Present Perfect

I'm a planner, which makes me great to have on trips. Why, yes, I brought the band-aids and antacid. No, I didn't forget the passports! However, the flip side is that I instinctively plan for the next day, even while I'm in the current day.

...Consequently missing what God might be speaking to me right this minute.

But, I am learning in these days to live in the moment and not to wish that tomorrow was already here or pine away for a yesterday that already was....
TODAY-- I can hear God's voice
TODAY--I can be thankful for something
TODAY--I can help someone and be kind
TODAY--something amazing might just happen

I am reading a book--actually I'm reading my iPhone screen loaded with the text of a book-- called "Present Perfect" by Gregory Boyd.  Here is a quote that caught my attention:

While the true God lives in the now, false gods always live in the past or future.  Chasing them to find our worth and significance always takes us out of the present moment

So, what the author tells me is--God is here with me TODAY.

In light of these new reminders, I took Lora out on my afternoon jog.  I was originally planning on a decent 4-5K with an average pace, backed up by my favorite praise music in the headphones.  Look at sheep, watch the clouds, breathe in/breathe out (holding my breath while passing the sheep pens. Those guys seriously STINK. You know that painting we see with Jesus holding the one lost lamb over his shoulders?  Well, it would almost have to be a miracle man doing that heroic task with the smells he would have endured). The plans changed as Lora continued to ask me when she could go on a jog with me. She had been asking, but I had been postponing.  Today, I realized this bundle of a passionate child wants to go out on a jog with her mommy.  So we...walked with a bit of sprinting. We held hands, we made up songs, we talked about the sheep and dogs. We had fun.
I'm so glad I chose to do what was good for the DAY, not what I had planned to do--while that would have been good for my body, today's choice of jogging with Lora was good for my soul and hers.

Surely tomorrow has another gift for me, if I choose to live in the present and not in the future. Or the past.

I urge you to do the same.

If you need a kick start, pull out the thankfulness card.  Being thankful for your blessings allows your heart to drift towards contentment and away from worry and complaining about the troubles and lack (perceived lack??). If we can stop fretting about what might happen tomorrow, we are able to remember what we actually have today. I read in my "Jesus Calling" devo book that when we worry about tomorrow, we are most likely leaving God out of the imagined scenario. We are thinking about how we can solve a problem in our own strength. We don't sit here today and imagine how God will deliver us or miraculously intervene on our behalf. We don't imagine the peace we'll feel, even though our radiator overheats. But, God will be there with us when it happens. So, let's just live in the present. Canna Getta "AMEN"

Jesus, the Hero. Able to withstand mighty stinks for the love of the sheep

 Psalm 118:24  This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

The Present is Perfect for the Presence of God