Magnolia Ramblings

I am an HGTV junkie!  There, I said it, I am! We were already hooked on Fixer Upper and adored Chip and JoJo long before The Magnolia Story came out.  Even my man, loves him some Fixer Upper!  I have come home from work many times and he is sitting there watching it.  I love it! The Magnolia Story was on my Christmas list this year and my man came through big!  YAY!!  I love getting books for Christmas!  I started reading it right quick and finished it right quick.  It was outstanding, I highly recommend it! We are planning a trip in the next couple of months to Texas and we WILL be visiting Waco!   EEEKKK!  So excited!! They are so stinkin cute, and obviously balance each other well.  Their story is very interesting, how things fell into place for them and how they became successful.  No doubt are they very hard-working folks, but they also have a tremendous faith! They are outstanding humans - OUTSTANDING!  They are a wonderful example of how humans should treat each other! They take turns writing, but it is mostly written from JoJo's point of view.  Time and again she refers to her faith and listening to that still small voice.....even when it scared her to death and wasn't something she wanted to do, she trusted and moved forward anyway.  She even listened when God told her to go and visit another blogger who was in the end stages of cancer, and decorate her house for Christmas! This got me to thinking....how many times have a missed that still small voice? Missed it because I have been too busy, too wrapped up in my plans, in my busyness, created by my own doing?  Missed it because Netflix was calling or I was sitting on the couch mesmerized by all things HGTV or the pile of laundry was so huge or I was running around doing a bazillion errands or I was just plain lazy? How many times have I missed a blessing?  A path I should have taken? The opportunity to be a blessing to someone else? Not that any of these things are wrong or bad, but am I listening while absorbed by these things?  Is my mind on the Eternal while I wash dirty boy socks and drawers?  Am I open at all times to receive what God wants me to hear while I am driving around checking off that to-do list?  Do I make time to just be still and be quiet and get in the Word to hear from my Father? Some days I feel like Mary and some days I feel like Martha!  The struggle is real! "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." - John 14:26 Father, help me to have an open heart and ears that are ready to hear from You when you speak.  Please help me to slow down and be still.  Thank You for Your Spirit that lives inside me, Lord!  Don't let me miss the path You would have me take or the opportunity to be a blessing, to be Your hands and feet!