Hot Shower

 

I was in a hurry this morning when I took my shower, and I learned a great lesson in self-denial.  I usually like to take a leisurely hot shower like this: I turn on the water and get it hot.  Then I flip the lever to the shower, adjust it so that it is too hot, and then I back it off just a little bit.  I wash and soak, and then soak and wash.  And when I get out, my body looks like a steamed lobster.  I put baby lotion all over because my skin is itchy.  But as I said, today I was in a hurry.  So the shower was warm, but not too warm.  And that let me hurry along and not dawdle enjoying the hotness.  When I got out, I had no time for lotion.  I was in a hurry.  But later in the day, I reflected on the morning.  My skin wasn’t itchy because of the tepid water.  The hot, hot water was causing my itchy skin.  So, if I didn’t indulge in the hot water, I saved time, I helped my skin, I saved on the water bill, and I saved on the electric bill.   AND … I felt better about myself because I wasn’t pampering my flesh.  Romans 13:14, “But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof."

Mistaken Identity, Or Destiny?

 

Wednesday, a lady fb messaged me about a pergola that I had listed on marketplace.  She asked me if I could make a 4-gabled roofed gazebo near her pool and sent a picture.  I replied that I could, told her that I lived in Ringgold, and asked how far she lived from Ringgold.  She replied that she lived in Dunwoody, GA which is almost 2 hours away - too far for me to travel to.  She replied that I had made a swing for her with a pergola above.  I told her that I had not, and she concluded that it had been another contractor.  I finished by saying goodbye, but the Holy Spirit prodded me, and I added, “Hey, Jesus loves you.  Look up John 3:16 in your Bible.”  After I closed facebook, I reflected.  God may have prompted her to have mistaken me for the other contractor so that she could have received a gospel witness.  Hey, pray for Allie in Dunwoody, GA that she will John 3:16!  Pray that she will visit at a good church this Sunday.  You never know what a little seed will do.  Jesus said in Luke 8:5&8, “A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.”

Friendly or Not?

 

I went into Ft. Oglethorpe Chick fil-A Monday morning, ordered breakfast and sat down.  As I looked around, the place was humming with activity.  The staff behind the counter were happy.  The food was coming out from the back in regular succession.  The drive-thru outside was moving along with pleasant faces taking orders.  Carry-out orders were being filled by attentive workers.  My food came in short order and the waitress asked, “Is there anything else that I can get for you?”  I replied, “Oh, yes.  I forget to get 2 packets of honey for my biscuit.”  She said, “Be right back.”  And she returned in a moment with 3 packets of honey – just in case I needed more.  The food was hot; the coffee was hot; the workers were pleasant; and the customers were content.  Hey, why are our churches shrinking?  Could it be that the people in the pews are sour?  Do we greet visitors with smiles or scowls?  Do new people feel welcomed or intimidated?  I John 4:11, “Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.”