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What Are the Rumble Strips in Your Life?

May 12, 2023 by Lauren 8 Comments

Have you ever dozed off at the wheel?  During college it happened to me with much more frequency than I like to admit, and it terrified me.  Not enough to miss a party and get more sleep (don’t get crazy), but enough to wake me up in the moment.  Sometimes rumble strips were my saving grace.  I tried to look up whether or not every state in the US employs rumble strips but had trouble nailing that down.  What I did find?  As of 2009, 35 states had installed them.  Hey, I am nothing if not current.

 

In case you don’t have rumble strips where you are, they are a series of raised strips running along the outside lanes on a road or highway that change the sound a vehicle’s tires make.  The noise alerts the driver if they drift off of the road and hopefully prevents accidents.  Whether one falls asleep or is simply not paying close attention, those rumble strips wake up a driver quickly.

 

What rumble strips to you have in your life?  Those people or things that help you stay on the right path and alert you to impending danger?

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It can be easy for me to fall asleep to God’s good plans and design – especially during times I let myself get too busy.  For parents of school-aged kids, May is a killer month.  I’m running to keep up with a hectic pace, so I’m so thankful for my rumble strips.  Here’s what keeps me between the lines:

 

1.  God’s Word

The holy scriptures are the plumb line I measure everything else by.  Maintaining the discipline of daily time in God’s guide book for us is definitely the number one way I stave off the drift.  Reading the bible, studying commentary and original language, praying the verses and listening to our church’s Sunday morning teaching are all ways I immerse myself in the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6).   I still mess up daily, but I cannot imagine where I would be without God speaking to me through His Word.

 

2.  Accountability

Being accountable to another person – be it a spouse, friends, bible study group, a counselor or minister, or all of these – keeps me honest.  Sharing what I struggle with not only takes the power out of my secrets, but strengthens and deepens my community.  And knowing that someone I love and respect could check in with me on my “thing” at any time definitely plays into how I choose to engage or not engage that “thing”.

 

3.  Leaving Room for the Holy Spirit

John 14:26 tells us, “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”  But how can the Spirit remind us of what we have learned in the scriptures if we aren’t listening?  As difficult as it may be in our culture, I have to slow down enough and have some quiet space to hear from God’s Holy Spirit.  Filling every minute with noise and activity will drown out His voice.  Our triune God is a gentleman and won’t force Himself on us.  We must intentionally invite Him with a hospitable heart and mind.

 

In addition, I shouldn’t grieve or quench the Holy Spirit.  Ephesians 4 gives us a list of things that do just that, including but not limited to, living like unbelievers, lying, stealing, unforgiveness and sexual immorality.  We all mess up.  It’s inevitable, but its living self-focused instead of God focused that steers us off course.  Continuing in unconfessed sin will muffle the guidance of the Holy Spirit more and more the longer it goes on.

 

Your Turn

 

The challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to thank God for the rumble strips in your life.  And if you can’t think of any, establish some.  Borrow mine or pray and listen for the Holy Spirit’s guidance on what you should do to keep yourself on the right road.

 

By the way, after I started writing this I thought of how the newer makes and models of cars actually have built in alarms for when we veer out of our lane.  So rumble strips could become obsolete.  As I said earlier, I’m nothing if not current.  But we can choose to disable those alarms if we want.  That could be dangerous.  As it would be for me to drive through life without God’s Word, accountability and the Holy Spirit.

 

And now for this week’s featured post from the link up!

 

I thoroughly enjoyed Learning to Develop Regular Rhythms of Fasting by Sarah J. Callen.  I had never thought about fasting as a discipline that could be practiced in community, but now I can’t stop thinking about it!

 

The Link Up

1. Share 1 or 2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. (No DIY, crafts, recipes, or inappropriate articles.) All links are randomly sorted.

2. Comment on 1 or 2 other links. Grace & Truth linkup encourages community.

3. Every host features one entry from the previous week. To be featured, include this button or link back here on your post (mandatory to be featured, but not to participate).

Grace and Truth_Meet Hosts

We encourage you to follow our hosts on their blogs or social media.

MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LAUREN SPARKS
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

TAMMY KENNINGTON – Restoring hope. Pursuing peace.
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

 Now Let’s Link Up!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

If you liked this post, do me the huge honor of using the buttons below to share it to your favorite social media accounts. And if you want to get these essays emailed to you once a week, subscribe!  Lastly, my posts may contain affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases. If you buy anything from one of these links, I will receive a few pennies to help offset the cost of this website at no additional charge to you. Thank you in advance for your help.

 

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A Glimpse of God Working at Panera Bread

November 11, 2022 by Lauren 8 Comments

I’m sitting in a Panera Bread as I type this.  I came here with my bible study materials and my lap top looking for a quiet place to have a glass of tea and get some things done.  Call me an optimist or a fool, but every time I go to a public place to read or write I picture a quiet little cozy alcove to be with my creative thoughts.  And yet, every restaurant and coffee house has music playing and other people.  Many of whom came with someone else.

 

I am not one who can put words together while hearing other words.  I can handle distant muted conversations or quiet music that doesn’t beg me to sing along.  Much else and my concentration is blown.  So I came in loaded down with my stuff to “work”, an iced tea with Splenda and a naive dream.  I chose a booth (I like them better than chairs) away from the big group having a meeting.

 

As I unloaded my bible, planner and laptop I noticed a couple of ladies at a small table a short distance away.  And I hoped they would talk quietly enough.  I was wrong.  One of them droned on and on; she appeared to be telling her life story!  And she had a lot of life story.  These were older ladies.  Other than the white hair on one, their outfits gave away their age.  They were dressed to the nines – Sunday morning attire on a Tuesday morning in a fast casual joint.  The other tell?  They were eating lunch at 10:30am.

 

Frustration at Panera Bread

 

I won’t sugar coat it.  I got annoyed quickly and scanned the room for a better spot.  But I had a lot of stuff spread out on this table.  Such a hassle.  So I sat and tried not to fume.  As little bits and pieces of their conversation drifted over, I began to think about the privilege it is to be let into another person’s story.

 

When someone chooses to open up to me, I feel honored.  Sharing in this way generates intimacy and trust.  So as this impeccably dressed, white haired lady told stories of her relationship with her father and something that happened to her as a teen I started to see the beauty of the moment.  And then she said to her friend, “isn’t it funny how God works sometimes.”  In that instant this precious exchange turned into a sacred moment.  And God allowed me to witness it at Panera Bread. Oh, and I still got my work done since it inspired me to write.  Isn’t it funny how God works sometimes?

 

A Special Thank You

 

I want to offer my sincere gratitude to those of you who have served in our armed forces.  And thank you to the spouses and children of our service men and women for the many sacrifices you have made as well.  I know that our freedoms don’t come free and one day a year is not enough time to honor you.

 

And now for this week’s featured post from the link up!

 

Grace and Truth’s own Tammy Kennington gave us a beautiful collection of Thanksgiving quotes and verses.  She helped turn my heart in the right direction and really gave me some ideas to chew on.  Make reading her post a part of your gratitude celebration.

 

The Link Up

 

1. Share 1 or 2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. (No DIY, crafts, recipes, or inappropriate articles.) All links are randomly sorted.

2. Comment on 1 or 2 other links. Grace & Truth linkup encourages community.

3. Every host features one entry from the previous week. To be featured, include this button or link back here on your post (mandatory to be featured, but not to participate).

Grace and Truth_Meet Hosts

We encourage you to follow our hosts on their blogs or social media.

MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LAUREN SPARKS
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

TAMMY KENNINGTON – Restoring hope. Pursuing peace.
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

 Now Let’s Link Up!

 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

 

 

If you liked this post, do me the huge honor of using the buttons below to share it to your favorite social media accounts. And if you want to get these essays emailed to you once a week, subscribe!  Lastly, my posts may contain affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases. If you buy anything from one of these links, I will receive a few pennies to help offset the cost of this website at no additional charge to you. Thank you in advance for your help.

 

To find some great places where I might be sharing this post, click here.

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About Me

I love Jesus, my husband and caffeine. The order of these can change depending on how tired I am. When my two daughters, stepson, and 4 grandchildren get to be too much, I practice yoga. God graciously allows me to share our adventures, victories and flub-ups from my laptop. May He be glorified here.
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  • May Had No Margin!
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  • What Are the Rumble Strips in Your Life?
  • First Friday Prayers: Words for the Graduates
  • Up Up and Away, April

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