I know at times we long for more simple days. Less gadgets and things that distract us but I’ve got to say that there are certain inventions that I am really thankful for. Like bluetooth capability for example. I love that I can connect and control things wirelessly from my phone. It makes life easier!

When I started wearing a smartwatch I had to pair it to my phone before it could do all the things that I wanted it to do. It’s not a difficult process. It just requires time and a bit of setup to make sure that my phone, my watch, and I are all on the same page. We could call it ‘PRE-pairing’. The connection process is necessary for maximum results. And my smartwatch is only paired to my phone. I can’t look at my smartwatch and read someone else’s messages or receive another person’s phone calls. My watch and my phone are synced up to each other to keep me on track and going in the right direction.

There is a ‘pre-paring’ of another kind that needs to happen with us and it has nothing to do with equipment or technology. It has everything to do with our connection to God. Every day we must make sure we are synced up with the Holy Spirit to be sure we are prepared and ready for our day ahead. Our journey will be arduous at times. There will be twists and turns in the road. Places and people that require extra wisdom and knowledge to fulfill the purpose and plans that God has for us to accomplish.

1 Corinthians 2:9-10 (ESV) tells us, “But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”, these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.”

Have you PRE-paired with the Master yet today? Good news…you don’t need wifi to do it! This kind of pairing requires only a moment of focused prayer to get started. God has prepared things for us and He will reveal them to us through His Spirit. Be sure you are paired and synced up!!

I had coffee with a dear friend the other morning. Every time we get together we catch each other up on life, family, and work. There is always laughter… and always tears. Empathy runs deep in both of us and we can celebrate one another’s joys as well as absorb one another’s pain. Our conversations almost always rest in what God has been teaching us lately in His Word. It is exactly why I am so fond of the phrase I saw one day that read, “some of my favorite conversations happen over the rims of mugs”. Leaning in. Listening intently. Lingering in our time and space together.

That is not just a favorite posture I take with friends. Many times while I am reading my Bible and enjoying a quiet space with the Lord I have my favorite cup of coffee and I sip while I listen. Perhaps you do the same. Maybe your first cup of coffee in the morning is part of your quiet time posture with God. Psalm 37:7 (TPT) sets the tone for sitting in His presence. “Quiet your heart in His presence and wait patiently for YAHWEH.” Lamentations 3:25 (MSG) tells us, “God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits, to the woman who diligently seeks.”

Think about meeting a friend for coffee. You arrive early and begin to sip from your cup while you wait…anticipating your friends’ arrival and the conversation you will have. Now consider this: I believe that God is already at the table waiting for us! Anticipating our time together…sipping from the cup that truly quenches our thirst. The ‘waiting patiently’, ‘passionately waiting’ and ‘diligently seeking’ is for our benefit. It’s that settling our mind and heart to really listen for God’s voice.

It really doesn’t matter if we start our day with coffee…or tea…or water! It absolutely matters that we begin our day with our hearts postured toward our Father God. Those are my most favorite conversations of all!

There is no such thing as a coincidence in God’s story. My brain cannot even begin to comprehend how He created everything, keeps everything in order and takes action at the precise moments we need Him. Especially when we are unaware – God is always at work on our behalf.

Have you ever been awakened and felt the need to urgently pray for someone? Then later found out it was at that precise moment that there was something happening to that person and the Holy Spirit allowed you to be part of that rescue mission. Maybe you were in the middle of something and were prompted to pray for someone. It’s always good to pause and pray.

There were four guys with leprosy who were forced out of their town to live outside the city gate. A famine had spread throughout the land and people inside the gates were dying from starvation. The enemy camp was set up a few miles away…and they had food! So the guys began to weigh their options. If they stayed at the gate, they would die. If they went back inside the city to look for food, they would die. The one unknown was this: if they went to the enemy camp they might be killed…or they might not. So, they set out for the enemy camp…at dusk. 2 Kings 7:3-7 (NIV) tells this story like a movie scene. The foursome moved out to find food, meanwhile, the enemies in the camp hear noises like they are about to be attacked. They drop everything and run away from the camp…AT DUSK!

The precise moment the hungry men begin to move forward is the exact same moment God set in motion the clearing of the camp. It’s an amazing story with more that we may unpack another day but for today the lesson is that when we are willing to step out in faith, it activates a response from God. What is it that you are struggling with or afraid of? Pray for God to help you to move forward. Determine to take a step in that direction…and then do it! You’ll find that God is at work clearing the way for you!

We are such creatures of habit! I’m convinced that routine is the comfort we relax into from day to day. We keep the same rhythm each morning as we start the day. We drive the same way to work. Go to the same coffee shop and lunch spot. Pick up the same items on the grocery list. Talk to the same people in the same places we frequent. Even have the same conversations about weather and what we know to have in common. We wonder why we get bored?! We wonder if our lives are really making an impact?! We wonder why it feels like we are stuck in a rut?!

We have to do something different if we want different results! What if we added 20 minutes to our alarm setting and began everything that today would hold with prayer? What if we drove a different way to work and stopped at a different place to grab coffee? What if we picked out one or two new recipes and made something different for dinner this week? What if we ran our errands at a different time than usual? What if we started every day asking God to help us not to miss what He has planned for us?

God will direct our steps. There’s no question about it. I have found that I tend to rely on Him more when I’m not in the same old flow of things. My attention is more tuned in to what is different. I’m more alert to my surroundings and the people I’m meeting. I am anticipating what God is orchestrating on my behalf and how He wants me to interact with others along the way. What if this next step in a different direction is the first step on a new course?!

This is what we can be sure of: “The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.” Psalm 37:23-24 (NLT) Even when we turn left instead of right and especially when we are running late and end up at a different place at a different time, God is right there holding our hand, delighting in every detail of our day.

I was drawn to the piano from a really young age. My uncle, who played the piano, told my parents that when I was old enough he would give me lessons. So when I was about five years old, my parents bought a beautiful upright piano for the living room and he began to come by the house every week for a piano lesson. I loved playing and it wasn’t hard to get me to practice. I can’t remember if my feet actually reached the floor at five or not but I remember when playing the piano with the sustain pedal began and it was a game changer!

No more plunking notes that were short and staccato. With the sustain pedal pressed to the floor, I could play notes that kept sounding even after I had lifted my hands from the keys. And it was pretty! When the electric keyboards for kids came out I remember being disappointed because everything sounded choppy. No sustain pedal! That sustain pedal was magical and without it my playing sounded like I was five years old again.

I was thinking about that sustain pedal the other morning when I read a Bible verse in Psalm 54:4 (NIV). “Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me.” The Lord sustains us. He keeps us going long after we think our chord has stopped. When we think our song is over… God is still playing His song through us. God IS our Help and our Sustainer! The New International Reader’s Version says, “The Lord is the One who keeps me going!”

There is a phrase that I use sometimes. I typically say it when someone owns up to a mistake. “That’s how we learn” is my way of saying…we all make mistakes. Learning from our mistakes is an important part of our growth process.

When my son, Cody, was about four years old, he was standing at a window on the front porch watching the last of a storm clear out of our area while I was in the kitchen in the back part of the house finishing up the dishes. Cody started calling for me to come look. Several times he said, ‘Mommy, come look!’ I was so close to being done so I finished washing the last couple of dishes, dried my hands, and walked to the front room where he was still looking out the window. When I got there I asked him what he wanted me to see and he looked at me sadly and said, ‘you missed it, Mommy. It was a pretty rainbow.’

I missed it. He wanted to share the beautiful rainbow with me and I missed the moment. Heartbroken by his disappointment I realized it was up to me to learn from that and try harder to be in the moment. That’s how we learn. Still a work in progress… as are we all. It’s an important reminder to listen to those around us, and even more so, to listen to the voice of God when He is calling us to look and listen.

Daniel 2:20-22 (NKJV) “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons; He removes kings and sets up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to those who have understanding; He reveals deep and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him.”

Let’s not get so busy that we miss what God wants to reveal to us today!