From the Message version of the Bible, Romans 12:1 gives us sage advice: “So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.”

The Apostle Paul, writing to the Christians in Rome, was sharing “easy” wisdom.  We need to realize that our functions of every day life: sleeping, eating, going to work, walking are exactly what God wants us to lift up to Him.  As you open your eyes each morning and stretch in bed, before your feet touch the floor, thank God for your rest.  As you head to the kitchen for your power shake or coffee or Cheerios, lift your ability to eat and drink to Him. These are such quick, easy thanks to transmit to our Heavenly Father. Because of Him, we can rest our bodies.  Because of Him we can awaken.  Because of Him we can feel hungry and then nourish our bodies. Give Him an offering of YOU.  We ARE, because of HIM.  God is well aware; we have no problem rushing to Him with the “big” stuff.  Major problems have many of us scurrying to Him in prayer and pleading. Remember: We ARE, because of HIM.  He wants 100% of us, each moment of your ordinary life can be placed before God as an offering. When you take your everyday life to God as an offering of YOU to HIM, you will begin to grow. Each “thank you” you extend, strengthens your connection to our omnipotent God, who loves us so unconditionally. Grow in Him!

Jill