Get Over It, Jimbo!
Before I get to the current gospel at hand, I need to do a brief commercial. For those who have been asking, copies of my book, “Being God’s” are available at Because He Lives bookstore in McDonough and at Betterway Bookstore in Stockbridge. Even though, they are also available online, I urge you to support your local businesses for this book because of their commitment to our community and their support of my writing.
Now…. on to things at hand. I have really had a rough week dealing with life in general. How about you? I don’t mean that I’m having a crisis of faith, health issues or job concerns, just a bad week. A couple days ago, I woke up to find out that the smoke from the fires in south Georgia was sweeping across the state and seemed to be concentrated here in Henry County. It was hard to see the road early in the dawn hours, plus it was difficult to even breath deeply with choking. The price of gasoline had finally risen over $3.00 everywhere around, so that means I’ll be taking out a second mortgage just to buy fuel so I can go out and eat this weekend. And now I find myself at the highlight of my week watching the National Spelling Bee. Not that anything is wrong with being a great speller, but when a 12 year old can spell words that I have never or will ever use, it is a bit humbling. For some reason, I do enjoy watching this annual event…kind of one geek watching and cheering on other geeks (hey, calm down…we should endorse and be proud of our geekdom).
The automatic bill pay at my bank arbitrarily decided to hold on to a couple bills an extra day or two which resulted in being late on payments, yet, somehow it’s my fault and I have to pay the penalties. Then, it just seems to be a week when all the drivers are grumpy and refuse to show even a modicum of courtesy.
How do you deal with these weeks? They come to all of us and we have to make a conscious choice as to how to handle it. Many folks just lash out in general angry blathering; others withdraw into sullen silence; others are in denial and sicken the rest of us with their chirpy and cheery attitude…. the kind of people you just want to smack one good time.
Then, all of a sudden, in the midst of a stupid and pitiful week, comes along a bit of encouragement to lighten the load. Out of the blue, some little child smiles at you in Books A Million. You end up with seven chicken tenders instead of six. You find a restaurant gift card you forgot you had. A friend from the past calls up all of a sudden just to catch up and you realize that you’ve got it pretty good after all.
God promises us in Jeremiah 29:11 that He has “plans for us to be prosperous and not plans for our detriment.” Man, I hold on to that verse a lot and claim that promise several times a day. My pitiful human planning usually leads to catastrophe, however, I have learned to just trust that things will work out for my good and not my harm because God guarantees it to me. And He promises it to you if you trust Him to do so. It’s all up to us.
And so my friends, at the end of a rather sucky week, this has turned into a more encouraging gospel according to Jimmy.
Now…. on to things at hand. I have really had a rough week dealing with life in general. How about you? I don’t mean that I’m having a crisis of faith, health issues or job concerns, just a bad week. A couple days ago, I woke up to find out that the smoke from the fires in south Georgia was sweeping across the state and seemed to be concentrated here in Henry County. It was hard to see the road early in the dawn hours, plus it was difficult to even breath deeply with choking. The price of gasoline had finally risen over $3.00 everywhere around, so that means I’ll be taking out a second mortgage just to buy fuel so I can go out and eat this weekend. And now I find myself at the highlight of my week watching the National Spelling Bee. Not that anything is wrong with being a great speller, but when a 12 year old can spell words that I have never or will ever use, it is a bit humbling. For some reason, I do enjoy watching this annual event…kind of one geek watching and cheering on other geeks (hey, calm down…we should endorse and be proud of our geekdom).
The automatic bill pay at my bank arbitrarily decided to hold on to a couple bills an extra day or two which resulted in being late on payments, yet, somehow it’s my fault and I have to pay the penalties. Then, it just seems to be a week when all the drivers are grumpy and refuse to show even a modicum of courtesy.
How do you deal with these weeks? They come to all of us and we have to make a conscious choice as to how to handle it. Many folks just lash out in general angry blathering; others withdraw into sullen silence; others are in denial and sicken the rest of us with their chirpy and cheery attitude…. the kind of people you just want to smack one good time.
Then, all of a sudden, in the midst of a stupid and pitiful week, comes along a bit of encouragement to lighten the load. Out of the blue, some little child smiles at you in Books A Million. You end up with seven chicken tenders instead of six. You find a restaurant gift card you forgot you had. A friend from the past calls up all of a sudden just to catch up and you realize that you’ve got it pretty good after all.
God promises us in Jeremiah 29:11 that He has “plans for us to be prosperous and not plans for our detriment.” Man, I hold on to that verse a lot and claim that promise several times a day. My pitiful human planning usually leads to catastrophe, however, I have learned to just trust that things will work out for my good and not my harm because God guarantees it to me. And He promises it to you if you trust Him to do so. It’s all up to us.
And so my friends, at the end of a rather sucky week, this has turned into a more encouraging gospel according to Jimmy.
posted by Jimmy @ Thursday, May 31, 2007
2 comments
