The Plumbline

Got any plans for your day?  As you read this blog today, I am on vacation, enjoying another week of respite from the daily grind and constant demands of the "busy-ness" of life.  One nice thing about vacation - the lack of plans! We find ourselves very spontaneous, making plans only if it involves being at an established location at a certain time (such as to catch a bus for a tour). Other than that, we kind of just like to take it one day at a time!  Not a bad way to live, but how many of us can actually live like this?  Unless we are retired, it is not likely!  I love the Proverbs because they are kind of like "mini truths" just rolled up for our enjoyment.  You don't have to read an entire story, but get the nougat of truth which you can sink your teeth into.  Then when you read on a little more, the other nougats add to the first.  Here's the starting point for our study today: We plan the way we want to live,   but only  God ...

There are times in our lives when we might just look a gift horse in the mouth.  If you know anything about horses, the condition of their teeth and gums has something to do with the general age and health of the horse.  To look a gift horse in the mouth is to evaluate the "value" of the gift rather than being excited to have received it.  In the old days when it was the bread and butter of a farmer to have a good horse to assist in the farming, the value of a good horse was very significant.  Today, our vernacular might just say something like, "Don't look a gift car under the hood."  We all know having a horse not able to pull a plow, or a car not able to get us to our destination, is pretty much useless to most people, right?  So, why is it we are told to not look the horse in the mouth?  Isn't it important to know what we are getting? Yes, I think it is, but when we begin to consider the things God allows into our lives as "gift horses" - somet...