Food for thought

Well, I am almost done with Beth Moore's James study. It is bittersweet because I really do enjoy doing them, but I do like the success of the achievement of the finish line.

A couple things that hit me recently from the study:

In chapter 5 James says that the prayers of a righteous man have great effectiveness. Is James saying that God listens better to so called "righteous people"? I don't think so. I know that God hears all of us, but maybe when righteous people pray their motives are coming from a pure place. We all know when we want/ask for something under a different premise covering up our actual motives. The ends justifies the means, right? Well, in my opinion, I don't think we should necessarily live that way.

Remember when you were little (or maybe not so little) and you did something bad? It ate away at you all day until you finally had to tell someone. Or maybe you squashed it down and it didn't bother you, but when you were confronted about it, all the guilt came bubbling up and overwhelmed you. I can think of a couple examples in my own life. One involving me telling my mom that I had already brushed my teeth before bed, when I hadn't. I couldn't go sleep and had to get up and brush my teeth and tell my mom. Yes, I know. I was such a wicked child :) Ahh, but the feeling of relief when it is done and over. Confess it, it's forgiven, and your soul is clean. Can we think of ways to apply that in our "grown-up" lives?

Do you sometimes feel that when you are sick it is a punishment from God? I know I contemplate that sometimes. But God loves us, he doesn't want to hurt us. It doesn't add up in my head. Even Job, from the Bible. God didn't curse him, God allowed Satan to afflict him. But why? Well, God did know that Job was going to come out on the other end better than before. I still can't wrap my head around that. So, maybe when we are sick or ill or whatever, God is allowing it to happen for a reason. Maybe we just physically need some time to rest or else something worse would happen. Maybe if you hadn't called off work that day you would have been in a car accident. Thoughts, anyone?

P.S. I would love some prayers from all of you as I figure out what the next step is I want to take in my job world. Thanks!

Are we friends?

Good afternoon, folks! I realized I picked up using the word folks at Disney. Anytime I am attempting to get through a crowd of people in a work related capacity I call them "folks." It worked better at Magic Kingdom than it did for a lobby full of high school choir kids :)

Maybe it's just me, but do you ever stop listening to what others are saying because you are planning what you are going to say in response. I do it pretty much all the time. There is nothing wrong with thinking before you speak, but why do you have to stop listening to do it? I am going to try completely listening first and then planning! On the same hand, I sometimes feel that people will greatly benefit from my "superior knowledge" and if it has to be harsh, so be it. Why? Shouldn't wisdom have some gentleness to it? If you are truly wise in a matter you probably have gone through the same thing and will have some empathy.

Here's a simple thought: Ask God for what you want. He is a generous Father. He wants to bless us, but if we can't ask him for something, guess what? He isn't in it.

Bible study also had some interesting points on friendship. She brought up that friends have knowledge of your "master plan", a closeness of presence, and insider knowledge. The study was talking about how God can be your friend and that the Holy Spirit gives us insider knowledge while studying the Bible, but it was fun for me to think of my relationships and see how those themes played out.