No quick fixes

5:11 p.m. Today's project was to organize our son Kriss and his wife Marisela's engagement and wedding portraits to hang in the living room.

We've had some hassle with the resolution of the original pictures, finding out that 8 x 10" is the largest size we can have printed, when I had planned on one huge, at least 11 x 20 portrait that would take up the space. I was disappointed, but got two very imposing, elegant frames at Michaels that I will use to create a "gallery" instead.

When I downloaded my favorites to Shutterfly, only ONE of them made an acceptable 8 x 10, so I am filling in with engagement pictures and our family's group shot. Not one to give up, I am determined to get a few more large wedding glossies made! But for now, I'm being creative. Since artistry, handiwork and inventions were God's idea to begin with, I'll continue to seek His wisdom for my project. Proverbs 8:12 says, KJV, "I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions." Wisdom, prudence, inventiveness, and perseverance--I need them all, Lord!

As we all can attest, there's never a quick fix when it comes to home projects! Once Steve took out the screws that held some wall sconces, there were holes left that didn't correspond to our frames, so he filled those with putty. Unfortunately, the putty is a different color than the wall, so it needed to be sanded flat and painted over. Meanwhile, I glanced over at another part of the wall on which we had accidentally used semi-gloss to cover some scrape marks, wincing at those covered-up spots shining away in the noonday sun. "Looks like we'll have to paint the whole wall," we agreed. Out in the garage, we saw that with all of our cans of paint, we had no Navajo White 105 "Iso-flat" paint, so I called up Sherman-Williams, they mixed me up a gallon, and now it sits in the garage awaiting application!

A word to the wise: no matter how exasperated you get, don't ever ask, aloud OR in your mind, "What's next?" OK? Because you usually don't want to hear the answer!

Patching, covering up, sanding down uneven rough spots--don't we waste an inordinate amount of time on quick fixes for our sins and missteps, instead of confessing them to the Lord and getting a fresh start, letting Him do a complete correction of the entire circumstance, relationship, or even His entire plan for our lives? Isaiah 53:6a reminds us, "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have gone every one to his own way." And we wander off God's path for us more times than we would care to admit--but God loves us anyway! My prayer is not to get off-track using my picayune ideas for more than a few minutes, if at all! I want to be sensitive enough to the Holy Spirit's guidance to get back into His will speedily. Psalm 86:11 says, "Teach me Your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your Name." Let me have a heart that is unified around Your Word and will, so I don't end up wandering around in a mental wilderness, looking for my "real" personality, lifestyle, or where I "fit in," when my place is in Your arms!!

Help me Lord, to remember Philippians 1:6, to be "confident in this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ."