Spontaneous God Day

Katie and I were on our way to an "Art in the Park" event. It was going to be her acting debut, as it was planned to be a "preview" of the upcoming play "My Fair Lady" that Katie has a supporting role in. The actors/actresses were going to play out some scenes to advertise for the show coming up in the first week of August.



Unfortunately the downpour fifteen minutes prior, cancelled the event. Katie and I then wondered what we should do. We were hungry so we decided to go out to dinner at Ryan's. I never turn down a chance to eat out!



After dinner we headed over to Lifeway to check out some bible studies. We have been wanting to find one that would help lead us through our "God days" that we try to set aside each week. We don't want a study that is too in-depth because I am already working through the Blackaby study Experiencing God. Plus, life is already jam packed with stuff.



Katie picked up a study about the first and greatest commandment. She loves the verse in Mark 12 to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." She "preaches" about this all around the house and it's what she tries to live by. It is true that if we could follow this commandment, that all others would fall into place.



We liked the look of the study and that is is set up as a 40 day plan. Each day has a bit of reading and discussion to do, which is perfect for us! It is called Extreme Love, the Greatest Commandment, and is a study published by Lifeway.



We purchased a couple of more books for her kids, a box of chocolates because life is like that, and the study. We didn't feel like heading home just yet so we went to Seasons, a new coffee and cafe place. When we got there we were surprised and pleased that there was a band playing. We sat at a high table and ordered some java and conversed as we listened to the band play.



We then started in on the Extreme Love study. After reading the first intorductory type paragraph, we had to answer the question: Recall a song from your teenage years that had the word "love" in it? I immediately said "I Love Rock & Roll", the old Joan Jett tune! LOL Katie thought about the Minnie Riperton song "Loving You" and I said "gag! I've always hated that tune! She likes it because of the birds singing throughout the song and that it just sounds so happy. Ok, whatever.  I'm convinced that there are parts of that song that only dogs can hear!



We started to reminisce about a bunch of "love" songs from our youth and really had fun doing that. The next question had us think of hymns or choruses that use the word "love" and we had to compare and contrast that. That is easy for a Christian to do, but I asked Katie to tell me the difference and explain it to me as if I were a non-believer. It is difficult, if not impossible, to explain the difference between worldly love and a Godly love, and the Bible teaches that concept in I Cor. 2:14.



So, there we sat in the cafe, sipping coffee, with the music being performed and people enjoying their own conversations, doing our bible study. It was fun! It was spontaneous and Katie just shines anytime she can brag on her God. It's amazing how beautiful God is, and it's even more amazing how His Presence enhances the appearance of his children, like Moses come down from the mountain. You should see how Katie lights up when she starts talking about her beloved! Her smile gets so big that it's contagious!



So, we decided that part of our God days from here on out could happen at Seasons cafe. We are most excited about the opportunity to study God's Word there, and to have a regular place for God days. The other neat thing is that one of my former employees, who now I can simply call friend, will join us at times for conversation, discussion, and study. Woohoooo!