The Little Things

There are so many distractions and stresses in life, always so many things to be done and accomplished. But sometimes the best thing to do is to take a step back and do something different. To take all those demands on our time and focus, and put them on the back burner. To reach out and connect with other people, to do something fun, regardless of whether it's productive, regardless of whether it will further your career, regardless of whether it will boost your grade.

Today I bake. I put on my music, spend the morning in the kitchen, and create. I make up a recipe and experiment. I rejoice.

The best part of baking is that it serves other people - I don't even have to eat the food I make! I can do something that brings me pure joy and use it to please others. 

I see God in the little things I do, the seemingly unimportant tasks that I love, like baking. I take joy in my creations the way I hope God takes joy in me. If I can experience such pleasure at the delicious taste of my confections, imagine how much pleasure God finds in me and you!

Are you taking the time to do what you love? Do you see God in your passions?

Today's Verse
Matthew 6: 33-34
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

What Really Matters

Today I find myself incredibly aware of the protective nature and provision of God. I'm not quite sure why these things are so clear to me today, but I do know that the feelings of peace and assurance that go with them make going about the day and my to do list a lot easier.

I am in the midst of the (hopefully) final revisions and changes for my Master's Thesis. I've sent it to my committee chairs. They might hate it. They might want me to do even more work. The whole process has now officially taken two semesters longer than it was supposed to: what if they hold that against me? What if they don't want me to pass?

I've realized that it doesn't matter what they think. Not really. If they want me to pour more work into my thesis, I will. But it won't change what really matters, because I don't do this work for them. I don't do it for my department. I do it for God and for me. I work hard, not to please my department, but because being a diligent steward of my talents and skills is something God calls me to do. All I care about is whether my work glorifies Him, not Penn State, not my adviser.

My department might not be pleased with me, but if I am walking the path God lays before me, that is all that matters. God goes before me, He honors me and my work when I honor Him. He protects and provides exactly what I need, in academics and in other areas of my life. When I make it about Him, when I keep my eyes on the true prize, the pressures and distractions of academia fade away and I am left with only God. And that's what matters.

What distracts you from God? Are you looking for approval from other sources? 

Today's Verses
Psalm 91: 14-15
"Because he loves me," says the Lord, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him."