This spring, I sat watching a robin building a nest. It was fascinating to see all that went in to forming the foundation so that it would stay in place, and then building on to it with only her beak and feet.

Two things happened that day. First, I learned by observation — not learning how I could do the same thing in building a nest, but learning how she accomplished her task. The second thing that happened was that it motivated me to get up off the chair, go and get something done, and then return to see how much more she had done. It was almost as if she created some motivation in me because of what some other industrious creature was doing.

Philippians 4:13 – I can do everything through him who gives me strength. (NIV)

This verse came to mind at first, and that made me think of a second verse.

Hebrews 10:24 – And let us consider how we may spur one another on towards love and good deeds. (NIV)

Within each one of us are gifts and abilities that God wishes for us to use and share, first with the community of faith, and also with anyone else who could use a helping hand. The interesting difference that I see in this verse is that it is encouraging the accomplishment of something for someone else. It is not centred in what we do for ourselves. No, I can't help the robin build her nest. But I can help someone cut their grass or carry their groceries, even wash their car, or just go and pray with someone. As I watch someone else helping someone, someone watches me helping someone, and that motivates another and another and another to do the same. Maybe that is how mission work started!

And what's stopping me and you from doing all those good deeds?

Prayer: Father, stir up within us the desire to work for You with the strength, ability, and desire that You create within us, for the good of Your kingdom and Your people. Amen.

There is never enough time. You know it and I know it. And the older we get, the faster the time seems to go. It might have something to do with the fact that once we're over the hill, we pick up speed going downhill. My dad warned me about this. He was retired for over thirty years, and he kept saying that his days never lasted long enough to get done all he planned each day.

It could be, though, that we let other less important things take up time in our lives, like watching too much television. I noticed that recently when I had my to-do list in front of me and the television was on with no one at the controls. I thought someone should be. So I picked up the remote and proceeded to sit down just to catch the end of one program. That led to another and another and … you get the picture. You might even have seen yourself in that picture.

Then there is that wonderful pastime of reading. I know someone who gets so enthralled in a book that she goes to bed after she turns the last page at 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning. "But it's so good I can't put it down." Wouldn't it be something to hear of someone doing that as they read their Bible?

Our Bible is full of stories about relationships between the God we worship and the people who tried to get closer and closer to Him. The Bible's stories are all about real people in real life situations like ours, and the Bible's advice applies to us today:

Ephesians 5:15-16 – Be very careful, then, how you live — not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. (NIV)

Psalm 90:12 – Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. (NIV)

We do have enough time each day to take care of all the things we have to do. I believe our problem is found in setting priorities. We always have time to do the things that are important for us, like working on hobbies, gardening, washing the car, or just going for a long, relaxing walk.

There is time. There is even time for God — time to turn off the television, close the book, and stop any number of other things that invade our life and lifestyle. When God is our priority, there is plenty of time for Him as well.

Something to think about.

Prayer: Lord God, give us a heart of wisdom, that we may understand that the times in which we live are evil and that we may know what Your will is and what You would have us do about that. Amen.

Don't you just hate them? I mean, really? Who do they think they are anyway? We have all been there when someone pushes themselves to the front of what is happening and declares to everyone else, "I can do it better than the rest of you all combined!"

When something like this happens, we might say to ourselves (or if we have the nerve, out loud), "They are rude and unnerving," but let it go. On the other hand, we might rather be like Jesus' disciples:

Luke 9:54 – When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, "Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?" (NIV)

There are those times. "God, they're getting in the way! Do something!"

There is another scenario where people think themselves as more important. One day at the grocery store, there were a lot of people shopping the first day of the flyers. The store was packed. Most of the carts were being used, which also meant that there was a back-up at the cash. So I cruised around for a few more minutes, and things started to clear. By the time I arrived back at the front of the store, there were only three people in line at each checkout. At this store, I try to think ahead so I can get out as quickly as possible. Instead of just standing there, I decided to leave my cart in the line, go past the checkout, and get a couple of boxes to put the groceries in. While I was gone, someone pushed in ahead of my cart. Yes, there she was, looking all around, but not at me. I presume that she realized it wasn't a good idea, because she backed off and resumed her previous position.

I wonder how it looks, looking down from God's perspective. Don't we sometimes put ourselves first, in God's place? Maybe I'm the problem. Maybe I get in God's way. Someone said, "The difference between where I am with the Lord and where I should be is the difference between the God I want and the God who is."

He wants to do something in this world, in our lives, and in our hearts, and we get in the way. We push Him aside and take control. I wonder if He thinks about calling down fire. … No, probably not. After all, He loves us. A number of months ago, I read something that keeps coming to the front of my mind: we are part of God's history. Yes, we think of ourselves as moving and contributing to history: the history of our country, our family, our church. But really, it's God's history, and we are part of it. Let's take our place and let God do the rest. Let's get in line and be ready when He calls. He will.

Prayer: Lord, please deal with the self-will that rises up within us to push ourselves forward, to be the first, to be the best, when You are really first and best. Give us the grace to see ourselves as part of Your wise and loving plan for our lives. Amen.

Have you ever been around someone who is so excited about something that it rubs off on you? I have, many times. But last August, I had opportunity to discover it again. My granddaughter was attending day camp for two weeks. Sure, who wouldn't be excited about camp? But this was not your ordinary, everyday camp. There was no sun or sand, no boats or water, no archery or ponies anywhere.

No, it was Shakespeare Camp. Yes, you are reading it right. She went every day for two weeks to a warm old office building right downtown, to learn about Shakespeare and be involved in one of his plays. This was her third year, and she was excited. On a few days during the camp, I volunteered to pick her up, and I could feel the excitement. It's not my thing, but it is hers.

The most exciting four o'clock pickup was the day that she received her lines for the play in which she was going to have a part on the following Friday. Her eyes were lit up, and I could see the enthusiasm in the way she danced out of the building and jumped into the back seat. She was eager and ready to get down to it.

After letting us know the title of the play, she asked if I would help her learn her lines. Really? And being the most awesome grandfather a child could ever have, I agreed to help. We were no sooner in the house than we started. I could not hold my smile in as we went through the lines and she began the process of taking those words and committing them to memory. And in the process, I learned some of them as well. "We begin in Athens, in a time before …"

The whole process took me back to a time long ago, when I, too, was in stage plays at school. There was The Mikado, Bye Bye Birdie, Calamity Jane, and the like. And I smiled some more and became excited with her.

After we went to bed that night, I lay there thinking about learning lines, and thought about the Bible verses I learned so many years ago. I thought of the sword drills at young people's, and reading Scripture in church. Together, we can all recite John 3:16 — "For God so loved …" But unlike the words of a play, it goes beyond a nice story. It's learning the lines, the words that change our hearts and our lives, forever. As I lay there, these were my last thoughts before drifting off to sleep: Are we still as excited about the lines in our Bibles that once captured our hearts and lives? Have we lost our "first love"? And do we desire to live the lines rather than just learning them and acting?

Prayer: Lord God, we humbly beseech You to stir up within us a renewed love for You and Your Word. May we indeed repent and do the things we did at first. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

Have you ever tried to do something, and no matter what you do, it just doesn't happen the way it should? That is because God has created us to excel in at least one thing, and we just get by in most others.

I remember being at the school one year helping the grade six teacher with one student who was having difficulty in math. We went off to a quiet corner and started to work on what he just couldn't get. After a few minutes, I knew it wasn't going well. So I asked him about his favourite things. At first, he didn't get the connection between the math and the conversation. Then, letting his guard down for a moment, his eyes lit up, and I could sense excitement as he started talking about airplanes. I told him that he needed math if he was ever going to get a pilot's licence. The excitement in his eyes began to diminish, but before it was totally gone, we applied the math to aircraft. In minutes, he saw some connections, and he took on a few problems with more enthusiasm and determination.

I don't know how he did after that, but I knew he would make it in math. We are not made to do anything and everything perfectly. Using Abraham Lincoln's line with a little bit of licence, "You can do some of the things well all the time, and all of the things well some of the time, but you cannot do all of the things well all the time." But that being said, each of us is created to do a few things really well. And that is a good thing, for two reasons — because others can call on us to help them when they need help, and we can call on others to help us when we need the help.

Over my sixty-odd years, I have learned one other important lesson, that every one of us is good at one thing: loving God with all our heart and soul, mind and strength. The most important dimension of our existence revolves around a God of love, and He has put the capability for love within every single human being, even the ones who deny God. There is no defeat in how we love Him. We love Him perfectly in our own little way, and that, my friend, is great. In life, we may not win all the battles, and we have to admit to some defeats, but be assured, final victory will be won by Christ, the One in whom we give our love.

Prayer: Lord, if we can do only one thing totally right in our life, let it be to love You more deeply. Amen.

Don't you just love cleaning house?

Our street is under construction. It doesn't matter how often I dust, it is still very dusty in the house. Now you know why I started with the question that I did.

Dust. That was until last night. Now it's mud everywhere. There's no dusting to do right now, but we have to be careful not to track the mud inside. That would mean washing the floor often. If I had to choose, I would take the mud. You see, the dust gets everywhere — upstairs, downstairs, in the drapes, and all over everything. That is so, unless we close all the doors and windows.

But one way or another, something has to be cleaned up. All this dusting has made me think about what my mother used to say: "Wait until the dust settles." Now, many people would take this to mean that we don't have to dust as long as the dust is in the air. For us here on our street, that would mean no dusting until the end of November. Or wait! There is always dust in the air, so … it goes to figure, we can stop dusting. On the other hand, most men think that dust is only there to show where to put things back!

The same may be true in life. When "things" happen in life, we just need to let things settle down. I believe Mom was right. There are times in our lives when we need to wait until the dust settles. Maybe that is what I like about Job. He just sat there, scraping the scabs away, and waited until the dust settled. When he did, not only did he see things clearly, but he also saw the presence of God. It took only 38 chapters. Just let the dust settle, and there we will see God.

Prayer: Lord, remind our hearts that when the dust in our life settles, we will have an amazing moment with You. Amen.

Have you ever read any of the self-help books? I heard that these books make up the majority of books sold today. Many of them are for people like me, who have a hard time adapting to the new ways of living. The ones I would look at cover subjects like how to install surround sound, or how to get the most out of a cell phone. They have titles with phrases that include "The Idiot's Guide To…" and "…For Dummies". One online bookseller lists 2,645 titles of books For Dummies, covering investing, taxes, eBay, M.B.A., Ph.D., disaster, body language, makeup, and plumbing, all "For Dummies". The authors or editors take a subject and bring it down to the level that even I can understand. Actually, I wonder where I could get the time to read all of these books, let alone remember anything that I read!

Then there are the self-help books that cover improving ourselves. At this time of year, we could use them to help us make and keep New Year's resolutions. Here are just a few of the titles that I encountered: "If You Had Controlling Parents", "Put Old on Hold", "Are You Living or Surviving?" "Seven Keys to Weight Loss Freedom", and "Self-Help Stuff That Works". Part of the problem is that if we could really improve ourselves in our own power, we would likely have done so by now. Years ago, a professor shared with me his understanding of people with problems. It's simple: the problems are all unique, so treat them as such. There are no pat answers in life. Or are there?

Before any of these books were published, there was, and is, one Book that tells how to fix us human beings, and what God has done and can do about making things right. It's a history book of sorts, telling stories of how God helped people to sort out their lives and to live fulfilling ones. But it is not a self-help book. It is the Bible. Everything we need to know about life is found in this one volume. We don't need to read all those 2,645 books to figure things out. If we just open the Bible, we will find God talking to us. He will let us know what we need to learn, and how to apply what we learn to become a little more like Him each day. All we have to do is listen to what He has to say.

After all, He's never wrong — but we are.

Prayer: Father, when we need to learn something about ourselves, please direct us to Your Word. It's the book we truly need. Amen.