Peace producing plan

While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be careful to have it even more fully in your heart. (Francis of Assisi)

People who work for evil make trouble, but those who plan for peace bring happiness. (Proverbs 12:20)

What is your 'plan' moving forward? It doesn't really matter that you have made a mess of the plan up to this point - it matters what you will do moving forward. Our planning is important - God's plans are more so. What God plans can change the heart of a man - our plans merely change 'things' around us that may affect our heart, but rarely does it change our heart for good. We need God's plans worked out - especially when we have made a mess of the plans we imagined!

Plan for peace - get your heart right with God - them move on. The more we turn our plans over to God, the more we may find those plans have been affecting our heart (our inner man) in some ways that have actually kept us from realizing all God has for us. Sometimes we need that 'adjustment' that God does in order to turn from our plans and trust his plans fully. Will we always understand his plans? Absolutely not! We can trust them, though. Plan for peace - bring your plans to God, leave the ones there that don't align with what he purposes, and step out into the ones he has prepared for us in advance of us asking for his wisdom.

People who work for evil will make trouble in this world. Do all the planning yourself and you are likely to be planning to make 'trouble' even though you don't realize it. It will be easier to step on each other's toes, creating chaos, and inciting others to rebel when we are reliant upon our own plans as the way we will 'do business' in life. God's best comes when we are willing to lay down those plans, submitting them to his scrutiny, and then executing the plan he reveals. Will his plans always be dramatically different than ours? Not always, but when we submit them to him, we have a much better chance of them producing a peace within us as we move forward in executing them. Just sayin!

Is this the right action?

John Wooden reminds us to, "Never mistake activity for achievement." We can all get wrapped up in the 'activity' and miss out on really achieving much in it. When we focus on the activity rather than the reason for it, the people involved in it, and the outcome we desire to see from it, we miss out on the moment. He also reminds us that it is the "little details that are vital...they make big things happen". There comes a time when we need to just 'make big things happen' in life. We need to buy that new car, move to a new house, start a new job, get involved in a new church, or learn to make new friends. Much activity doesn't mean we will accomplish any of these - it just means we may not sleep very well at night!

Too much activity gives you restless dreams; too many words make you a fool. (Ecclesiastes 5:3)

As important as the activity may be, we need to be able to shut down and rest. We need that renewal for the health of our bodies and brains. If you have ever tossed and turned, unable to shut-off your thoughts, 'worrying' plans over and over again, you know how difficult it actually becomes to focus on the actual task. Your body did not rest well, and your brain worked overtime, but your task is no further along! Equally as important as rest to our bodies may be, sometimes there needs to be 'rest' to our words, as well. There are times when we have 'said enough' and just need to take a rest from saying anymore on the matter. Too many words to someone who has 'heard enough' and you may lose the moment.

The second verse of our chapter reminds us to 'let our words be few' - especially when we are bringing our plans before God. There are times when we bring our plans to him, kind of like an offering, and then expect him to bless them just as they are. We go on and on with him in prayer, telling him how it is something will be accomplished and then we walk away to 'tackle the plan'. We didn't take time to listen, and this will eventually show in the activity at hand, no matter how much we thought we had God's blessing on the matter. There are going to be those moments when God wants to show us the futility of our plans - we just may not want to hear that all that 'activity' isn't what he intended.

Let your words be few, your plans be 'flexible', and your rest complete. These are not just 'wise advice' given to us in God's Word - they are plans for our well-being. We need to listen well, be open to God's leading being different than what we may have originally planned and learn to shut-off activity so we can rest well. Restless nights might just be a good indicator that we are either 'too committed' in activity, too stubborn to veer from our plans, or too intent on sharing our thoughts way beyond someone's ability to hear them. Just sayin!

What next?

We can make our own plans, but the Lord gives the right answer. We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps. (Proverbs 16:1,9)

Do you ever struggle to find the right answer to give to someone? There are times when this is a little harder than others - such as when truth needs to be shared, but you are pretty sure it won't be appreciated. No matter what the circumstances are for us today, we probably have some 'plans' for our day. They may not be all that grand, as it could just be a day of leisure when we luxuriate in the warmth of our home, but those are plans. Determined individuals may have more plans than those who live their lives rather spontaneously. A determined individual may even have something referred to as a five-year plan. They 'plan' in big ways. The bad news is that even the best laid 'five-year plan' may amount to dust if God isn't guiding those plans.

The one whose heart is determined to consistenly follow Jesus might have different plans than someone who is trying to fulfill their on 'preconceived five-year plan'. I learned a logn time ago that God isn't impressed with our planning - especially when he is not in the lead! Some Christians will assure you that God is in their plans, but he may not be in the 'lead' within those plans. It is kind of like God has been relegated to a 'consulting role' within their lives. When they anticipate they will need him, they turn to him for guidance, but as things are going along as they 'planned', they just plunge in full-speed ahead with all their plans.

Each of us needs 'determined steps' if we are to really accomplish the things God has planned for our lives. If you haven't quite realized it yet, the 'steps' we take with God far outweigh all the planned steps we may have made on our own. When our steps are ordered by God, God does more than just nudge us along - he leads the way. There is a big difference between being led and being prodded along! One is voluntary, while the other suggests just a bit of resistance! Resisting is kind of futile. We may get our own way and go about our own plans, but eventually all things will come back to the place where we come face to face with God's plan. 

A friend recently said to me that he hadn't been through a particular challenge before and he didn't know what to expect as he faced this rather harrowing challenge. I didn't really know what to say, but I did know who to turn to in order to bring a little perspective into the 'next steps' he'd be facing. We prayed - asking God to give wisdom, help with the 'steps' that would be very challenging, and to keep him at peace through the journey. Sometimes that is all we can do. We just bring it to God and let him guide the steps. Just sayin!

Recommendation vs. Communication

Get all the advice and instruction you can, so you will be wise the rest of your life. You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail. (Proverbs 19:20-21)

If you are a 'planner' like I am, you probably use a variety of electronic applications and even paper lists to keep track of the 'stuff' you need to get done in order to accomplish those plans. One thing I might not have learned early in my life was the need to ask God for his 'list'. I made all the lists, exclusive of seeking his perspective on the list. If you have ever made a few of those lists only to see that they didn't really pan out all that well, you know how frustrating that can be - so, is it any wonder that I ask God to show me his perspective on my list now?

God's purpose will prevail - that is a pretty 'set in stone' kind of statement, isn't it? We go about getting all the 'advice' and 'instruction' we can find, but are we really getting ALL of it if we aren't seeking his perspective? I daresay we are missing the main element in all our planning if we don't! That statement indicates there will be but ONE winner in the end and it will be him! Leave him out of your planning and you might just find the 'advice' and 'instruction' you held onto doesn't hold up in the end.

God's 'advice' and 'instruction' comes as we take time to read the Word, listening intently to what he reveals to us. Human advice is a 'best guess' opinion or recommendation offered in order to guide some action on our part. We take it or leave it - embracing all or parts of it as we see it applying to our lives. Godly advice is a direct communication from God that gives us information on how to proceed. It differs from human advice in that is not an opinion or recommendation - it is clear cut, remains consistent, and always holds true to the principles outlined in scripture.

Too many times we treat God's Word as though it were a 'recommendation' for how we are to live, but we do ourselves a disservice whenever we think we can 'pick and choose' the parts of his instructions we will abide by and those we will reject. God's Word provides a wealth of knowledge and wisdom, but we must explore it, embrace it, and then allow it to eliminate the 'earthly advice' that only serves to cloud our choices. Only then will we really be able to make wise choices and see the Lord's purpose prevail in our lives. Just sayin!

Ready to do life?

 So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. (Ephesians 5:15-17)

How do we begin to make the most of the opportunities in front of us? It might just begin the moment we take time to think through our decisions. We all make flash decisions, but that should not be our primary way of living. We need the time to bring our day before the Lord and listen to what he says to us. In the church, this is called our quiet time, but in my life, I call it my planning time. Why? It is when I take my day to him, gaining his perspective on what should have priority and what should not. It includes time in his Word and sufficient time to actually think upon it. It involves prayer - discussion with God. Maybe the most important thing is the time I take to listen, so I don't go off my own way and do things without reason or outside of his timing.

We 'take care' in how we live when we put Christ first in our day. A fool has no time to get God's perspective, but plunges ahead without much thought. The more we learn to stop and just listen, the less we will make rash or foolish decisions. There will be less missed or bungled opportunities. Have you ever been outside of God's timing? No matter how well-intentioned you may have been, you bungled the opportunity because it wasn't the right timing. We don't overcome temptation in our lives without a plan to deal with it when it raises. Do you think God tells me HOW I will be tempted each day? No, but when I have committed the day to him and sought his will for my day, I stand a better chance of recognizing it when it comes. That point of recognition is important because it is the beginning of resisting it. 

We all get ahead of ourselves some of the time, but a pattern of living like this all of the time is not healthy for us emotionally and spiritually. We must learn to take care - allowing God to connect with us before we rush off to 'do life'. When we do, we will find our decisions are ordered and our actions yield better results. Just saying!

Is this the right thing for me?

Form your purpose by asking for counsel, then carry it out using all the help you can get. (Proverbs 20:18)

Most of us don't get up in the morning and set out aimlessly on our day. Even that cup of coffee you are drinking is made with purpose - you wanted it! Purpose can also be described as determination - being directed toward a certain point and then doggedly making every effort to get to that point. Our "purpose" is to be found in Christ - his life within us is to give meaning to our steps and a sense of determination to our actions. Some of us don't feel like we understand our purpose in life - having been shot down a few times when we tried to step out to do something or having believed for way too long that our actions don't matter or make a difference. We can come to Christ with our feelings of being "aimless" and "purposeless" - asking him to bring clarity, give us direction, and to bolster us for the journey ahead.

We come to a place of understanding our purpose knowing how purpose is 'formed' within us. You might liken it to what someone who does ceramics uses in creating the item they desire. They use "molds" or "forms" into which they pour the "raw, runny clay". It cannot hold any form apart from being placed into the mold and fired. The "mold" is a way of bringing the "raw stuff" into a particular "form" which once subjected to the heat will become hardened and able to be painted and glazed, in order to be fired once again. This might just give us a little hint as to how our purpose is "formed" - not all at once, but with repeated steps which make it clearer and clearer until we see the finished purpose come to pass within our lives.

We form our purpose by asking for counsel. Asking might make us appear as though we don't think for ourselves, or that we are "weak" in some particular character trait. This may not always be clear to us - so wise counsel is important to assist us in knowing how it is our purpose is 'formed' within us. We have to beware though of those who might want to make us fit into a mold which we were never intended to fill. This is where we also need the confirmation of the scripture and Holy Spirit to help us "clarify" any counsel we might receive. The important part of this is that we "ask" for help when we don't actually know what next steps to take.

Sometimes our aim in life doesn't come out as we would have liked - but it doesn't make those steps we took toward fulfilling that purpose any less special to our heavenly Father. He will put on display every faithful step, even when it turns out less than we might have imagined! Purpose doesn't end with knowing it - it is something which never ends because we are perpetually clarifying and acting upon what we discover. I have "acted upon" some things I thought God may have been directing me toward. I sought counsel from wise friends, read the scriptures, and felt I was moving in the right direction for my life. In the end, I found I wasn't finding much fulfillment in those pursuits, so I abandoned them. They weren't the right "fit" for my life. Was God "mad at me" for having pursued them? Not at all. In fact, he used even those "flops" as opportunities to clarify my purpose in life. This is what we do in life - step out, sometimes stumbling a little in the process - then get up again and step on.

I used to do this all alone - thinking I had it all together. Now, I recognize how much my "all together" was really nothing more than pride and arrogance. We cannot be too caught up in wanting to do things all on our own to actually ask another for help. When we are, we might "fit a mold", but we might be too blind to know it wasn't the right "mold" for us in the first place. Just sayin!

Are the plans changing again?

 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. (Jeremiah 29:11-13)

There are seasons in our lives where 'planning' is just not possible. We call those crisis times. In those moments, we react to the current needs, forgetting all about plans we may have made or plans we'd like to make. Why? Our attention is required in the present moment. It is good to know that even when we are not able to 'plan' or 'work the plan' we have made, God remains fully in control of our lives. His plan is being worked, even when ours may have had to go on hold for a bit!

As we move from crisis moment to 'normal routine' again, we may assume the plans we had made, but it is quite possible our plans were altered by the crisis. Why? The crisis made something clearer, rearranged our priorities, created a sense of need within us, drew us closer together, or just challenged us in some way to get out of the rut we had begun to dig. Plans are good, but don't always count on them to remain consistent!

If we want to always be in tune with what God has planned for us, we need to be asking him what he has planned. There is great wisdom in admitting our own plans aren't always working out as we 'planned'. There is also great wisdom in 'checking in' with God to be sure our 'plans' are the right ones for the season we are in. The sad truth is we don't always consult him to see if they need a bit of change. We assume once they were laid out, they'd remain the same. As we make steps forward, we encounter things we didn't expect to face. What we do in those moments is important.

When we stop, ask, and then listen, do you know what God does? He listens and responds! He either tells us our plans are spot on, or he shows us where they need adjustment. Either way, it is because we asked and then paid close attention to what he said. We might just find 'our plans' begin to align a bit closer to God's plans for us when we actually follow these steps! Just sayin!

What type of planner are you?

Do not those who make sinful plans go the wrong way? Kindness and truth are for those who plan good. Proverbs 14:22 NLV Planning is a good thing - most would agree - but the wrong set of plans, even in the hands of a good man may not turn out right! Why? Good plans usually produce a better 'end result' than bad plans. Yet, the hands in which the plans are organized and carried out matter a whole lot, don't they? 

I am a novice wood-worker. Plans in my hands need to be very, very simply illustrated and the tools need to be quite basic. Yet, even with the simplest of plans, plainly laid out, I can mis-cut a piece of wood and end up with ends that don't match as they should. Why does this happen? It is usually because I didn't read the plans all that well! Good plans are only part of the end result - the guidance of the hands combined with the engaged mind go a long, long way toward producing a better result!

The same is true in our daily walk with Jesus. We get some pretty well-defined plans when we explore the Word of God, but in our hands, there can be some end results that 'vary' from the intended result! Why? We forgot to engage all the parts of our being behind the execution of those plans! We might have engaged our minds, but forgot to engage the heart. We perhaps engaged the heart, but the mind was elsewhere! The end result is far from what God intended by giving us those well-defined instructions! 

Put a little effort behind the plans and they turn out a little differently. Really study the plans well, then take 'ordered' and 'consistent' steps in executing those plans and see where the end results differ from when we didn't take such ordered and consistent steps. The plans matter, but the execution of those plans is equally important. The more we learn to take the right steps in a consistent manner, with the right focus and attentive engagement in the process, the more chance we have of the plans producing what they were intended to produce.

We can come up with some wild schemes in terms of what we believe will yield the right results in our lives, can we not? The wilder ones may have even managed to land us in quite a pickle from time to time. The plans were there, but the actual 'putting things into motion' didn't come until we engaged some or part of ourselves into the process. We 'get behind' the plans - then they are set in motion. We choose the first step, and often the timing of that first step is our choice. When we choose well, the steps are better ordered. When we keep choosing well, the steps become more consistent. The plans matter, but those plans are mere words until they are executed, my friends! Just sayin!

It doesn't have to hatch

Attitudes of heart that God absolutely despises are not a secret - he does everything in our power to let us know what to watch out for in our own lives and the lives of others. This morning, we will examine the heart that hatches evil plots. It is important to remember that scripture refers to the "heart" a lot - if there is repeated focus on anything in scripture, we are supposed to pay attention to what God says about it. We may not realize that this is really the seat of our emotions, the center of our personality and temperament - so no wonder God spends so much time trying to help us understand it. The part of us that is driven or controlled by emotional response is often the main thing that gets us into trouble - not that there was a temptation right there in our path! When emotions are out of control, we might just offer up a short prayer of quick deliverance so they will 'settle down', but there are other times when we simply allow them to spin on and on.

Here are six things God hates, and one more that he loathes with a passion: eyes that are arrogant,
a tongue that lies, hands that murder the innocent, a heart that hatches evil plots, feet that race down a wicked track, a mouth that lies under oath, a troublemaker in the family. (Proverbs 6:16-19)

It is pretty safe to say that most of us (maybe even all of us) have had evil plots in mind at one time or another. Just remember this - you are not in this boat alone! We ALL go down 'thought paths' that we weren't supposed to travel, my friends. The thing God hates is the "hatching" of those thought plots - in other words, bring to fruition what has been preconceived in our minds. These plots, as they are called, are really pretty well thought out plans devised with the intention of hurting or harming another - seeing them fail, or even just stumble a little. Unfortunately, most of us would not cop a plea of "guilty" to this one. In fact, we'd probably say that we don't really think this one deserves much attention from us, but I want to challenge that 'plea' because I think we might just engage in this behavior a little more than we first realize.

God wants us to learn to live without needing to be the center of attention in our own eyes and in the eyes of others. There is danger in looking down our noses at others and God wants to keep us from that place of destructive judgmental attitude. Why? Because he knows it can lead to a whole lot of other destructive behaviors, such as a lying tongue and the actions of smothering the character of another! These seven things God is exposing to us in this passage build one upon the other. If we begin by laying a foundation correctly, the building that occurs on that foundation is solid. If the foundation is incorrectly structured, the building fails to meet the intended form and it will soon show signs of being 'structurally unsound'. So it is with our Christian character - start right, allowing God to work on our pride first, and we will begin to see our character take the form he desires.

When we are given to a prideful outlook on life, it is easy to "hatch evil plots" in our heart. The judgmental attitude that comes when we have a problem with pride is one that wants self to look good at ANY expense, even if it means we use methods that are not quite so respectable. Evil is really not understood well today. In fact, when you look up the word "evil" you will find that the first definition is something that is morally wrong or bad. God is reminding us that when our heart attitude is not aligned with him at the center, we make wrong choices and those choices will lead to our destruction. As we begin today, let's ask God to reveal our heart intentions. Are they bent on destructive behavior? If so, then it is definitely an opportunity for God to begin to show us how we can build again the foundations that will give us a solid character foundation that leads to morally right choices. Just sayin!

Laying in wait

I like watching those animal shows where you learn how they survive the brutal winters, or the intense heat of the dry and arid lands in which they live. Their ability to hunt for food and secure water is always intriguing. One thing is frequently seen in these shots - they don't 'settle' for the first thing that comes along. They 'lay in wait' for a while in order to be sure they are pursuing something they have a good chance of actually securing as their meal. I find it truly amazing how many of us humans "settle" for the first thing that comes along - something or someone appears to be whatever we think will fulfill our immediate need or emptiness of spirit and we 'jump' toward it.  God's hope for us is that we will learn to be a little more discriminating in our choices - willing to wait until what 'comes along' is exactly right to fulfill that need.  His desire is that we would come to use the wisdom and direction of the Holy Spirit to move us toward what truly matters and away from what only holds value for the immediate moment.

Humans are satisfied with whatever looks good; God probes for what is good. 

(Proverbs 16:2 MSG)

We settle - God probes. God searches deep into a matter, investigating all the possibilities prior to taking action in our lives. If we look close enough, we will see just how many examples we are given in scripture of God's examining hearts, looking deep for ones who are committed to following him, we will find they weren't willing to 'settle' in their lives for anything less than finding him or his way.  They could have "settled" for a run-of-the-mill half-hearted belief, but they probed deeper to find the commitment of heart that reveals a passion to be embraced by God's love and they found their yearning met and fully satisfied by his grace and love.

God is not a forceful God when it comes to his leadership in our lives - although he could exercise great force, taking control of our lives even when we didn't want to give it to him. He asks us to put him in charge of our lives - even though he could quite easily take charge of us, manipulating us like puppets on a string - because there is nothing as satisfying as being 'wanted' by one whose heart yearns for you. God is looking for open access to our lives, not just a glancing relationship with us. When this type of access is given, he is free to direct the situations and opportunities of our lives toward what will truly fulfill and truly bless - the things we won't have to 'settle' for in life.

It scares me to see how frequently we leave God out of our plans - trusting our own abilities or thinking rather than trusting in our Lord's oversight and protection.  It is a foolish and dangerous predicament to find ourselves in - we are almost assured failure when we take steps God has not directed for our lives. Remember this - we may plan the way we want to live, but the very ability to live that life comes from one source alone - God. Our plans, in the hands of God, can be ignited into purposeful and fulfilling work. Apart from his Spirit's guiding force in our lives, those same plans fail - we find ourselves squarely facing having no other choice but to 'settle'.  

God is always giving us new ability beyond what we imagine possible.  e gives us the wherewithal to 'live out' what we imagine. He also protects us from stepping out into things that are sure to bring us defeat. Don't you think it is time to let God do some 'probing' in our lives, uncovering what he sees as impeding our progress? When he does, we will be free to allow him to energize us with the plans he has for us. We don't have to settle for the first thing that comes along that promises fulfillment - there is a greater plan he has for those willing to wait for his purposes to be fulfilled. Just sayin!

Why isn't this working?

Humans are satisfied with whatever looks good; God probes for what is good. (Proverbs 16:2)

Count them all up and you may just be surprised by how many times you "settle" for the first thing that comes along - something or someone appears to be whatever you think will fulfill your immediate need or emptiness of spirit and you just 'settle'. We definitely need to be a little more discriminating in our choices - as evidenced by some of our choices. God's greatest desire is that we would come to use the wisdom and direction of the Holy Spirit to move us toward what truly matters and away from what only holds value for the immediate moment.

We settle - God probes. God searches deep into a matter, investigating and understanding prior to taking action. Look at how many examples we are given in scripture of God's examining hearts, looking deep for ones who are committed to following him, really getting to understand the heart behind our actions, not just the actions we display. He could "settle" for a run-of-the-mill half-hearted belief, but he probes deeper to find the commitment of heart that reveals a passion to be embraced by totally in his love.

Put God in charge of your work, then what you've planned will take place. (Proverbs 16:3)

God is not a forceful God when it comes to his leadership in our lives. He asks us to put him in charge of our lives - even though he could quite easily take charge of us, manipulating us like puppets on a string. God is looking for open access to our lives - a backstage pass, as it were. When this type of access occurs, he is free to direct the situations and opportunities of our lives toward what will truly fulfill and truly bless us. The 'forcefulness' of God is not in his taking charge, but in his protectiveness of those who have given him that place of leadership in their lives.

It scares me to see how frequently we leave God out of our plans - trusting our own abilities or thinking - the stuff we can muster up in our minds and dreams - rejecting a total trust in our Lord's oversight and protection. It is a foolish and dangerous predicament to find ourselves in - we are almost assured there will be failure when we take steps God has not directed for our lives. In the ninth verse, the writer calls to mind that we may plan the way we want to live, but the very ability to live that life comes from one source alone - God. Our plans, in the hands of God, can be ignited into purposeful and fulfilling work. Apart from his Spirit's guiding force in our lives, plans fail.

God is always giving us new ability beyond what we imagine possible. He gives us the wherewithal to 'live out' what we imagine - not because we imagined it alone - but because as we align our desires with his, those 'imagined things' become more and more like what he has imagined for our lives all along. He also protects us from stepping out into things that are sure to bring us defeat. It is probably way past the time to let God do some 'probing' in our lives, uncovering what he sees as impeding our progress. When he does, we will be free to allow him to energize us with the plans he has for us. Just sayin!

Plans involve the margins

Be glad for all God is planning for you. Be patient in trouble, and prayerful always. (Romans 12:12 TLB)

Ever notice how well you can plan things when you are really motivated by the thing you are planning? I don't get much time away from the house, especially to just relax and fish, or hike. I am a caregiver to an elderly mom during all my 'off hours' and work a full-time job. That means the things I 'plan' are for my renewal and overall well-being. It means I plan pretty much all I can so as to really make the most of these times away. Even the best laid plans don't always go as they were designed because there are just some things we cannot plan - like the weather, the fish biting, or the mosquitoes leaving you alone. You have to trust God with the things 'not in your control', while you plan well what you can exercise control over. Know this - God is always planning on our behalf. His plans are bigger than our plans and he has a way of orchestrating them to the very last note!

We all know plans don't come without some difficulties. These are hurdles we must overcome if we are to see the fulfillment of the plans. I am planning to finish a backyard flowerbed 'remake' I began with my grandson's help a few week's back. The concrete block is in, but the 'top' finish is not. I am torn between solid tile, broken mosaic tile finish, or pebble rock finish. The issue isn't that I don't have the money or time - it is that I don't want to have to fill all the holes in the block with sand, gravel, or mortar in order to accomplish a smooth surface to allow adherence of whatever I put on top of those blocks. I am trying to create as I go and when I do this, I often have to take a week or two between project phases to just think things through. It is often the 'thinking through' phases in life that bring us the greatest clarity and help us to recognize the next steps we are to take. These times cannot be discounted or discarded unused - they are important to the process.

Part of planning is this 'patience' thing - something I don't always excel at, especially when I am eager to see a project through to the finish. The longer I wait to finish this current project, the hotter the weather will be, making it less and less enjoyable to complete! There are times the 'planning' puts is smack-dab into 'timing' we didn't count on, right? The things we don't 'count on' are ALL in God's hands - so don't get all up in arms about them. The moment we turn them over to him, the more we begin to enjoy the moment, even if it comes with a little bit of a 'delay' in the fulfillment of the entire plan. Part of patience is prayerful contemplation. I put it that way because I am not a big "pray on your knees" kind of gal. In fact, I often just sit and contemplate God's plans, shoot him a question or two, and just listen. Sometimes my contemplation takes on the form of 'out loud' conversation - at others it is silent conversation (yes, inside my head, and no, I am not 'hearing voices').There comes clarity in those moments - something we can never take for granted. Prayer (or contemplation) is never to be bypassed in the interest of 'seeing the plans fulfilled'. We need these times, or we might just miss out on something beautiful he has planned for us!

As I was putting together some of that 'build it from a box' furniture for my grandson's room makeover, I was given a rather large instruction booklet. Each page had the 'plans' for how it was to be assembled. Follow those plans and you ended up with a pretty nice entertainment center. Leave out some steps and I am pretty sure you wouldn't have either a stable piece of furniture, or one that would endure the wear and tear of teenage boys! What I appreciated most about the instruction booklet was the moments that just made you pause and chuckle a little. At the top of some of the pages, after you had just completed some major step in the process, it would tell you to go make nachos! Yes, that was actually in the instruction book! I wonder how many people miss that because they are so intent on the plan to build the object in front of them that they discount the stuff written in the margins! We can go through life just focused on the plans and miss all the 'margin' stuff we might just get a kick out of along the way! Just sayin!

Plans change

For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. You will find me when you seek me, if you look for me in earnest. (Jeremiah 29:11-13 TLB)

What is a future without any hope? What are plans worth if not held together by hope? Today, there is a wood bed frame out of trash pick up on my neighbor's driveway. The headboard is also just wood railings, but as I glance out on it, I don't see a bed. I see the framework for a mobile tool table on wheels! Now, when that bed manufacturer put those plans together for the bed frame, he probably didn't see any future for that frame other than being a bed. There are always other ways those things intended for one purpose become quite useful for an entirely different purpose in the hands of someone who sees them with just a little different hope.

I am looking at all things a little differently since I am working to outfit my workshop with storage, workbenches, and the like. There is a 'practical' side to salvaging good wood and turning it into other projects. One can take a perfectly beat up dresser and turn it into a stunning accent piece in their home with a little planning and hard work! In our daily lives, there are things planned for us and plans we make. Each carries a certain sense of 'design' to them. That is really what a plan is - a design. All designs begin with a mission in mind - we set out to create something because there is a need for it in our lives. We need a workbench, so we set out a design. We might go through various steps of planning in order to design the bench, but in the end we are left with at least a rough image of what we desire to see formed.

As we go through life, God has plans for us - he has 'designed' certain things for our lives that are to be placed there for our growth, character development, enjoyment, etc. Those designs are only as good as him taking actions upon what he has planned. I don't know if I will actually drag that wood frame into the yard and begin to break it down into usable pieces to reclaim for my workbench, but the possibility is there. God acts upon possibilities. He doesn't just stop with the planning phase. He sees the vision of what he desires for us - sets out the plans for how that vision should be 'acted out' - then he sets in motion the actions that helps what he has planned to become a reality in our lives.

As we walk out those times when what he has planned doesn't quite seem all that clear to us yet, it is sometimes quite hard to keep a hope that the finished product will ever become a reality. We may not fully understand the plans - only seeing fragments of them revealed to us. It is kind of like a book of blueprint images. One page looks very clear for just that 'phase' of the work, but without seeing how plan one fits with plan fifty, we are lost to know how the 'finished product' will actually look! While my 'planning' for the workbench may not become a reality from that particular piece of salvaged wood, it will become a reality. Sometimes plans change, but the hope of the finished product remains the same! Never lose hope. Just sayin!

More than a game

Your eternal word, O Lord, stands firm in heaven. Your faithfulness extends to every generation, as enduring as the earth you created. Your regulations remain true to this day, for everything serves your plans. (Psalm 119:89-91 NLT)

If you have ever played that little game of birds and objects to be toppled known as Angry Birds, then you know just how frustrating it can be at times. There are various levels within the game that have challenged me more than a little - the exact "formula" for calculating just the right point an object must be struck in order to get it to topple is sometimes just a little more elusive than I would like to admit. Yet this game makes me think - so I enjoy it. The more I am challenged by a difficult level, the more I focus on finding the solution! In life, there are "difficult levels" to complete - hard solutions that seem to evade us for sometimes longer than we might want to admit.

At each level of this game, the player is given a set amount of "resources" by which the level must be "cleared". Sometimes I get 3 birds, all of varying "talent", while at others I might get 7 of other "talents". Each bird has a different "function" within the scheme of the game. The yellow one can go very straight and has a "power" feature that speeds it up, but it is most useful against wooden objects in its path. The tiny blue one doesn't look like much, but it divides into three small birds, each with a unique skill of breaking icy objects. The really fat red one is good for toppling piles with lots and lots of "clutter" in them, while the white one drops an egg and then sails away. The last one is the black bird - a bomber bird, capable of doing damage even after it hits its mark.

While all of these are valuable, sometimes the most valuable object I need isn't one of these "given resources", but the ones I must use some of my earned coins to purchase. There are birds that shake the entire foundation and cause things to topple, others that are like an "extra" bird capable of doing greater damage to whatever it hits. Why is all this important to you? You may not play this game, but you do play the game of "real life" everyday. You are given various resources, capable of certain tasks, but sometimes you come up short in the resource category. At those moments, you often look at what you have in reserve (those coins) so that you can somehow pull out those extra resources and tackle the problem at hand.

While all of this is good, the truth of the matter is that God has unlimited resources. The challenges that seem to elude our mastery are often the ones he is counting on us to simply ask him for the solution to, then stand back in wonder as he "topples" the barrier in front of us! Yes, he gives us the resources we have at our disposal and even the "eye" or "skill" to see how they will help us tackle the problem ahead. He shows us how to use what we have been given, but there are times we must trust him for the "little extra" the problem demands in order to fully be dealt with! 

Everything in the hands of God serves his plan. The key is understanding his plan. When I finally see the solution to the level I have been challenged with, it is like I have a light go on inside my head. The way to clear what has hindered my progress becomes apparent - not because I figured it out, but because I relied upon what God sees and knows to be the "weak points" by which that obstacle can be toppled. Just sayin!

Objective and Obstacle

For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Eternal, “plans for peace, not evil, to give you a future and hope—never forget that. (Jeremiah 29:11 VOICE)

Woody Allen once quipped, "If you want to hear God laugh, tell him about your plans." It was meant as humor, but I honestly think I may have heard a slight chuckle on occasion from my heavenly Father when I have declared some lofty goal, plan, or purpose for something I am putting aside for later use.  He knows I have not always met my goals; my plans are sometimes a little too one-sided; and what I thought I'd use down the road somewhere just ends up going into the give-away pile at some point. There have been times when I have just sat back and listened to the plans God lays out, luxuriating in the moment when I let the desire to be in control all of the time just go; and then rising to really get behind those plans with all I have in me.  Those are the times I'd have to look back on and declare the plan really worked!

Plans of peace, not evil - to give us a future and hope. Plans of peace doesn't mean we won't face any hardship, just that it cannot affect our internal peace, hope, and confidence we have in a future in the presence of Jesus. A future is no good if the present is riddled with all manner of doubt and unrest of soul, spirit, and mind. We need our conscience to be at rest - not constantly niggling at us with some sense of guilt for what we have done, are thinking, or have plans to do.  We need our passion to be settled and consistent - not constantly moving us toward the easiest or fastest means to an end. These are the condition of a soul at rest - a soul that knows peace. Hope follows where peace resides. 

Most people realize that we "revise" our plans constantly - whether it be the route we take to get to work when traffic seems to ball us up in delays beyond our control, or the weather changes when we had planned an outdoor activity for the kiddos. We "alter" our plans because there are external influences that alter them for us! It isn't as though we made a "plan B" in our initially planning - we had to improvise with a "plan B" because life demanded it! One thing I have learned about God's plans - they don't need revision or "improvisation".  They are consistent, purposeful, and can be counted on - even when things get in the way of them being fulfilled for a while.

God's plans are referred to as "pre-ordained".  An architect lays out plans for the building he is commissioned to design. He takes into consideration all the factors as he lays out those plans such as the slope of the land, type of ground upon which it will be built, the purpose of the building, and even things like what type of weather it will have to endure. In making his plans, he has to consider the objective and the obstacles. I wonder what obstacles God foresaw when he looked at our lives, making the plans he has ordained for our lives?  If we keep in mind that he has already planned for those obstacles, we might find it a little easier to trust him with the plans - since he has already "figured out" how to deal with those obstacles!  Just sayin!

Do or wait?

People go about making their plans, but the Eternal has the final word.  Even when you think you have good intentions, He knows your real motives. Whatever you do, do it as service to Him, and He will guarantee your success. (Proverbs 16:1-3 VOICE)

Not every plan is a good one.  Heaven knows I have had a good few which just didn't pan out the way I'd hoped!  More than once I have had to go back to square one and start again, not because I didn't have what I believed to be "good plans", but because my plans didn't factor in something along the way. At times, I lay in bed awake at night and think of ways I could make something better.  I have limited space to create a workshop space for myself without building another free-standing shed in the back yard.  Last night was one of those nights I was laying there trying to think of ways to keep storage in the garage, but also give myself some surface space to work on larger projects. I was thinking of a "Murphy style" fold out work space in place of a couple of cabinet doors which exist on some of the storage cabinets I have right now.  It would give me surface space, fold up easily to be out of the way, and could double as doors over that cabinet.  Now I just have to figure out the leg supports and I might actually have a good plan!  This plan didn't come easily, nor with all the "parts" I needed in order to make it actually work.  But...it is developing and just like other things in life, what we have to work on a little harder, wait a little longer for all the answers to be evident, and let time bring some of the solutions through other means, it might end up being the way I imagined, or totally "morph" into something quite different.

Life doesn't always let us plan out each and every step, seeing them all come to fruition as we imagined them.  Sometimes the plans need a little "morphing" in order to be as they really should be.  One thing is for sure, when our plans are left in the hands of Jesus we stand a much better chance of seeing the things we need to bring those plans to fruition "set in order" as they should be. In the above passage, one of the key elements is the attitude we maintain while we are setting about to see our plans worked out.  We are to be in service to Jesus, doing all we do in a way which honors him, and in turn, he will set in order the things which need to come together within our plans.  The truth is that when we bring our plans to him, listen carefully when he says, "Not that way, but this way," then we will find ourselves in the best position to receive his assistance with those plans!  I cannot tell you just how many times I got this a little bit backwards - bringing him my plans only when they didn't work out the way I hoped they would.  Get things in the right order and it usually manages to kind of sort itself out, doesn't it?

What does it mean to do things so that we are "of service" to Jesus in them? I think it has to do with the attitude behind doing whatever it is we are doing. Success or failure is often very closely linked to our attitude - pride goes before that fall, doesn't it?  As we set out on any venture, God's blessing on that venture is really the key thing we want to obtain.  None of us wants to "step out" in just our own path and purpose - relying solely upon the flapping of our arms to keep us afloat when we realize we don't have a parachute!  Yet, we do this all the time - stepping into some pretty big messes just because our attitude behind what we were doing was a little too self-focused, or self-serving. In turn, when we seem to hit roadblocks, or stumble in some mess of a hole in the path we are on, we find ourselves turning to God and asking him why he didn't bless our venture!  It is like we think God should just bless our mess just because we thought it was a good idea.  Get things in the right order, keep the right attitude while we await all the pieces to come together as they should, and we usually see a different outcome!

Some take this passage to mean they can do anything they want to and God will bless it just because they are doing it "in the name of Jesus".  Think again! God doesn't bless it just because we ask him to - sometimes he has to set those plans straight before we even start them, or keep us from starting them all together.  Just sayin!

Not wanting any drift

The day may start out well, when we think the plan we have outlined for the various tasks ahead will come to fruition, and the sun is even shining - then in an instant, everything so well-planned can erupt into chaos.  As I watched the news last night for a couple of hours, the big deal was a fire at a recycling plant very near our airport.  A very windy day was creating a huge spread of this flame from the original piles of recyclables into some others way down the yard and even possibly to neighboring businesses.  The cloud of jet black smoke bellowed into the sky and was seen for miles and miles. Trust me on this - those guys and gals who worked at that plant didn't "plan" to see their day end that way!  Nor did the rush hour commuters attempting to get to the polling places on election day expect to be in a quagmire of long lines at the polls due to someone in government thinking we could reduce our polling places to 1/3 the number we normally have.  We just don't know what our day may hold, but we plan nonetheless.  The failure we may have is in not actually asking God for the wisdom we need in the planning process!

If you don’t have all the wisdom needed for this journey, then all you have to do is ask God for it; and God will grant all that you need. He gives lavishly and never scolds you for asking. The key is that your request be anchored by your single-minded commitment to God. Those who depend only on their own judgment are like those lost on the seas, carried away by any wave or picked up by any wind. Those adrift on their own wisdom shouldn’t assume the Lord will rescue them or bring them anything. The splinter of divided loyalty shatters your compass and leaves you dizzy and confused. (James 1:5-8 VOICE)

I think many of us fall into the trap of complacency where we simply plan, knowing God watches over our lives, and totally forgetting we need to seek his will for those plans.  It is like we are on auto-pilot up until the point something goes wrong. When the fire begins to rage out of control, we turn to God! Am I the only one ever caught in this cycle of acting first, seeking wisdom second?  All the wisdom we need for the journey isn't always available to us as we take our first step out the door in the morning - there will be things which despite our "good planning" will mount up in a hurry like the raging fire at the recycling plant!  What might have seemed "ordinary" or "routine" to begin with erupts into "extraordinary" and "colossal" before the day is over.

Whenever we set out on our own, without seeking God's wisdom to at least assure us we are on the right path, we run the risk of being "stranded at sea" - like a ship whose turbines suddenly stop working and the seas are able to take it where they will simply by the pull and sway of their currents.  I don't want us to lose sight of what James says to us here - we are to ask for God's wisdom, not just for the blessing of our already "cemented" plans!  A builder doesn't just lay a foundation, put in all the plumbing, wiring, and the like, then go to the city for approval to build.  He lays out his plans, takes them to the offices of those who oversee the approval of these plans, and sometimes he walks away with recommendations on changes which need to be made before he ever breaks ground.  Those simple changes may make the difference between a whole lot of rework and the project finishing without added expense or time investment, though. He does well to follow the process!

There are times when we lunge ahead, thinking we are motivated by a single-minded commitment to God, but in fact, we are motivated by some other commitment to self or others.  James says we can be assured of wisdom when we place our commitment on the right focus - God first, the plans second, and then the actions will follow.  Will they always go smoothly?  Nope.  Will there be occasional bumps along the way and even a little "rework"?  Probably.  Then why ask?  When we ask, we are centering ourselves on the one who knows the end from the beginning - even the places where a little "rework" will become necessary.  The rework was not likely part of what he would have designed for us, but he knew we'd be good up to a certain spot in the journey, then we'd encounter some difficult spots.  When we are in the midst of those "spots", what we determine to do in those moments makes all the difference in just how far off-course we allow ourselves to get.  When we get waylayed by life's issues, we can either be set adrift, or we can send out the SOS to God.  

The issue is that we don't live by the standard or routine of relying solely upon the SOS!  We will need less and less rescuing when we seek the right course to take in the first place and allow him to prepare us for the events of the journey well in advance of us ever facing those events!  Just sayin!

Not just another list

You've heard the old adage, "The best laid plans of mice and men..." - but do you know the rest of the adage?  It actually says, "The best laid plans of mice and men go awry."  No matter how carefully we plan, something can always go wrong with our plans.  This is human nature.  Yet, we are planners, aren't we? When we go to bed at night, we are thinking about what the new day will hold, complete with our mental "lists" of all we need to accomplish. Some of us are actual "list makers", having all manner of post-its and agendas at our disposal to organize the vast number of planned things we must accomplish.  It took me some time to realize the real reason for my list making was just so I wouldn't forget to accomplish something!  I thought making lists was just part of life - as I had seen other successful people do it for ages.  Yet, I didn't really know why I was making all those lists until one day I discovered it was just because my mind was so full I would forget important stuff or deadlines if I didn't!  All our lists don't really serve much use in God's economy, though. He doesn't accomplish things in our lives "by the list" - he purposes to do them and he doesn't forget!

But it is just as the Scriptures say, “What God has planned for people who love him is more than eyes have seen or ears have heard. It has never even entered our minds!” (I Corinthians 2:9 CEV)

It is good for us to be reminded of God's plans, though. For within the limitations of our minds, we cannot possibly see the glorious plans he has for us. We might see hints of them, but we don't fully understand the magnitude and breadth of those plans until we see them unfold before us.  I know I knock on a whole lot of doors and look for an open window here and there in my life trying to find the right path to take at times. God's plans for me are quite different than some of the doors I knock on or windows I look in!  How about you?  God has unique plans for each of us - those he loves and who love him. Those plans are MORE than we have seen or heard - more than could ever be conjured up in our minds.

As a little girl, I admit I had a vivid imagination.  I could play for hours and hours in my make-believe world.  Whether it was playing with my dolls, or driving little cars around a huge mound of dirt in my make-believe city on a hill, my creative juices were flowing.  Families were in those tiny structures created out of popsicle sticks and mud.  Businesses were run from those tiny caverns carved into the side of the mound.  Roads would wash out with torrential rainfall from the hose sprinkling down on them.  Trees would be spring forth from branches torn apart from low hanging tree limbs on neighboring trees.  What I imagined was not true, though.  It was a figment of my daydreams - something created, but not true.

Imagine this, if you will, for just a moment - what we create in our daydreams is often "created" for our pleasure, but it is not based in truth, nor is it "true" for our lives.  Chewing on that for a while might give us a little food for thought today.  We "create" all manner of "lists" in our minds - all the while thinking they are right for our lives.  Yet, in the course of time, we see how "made-up" they are.  We find they aren't the "truth" we hoped they would be.  This is why reliance upon our "planning" is kind of dangerous and a little foolish.  We don't always base our plans upon truth - we believe some "form" of truth which we have created in our minds and hearts, but which has not a whole lot of actual substance when it comes to standing the test of truth in God's eyes.

We create a whole lot of things in our plans which are simply because we seek to be "pleasured" in one way or another.  Some executive once told me the purpose of the list for him was to have something to cross off at the end of the day.  It gave him a sense of satisfaction to see something "big" accomplished. I guess there is some truth to this statement, for we do find satisfaction in completing things we set out to do.  If this is the sole purpose for our planning, we will find it a shallow reward, though!  God's plans have depth - they don't wimp out on us because they are based on the reality of his truth.  

It is best to leave the planning to God, for our imaginations cannot clearly create the path to the "best" he has for us.  In fact, they may just hinder our progress toward it!  Just sayin!

You planning ahead?

Integrity is the state of walking by the highest moral code, allowing it to affect your every action and reaction.  There is a condition known as having "double standards" - the state in which the situation dictates the action or reaction.  Most of us would not want to admit we live this way more than we might like - often choosing the action or reaction based on some way of feeling rather than pre-planning our response.  Let me be the first to tell you - to get the right response with any consistency requires some "pre-planning" on our parts.  We have to know what it is we to do, practice it until it becomes a "patterned behavior" in our lives, and then consistently apply the standard to the situation as it arises.  As long as we are aimless, allowing the situation to dictate our standards, we will not have integrity - our thoughts and actions will be kind of disjointed.  God's plan is for us to learn "up front" how to respond or react in the circumstance, trust him to be with us in the times we will be in the midst of the circumstance, and then consistently apply what we have learned "outside" the circumstance.

Get good advice and you will succeed; don't go charging into battle without a plan.  The Lord has determined our path; how then can anyone understand the direction his own life is taking?  (Proverbs 20:18, 24 GNT)

Double-minded individuals lack this integrity.  They cannot "zero in on" any one way of responding with any consistency.  Their plan is to let life unfold and then to figure out how to deal with it.  Can anyone see the danger in this "plan"?  Double standards are really a form of playing the part of the hypocrite. The worst place to find yourself is caught between two standards and not be certain about which one you "stand for".  The conduct we exhibit most frequently is what reveals the real nature of our heart and intentions.  

There is conduct becoming the man or woman of God, but it must be learned. We stop just short of practicing what we learn - making learning nothing more than "head level".  For learning to become practical, it must move from head to heart.  Life is full of lessons which serve to "hone" our conduct - but until we actually begin to allow the "honing" process, we will respond with haphazard actions / reactions.  Part of learning is developing a plan - we just don't head off without one.

Maybe this seems a little too elementary to some, and a little too "regimented" to others, but hear me out.  As long as we step out without a plan, we can count on the circumstances dictating our response.  For example, if you want to lose weight, you plan your meals, don't you?  There are some other steps you put in place, as well - such as clearing the pantry shelves of all those high-calorie treats and avoiding the bakery counter while at the local market.  You have a plan and you work your plan.

Life's issues and circumstances aren't handled in a way which is too dissimilar to this "planning" and "working the plan" cycle.  When we know certain "triggering" events send us into a tizzy, isn't it the wise thing to "plan" our response in advance of the event so we might just have a better chance of not "reacting" to the triggering event in a manner which takes us down a tangent we'd rather not explore?  We limit the influence the "trigger" has on us by our pre-planning of our response.

This is all integrity really is - the putting into practical application the standards by which we plan to live by and then continually "working the plan". This is where we often fall short, though.  It isn't in the planning stage, it is in the "working" stage.  We fail to work the plan - relying instead upon the emotions which play into the triggering events.  Do you know the best way to understand the road you travel?  It is by getting to know the one who navigates and prepares the road for us.  

The more we draw closer to God, the better we understand how to deal with the things on the road we are travelling.  After all, he prepared us for the road we are on - we just have to understand how he did this preparation, then put what we know into practice as we travel it.  Most of us resist the "pre-planning" phase in life because it seems a little too much like we are trying to "sway the outcome" or just plain control the circumstances.  On the contrary - we are trying to ensure the circumstances don't control us!  

This is all God really hopes of us anyway.  He doesn't hold us to a standard of never failing - he holds us to a standard of applying what we know to the best of our ability and then trusting him with the rest.  Just sayin!

Who is calling cadence in your life?

Planning is a good thing, except when we do all the planning without consulting what God might just have in mind for our lives.  Plans are a way of arranging things so a particular "scheme" comes about - we make a "schematic" of sorts.  As we formulate a plan, we are really gathering a whole bunch of thoughts around all our options.  Man does a pretty good job of gathering their thoughts, but not always the best job of sorting them out.  It is in the "sorting" process where the right answer, or best plan on how to proceed actually comes about.  Gathering thoughts is really doing nothing more than getting them all accumulated and into a place where we are ready to do something with them.  As you may well imagine, some of this "gathering" on our part is just to formulate any kind of plan so we might actually muster the strength and faculties to "deal" with the thing at hand. God expects us to do the "gathering" of all our thoughts, formulation of all our plans, and execution of the same with his oversight, not his intervention once we discover what he had planned fell short of meeting the needs of the circumstances.

Mortals make elaborate plans, but God has the last word.  Humans are satisfied with whatever looks good; God probes for what is good. Put God in charge of your work, then what you’ve planned will take place. We plan the way we want to live, but only God makes us able to live it. (Proverbs 16:1-3, 7, 9 MSG)

An inward glance by God is really it takes to begin this process of determining the soundness of our plans.  God examines our motives - the things which cause us to act a certain way or choose a certain path.  Our own inward glance does not always focus on the motives - therefore, we may seem okay to proceed in our own eyes, but in reality, the steps we are about to take are a little shaky and really need some further "sorting out".  God is always looking at what causes us to act - not so much the moment of choice that went into the actions, but the plans which lead up to those actions.  

Scripture defines an element of safety in our plans - when they are committed to his oversight.  To commit something to him, we are actually putting him in charge - not just of putting the finishing touches in place, but of also redoing the "schematic" if it is not the right one for the outcome he knows needs to be accomplished.  We entrust him with the oversight, but also the "redesign" where needed.  In truth, God expects full access to all the "schematics" of our lives.  I think we might just hold a few of them back, though.  We think we have things all worked out, every detail thought through so well, and then we just act upon the schematic without another thought.  Can anyone see the danger in this other than me?  

God expects we will allow him full access into every area of our lives - full access grants certain privileges no other has.  The most awesome thing about what he accomplishes with his "full access pass" is the protection of each of us from the harm we might experience when we choose to just go off on our own.  He is "putting in order" our steps so we walk INTO safety, not away from it.   One thing which keeps him from having full access is our pride. It not only gets us into all kinds of unforeseen hazards, but it actually repels God.  He resists the prideful and draws near to the humble.  

His unfailing love and his awesome faithfulness cover our failed schemes (we might just call those sin).  His mercy is an outflow of both his love and faithfulness.  Why we ever resist his intervening into our "schemes" when the basis of all he does is founded on his unfailing love and unfailing faithfulness, I will never know.  The most amazing part of his control in our lives is the ability to take our "well-planned" steps and place them in the right order.  We might know we want to get from point A to point B, but he puts those steps into the best order so we get from one point to the other under his watchful eye.

It is never wise to be outside of God's timing or his purpose.  It is a challenge for us to learn to walk in step with him.  As I went through my military training, one of the things they taught was the ability to "march in step" with the rest of the company you were with.  The guy or gal in front of you, beside you, and behind you, all had to learn the same things - begin with the left foot, never losing step with the cadence being called.  One person called cadence - no one else was allowed to direct the steps of the group.  All remained "in step" because of the oversight and correction of the one calling the cadence.  

If we were out of step, we were soon corrected so as to come back into step. The one calling cadence assured this occurred.  Too many "missteps" and he would stop the entire company of men and women.  Why?  One person out of step meant the entire company could eventually be confused or become out of step.  Maybe this is why God takes such care to deal with our pride and our missteps.  He is concerned not only for us, knowing when we are "in step" with his "cadence" we are at our best, but also for the overall effect our steps will have on the company we keep.  His immediate correction of one misstep often kept others from following suit.

Our plans - at best are flawed.  His "cadence" helps to keep us in step with the best of plans.  Just sayin!