Friday Coffee with PJ

Friday morning means .... coffee time! (well, any morning means coffee time in my book!). So ...

pour yourself a steamy hot cup of joe and join me for a couple of random thoughts.

1. Speed bumps. Don't you hate them? Especially when you aren't paying enough attention to your driving and you hit one without warning? Speed bumps are there for a purpose ... to slow us down! Which is definitely a GOOD thing ... even though we like to complain about them. Our journey through life contains "speed bumps." These are circumstances that come our way that slow us down. And as their counterparts on the streets we drive .... we grumble about these as well. Last Friday my wife underwent a total knee replacement surgery. From the very get go we began to encounter speed bumps. For starters, the anesthesiologist could not administer the spinal block they planned to use due to Sharon's 25 year old back fusion. So they had to administer a heavier general anesthetic. This in turn caused nausea which in turn delayed the start of her in-hospital physical therapy. Speed bump #2 came in the form of low blood pressure. This added to the delay in the start of her therapy. Finally, on Monday, she was cleared for discharge. However, since it was a holiday, the medical supply company was not open. Hence there was no walker for Sharon which she needed to use at home. After an hour or so of seeking an answer, a walker was located for Sharon to use (fortunately she is on the shorter side as the walker was a "Jr. walker!"). All this to say ,,,, life does not always proceed at the comfortable and steady pace that we would like. Speed bumps pop up from time to time .... causing us to slow down and adjust. Can you guess what we did when these unexpected speed bumps showed up? We prayed!  Hmmm. Seems to me that in the long run ... these speed bumps were a blessing in disguise!

2.  As I write these words it is raining outside ... and raining quite heavily. Considering that it has been very dry the past several weeks, this rain is a very good thing. However, the National Weather

Service has posted a flood watch for our area - and at present, a flood warning for York County (just to our west). All this to say ... Too much of a good thing is simply too much! Now this is often the case in life. But one area in which it does not hold true is in our relationship with God. Fellowship with God and the worship of God are good things ... and they are good things that we could never get enough of! Take a moment and read Psalm 27:4 and Psalm 16:11 and you will see why!

3. Finally an outstanding quote from John Piper of Desiring God Ministries: "The Bible stabilizes us by reminding us of who we are - known by God, made new by the Spirit, bought by Christ." Wow! Chew on that powerful thought. It may be just what you need to make it through a tough day!

Thanks for stopping by ...
pj