This has been a crazy week! It is really hard to believe that it is only Wednesday.  If I had to use one word to describe this week, I would use the word “interruptions!” Everything that I have planned to do, has been interrupted by something else that was more important that needed to be done.  Most people who know me, know that I am a person that is usually operating off of a “to-do” list, but there are times when you have to ignore your to-do” list and go with the flow and this has been one of those weeks.

Here are just a few observations about interruptions: Interruptions are almost never wanted, but many times end up being just what we needed.  I have not got a lot of the things done that I had planned to get done this week, but I have accomplished a great deal.

Most interruptions will grow us – if we allow them to do their job! Interruptions are going to come and so we must be prepared to make a decision to ignore or give attention to the interruption.  Learning to make the right choice is vital to our being and doing what God has called us to be and do.  There will be times that the interruption needs to be ignored and you need to stay focused on the task at hand, while there will be other times where you need to step away from the task at hand and give your full attention to the interruption.

Our relationship with God is vital! To help you make the right decision, it is important that you are in a connected, growing and surrendered relationship with God.  This is the one thing that you don’t want to get interrupted.  Make sure that you take and make time to connect with and grow in God.  The ability to make the right decision about what to do about an interruption – flows out of a real and right relationship with your Creator, Who has always had your best interest at heart!

Enjoy, learn and grow from the interruptions that come your way – you will be glad that you did!

It is almost Halloween and most folks are already thinking about costumes. I have mine – it is a simple mask.  I tried it on one night and Joy and the girls laughed and laughed, so I bought it.  It is fun to put on a mask at Halloween and pretend to be someone or something that we are really not.

Most of us have a very serious problem of wearing a mask or masks even when it is not Halloween. We wear a mask and pretend to be something that we are not.  Many of us have been wearing a mask for so long, that we even fool ourselves!  We need to get real if we are going to get free!

I want a pure heart! I really do want my heart to be pure, because Jesus promises that those with a pure heart will see God.  I want to see God.  I need to see God.  I sometimes convince myself that my heart is pure because I do the right things.  But a pure heart requires more than just doing the right things.  A pure heart requires doing the right things for the right reasons.

A pure heart is a heart that is clean, uncontaminated and without corruption. If my heart is going to be pure, then I have got to take off my mask and/or masks of pretend and let Jesus deal with the real me.  My heart is not always clean and it cannot become clean, if I am unwilling to admit that it is unclean.  As I live in this world it is very easy for me to allow my heart to become contaminated with the stuff of the world.  Pretending that there is no contamination in my heart does not make it true.  Living with the contamination leads to corruption and before long my heart is in a desperate  and very serious place.

My heart is me, it is who I am! It represents the inner me, the me that I have to allow others to see.  When I get the inside of me right – the outside will follow!   This is where most of us mess this up, because we start on the outside.  It is the inside that matters!  God looks at the heart!

Take a good, honest look at your heart! What kind of work do you need to do?  What kind of work do you need to allow God to do?  Take off the mask or masks, get honest, be real and experience the freedom that only Jesus can bring.

What do you think about the words of Jesus? When you read from the teachings of Jesus, what do they mean to you?  Does the teaching of Jesus challenge you to live different from the world that we so often get caught up in?

The words of Jesus will challenge your life! When I take the time to actually read and think through the teachings of Jesus, I cannot argue, because while what he teaches is not always easy, it is always right.  I cannot think of one teaching of Jesus that I have ever found any valid basis to have an argument with.

The words of Jesus will change your life! When we read them and begin to live by them, then the words of Jesus will challenge and change our lives!  I need challenge and I need change, so I am going to spend some extra time this week listening to and learning from the words of Jesus.  I challenge you to do the same.

A really good place to start is with the Beatitudes found in Matthew 5:1-12. Enjoy the journey, appreciate the challenge and share the growth!