Delay Tactics

Boy - I'm certainly awash today! Not enough sleep - too much stirring in my brain - and a lack of energy for bringing about anything that I'm thinking about. I wish that I could give orders and have someone else work on projects that I would dream up for them to do - like Martha Stewart does. But then I'd have to work all the time and perhaps be a drill sergeant, and I'm not able to do either of those things.

This picture of a medieval castle and village remind me of something depicted in Tolkein's "The Lord of the Rings" or in C.S. Lewis' "Chronicles of Narnia". When I made the picture, I animated it with some cool pool-shadows and the windchime moving in a mystical breeze. Alas, I can't get the animation to work on this blogsite.

What are my delay tactics, you ask, since I gave this posting that title? Well, the delay tactic is that I'm teaching Sunday School tomorrow and I don't want to work on my lesson. I would like to just get up in front of the class and talk and stimulate them to grand thoughts and composite thoughts as a result, but I'm afraid that it's not possible to do that if you've only ingested fluff. And this week I feel like that is precisely what I've been mentally eating. "You can fool some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time." said Abraham Lincoln. I'm sure after the first 5 minutes each person would know that my preparation time for the class was about 14 minutes.

We're going to look at the "rest passage" of Hebrews 4, and one would think that I've been practicing that passage literally. Although, I do think that the Lord is wanting me to learn to rely upon Him more and less upon my own need to have every I crossed and T dotted - or is it I dotted and T crossed?? Most of the time perfection eludes me and I'm always chasing it with a switch hoping to bring it under my dominion. The other day I wrote a quote by Michael J. Fox about perfection belonging to God and not to me. I can safely pursue excellence but perfection will never belong to me.

So - rest... The rest that I can have in knowing the Lord is in control. He knows how much chaos has been swirling around in this household this week while the grandkids are here. He knows every detail of my days and nights. He understands. I always take heart in the verse in Psalms that says that He gently leads the nursing ewes. Teaching this adult Sunday School class is rather like cramming for Final Exams. If I haven't been consistent during the term to study, then cramming in the last few hours won't do a bit of good. Well, I have been pretty consistent throughout my adult life to study and to read the Bible, so this week I am going to trust the Lord. I am going to rest in Him and in His greatness to teach the people and have faith that He will bring out of me riches, both old and new, to encourage and stimulate His beloved people to draw closer to Him. I've been praying throughout the week that He will have deposited into me what He wants to use as parables and teaching tools. I will read the passage again tonight. I will pray about what I'm reading. I will read a little in a commentary - and I'll call it adequate.

It truly is my desire that people would be drawn to Him. The goal is not to edify myself. So, this rest is about allowing Him to lead through His Holy Spirit. He will have to do be present to teach through me - and I know He will. He's a good Father!