Mommy...I've got voices in my head.

Today when I was assembling my son's Sloppy Joe on his plate, I asked him to move his hands out of the way. I had a big spoonful of hot & sloppy sauce and didn't want him to get burned. He moved them for a second, but just as I started to pour, he put his hand back under the sauce to catch some of it and cried out in pain when he burned himself. Frustrated, I said, "WHY didn't you listen to me?"

"My heart said to put my hand there..." came his innocent reply. The juicy tears were rolling down his cheeks.

So incredibly adorable. I hope he learns his lesson and never does that again.

How many times does my heart tell me to do something, and I end up in pain? Just because I think it's a good idea, doesn't mean that it is a good idea. Everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial. And neither can my heart be trusted.

Examples? How about ME in a store with a good sale, rationalizing that even though I was saving my money, I just cannot pass up this opportunity? How about ME spending hours working on a logo for my "new company name that God gave me" only to find out that it's already taken and I can't use it after all? How about ME with 2 hours of free time, squandering it on work??

Silly, easily misled, and vulnerable: H-E-L-P. My heart is no better than my four-year olds. If my heart alone should not govern my actions, what should?

Sometimes I am amazed at how loudly the "things" in front of me talk.

• The floor says, "Sweep me."
• The flour says, "Make something yummy with me."
• Then the cookies say, "Eat me."
• The children say, "Play with me."
• The garden says, "Weed me."
• The computer says, "Work on me."
• But the quietest voice of all, compells all these other voices to submit their priority. This voice says, "Seek me."

Following God requires my full attention. I am amazed and perplexed at how to do this. He says that as I "keep company" with Him, I will receive rest because His yoke is easy and His burden is light. In the Message translation it says, "I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you."

So when my heart tells me to stick my hand out under "hot sauce," I can't blame the burn on God.

If He truly is the governing Voice in my life, I must keep my eyes fixed on Him. Make sure that His message conveys the loudest words in my heart. Lead confidently only because I am following confidently. Seek Him passionately and allow myself to be found. Love unconditionally and allow myself to be loved when I feel unloveable...

"When Moses went and told the people all the LORD's words and laws, they responded with one voice, "Everything the LORD has said we will do."
(Exodus 24:3)