My new project is a blog. I am writing content for the first few posts and outlining several other ideas. I used to have a blog but deleted it because I couldn’t maintain it regularly. Now I’m busier. Go figure. But at least I have several ideas already sketched out so maybe I will stay the course this time. My goal is to get people excited about Jesus and his Word! I have always loved teaching bible studies and writing devotionals. My plan is topical ‘stories’ in small chunks so as to encourage rather than overwhelm.
My Frustration: Because I have two jobs, some weeks I work 12 hour days at school and college and the next week I may only work 10 hours total. My writing loses its rhythm and I find it difficult to get back in tune again. I feel like I’m only inching forward; I had wanted to start my blog much sooner.
My other frustration is technology. It’s so challenging for me – I just don’t have the techie brain. I’m a word-nerd and that’s about it. Oh, and I love baking so I am going to include themed recipes on my blog too!
Here’s what my first post may look like:
In the Middle of a Mess:
God is seldom convenient. He never shows up once we have our act together. Quite the opposite. It seems that he delights in making an appearance when we are in the middle of a mess.
Consider his timely appearance in the garden. How embarrassing is this: You just had your first marital fight, realized that you are stark naked, and now you hear God calling your name, “Yoooooo-hoooooo . . . where aaaare youuuuuuuu?” Oh great.
Jesus made a miraculous appearance in the middle of a messy manger, at a time in history when poverty and sickness were rampant, and everyone breathed the same diseased air of political oppression. He ministered to the messy – the woman at the well, the tax-collectors, the clean-on-the-outside but rotten-on-the-inside Pharisees. It was no accident that he died centered between two thieves. He was always in the middle of our misery. Jesus didn’t wait for us to perfect ourselves but came and died for us while we were still deep in the muck and mire of our sin.
What are you in the middle of? Transitioning into a new role as spouse, parent or grand-parent? A sticky situation at work? Whatever the miasma, that’s when God loves to show up. Count on it. He’s faithful.
Don’t wait till you find your clothes. He’s seen it all before! Call him now. “Mess in the Melon Patch!” He’ll bring a new robe to cover you, and a hand to lift you up.
“For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness” Isaiah 61:10b
“While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” Romans 5:8b.
The next several posts will look at people who were caught in the middle: Four in the middle of murder, two in the middle of marital unfaithfulness, one in the middle of mayhem, and even one in the middle of, ahem, . . . menopause.
With each brief look, there will be a recipe because, other than God’s Word, there’s no place I’d rather be than in a muddle of measuring cups and molasses.
Pam Mytroen
