Thoughts about Temperature and God

Now that it's starting to get a little chilly outside, I've noticed something. In my car, I have a digital display that tells me the temperature both outside and inside the car. The other day I noticed it was a chilly 43 degree morning. As I started my car, the air conditioner was already pre-set on 68 degrees from the day before, when the outside temperature was in the 70s. What struck me was this - the day before 68 degrees felt cool, but on that particular morning it felt warm. What gives?

It's not that suddenly overnight 68 degrees changed it's mind and decided "Hey, tomorrow I'm gonna be a warm 68." No, 68 degrees is a constant. 68 degrees is 68 degrees all year round. So what changed? What changed is the environment by which I experienced 68.

God is like 68 degrees - He is constant. Our perception of Him, however, can change much like the temperature. Sometimes it seems as if my relationship with Him is hotter than the surface of the sun itself. Other times, He has seemed as cold and distant as the planet Pluto. What changed? Not God.

Have your times with God become stale? Change the environment. Have your prayers become routine? Change the environment. Has your "family time" become uninspiring and lost its originality? Change the environment. When the temperature dipped into the 40s, I experienced 68 degrees in a whole new and fresh way. Why? Because the environment changed. The same can happen with your relationship with God. Try it!

Power Outtage: Musings from Day #4

So by Day #4, things were getting pretty redunculous. Here's why:

1. My pharmacy got power restored on Day #3 at about 2 p.m. I live a mile away and no love!
2. Due to #1, I had to go back to work. Just as you can imagine, after being closed for almost 3 days, things were a bit hectic (people gots to have their drugs!).
3. I had to leave electricity behind at work and return to the dark ages at home. Yes, I needed the WAAAmbulance.

Here's a funny thing that by Day #4 shouldn't have been happening, and yet it still was - I was flipping the light switch whenever I walked into a room at my house. Now you would figure by Day #4 without any electricity whatsoever, my brain would have convinced my hand NOT to do such a silly motion, but no. My hand kept reaching for that dang ol' light switch. Habits are funny that way. Especially the "life-long" variety.

I began to contemplate all the habits I had formed over my lifetime. Some were good, but there were plenty that weren't. The problem with my bad habits is I have become comfortable with them to some degree. Comfortable enough that I don't care/desire to change them. This isn't very God-honoring.

My bad habits list looks something like this: complaceny towards daily time with God, towards working out, towards my tone with my wife, and towards pursuing my frienships. This is a small list, but significant nonetheless.

What's your list look like? How are you going to rewire your brain to change your habits?