I had to ask this to what are you giving your attention question after making dinner.
It’s fair to say that I’ve made rice hundreds of times, probably as many times as Albert Pujols hit home runs – 703. (I am a big St. Louis Cardinal baseball fan.)
I digress…
Rice is one of those food items I can count on to cook perfectly, that is until the other night.
It wasn’t fluffy. It was stuck together. I thought the problem was a new brown rice I was using.
The following morning, I reached for the half-cup measuring cup I used for the rice. Oh. It wasn’t half a cup. It was one-third of a cup.
Now I knew why the rice wasn’t fluffy. I’d used too much water ratio to rice.
The bottom line was that I wasn’t paying close enough attention. The cups look very similar.
The rice faux pas was insignificant in the scheme of things. But it got me thinking of other areas in my life where I can fail to be attentive because of life’s distractions.
When We Give Our Full Attention We Prosper
That’s what Proverbs 16:20 tells us: Those who are attentive to a matter will prosper, and happy are those who trust in the Lord.
Ask Yourself these Attentive Questions
Am I fully present and attentive when I’m with others?
Am I paying attention to my tone of voice? Is it kind or dismissive?
Am I attentive to my habits? Are they healthy and life-giving or destructive?
Am I truly attentive to God’s guidance and my belovedness in God?
Recognizing that belovedness and trusting in God, we can live with joy.
Our actions and relationships will prosper when we are attentive.
Being attentive means not living life on auto pilot.
My little measuring cup mix up reminded me of how easy it is to lose focus. It also reminded me of a blog post series I created called 21 Days of Focus.
If you are pursuing a goal, dream, or desire that God has put on your heart, these posts were created to help you stay focused.
May you be attentive in all things, and may you continue to put your trust in the Lord in all matters.
Here’s the link to the 21 Days of Focus blog series to help you remain attentive.
Dennis Smeiska
October 11, 2022 2:49 pmI think in reality, life’s distraction are when we give more of our attention to our thoughts rather than being fully present. Being the watcher of our thoughts instead of letting the thoughts take us away from the moment is when God’s plan is revealed to us.
I also like to think that when we are fully present we are allowing God to experience Creation through our eyes. 🙂
Jackie Trottmann
October 26, 2022 1:29 pmHi Dennis,
I always appreciate you sharing your thoughts. 🙂 It is so hard sometimes to be the watcher, isn’t it? “We are allowing God to experience Creation through our eyes.” That’s deep. Need to give further pondering to that!
Thanks for reply and “attention” to the post.
Jackie