The clarity of morning

I woke up this morning and took a shower before I came down and took the dog out to do his business. The temperature was not too cool to prevent me from staying outside. I warmed up the grits from a couple of days ago and put cheese and butter in them to fancy them up a bit. I took the package of Broadbent's country ham out of the meat drawer and cut it open. I cut two bits of butter off the stick in the refrigerator and dropped them in the pan. Soon I was sauteeing the ham in the butter. I set Cindy's coffee up for when she got up and made myself a cup of hot tea.

Unfortunately, the orange juice was almost gone. I finished it off. I am the only one who drinks orange juice in the morning unless I make an issue out of it and pour two small glasses for Cindy and Kate. Orange juice is important. Much more important than coffee or tea.

I took the radio out and plugged it into the outdoor outlet. I set my breakfast up on the patio table and sat down and ate. I enjoyed the quiet of the morning, even with the radio on NPR. I read part of the Thursday Atlanta Journal Constitution.

I also took Cindy's Bible out and opened it to see what I would find. I had no plan to open it to any particular place. You never know what you might find if you open it without any plan. I opened the Bible to Malachi 3. The chapter begins with a prophecy of the coming of the Messiah. But this prophecy is different. It is not a prophecy of the birth of Jesus. No, it seems to presage the second coming of Jesus. It is much more the Jesus of Revelations than the Jesus of the Gospels. And it speaks of a Christ who judges us, not the one who comes to save us. The prophecy is cautionary.

Then the passage goes on to talk about bringing in the fullness of the tithe. Is God trying to tell me something about tything? The passage talks about testing God in this regard. Maybe the only place in the Bible where it asks us to test God.

No doubt God has been faithful. He has protected us and given us everything we need, even when we have not been good stewards of what he gave us. Is it time to be a better steward of his gifts? This is something that has always been difficult for me. I have no problem with giving my time and talents. But the money is always an issue. I am going to have to pray about this.