WHAT I LEARNED FROM A NUTRI-GRAIN COMMERCIAL

There is a commercial on television that hits a nerve with me each time I see it. Here it is: 

I’m not really sure why this commercial hits a nerve with me. Maybe it’s because more often than not, I do not make good breakfast choices because I’m on the run. Or maybe it’s just because I’m weird. Either way, God brought the commercial to mind just a few minutes ago as I was reading this scripture. 

Psalm 90:14 “Satisfy us in the morning with Your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.” 

For as long as I can remember there has been a debate about the best time of day to have a quiet time (a personal, intimate time with God through His word and prayer). Some people believe that you should have your quiet time just as your feet hit the floor in the mornings. Other people believe that it really doesn’t matter when you have your quiet time as long as you have one. Some people are legalistic about it while others are grace abusers…that is a whole different blog post! I’m old enough now to have walked through several phases of life that required different things of me. When my children were infants it was impossible to have a quiet time before my day began...I was doing good to get one in before bedtime. At this phase in my life, I usually have my quiet time as soon as I drop my kids off at school. I don’t think God is the hall monitor handing out tardy slips for each minute that passes before we have time with Him…but I do believe that the sooner I can make the good choice of getting alone with Him for prayer and the word, the better my chances are of having victory through my day. Here’s what Beth Moore says in her Bible study, “Breaking Free”: 

“To live victoriously, every day we must learn to pour out our hearts to God, confess sin daily, acknowledge every hollow place, and invite Him to fill us fully! Then we need to continue to fan the flame of His love by reading scripture, listening to edifying music, and praying often. We also need to avoid things that obviously quench His Spirit.  

In my morning time with God, I ask Him to satisfy all my longings and fill all my hollow places with His lavish, unfailing love. This frees me from craving the approval of others and requiring them to ‘fill my cup.’ Then, if someone takes the time to demonstrate his or her love to me, that’s the overflow! I am free to appreciate it and enjoy it, but I didn’t emotionally require it.” 

We have a choice. We can begin our day with the appetite of our flesh and the result will be a craving so great that no one or nothing can satisfy it. Or, we can begin with a feast on the Word of God with God Himself and find satisfaction that will overflow into each and every circumstance that comes our way. I want the feast that satisfies!

A FEW THOUGHTS ABOUT ME & J. SCOTT KAVANAUGH

I wish I knew the exact date when I first met Scott Kavanaugh. I had a friend who was dying to set me up with this boy that she grew up with. I didn’t like blind dates and would not agree to her plan. She thought she had the solution to my refusal when he walked up to her in the mall one day when I was with her. They began to chat and she introduced me. I thought he was very cute – that was the word we used back then – so I decided to join the conversation that had just begun about his brand new car. It just so happened that I was about to make my first new car purchase and was considering the same one he had just purchased. So, I asked him, “How do you like your new car? I’m thinking about purchasing that same type.” In typical JSK “attitude” style, he looked at me and said, “Well, fine, I guess. I just got it.” Psshhh! That was the end of that! I told my friend no way, no how would I go out with someone so rude!

But, as life would have it, that all changed… English 201 found me in the class of one of the most liberal professors our college had at that time. I knew that the semester would be tough on me because of that; so on the first day of class, I was preparing myself for the weeks ahead. And then, the professor began to call roll. Professor: “J. Scott Kavanaugh?” Scott: “Here.” Professor: “May I ask what the J stands for?” Scott: “No, you may not. That’s why it is an initial.” I was hooked from that moment on! It was the same sarcasm that I had experienced one year earlier, but something was different this time. That semester ended up being the best few months I had ever had. And the rest is history.

 Today is our fourteenth wedding anniversary. I don’t save reflection for this time each year…I think over those fourteen years often…not because they have been bad…but because they have been so graced. Fourteen years of marriage has included the birth of two little girls that forever stole our hearts; the death of four grandparents and one parent that took a piece of our hearts with them into eternity; financial lows; financial highs; grocery budgets that began at $50/2 weeks up to the current $175/week; historical acts of God and man that have changed life as we knew it; friends that have remained friends to this day and even some who have wondered away. Through every single day of each year one constant thing remained – the hand of God has been on us each step of the way. To God be the glory!

J. Scott Kavanaugh – I love you more than any other person on this earth now or ever. There is no one I would rather spend the rest of my days with. I love you with all of my heart and I look forward to the years we have left until we are taken home in death or we meet Jesus in the parted sky! You are my man! I love you!