Turn left now...

Our Daily Bread
I remember when my best friend got a car with a GPS in the dash.  It was so cool!  He would program in where to go and the GPS would talk him through the instructions.  We quickly noticed that the GPS was not always accurate.  He was driving on I-270, the loop around Columbus, when the voice said "Turn left now".  He would have ended up in the median!

Fortunately, our heavenly GPS, the Holy Spirit, will not lead us astray like that.  Will we always know exactly where we are going?  Probably not.  As I said many times in this blog, where does it matter where the road ends up as long as God is leading.

Are you relying on God to provide your life directions?  Trust me when I say I KNOW it is difficult.  Please know that God knows the desires of our hearts, sometimes even before we realize them.  How cool is that?  ;-)

Lord, set the direction for my life.  Please make is so.

Simply Saturday
Well, I resisted using the Star Trek references while talking about the devotional this morning. hehehe  I can imagine God saying something like my prayer above.  "Duane, do your prayers and Bible study.  Make is so" like Captain Picard would on The Next Generation.  hehehe  I know I sometimes argue back to God "I am giving it all she's got, Captain!"  I know my dilythium crystals have been running low recently.  I had my latest batch of testosterone pellets installed on Thursday.  I cam feeling a little better already.  I feel like I am getting my energy levels back a little.  They will fully kick in during the next few days.  Whew...

I had a bizarre week, but it had an amazing bright spot.  After all I have been through and as hard as I have been working and praying, I feel like I am finally starting to live the quiet, confident joy from the inside out.  I have been "making is so" with sheer will power in my mind.  That failed because it is not the right approach.  The right approach is to let God provide the spark, and then let the Holy Spirit build the flame by letting him flow through you with his holy wind.

There were times this week when I felt the quiet, confident joy more than ever before.  I am finally learning to chose to let the joy show through even when my mind and body don't feel like it.  For me, it is like sitting around a camp fire.  You can choose to stand close enough to the camp fire where you can feel its warmth and bask in its glow.  You can also choose to stand far away from the camp fire or even turn your back on it where you don't really feel it.

Change topic: I want a tattoo.  I have wanted one for years, but didn't know what to get.  I like the idea of barbed wire or a Celtic band around my arm, but those things really don't mean much to me personally.  An article I read suggested getting something that really means something to you.  I decided on two tattoos, one on each arm.  I want a lamp with the words "Thy Word", representing God's Word being a light until my path, on one arm.  I want a flame representing the Holy Spirit on the other arm.  I decided that those two symbols mean a lot to me.  I will post pictures when I finally get them.  ;-)

I went to the Exile last night.  Yes, I know I rarely go to the bars.  I went to help sell stuff for Bear Camp, an event that raises money for charity.  The bar was bare, hehehe, so we just talked for a few hours.  I remember why I don't go out much.  ;-p  I have to admit that I felt awkward and like I didn't belong there.  Hmmmmm, maybe that is why I rarely go?

I need to run some errands and do some stuff around the house today.  I plan to read and rest the remainder of the weekend.  I am looking forward to the amazing thing that God has for me.  I hope you are, too.

Hang in there, my friends!  I will be upbeat and steady.  That is what I do...