Chickens, Coffee, Arthritis and Sore Muscles

The past week has been consumed with building a chicken coop for Kay. I gave her six baby chicks for Christmas and they are presently 'living' in my workshop in a cage. "Peep, peep, peep" is what I constantly hear when I go into my shop and see them staring up at me with one eye. Little do they know that they are going to be moving into a Chicken Mansion soon.

It has been a solid week of designing in my head and trying to make that design a tangible piece of reality. I am amazed at people like my brother who can build just about anything without plans. I'm a planner though and the more detailed the better. I have thought of Noah often over this past week. There was Noah at a time when it had never rained and God told him to build an ark because the rains are coming. Build an ark with no plans. I can imagine that those years of building were filled with conversations with God on plan details.

Believe it or not, my chicken coop had some of the same conversations. I couldn't have done it on my own. I have asked God to guide me through something even as mundane as a chicken coop and He has come through.

It has been a good lesson for me in realizing just how much God wants to be part of our lives everyday.

I don't get carried away about resolutions as the new year comes around. I figure that if it is a good goal to work for, you can resolve on any day of the year to start working in that direction. Be that as it may though, I have resolved to take the lessons learned about including God in even the mundane parts of my life. The conversations have been good and they have provided me comfort, strength, guidance and assurance. That is good and I am thankful that I have a God that wants to spend time with me.

Continual Conversations with God

I came to the realization this morning that I have not been in conversation with God the way that I should. Most people consider a conversation with God to be prayer and indeed it is. But I have come to realize that prayer is not an event but a lifestyle.

I remember in the past just going through the day in continual prayer. We all have conversations with ourselves (with our soul)... ah, come on now... admit it... you talk to yourself! Continual prayer is just letting the Holy Spirit in on my conversation. Instead of a two-way conversation, it becomes three-way.

I have been good at allowing this to happen in my mind in the past but it seems to eb and flow in my life. Lately, I have been very good at setting aside time to study the Bible and to start my day in prayer. What I haven't been good at is praying all day long though. I made a recommitment to this lifestyle this morning in my 'prayer' :) and I ask that you also pray that I will allow the Holy Spirit into my 'self conversations' all day, every day.