The ticket

It always amazes me how one little thing can start a series of events/emotions/thoughts in motion and wind up somewhere totally unexpected.

I had a great day. Right up until the time that I got pulled over and got a speeding ticket. The cop didn't give me the tiniest break on it and for good measure also wrote one for no seat belt. So, I was angry. Very angry. Immediately the thoughts racing through my head were: 1. why is there never a cop around when you need one to help, 2. I drive w/ cruise control on literally all the time. This one time that I hadn't gotten it back on, I come across the first cop in 250 miles, 3. I know that if I had been a friend or relative or someone important I would not have gotten the ticket.

So, these angry thoughts are swirling through my head while at the same time, the good thoughts are trying their best to get in. I know things happen for a reason and this must just be God telling me to slow down. I know that I should not be feeling hateful towards the cop cuz she was just doing her job. But the bad, angry thoughts are winning. So, then I'm thinking, "well, guess you're not so spiritual as you think you are if this tiny little thing can set your off like this.  Grrrrr!

In my need to vent, I head for Facebook as soon as I get home. (never a wise decision btw) I wanted to just blurt out, I hate cops!! By the time I got home, a tiny speck of sense had returned (not much tho).
(At this point I must interject that I am the last person that will ever feel sorry for myself. I realize that I got the ticket for a reason and I am ok with that. My reaction to it was a major slap upside the head tho)

So, my FB post alludes to the fact that I have bad karma (not that I'm a leadfoot) and then asks if anyone can tell me any good stories of cops helping them out. I have really been working on improving my attitude of cops and thought some stories showing them being helpful would help me see things differently.

And I did get a couple of stories. Yea!!! And one cops daughter that was offended by my post. Sorry.

Being that I was still slightly annoyed with the whole situation (my reaction to it) I knew that I would not be able to sleep. (Finally getting to the point)

I looked through my stacks of books for something that would get my thinking straightened out. Miracle of miracles, I found a blank journal that I didn't even know I had. It is a guided journal that asks questions and then you have 2 pages to write your answer. The first question was, what's great about your life? Grrr. Well, I'm angry right now. I want to write about that. Ha ha. That is exactly the time that you most need to think about what is great in your life.

I filled up 2 pages and could have filled up 2 more. It is amazing what gratitude can do to a persons mood. Amen. I can go to sleep now.

be Still and Know that I AM God

be still and know that I am God is my newest tattoo. I was asked what it was from and I didn't have an answer. I wasn't sure where I had heard it. All I knew was that when I started thinking about what my next tattoo was going to be, this is what came into my head. Once it was there, it would not go away no matter how much I told myself that I really wanted something pretty. It became part of my daily meditation, helping me to be still. It bothered me slightly that I couldn't tell my friend what it was from though so I looked it up today. It is from Psalm 46. I looked through and read several web pages and the passage below is what really hit me because this thought has been so much a part of my life lately. It said:

Be still and know that I am God – What is its origin?
“Be still and know that I am God!” is the first part of Psalm 46:10. Here, the word still comes from a Hebrew word meaning to “let go” or “release.” The meaning would be best understood to say “cause yourself to become restrained or to let go.” In other words, we need to come to a place where we are willing to submit ourselves to God and acknowledging that He is in sovereign control.

When we realize that we are truly incapable of controlling life, we can surrender our will to God’s will. It may be a matter of finally saying we trust Him. This will open the door so that we may experience the fullness of all God wants and has for us. After all, He is our Creator and has a perfect plan for us when we let Him orchestrate it.
 
Be still and know that I am God – How can we know it’s God?
“…and know that I am God” denotes recognition, acknowledgement, and answering God. First, we must know that God is God, the one and only Supreme Being who created all the heavens and earth (Genesis 1:1).

We can know Him by having an intimate relationship with Him. That does not come from knowing about Him, but rather getting to personally know Him by what He says (in His Holy Word, the Bible), recognizing the things He does in our lives, and by way of His Holy Spirit who comes to guide and comfort us. In John 14:26, Jesus says “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (KJV).