If I Had a Hammer...

I went to a funeral today.  Yup, another one.  It’s the third one I’ve been to in three months, and the 2^nd in a week.   Every day there’s someone hurting, whether we know it or not.  So if we know it, the least we can do is love those who are hurting, by being there.

The man who was being celebrated today was a man I never met.  His daughter is a friend of mine, and while I’ve known her only a short time, the more I get to know her, the more interesting and inspirational I find her.   It might sound odd, but one of the things I enjoy about attending a funeral is getting to know the deceased better.  Last week, the funeral I attended was for my great-uncle, and I found out a lot I never knew about him.  

Well, today, I attended a funeral for a man I’ll call “Clyde”.  Because that was his name.  ;)    And while I never knew Clyde, I found out a lot about how his daughter came to be the amazing woman she is. 

The verse shared by the minister was Psalm 127:1, which is one of my favorite-verses-that-I’ve-forgotten-about.   Does that happen to you?  It’s such an instructional verse, but one I haven’t thought of in a long time, so I was glad to be reminded of it.  

~ “Unless the Lord builds the house,

they labor in vain who build it.” ~

This verse was especially appropriate today, because Clyde had been a home-builder for many years. Isn't that an admirable occupation?  Makes me think of George Bailey, in "It's a Wonderful Life".

But even if you're not literally a builder, you are building.  It's what life is all about.  We build homes, we build families, we build bank accounts and resumes.   And we invest our time and energy in a myriad of hobbies, ministries or passions.  In my life, for instance, I give my energy to homeschooling my kids, studying and teaching the Bible, being involved in my church, keeping a comfortable home, and loving and supporting my family.   But each of those requires time, thought, energy and wisdom.   Each also requires God being a part of it, if it's going to be a success.   And the way to keep Him a part of what we're building is through prayer and His Word.  I (almost) always start my day with prayer, and I read the Bible (almost) every day, but I think I'd like to try bringing Him into the different "chapters" of my day.  Praying for my time with my kids when we do school, so that time will be fruitful, productive, and even glorifying for Him.  Praying even before I start making dinner, or doing dishes, that my thoughts would be on Him, and my family would feel blessed.  I'm building a lot of things in my life, and I sure don't want to do any of it without Him.

If God’s not in it, don’t even begin it.

If God's not a part of it, don't make a start of it.  (That was kind of a stretch, I know...)

If God's not involved, it's gonna need to be solved.  (But not as much of a stretch as that one was...)

If you're building without Him, you're going out on a limb.  (lol.... okay, okay.  I'm done.)

~ "Whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, 

I will liken him to a wise man 

who built his house on the rock." ~

Matthew 7:24