GPS

Right now, I am typing this in the hotel while 21 of our highschool students are roaming around (a few trying to pick up the "digits", I am sure). We are in Nashville on our way to New Orleans for a missions trip.

God spoke to Job in a storm - to David in a gentle whisper - to Moses in an audible voice... so where does that leave me?

While we were driving, I was totally struck by something:

Sometimes God speaks to me like a GPS.

Driving down the road - music blaring - watching my upcoming Sophomores "Krunk it up" in the back of a 15 passenger van. Gently - with no effort to surpass the volume of the van, the small navigation device told me that I was to take the exit ramp on the right. Do you think I could hear it? NOT A CHANCE!

20 minutes later when I got back on track - I was hammered with the reality that God talks just like that. He won't force me to listen... He won't shout or scream... He won't try to drown out the noise of life... just a reminder. Maybe a verse - maybe a feeling - maybe a blog. Not loud - just right.

What is the noise in my life that is making it difficult to hear where God wants me?

Jesus TV as punishment - I knew it had a purpose!

Ok - maybe making your kid read Proverbs as punshment for talking back might be a bit much, but this is a good use for an otherwise useless medium... (btw - this came from my good friend Todd Rhoades' blog Monday Morning Insight)

Knoxville, TN- Cable Pro of Knoxville has for years had to put man hours and money into the problem of cable company clients who were delinquent in their payments. The practice has traditionally been that cable customers who persisted in not paying their bills would, after three notices, have their cable service cut off until their account was settled. While this practice has been successful in rooting out non-paying customers, it still costs the company an estimated $60,000 per year in lost time, and man hours.But recently Cable Pro president, Larry Maezell experimented with a new idea that has so far been very successful.

Now, instead of canceling a person's service, or sending him or her repeated notices of delinquency, Cable Pro simply changes a customer's subscription preferences resulting in his or her service becoming 24 hours of the Trinity Broadcasting Network on every channel."It's worked beautifully" said Maezell. "In the past we'd have to try and try to get in touch with the people who weren't paying, try and get our man out there to cut off their service. It was just a big hassle. Now, they call us!"

Cable Pro customer Chris Kjos was one of the first to experience Cable Pro's new policy."All I wanted to do was watch a little golf on Sunday afternoon" said Kjos. "I turned on my set and all I saw was this lady with big poofy hair singing. I just thought the cable company had switched up all the channels again. So I changed the channel, and it was the same thing on every channel. When I called the cable company they said I hadn't paid up my bill in over a month."

Now, "like clockwork" customers who are behind on their payments for cable services usually call the company within 24 hours wondering what is wrong with their cable service, only to told that they must pay up if they wish to have any channels other that TBN."This is the greatest idea we've had in a long time" said Maezell. "We've literally saved thousands of dollars. And last week when TBN ran the non-stop Benny Hinn marathon people were calling in so fast we couldn't keep up."

While a number of cable customers have complained that Cable Pro's practice amounts to "cruel and unusual" measures, Maezell has no plans to change."The rule stands" he said. "Either pay your bill or all you'll be watching is TBN, twenty-four-seven."

Leverage

I heard a guy on the Radio today read this passage.

It's a familiar story to me about the Biblical character Esther. Maybe it's familiar because of Sunday School stories growing up - - or maybe because of the Veggie Tale's animated video... who knows.

What stuck with me wasn't the story of Esther and her correspondence back and forth with distant family... it wasn't the ongoing saga of the Hebrew people... it wasn't even the deep meaning of the passage.

What stuck with me was the simple phrase "for such a time as this."

Think about that one... Here is this chick - one girl - in a kind of influential place. Not that she has the King's ear - in fact, if she just walks into the room where he is, she is positive she won't walk out to tell the story. Seriously - she hasn't even been in to see the guy in a month and her cousin wants her to step out on a limb for the Hebrew people? That is a pretty flimsy limb!

The bottom line for me was that phrase... it stuck... because of what was just before it. "And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?"

It hit me: God has a plan. I mean think about it... here is this girl who is not even influential enough to walk uninvited into the room with the king and she is exactly where God wants her to be to do exactly what He wants her to do. WOW!

How often do I think... "well, I don't really have the influence to make that kind of difference." The truth is that I would rather complain and moan (less kind words substituted for paletability) about how things are going than just nut up and do something about it (kind words not substituted for effect).

My First Post

So, I'm new to this... It's really interesting to me that someone like me could have so much to say, yet so little to write. I am really pumped about the idea of fleshing out some of my thoughts stuff... even if I am the only person who ever reads this - it seems healthy (and we all know how into healthy things I am :-)

Jeremy