From Take My Life and Let It Be by Frances Havergal (1874):
“Take my feet and let them be
swift and beautiful for Thee.”
Do the shoes in your closet focus on speed or beauty? Is that in the view of our culture, or in the eye of the Lord?
I don’t need spike heels or cross-trainers. I want to just step out in faith.
There are outgrown clothes in my closet, roles that don’t fit me anymore.
Me: I am too saggy and baggy for this outfit. But I can’t let it go. I really like it.
God: Your culture says getting old is bad. I say, embrace your maturity. Grow old graciously!
Proverbs 16:31 (ESV)
Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life.
I always said that a woman who’s 40 doesn’t look 30 by dressing like she is 20. Now that I’m in my 60’s, it’s time to let go of my 40’s [sigh].
Whenever I clean my closet, I find things I don’t need. They occupy space that could be put to better use. Same thing with my life. There’s some worthless stuff occupying space:
Time to clean the closet of my soul. I’ll start with that stash of snapish responses I never delivered (the world is better off without them).
How about your closet?
“God never made a promise
that was too good to be true.“
D. L. Moody, 1837-1899
Smart man, our Mr. Moody.
God has a sense of humor. I’m sure of it.
After all, he created the duck-billed, beaver-tailed, otter-footed, egg-laying platypus.
We are created to smile, giggle, chuckle, laugh, guffaw. God intends that we have fun. True fun, not mocking, teasing, heckling, ridiculing fun.
True fun, and God laughs with us.
When I confess my sin to God in prayer, I often point out what “the other guy” did first.
God: That is someone else’s story.
True confession always starts with “I . . . “
John 4:24 (NIV)
God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.
I can sing, “Praise God from whom all blessings flow,” or “I love you, Lord.” But if my mind is focused on my next trip to the mall and my heart is set on getting my own way, the song is a lie. That lie, no matter how well sung, isn’t worship.
How truthful are you?
John 8:32 (NASB)
You will know the truth,
and the truth will make you free.
4th of July resolution: Sow truth, reap freedom.
When something happens to me that I don’t like, I complain to God that I am being persecuted. I ask God to bless me by giving me what I want.
God reminds me that what I don’t like might be his discipline or a natural consequence. Likewise, what I want may not be good for me, and his blessings are always good for me.
From Jeremy Taylor — part preacher, part poet
(mid-1600’s):
“The labor and sweat of our brows is so far from being a curse, that without it our very bread would not be so great a blessing.“
Cleric Taylor’s wisdom still applies. I may whine about my job, but it is a blessing, not a curse. I am indeed grateful for my daily bread. And my morning coffee. 
