John 10:10 Amplified Bible — The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows].

According to Merriam-Webster, abundance means an ample quantity. This past week Deborah shared some thoughts on interruptions. In case you missed it, you can watch our “See You Saturday” by clicking the link. I personally experienced an interruption that week with a home invasion of ants. Let’s just say there was an abundance of ants and I was not praising God all day long. Although this interruption was frustrating, I discovered my coffee pot had been leaking, causing water damage to my baseboard. 

Satan wanted me to fail with the abundance of ants, but God had different plans. Satan tried to steal my joy, but God used it for my good. How often do we give in to Satan’s schemes? Next time we feel thwarted, remember that God is overflowing with greater plans for us. 

Let’s pray. Dear God, Thank You for lessons learned from interruptions. Help me to be on guard and not thwarted by Satan’s schemes. I desire to have an abundant life with Christ Jesus. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Psalm 71:8 NIV — My mouth is filled with Your praise, declaring Your splendor all day long.

Imagine if our mouths were filled with God’s praise all day long. I will be transparent and admit that for the last few months I have let life consume me. As a result, my mouth has not always been filled with praise. I’ve complained and probably sounded ungrateful at times. What can I do to change this? 

I may not always be able to change my situation but I can build healthy boundaries so that my heart and mind can remain joyful. Will you join me in speaking life through God’s word over our situations? 

Let’s pray. Dear God, Thank You for my heart and mind. May they be filled with Your word. Thank You for my tongue. May it outpoor with Your glory. Thank You for my actions. May others see You through me. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Romans 8:28 NIV — And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Click here to watch today’s See You Saturday post as we wrap up our week on interruptions.

Romans 8:28 NIV — And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

As we finish our week together examining interruptions, perhaps we should look at interruptions by thinking of its synonyms; interval, interlude, break, and pause. Is God giving you an interval, interlude, break or pause? How do you respond to interruptions? What can you resolve to change so you are able to let God work in and through your interruptions? How can you respond positively to daily interruptions? Will you allow God to change your perspective? By doing so you may receive your biggest blessings and God may use you to be a blessing to others.

Let’s pray. Dear God, Help me to respond positively when I am interrupted. May I embrace the interval, interlude, break or pause and may I glorify You in my response. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Habakkuk 2:3 NIV — For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.

Interruptions are an inevitable part of life and sometimes an interruption is a delay. Over the summer break of 2019, I spent my time off from school decluttering our home and preparing it to be listed to sell. After lots of focused work and repairs, we listed our home in early August with high expectations of it selling quickly. The timing of our listing was against us and so began our months of delay.

Housekeeping has always been an area of weakness for me. I have always struggled to balance being a wife, mother, teacher, active church member, etc. along with keeping the house tidy. I have often prayed for God to lead me to be a better housekeeper. Therefore, during the time of our house being on the market, I was stretched and challenged as we had to constantly have our home show ready. As it turned out, our home was on the market for nearly a year before it sold. The interruption, in the form of a delay, proved to be a time of me practicing my skills of keeping a tidy house and in turn ingrained in me lifelong habits.

Are you in a season of delay? What life lessons can you learn during this interruption? Can you be thankful for your delay?

Let’s pray. Dear God, open my eyes to the lessons You are teaching me in my delays. Thank you for Your presence in the interruptions. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Romans 11:33 MSG — Have you ever come on anything quite like this extravagant generosity of God, this deep, deep wisdom? It’s way over our heads. We’ll never figure it out.

The story I shared yesterday occurred several years ago on the day we were scheduled to return to school after Christmas break. However, school had been canceled due to predicted inclement weather. As predicted we got snow, which is very unusual for the coastal area where we live. While I could have become frustrated at the thought of my original plans for the week being interrupted, I decided to begin my hospitality goal by inviting some young adult neighbors who are like family to us to have supper with us that evening. They came over earlier in the day and played in the snow with my children. At dinner that evening we shared not only food but lots of stories and laughs. We even made snow cream! The next day they came over and we spent the morning talking, watching TV and then playing outside together again. We even made our very own version of a coastal snowman. If I had been grumpy for being stuck in the snow I would have missed out on special memory making with these special young adults. More proof that interruptions can be our biggest blessings.

Are you altering your attitude toward interruptions? Are you allowing God to show you His blessings in the middle of a disruption to your plans?

Let’s pray. Dear God, open my eyes to the blessings within the disruptions to my plans. Thank You for using a pause to bring me blessings. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Isaiah 55:8-9 NIV — “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Several years ago my word of the year was hospitality. I decided to also focus on decluttering and organizing my house so that I could more confidently practice hospitality. I subscribed to a daily email with pointers on decluttering. For the first week of January the overall focus was the kitchen with daily goals that focused on different areas of the kitchen. On one particular day the focus was under the sink area. Needless to say, that area for me is a catch-all area for miscellaneous items. Initially I read the article but really didn’t make an effort to work on it right then. As I went about my morning I decided to work on the decluttering challenge from the previous day which was to organize and streamline the area around the sink and counter. As part of that I decided to move a basket to the under the sink area because it contained items I don’t use daily. As I began moving some items under the sink I discovered that they were soaking wet. My initial response was to panic and to get upset because I had apparently discovered a problem. Thankfully God gave me a sense of peace as I investigated the source of the water. I found that the water was actually dripping from the garbage disposal. After texting my husband for information he advised I just not use that side of the sink for now. Meanwhile I had a mess with all of the under the sink clutter pulled out on the floor around me. Again my initial response was to become aggravated and frustrated and again God changed my outlook and helped me realize this was an opportunity to jump in with both feet with decluttering under the sink as I had just read in the email I received that morning. See how quickly God changed my perspective on a once perceived disaster?

Be aware of interruptions today. Is God saving you from a larger problem? Take time to look for God’s blessings in the interruption.Let’s pray. Dear God, Thank You for interruptions that prevent a bigger problem. Help me to take time to look for Your blessings within interruptions. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.