Welcome to Today's PoG Blog! "Heavenly Father, For You alone my soul waits hushed.  Open my eyes, and ears, and heart, and mind to Your Word, God. What do You want to say to me today, Pappa?  Amen."

Philippians 2:13-16a (the Message)

Be energetic in your life of salvation, reverent and sensitive before God. That energy is God’s energy, an energy deep within you, God Himself willing and working at what will give Him the most pleasure.

Do everything readily and cheerfully no bickering, no second-guessing allowed!

Go out into the world uncorrupted a breath of fresh air in this squalid and polluted society.

Provide people with a glimpse of good living and of the living God.

NASB version (among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the Word of Life.)

NIV version (in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold on to the Word of Life.)

Carry the light-giving Message into the night…

What are You saying to me today?  What are You saying to us – Your people at PoG – Your lights – as You teach us that we are “cities on a hill”  and “lights on a stand” – as You command us to SHINE ?

What does your day look like today – Thursday, January 24, 2013?

Are you fixing breakfast?  Will you drive through McDonalds? Are you a student?  Are you in high school or college? Are you going "back to school?" Are you a Teacher?  Do you work at Dell or Samsung or AMD? Are you unemployed?  Do you have an interview today? Are you exhausted from the worry of job hunting? Are you at home with your kids today?  Do you take care of other people’s children? Are you ill?  Will you be going to the Dr. today?  Are you in the midst of chemo or radiation? Is life exciting right now?  Boring?  Mundane?  Overwhelming?  Too hard? Will you stop by the store after work?  Will you run other errands to the bank?  Getting your hair cut? Are you facing a deadline or project or presentation? Are you around happy, upbeat, positive people today?  Are you around sad, defeated, depressed, negative people?

You get the drift.  Think about your life for just today.  And look at how God tells us to live right now. Turn it into a prayer…

“Today, Father, as I prepare for my day, help me to be energetic in my life of salvation. Not energy generated from myself – I am not able to keep this up by myself.  Fill me with You,   Your energy, God, an energy deep within me.  And, today, God, through my life today, I trust that You will be  willing and working at what will gives You the most pleasure.

Help me to do everything readily and cheerfully.   Ach.  Really?  Everything?  I don’t feel so cheerful.  I am not ready to face anything at all today – much less cheerfully.  But, that is Your will – and with Your energy in me I will try. You are telling me to go – go out into the world – but the world is dark – my day is hard – the people I work with are difficult, I am on my last dime, I am afraid, I am worried, I am angry.  Yet, You say, Go out into the world uncorrupted - a breath of fresh air in this squalid and polluted society. Help me be a breath of fresh air.  Help me not to exhale more corruption and pollution.  Help me be a City on a Hill.  Help me be a Lamp on a Stand. Help me appear as a light in the world.  Help me to shine like a star in the universe as I carry Your light-giving Message.

I want to be a breath of fresh air – at home – at school – running late, stuck on IH35 - in the drive-thru, at Starbucks, at the dentist -  in a cubicle - on the golf course -, around negativity - around little children, around grown adults acting like little children – amidst chaos and fighting – while job searching – etc. etc.  (you fill in the blanks with your life today)

Let’s be a breath of fresh air today!   Let’ appear as lights in the world!  Let’s shine like stars in the universe as we carry God’s Light-Giving Message!

-dawn