My Cup Runneth Over

Want to have some fun? There is something you can do to others that will immediately cause them to slow their pace. It will totally change someone's focus. It even has the power to shift the eyes of a teen away from their phone! Wow! What is it?

Fill their coffee cup right to the brim and have them walk across the living room carpet! Ha ha!

"5 My cup runneth over." - Psalm 23:5

Walking with an extremely full cup of hot coffee changes a lot of things. How we walk. Especially over white carpeting! It causes us to slow down. After all, we might spill hot coffee all over us, or the rug. Or both! That would be bad. I'm surprised the government hasn't required warning labels on all coffee cups! Even taking a sip of super-hot coffee causes us to be extra cautious and to take a tiny sip at first.

Hot coffee is HOT! Just ask McDonald's who lost a law suit because they didn't have a warning label on their cups telling people that their hot coffee was . . . hot. We humans can be really dumb. We need warning labels on just about everything we come in contact with. Remember the mirror on the Jeep in Jurassic Park? I rest my case.

It's too bad life doesn't come with warning labels.

What if people came with warning labels? Would you treat them any differently? What would YOUR warning label say?

"Warning: This person will break your heart one day."

"Danger: One more doughnut and the button on your pants will explode."

"Caution: What you are about to eat will make you spend the next 24 hours in the bathroom."

Mine would read, "Beware: Writer. This man enjoys boring other people with his stories. Can cause drowsiness."

Yeah. We never seem to know when life throws us those little curve balls that change our lives forever. Those sudden things that get our attention and make us wish we had done something earlier to change the outcome. Maybe I should have poured my coffee in a bigger cup . . . or not filled my cup so high. Maybe I should have invested more time in my children and told them I love them more often than I did so they wouldn't be on probation right now.

There is a book you can buy that is absolutely FILLED with life's warning labels - those little bits of advice to help you make it through this life. It's called The Bible. Here's a few warning labels that will change the way YOU walk in this world, with or without coffee in your hand.

"2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." - Romans 12:2

"Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience." - Ephesians 5:6

"You shall not follow other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who surround you, for the LORD your God in the midst of you is a jealous God; otherwise the anger of the LORD your God will be kindled against you, and He will wipe you off the face of the earth." - Deuteronomy 6:14-15

Those are definitely some warnings to heed!

The thing about God I really like is that, despite all the warnings, God loves us. That is why He gives us warnings. Sadly, we often chose to ignore those warnings and . . . we end up staining our once-white carpeting. And only Jesus can get THAT stain out.

Woman Burned By McDonald's Coffee - The New York Times

Blackbirds II: The Second Coming

One of things I really enjoy doing is taking a walk in God's creation while reading my Bible. I can't always read . . . but when I do . . . it's usually on asphalt. :)

We have an asphalt walking trail where I work in Neenah. It's called The Friendship Trail. Kind of a generic name, although I have made some friends on the trail and I usually go walking with my best friend on the trail at lunchtime so I guess the name fits.

My friend and I were out walking the other day when we noticed a jogger approaching us. He was just jogging along, minding his own business. Suddenly a bird flew out of a tree and pecked him on the head from behind. The guy never saw it coming. And look at that beak! Ouch!!

I yelled out, "I saw that!" chastising the Red-Winged Blackbird that had just attacked someone on the so called "Friendship Trail."

"What was that? A bird?" the jogger asked.

"Yup. Red-Winged Blackbird. Their eggs have hatched and they are VERY protective of their young."

The following day I was out walking all by myself. Same trail. Same time. I saw another jogger, a woman this time, approaching the "danger zone." Guess what I did. I yelled out a warning.

"Watch out for the birds!! They're angry today!"

"I know! I got attacked yesterday!" was her reply, as she turned her head around - scanning. Danger was literally in the air.

Let me pause right here to have you read some scripture.

"The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, speak to your people and say to them, If I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and make him their watchman, 3 and if he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows the trumpet and warns the people, 4 then if anyone who hears the sound of the trumpet does not take warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. 5 He heard the sound of the trumpet and did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But if he had taken warning, he would have saved his life. 6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them, that person is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman's hand." - Ezekiel 33:1-6

How does that apply to the blackbirds? Well, if I had not warned the lady she could have been attacked. Her blood would have been on MY hands.

And how does that apply to our walk with Jesus? Let me ask you this? Are you the jogger or the watchman? When you see a friend doing something wrong, do you lovingly correct them? Do you ask them a question like, "I saw you hide a bag of something in your purse when that cop came by. What is it? What are you doing?"

Do you have an accountability partner? Is there someone in your life who keeps an eye on you and is not afraid to confront you if that catch you doing something bad?

I have several accountability partners. When they speak, I listen, because I know they love me and care about me and don't want me to make mistakes I will regret later. They don't want me to get hurt when they KNOW I will.

Who are YOU accountable to? When everyone has gone home and you are all alone, what do you do when no one is watching. Hey. SOMEONE is ALWAYS watching. God.

And don't be afraid to speak up. Somebody's life may depend on it. And, based on the verses above, the life you save might be your own.

To Save A Life Movie Trailer

How To Save A Life - The Fray