How has it been over a year since I wrote a blog post?!?! I used to have such a passion and desire to write, write, write! One thing that God has put on my heart and mind is that I had gotten too busy doing ministry, and forgot to focus on HIM. It could be the same for my writing, I think I was too busy keeping commitments that I lost focus of something I love. It’s easy to do! I’ve often used the quote I heard many many years ago…”If the devil can’t make you bad, he will make you busy” I used to think of that as worldly related things like jobs, sports, commitments that take up all of our time so that we don’t have free moments to spend with Jesus. I never really considered ministry to be a source of busyness, after all, it’s serving God, right?

The truth is Brad and I both had gotten very busy with ministry, so much so that we were leaving our kids at home several evenings a week to fend for themselves for dinner or to wait until after 9pm to wrap up our ministry obligations and bring dinner home from the drive through of our choice. There was a time when I was at my beloved church 5 out of the 7 days in a week! This didn’t even include my chaplain hours that I put in every week!

One of my all time favorite songs is Crowder’s “How He Loves”. The first words of the song say “He is jealous for me”. What does that even mean?!? I think I know now! We had gotten so busy with good things, that we were missing out on the GREAT! He is even jealous of our services FOR Him. If it becomes a bigger focus than He Himself, we are doing it wrong! I don’t regret my years of leading Recovery, or serving in Student ministry, I know that lives were changed and God gets the glory for all of that! I am not saying if you’re serving and committed to showing up for something that you are wrong! I’m just saying don’t let that become your little g god. Don’t let good pull rank on great. God is a jealous God (look it up). He will find a way to make sure that we know He is not going to jockey for position of first place in our life. He is also a gentleman and will not force Himself on us either, He will let us continue in our ways until we find ourselves unfulfilled or maybe even in chaos. Above all He is a loving God and when we come to our senses He is full of grace and meets us right where we are. He shows us the quickest path back to Him and lifts us up and gives us the best gift ever received…HIM.