Day 176 - Focus: The provider or the provision?

Featured product: Steinke's Rice-Kernel Popcorn
a tender 'hull-less kernel.  Found online or in area stores like Mars Cheese Castle on Highway 94


Lesson for Monday from the PAPA prayer is

Focus on the provider – not the provision. How can I do that? The Lord's Prayer was Jesus' model for us:

Matthew 6:6-9 [the Message] amplifies the prelude to the Lord’s Prayer

Matt. 6:6 “Here’s what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.

Matt. 6:7 “The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They’re full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God.

Matt. 6:8 Don’t fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need.

Matt. 6:9 With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply.

Crabb’s example of sitting with his wife and focusing on her brings home the beauty of focusing on the person rather than the provision. I know when my hubby and I are relaxing or walking and holding hands, focused on one another, there is not a desire to request anything that would, as Crabb states, “violate our togetherness”.

He closes out Chapter 8 by listing three things to focus on to remain in Christ: 1) The value of what Christ has done for us that we could never do ourselves (more than all the little miracles, adoption into the family of God). 2) our helplessness to arrange for our satisfaction or do anything of real significance without daily strength from God 3) to spend time alone with Him in silence and solitude.

I think that was one of the most difficult challenges as a young Christian, when I was encouraged to spend 24 hours with God – and as little noise (including music) as possible. I was shocked to realize how much I depended on activity and noise to form my thoughts and prayers. Fortunately she started me with 7 minutes first.

Today was challenging for me, dealing with some complicated -issues.  I find when things like this come up, I tend to focus on the details and the solution so much that the rest of life's details often get forgotten or ignored.  Not good.  It was after 6 pm when I finally got away from the telephone and did what I should have done this morning - get on the treadmill and get secluded time into the Word.  I can't even remember what all I ate today as I've grabbed a bite or a sip of this or that as I ran from one detail to the next. 

Let's see... I had a little of Ken's hash and pineapple (a favorite of his) sometime today... and - oh yeah, a half cup of a lemon dessert found cleaning out the freezer, and a couple handfuls of "rice"corn to ease the digestive upset of the dessert.  Not a good nutrition day, so, lesson learned,  I'm going down to prepare the menu for tomorrow.