A Pretty Good Way to Start the Day

A little Bible, a little oatmeal, a little coffee.  Actually, I'd like to say a few words about oatmeal.  But I suppose it can wait for another blog.  I have Definite Ideas about oatmeal, and as one of its few outspoken supporters, those Ideas really need to be shared.

Okay, the coffee will be a continuing factor today.  The brew of the day is Moka Java, from the underestimated World Market selection.  It's strong, it's tasty.  It's described on the label as "medium roast, full body, complex and earthy with light and unique acidity."  Check it out.

And a little time with Murray, who, on this beautiful day, really just wants to be outside.  After his tasty little breakfast, he sat by the sliding glass door (add "clean windows" to my to-do list??)  and bathed before beginning his incessant cries of "lemme go outside, lemme go outside."  He's beginning to get that urgent, demanding look in his eyes in this picture...

The cat loves a brisk fall morning.  Do you see the hint of longing in th tilt of his neck?

So I let him outside.  And I'll let him in again as soon as I see him sitting by the door, once again meowing demandingly at me, "lemme in, lemme in."  I am a slave to this cat.  But again, that's another topic for another blog.  I think he just wanted outside for a little al fresco bathing.

While I was outside, I noticed my mums.  Remember them?  Lovingly, if haphazardly, potted earlier this fall?  Well, they have officially been frosted.

To be completely honest, they may have started to die before the frost got them, from lack of water.  But it is an undeniable fact that dried-up plants don't look like these; frosted plants do.

Soon it'll be time for me to trim them back and put them in the garage so I can plant their live little roots in the spring.  For now, though, their continued home is on our back deck, where we can enjoy the faint hint of color they're still giving.

Murray went sashaying off into the lovely day.

And I wanted to post this picture, just so I remember that there are beautiful-sky days in the fall, and even the winter!

Be a Doer!

James 1:22-25, ESV

"But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.  For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror.  For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.  But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perserveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing."

Now I'm no theology student, but I will take a stab at putting this in very plain English.  The ESV (English Standard Version) is supposed to be a very, very-close-to-literal translation from Greek to English, but that doesn't mean it translates into typical modern American speaking terms and phrases seamlessly.

Basically, what James is writing in this verse is:  Read the Bible (God's Word), keep what God says through his Word close to your heart and in your mind, and then live it out.  Every day.  To every one.

He's also saying, very loosely paraphrased, that if you read the Bible and then go about the rest of your day acting like you didn't just read the passages that say "don't gossip, respect your master, love your brothers in Christ, care for the orphans and widows" (just a sampling), you are being rather obtuse.  Because you're like a person who looks at himself in a mirror, walks away, and can't remember what you look like.

And sure, it's easy to laugh and assume you'd never do that.  But then the day starts and well, I won't go into details, but soon enough, I'm gossiping or whining about my work or feeling put-upon by a well-meaning acquaintance or getting really, blown-out-of-proportion irritated by the slow-moving vehicle in front of me.

So I turn to prayer.  And just pray that God will work in me every day, in every way.