he already has it covered? That’s what the bibles says in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Why are you already stressing about tomorrow’s worries when you haven’t even given a thought about today’s when Matthew 6:34 says “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” You are worrying about June and its April. You’re worried about next week’s weather when tomorrow isn’t promised. You are worried about the project that due’s next month at work when you should be focused on the one that’s due Friday. Honey, BE STILL! Philippians 4:6 says “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” See, God is trying to do something in your life, at this very moment, but you’re moving too fast to see it. God is trying to tell you something but your mind is too busy to hear it. God could have a blessing walking beside you on the street but you won’t slow down long enough to receive it. Don’t you know how worse Job’s life would have been had he not had the patience to endure the trap that had been set by the devil? Job knew that in order for him to be blessed he had to endure some stress, so he waited for God to bring him out his storm. Yea, he went to Hell and back but he waited. Why? Because he knew no matter what he went through, God was there the whole time.

And it’s the same with you. God hasn’t left you just because you are having a hard time right now. Don’t you know that God made you late to avoid the huge traffic jam on your way to work or to miss that 18 wheeler who would have crashed into the back of you? God made the line long at the coffee shop because he didn’t want the sick waitress to fix your drink because he knew you didn’t want to miss your vacation. He made your wait at the restaurant a little longer because the manager made them recook your food that had fallen on the floor. Just because things aren’t going right, it doesn’t mean it’s for your bad and you’d probably realize it if you stopped rushing and worrying. How do you expect to enjoy the sun if you see it every day? How could you enjoy the good days if you never had any bad days? How could you thank God for your well days if you never experienced any sick ones? How would you enjoy the extra money you have left this week if you never experienced a shortage? God gives us patience in order for us to be able to handle the stress, worries and strife of this world. He gives us patience to endure the many no’s we hear on a daily basis. He gives us patience in order to care when the world stops. You have patience but you need to take a few minutes to pull them out of the drawer you stuck them in. Take a minute and have a conversation with the folks in your home. Take the few extra minutes on your drive home and talk to God. Slow down and smell the fresh air while you’re walking from that parking space that’s all the way in the back that you complained about. Have patience and wait because there could be a blessing in it. If God made it so easy for you to climb the mountain, would you actually enjoy the view from the top when you make it?