Just One More

Just One More

My goal with this post, and with all my posts is to glorify God. I try my best to be open and honest and to show I’m not perfect. Today God wanted me to show some more of my imperfections, I wasn’t perfect, I’m not perfect and never will be perfect. I make bad decisions and deal with the consequences just like everyone else.

            Just one more, it seems we are born wanting one more. Babies want one more bite, toddlers want one more cookie (ya know, one for both hands), while kids want just one more minute to sleep on a school day. Teenagers want just one more minute on the phone and college kids want just one more hour of sleep or to study. Our just one more grows more and more until adulthood and we then want just one more dollar.

            How much do we gain from just one more? What are we looking for with just one more? Our selfishness causes us to want just one more and usually the answer is instant gratification in some form or another. We want to instantly feel better, look better or just be better. The older we get the temptation becomes greater for instant gratification. One that kills the pain, hides our hurts and please our senses. If we’re not careful we find ourselves asking for just one more: drink, bite, puff, look, hour, pill, and outfit. It seems funny to put these things together because some seem harmless while others are obviously wrong. All things can be used for the wrong reasons.

           Eve was tempted with just one more thing to eat. Adam and Eve had everything in the Garden of Eden except for one tree that had fruit. This tree was called the tree of knowledge of good and evil. God told them not to eat from that tree. The serpent tempted Eve with just one more thing to eat. The fruit from the tree was good, so what was the harm? She had the perfect life, why would she want anything else? It seems we are wired to always want just one more. There is something about “just one more” that comforts us. Just one more can lead to something good but it can also lead to destruction; self-destruction. Oh, how happy the devil is every time we give in to the temptation of just one more that leads to a path of guilt and self-hatred. 

           The statement just one more is a pretty popular phrase with teenagers and some adults. I was no different. As a teenager I looked forward to the weekends that we would have people over because that usually meant wine coolers, Boones Farm or if we were lucky Strawberry Margaritas. The sweet, fruity taste drew me in every time and I wanted just one more. My favorite was coconut rum, coke and cherries. I would drink those just until I was happy. I liked being happy and I could accomplish this with just one more drink. It was the best thing because I didn’t feel the hurt deep inside of me. My hurt was washed away with every drink and I was accepted for doing what everyone else was doing. It was a win-win situation. On my 19^th birthday, we had a party, it’s not one I’m real proud of but it happened. I drank until I was drunk, enjoying every last drop of coconut rum, cherries and coke and the sudden rush of happiness it brought me. For once in my life I was outgoing, I was making people laugh, and felt accepted. Until it was time for the party to end and I wasn’t so happy, I turned into a sappy drunk. That was my first and last time I drank to get drunk. The next morning I woke up to a room spinning and very bright lights, not to mention a horrible headache. I may have felt wonderful the night before, but my just one more drink left me feeling horrible the next day.

          How many times have you asked for just one more which led to one more? There are other ways we can satisfy our need for instant gratification. Try spending just one more minute playing with your child and watch the smile creep across their face. Guaranteed gratification right there. Talk just one more minute on the phone to a loved one you don’t see very often. Take just one more minute to send a text or write a note to someone letting them know they are appreciated and loved. Give just one more hug and just one more smile. Give just one more hour to someone who needs you to listen. Spend just one more minute or hour with God. He will be happy either way because you spent time with him. 

            It’s easier to ask for just one more to hide and cover up our pain and troubles, because this doesn’t make us as vulnerable, or so we think. What would happen if we decided to give just one more minute of our time to others; to God? Slowly, you will find you don’t need just one more drink, bite, or puff. Your pain and troubles can be transformed by spending just one more minute with God and sharing with others. We all want just one more of something-what’s your one more? Until next time, “May Yahweh bless you and protect you” Numbers 6:24 

~Please comment below what your one more is and I’ll share what mine is. Have a blessed day!

Fall Leaves

Fall Leaves

“To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven:” (Ecclesiastes 3:1 NKJV)

This past weekend my family and I drove down to visit my mom and grandmother. Our visit wasn’t long, but God took the opportunity to speak to me on the drive down. While driving I noticed the leaves have started changing colors and I saw an abandoned house crumbling to the ground that I hadn’t seen before. As I was noticing all these things it hit me that like the trees we have a reason for the seasons in our lives. There are many times we don’t realize we are in a season until we are in the middle or out of it. Could this be because we are so focused on what’s ahead that we don’t notice the changes of today? Not every change is monumental, but the small choices of today will add up to a big change one day.

We all know that the seasons of nature can parallel the seasons of our lives. I had an epiphany about fall and its purpose. The leaves on the trees change colors because the tree is preparing to support new growth. The trees have gone through a lot in a year and they need to let go of some old things (leaves) to support the new things. To those of us who get to enjoy the seasonal changes we don’t always think of the changes of a tree as a growing process. We tend to not pay attention to the buds on the tree, but we notice the flowers when they have bloomed. We see the blast of fall colors but seldom notice the beginning of the leaves changing colors. Why, because we are so wrapped up in our lives we fail to see the small changes. Sound familiar?

While each season is important to the trees’ growth as is each season in our lives, could it be that fall is the most important? Fall, to me, represents the change that has taken place in my life. It shows how God has used a year to mold me into the person he wants me to become. When I notice my changes, then and only then can I appreciate the beauty of what was and what will be. As we change, we let go of things that hurt us, or are keeping us from what God has planned. We realize some things, these things can be past hurts, scars, a treasure, a light at the end of the tunnel that were hidden from us in other seasons. The beauty of this is we can now grow. God is allowing us to let go of these things so we can grow. Like a tree, a healthy Christian is constantly growing. We don’t always notice that we are growing, and that is why fall is so important. We slow down a bit and notice the changes around us and hopefully within us. The season we are in will change and yes, there will be dry seasons, but at the end of that season is always a blessed season. The seasons of our lives are meant to help us become who we are meant to be in God. Fall leads to winter which leads to spring, then to summer and the cycle continues. So, will your life, friends will come and go, people will be born and die, you will have happy and sad moments, through it all God is with you, shaping you. Stay close to him and celebrate the season you are in. Take time today to think about what season you are in and what season you were just in. Give thanks to God for being with you today and yesterday and for going ahead of you to lead the way. Blessings to you and yours this beautiful fall day. Until next time, “May Yahweh bless you and protect you” Numbers 6:24