The Time is Now!

As I sit here I am thinking of how I can teach my children to continually spend time with the Lord, always be thankful in what God has given, and always know there is someone out there who's need is greater than your own.  Where to begin in this process? I have asked myself... Where is the start and stop? Good thing that I serve a God that doesn't hit the rewind button on my many faults and sins.

My first lesson of many was this past weekend...
I have been longing to have a piano that has all the bells and whistles to record my own music with multiple instruments all through this lovely machine that some inventor decided would be great!  My husband tells me there is a piano sale at the local college in my hometown.  Since this is where I got my first digital piano I was eager to see what they had in the sale.  My daughter decides at the last minute she and her friend would come with us to see what they had too(she doesn't play but seemed pretty eager to put her fingers on the keys, maybe this is the start of teaching her).  I tell the salesman that I wanted to see there digital pianos.  He takes us to this one that was similar to what I have now and I said i was hoping to have something a little more than what I have now.  As he is showing me this one that records up to 2 instruments at a time my husband is asking some questions too.  Net thing I know I am standing behind this beautiful Yamaha CVP with ALL the bells and whistles even can play something I wrote and it designs the score sheet and everything.  To make a long story short I fell in love with this piano.  We had the gentlemen write up the paperwork and I was about to be on my way to a new piano! How excited i was and my daughter was excited too!  The gentleman leaves to run our application and I turn to my husband and he said what i was thinking...This wasn't the right time to buy it:(  I chased the salesmen down drumming up the courage the whole way to tell him nevermind while my heart was breaking over my lose.  We walked out without this piano.  I am one to where my heart upon my sleeve, my husband who knows me very well pulled me close and said I'm sorry honey.  When we got in the car my daughter said "Mom, you really wanted that piano bad, didn't you?"  I told her "yes I did but we can't always get what we want." The Rolling Stones song can to mind about that time "You cant always get what you want. But if you try sometime you just might find you get what you need!"  Wow! What a lesson for me and my daughter!  I wanted that piano but I have a perfectly good one that works at home.  You see my want was in my mind bigger than my need!  What a lesson in always being thankful for what God has given you.

The second thing that happened to me that same day was this...
I went home and was still wallowing in my self pity, when the Lord prompted me to come sit at my piano.  As i am sitting at my piano that I have dusted, wiped the keys from sticky fingers, and played so lovingly over the last 9 years I was feeling the self pity melt away.  I started to play a few of my favorite worship songs and then it happened!  The feeling of the Holy Spirit in this place that I am at in my worship time.  Then the Lord spoke to my heart and said "Can you still sing? Can you still play? Can you be content with the piano I had placed in your life at the right time and the right place?"  Oh I have to say the conviction that came over me then was quickly replaced with gratitude at the same time the Lord is saying to me "you do not need a new piano, you need me!"  As I am singing I hear him say to me again "me, you just need me!"  I had been feeling alone lately.  Maybe that is why I was so quick to buy that piano to fill the void I was feeling because I hadn't spent much time with my God, The Savior of my soul in so long I couldn't remember the day or time.  What a blessing to know the Lord and know that even though I am like filthy rags to him he has loved me anyway.  He has brought me into a relationship with Him that no one could change or even fathom the depth of His love just for me! When I am worshiping, reading my word, and listening to what He tells me I AM in the RIGHT place and my kids see the benefit of me being one with my Lord! Now that is spending time with God!

The third thing that has happened to me and this has been over time...
We feed the needy ones that come to our church for clothing and non-perishable foods.  Two Fridays a month my family makes a meal and we serve it for these people. My children have met many that have no home, no car, no money, and are solely relying on God to provide their every need.  We are just a speck in this multitude of need in this economy.  Where people in our community would rather make the city look like this glorious place where there could be no crime, no hardship, and absolutely no homeless ministry! We are like every city we have all of that and then some but to be able to see that need and meet it even though we are on a tight budget ourselves is a God given thing.  This lady that had offered to help us feed these people(which the number has doubled since we started feeding them back in Oct.) on her very small income.  Another family has said please how can we help to serve these people.  Today she said God laid it on her heart to feed the homeless but she said "God this is a really big undertaking I don't know how I would do it.  Then I saw you and your family doing it and asked if we could help."  All I can think about is how our God is the God of the last hour and minute that we feel at the edge of ourselves.  I kept telling the Lord early this year Lord we are getting alot of people in here and I don't know that we can afford to keep doing this on our own.  As I had started to feel at the edge of "Oh My what do I do now" moment here comes the older lady and then when I think "ok Lord it is just her and I on these tight budgets." He sends someone else to help also! I serve a God of the right now! He serves the need of us all if we only go to him with our need...not our want, but the need!  My pastor pointed out the scripture in Mark 10:45 "For even  the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."  So we are called to be servants and to be the best servant I am to lay down everything that is in my mind important! These homeless people are important!  Right now they have nothing but the clothes on their back.  No matter how they got where they are my family is called to serve them.  Right now, in my line of vision they are lower than we are, they have nothing but I have everything(in there eyes) but my children are seeing that there are those who have far less than we do!

So it brings me back to the questions I had earlier Where do we begin?  The only answer that comes to mind is...The Time is Now!