How do you feel about interruptions? Most of us don’t like them. We have a plan, and we don’t want anything to get in the way. We even have a plan on how to carry out God’s will for our lives. Planning is important, and it keeps us on track. God wants us to be efficient in carrying out the work that he has for us to do. But just as planning is a God thing sometimes so are interruptions.

Remember the “Help, I’ve fallen and can’t get up” ad?  The ad promotes a product to help those who have fallen physically and need assistance getting back to their feet. Do you ever feel like you fallen spiritually and just can’t get up? We could all use a lifeline from time to time.

Choices matter is a theme that has resurfaced lately. I say that it has resurfaced because it has always been true, and the Bible has much to say about how to make wise choices and the results of foolish ones.

How many times have we heard or even said ourselves, “I may have thought it, but I didn’t say it?” We think somehow that it’s okay if the bad comment doesn’t come out of our mouths. The Bible has a lot to say about our thought life too.

This week is the time when we reflect on our nation and how great it is to live in America. There are so many facets of our history that we have forgotten or never knew and many of them are right before our face constantly.

Last weekend I attended the Kentucky Christian Writers Conference. After the conference ended on Saturday, my family and I stayed in the beautiful Elizabethtown, Kentucky and waited until Sunday to drive home.

We know that when Jesus taught, he used examples of common everyday things that the people of biblical times would recognize and could easily understand. He talked about such things as seeds, sheep, lost coins to make his spiritual lessons real to those he was teaching. Where do you think Jesus learned to teach like this?

Churches all around my area are preparing for Vacation Bible School. Along with the crafts, cookies, and Kool-Aid, I remember learning the basic Bible stories during this time. As homage to VBS, I thought we would look at one of them this week and see that there is much more to the story than what we learned as a child.

While shopping at a nearby town, I ran into a grocery store to buy a couple of things. As I checked out and was leaving, I noticed something odd. Standing by the door of the grocery store, was a pair of crutches with a sign attached that said, “Free crutches.” The thought ran through my head that I hoped someone who really needed them got them.  As I exited the store into the parking lot headed for my car I stepped in a hole and almost turned my ankle. I chuckled to myself that If I had fallen those free crutches were waiting for me inside.

The month of May seems to be a transitional month. School is out for the summer. College kids are moving out of their dorms. Even the weather is in transition. You never know what you are going to get when you go outside. Transition can be exciting and new, or they can be hard and unnerving.

As I sat in the audience, some forty years later and listened to this man recount his story, his next words were profound. He said, “Had it not been for this immediate positive response from my mother, I might have given up on my art.” After all these years, this now successful artist gives credit for his success to the encouragement of his mother and more specifically to her words on one particular day when he was fourteen years old. The world told him he couldn’t, but his mother told him he could. Wow! What power a mother’s words carry.

Have you ever been guilty of talking when you should be listening? Not only do you miss information, but it is also rude to be talking while someone else is speaking. If you have ever worked with children, you know that it a constant occurrence. They must be taught to listen to instructions.

I recently had a birthday and part of my day was spent reading the birthday wishes that I received on Facebook. I thought about each person and how I had come to know them. Some were old high school or college friends. Some were accumulated at different jobs I’ve had throughout my life. Many are church friends, and many others are my writer friends.