Plugged In, Charging?

Turn my eyes away from what is worthless! Revive me with your word!

—Psalm 119:37

My laptop is temperamental these days. At times it does not charge even when plugged in. I discovered the problem a few months ago when I couldn’t get the laptop to turn on. I took it to a techie, and after some troubleshooting, he diagnosed the issue and suggested that I regularly check the icon in the lower right of my screen to make sure that it says “plugged in, charging.” If it says, “plugged in, not charging,” I need to fiddle with the cord a bit until it makes the connection.

Sometimes I exhibit the same symptoms as my laptop. I appear to be plugged in, but I am not charging. I seem to be doing all the things a Christian should, yet I don’t feel energized. What is happening?

What's in your cup?

“Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

—Mark 14:36 

What’s in your cup this morning? As for me, I pour steamy Folger’s Breakfast Blend and add a splash—well, more than a splash—of French vanilla creamer. Then I head to the front of my house for my first porch party of the season. Porch party is a term coined by my Facebook friend Julie Garmon that she uses in referring to the daily quality time she spends with her husband. No matter the weather, they meet together on their porch every day. And it doesn’t matter what they talk about, but that they talk or just be together, for they know how important this is to their relationship, and they have made a commitment to do so. It is a priority. (You can read about Julie’s porch parties and more on her blog.) 

On the way to my porch, I gather up my bible and a devotional Daily Guideposts 2014 (of which Julie is a writer) and I’m excited. For you see, this is my daily quality time with God.  

Although I’m single, I recognize the value in married couples spending time cultivating their relationship and I know that the Lord desires this same type of commitment from Christians. Daily porch parties. Of course you may not have a porch or even a balcony, but just find a quiet place to come apart from all the busyness of life and rest a little, just as the Lord told His disciples (in Mark 6:31) when they had been ministering so much that they had not so much as time to eat: “Come apart into a desert place, and rest a little.” 

Be still before the Lord. Allow Him to refresh your spirit…your body…your mind. I like how Joyce Meyers puts it, “You had better come apart and spend time with God before you fall apart.” 

Fueling Foul Up

Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,

Because His compassions fail not.

They are new every morning;

Great is Your faithfulness.—Lamentations 3:22-23 

I do it all the time—every time I fill up. I notch the lever on the gas pump handle and trust it to stop automatically when the fuel reaches the top of the tank. Wednesday was no different. I positioned the nozzle, squeezed the trigger, secured the lever and let it do its thing.  Meanwhile I watched the numbers on the pump climb higher than the dollars in my wallet.  Click! I reached for the handle and then quickly withdrew my hand, as gasoline gushed out, splashing down the side of the Jeep and spilling onto the concrete. “Oh, no!” I groaned, fumbling to release the lever.  Wasting fuel in our conservation conscious culture is sinful. What a mess! What do I do? I scanned the pumping station. Not a paper towel in sight! Angrily I rummaged through my car and pulled out a rumpled napkin.  But I knew I had no one to blame but myself. I will never take my hand off the nozzle again! 

How many other things do I do automatically?  Has routine become my routine?