"Ain't Nobody Got Time For That!"

Is it Friday already?  Where has the week gone?  Do you ever ask yourself that question?  So many deadlines, schedules, and people wanting something from us. Sometimes we just need to slow down, regroup and re-coop!  

There was a woman in the bible who had some of these issues and her name was Martha.  Here's what the scripture says about her in Luke 10:38-42 

"As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”   “Martha, Martha,”the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things,but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” (NIV)  

Martha sometimes gets a bad rap, I mean after all she is tending to the Lord's and the disciples needs. They are hungry and need to be fed, and she is just the woman to do it!  But notice what the passage says, she is distracted in all the preparations.   It appears that this Martha, just may have a "Martha Stewart Complex"! You know the one I mean, everything must be color coordinated with embroidered napkins and a fresh flower arrangement on the table.  Sometimes it pays to slow down and keep it simple or we miss, as the Lord said in this passage, "the few things that are needed and better!"  This applies to all of life, not just food preparation.  Are you putting undue pressure on yourself to meet up with the world standards?  They tell us our clothes must be the whitest and our bodies the tightest in order to arrive at perfection.  Perhaps it is time to regroup and re-coop!  Let's just all spend some quiet time listening to the Lord and sitting at His feet.

I'm giving you a extra bonus today.  First, is a poem I wrote in 1994 that speaks to this issue and then a super simple recipe that will hopefully give you a few extra moments to spend being quiet.

"Placed Within His Hands"

Daily struggles, daily strife, mounting pressures add to life.

Wondering where to take my stand? Till gently placed within His hand.
People asking, wanting part, taking pieces of our heart.

Looking for a better land, till gently placed within His hand.

Deadlines, schedules, urgent need!  What is needful?  What is greed?

Sometimes sinking in the sand, till gently placed within His hand.

People hurting, causes weighed, wanting from us, who gets paid?

Time is short with great demand, till gently placed within His hand.

Life is full of choices made, some stay with us, some just fade.

Prayed to a God who understands, when gently placed within His hands.

"One Skillet Green Bean Meal"
1-2 cans drained green beans (canned or fresh)

1/4 cupped chopped onion (I used frozen which is even easier!)

2-3 scrubbed potatoes chopped into pieces

1 pkg of smoked sausage, cut into bite sized pieces

 Place in a skillet, place a lid on it, and cook until potatoes are tender.