All in a Day's Work

St. Louis, MO -- So today I didn't feel too well. Just overall. Yesterday either.

But I did go visit a church this morning out in St. Peters. Victory Church. There was a guest speaker and it was just a really good message. I got to know some people and went out to lunch with the congregation to this little restaurant called Saullo's (I think), which had a pretty good salad, in case you're wondering.

I'm going to deviate from course right now: One of the things I love to order since I've been back is a good salad. Being in Mexico, you had to wash your fruits and veggies really well, and use a cap full of bleach to soak your lettuce. Even after washing it off (with purified water), it still had a bleachy taste. It doesn't matter how much make-it-yourself ranch dressing you put on it... it just doesn't taste as good.

Ummm... yes, I'd like a bleachless chef salad.... Ranch, on the side.

Alright, getting back on course.I came home for about two and a half hours, though it didn't feel like it. And then I headed back out to go to a Young Adult Bible Study that I had been invited to. I wasn't feeling good (again/still) but I headed out anyhow.

I went WAY into the boonies (not really... it was about 45 minutes south of here though) and got through the weaving of 1.5 lane roads and got to the house and... there were 3 cars. THAT can't be good.

I knocked on the door and apparently the leaders had just gotten back from a family reunion and it was at someone else's house. And they were going to have a game night.They knew me and so they called the girl's house that it was at and mapquested me there.

BTW. Mapquest was wrong.

But, I finally made it there... Kinda by mistake (but it was totally the other way from where mapquest sent me) and when I called those people, I was practically there.

We did have a good time though. They're pretty hilarious, and we played Catch Phrase and Apples to Apples-- which I had never played before. It was a good evening and I thoroughly enjoyed myself and laughed pretty hard. On the way home (leaving a little early... hey, I stayed almost 3 hours!) some guy was trying to challenge me to a drag race on Hall Street. I obviously didn't accept.

Anyway, one of the things that stuck with me today was something that the guest speaker said while praying-- that it is our faith that pleases God.

Sometimes I think we forget that. Sometimes I think I forget that. As Americans, we're focused a lot on a job well-done and pleasing the boss-man and the tiny little scribblings in our weekly planner... or hourly planner, in some cases.

It's easy to get caught up in this and that and the other. And when things look complicated and aren't going smoothly JUST LIKE I thought they would, well, I forget all about trusting God and simple faith and simple obedience. Ok, how do I fix this? What's my new route?It's easy for me to get caught up in that. What about you? Being a child before God pleases Him. He's not impressed with all my great plans... after all, they were HIS plans in the first place. It's simply trusting God, holding His hand when things appear unsure, and just believing that He's God and in control of it all, that pleases Him. Simple obedience to His commands is what He asks for.

Our faith is what pleases God because our focus is on God. That's what it revolves around. He's the important figure. But when we try to "do" or "be" to please God, our focus is on ourselves and we become the important figure. We're never content or at peace that way. It brings anxiety.

I'm not saying don't do good things or have plans or try to resolve problems. I'm saying, don't let go of God's hand to try to put the puzzle together yourself. 1 Thes. 5:24