Back to Basics

Sigh.

I guess it’s time for us to sit down and have a serious talk. Now now, don’t put such a sour look on your face. And don’t worry, you didn't do anything wrong, this is about me. If it was about you, it would be in your blog, right?

For several weeks now, I’ve been feeling kind of out of sorts. It’s a feeling like something is out of place and I haven't quite been able to put my finger on it. I suppose everyone has times like that. Or is it just me?

In one of his sermons that I listened to on the radio a while back, Charles Stanley talked about those feelings we sometimes get. Like something is missing or out of place. Doctor Stanley said that those are the times when God is trying to get our attention, and we just aren’t listening. We start to get that odd feeling because we have temporarily lost that connection with God. He went on to suggest that in times like those, we need to stop and talk to God; ask Him what it is He is trying to say. So that’s what I did. For the last couple of weeks I have been thinking and praying about this, and I think I am finally beginning to understand what God has been trying to say.

What it all boils down to, is that I have lost my focus. Or rather, I have been focusing on the wrong things. Sometime around the beginning of April, I went through a big ordeal with my audio book review blog, “Audio Book Heaven." I revamped the whole thing, added some neat things, and made the whole blog a lot nicer than it was. For the entire month, it consumed almost every bit of my computer time. Even my posts here on "Drums In The Deep" were all about what I was doing to "Audio BookHeaven." I kind of forgot to pay attention to God.

The sad thing is, I even realized it was happening. I just kept telling myself, “I’ll start talking about God again as soon as I’m done with this.” But then something else came up, and then something else. It finally got to a point where I just didn’t know how to get back. I had lost my connection to God, and I never realized how much I had come to depend on it.

Then one day, I received a very clear message from God, something that He wanted me to do. Instead of just doing it, I kind of hemmed and hawed around for a bit. I stalled for time by saying things like, “God, is this really what you want me to do?” and "God, you need to give me some more details." and so on and so on. The idea persisted and so I finally sat down to do it, only to find out that God had gotten someone else to do it instead. I let God down and what an awful feeling that is. Talk about a humbling experience.

So, having been properly God-slapped, it’s time to get back to basics. Back on track. Keep my chin up and get back in the saddle. Pick myself up, dust myself off, and start all over again. No school like the old school. I’m going to try to do better. Those other things I’ve been writing about lately belong in my blog too. I don’t think God minds having them in here as long as I remember what’s important.

There, that wasn’t so bad was it? I’m glad we had this little talk. I’m starting to feel better already.

Deuteronomy 13:4 It is the LORD your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him.

Matthew 7:21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.