Only Trying to Help

Today I left my work quite sharp so I could get home in plenty of time to play "catch the cat"!

Those of you who have a cat or have had one in the past, probably know what's going on - it's that time of year when I have to take our cat to the vet for his annual checkup and inoculations!

Tigger doesn't like going to the vet, so as soon as he sees his carry case coming out the spare room, he goes into hiding and then plays a mixture of hide and seek and tag when we try to get him into his box! The daft thing is we're only trying to take him to the vet to make sure he stays well.

Isn't this just a bit like our relationship with God sometimes? God has a plan for our lives and when He tries to tells us and direct us, we do everything we can to avoid hearing Him, just because we don't want to do what he's requesting of us.

Just like my cat's aversion to going to the vet, we can often find ourselves scared of what God is wanting us to do. The daft thing is just like my cat, we have nothing to worry about, as God will help us to do whatever he wants us to do. So when we listen to God and accept his leading, we find (just like my cat going to the vet) we actually had nothing to fear in the first place!

Don't ignore God when He's speaking to you, He's wanting to help and guide you.

Sunshine

For the last few days, we've been enjoying some beautiful sunny weather. Not only has it been sunny, it's been warm too! Unfortunately other than last weekend, many of us will have been unable to make to most of the good weather, as we've been stuck in an office all day.

It was commented to me today that everything always looks better when it's sunny. It's true though isn't it? The bright sunny weather seems to lift everyone's spirits and make dull, drab places look brighter and more appealing. The same can be said for things which may be worrying/concerning us - When the world around us is brighter and lifts our spirits, it often helps us to see our problems in a different light, which in turn helps put them in perspective, easing our worries.

It's not just us humans who enjoy the sunshine though, our cat, called Tigger, loves sunbathing on our window sill. Though once he's been lying there a wee while he usually disappears through to the kitchen to hang out the kitchen window and get some fresh air.

Use this time of good weather to lift your spirits. Look at problems from a different perspective, they often aren't as bad as we think when we' re in a more positive frame of mind.

Let's hope the good weather continues. Enjoy the sunshine. :)

Back to Work

Today was my first day back at work after being on leave for just over a week. Like most people after being off, I wished I didn’t have to go back to work today, so it was a bit of an effort to get out of bed this morning.

Having got myself to work, I found myself having to deal with a number of things which always seem to happen/have happened when I go back to work. Are these just things that happen in my office?

• The mystery of the missing stapler – the one you left in your desk that is now nowhere to be found…and no one claims to have used it!


• Where are all your pens?


• Your chair is either:
  - Not at your desk – it’s been moved to someone else’s desk
  - Has been adjusted so the height/tilt etc is not how you like it!


• There’s a pile of documents/magazines on your desk that aren’t yours, and you didn’t ask for them - it turns out they’ve just been left there because “your desk was free”


• The coffee “thief” has returned - You seem to have less coffee left than you thought you had been you went on holiday!


• Your email inbox is full to overflowing and it takes most of the day to work your way through them and determine which are spam, which have been dealt with by someone else, which you need to action and which are purely for information only


• You have at least one voicemail message from someone telling you they require you to call them urgently, despite your voicemail message indicating you’re on holiday until today


• And finally, but probably worst of all...your own personal mug has disappeared!

So, is this just my office these things happen in? Any feedback would be much appreciated.

You'll be please to know that by the time I left work tonight I had found my mug...someone had put it in a cupboard in the kitchen beside the "visitor" mugs!!! D'oh!

My mug is a blue version of this...

Despite the pitfalls off returning to work after being off, I know I am one of the lucky ones these days to still have a job to go to. With that in mind I'd ask that today you pray for those who are unemployed and those who are struggling to cope financially in these difficult economic times.