Nighlights, dog food and Parmesan cheese

I had just returned from one of those shopping trips that makes your cart look like you were trying to win the contest for how much you can fit in one cart without anything falling out. As I put the groceries away, I discovered three items I'd left behind - nightlight bulbs, dog food and Parmesan cheese.
   Like it or not, they couldn't wait and would require another trip to the store. My bark machine surely wasn't going to wait until the next restocking trip and my youngest feels more comfort when her little light shines. As a one income household with three children, pasta is often on the menu and while the cheese wasn't a neccesity, it sure makes those dinners a little more fun.

   I should have been aggravated, but I just stared at the short list I had just written and started to giggle. How unbelievable that these completely unrelated things could work together to make my house run a little smoother. It made me consider those times that I spend in prayer, filling my cart to the brink and then after the amen, remember those few little things that were forgotten. It makes prayer throughout the day a requirement to help my house run a little smoother.
   Since I became a stay at home mother, my life is filled with two constants - shopping and prayer. Neither task is ever quite done and both exist on a consistent level throughout my day. I tried for the longest time to keep them seperate but finally realized, just like adding to my shopping list when something comes to mind, this is how my time is with the Lord. I now use my never ending list to remind me to take every worry, every request and every praise to my Provider when it comes to mind. Waiting to sit down and do it all at one time only means that something will be forgotten. Our Lord cares for the tiniest details, even if all they are doing is making your meal a little more fun!
   First Thessalonians 5:16-17 tells us to "Always be joyful. Keep on praying." I have the pleasure of being charge of the shopping needs for our home, but the honor of lifting all of my family's needs to my Provider. I don't take either job lightly and I take joy in each of them.
   I want to encourage you to use that never-ending list as a reminder for the continual communication that is required for a deeper relationship with your Father.
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Alycia Holston lives in Helena, MT with her husband and three children. Her heart has always been in women's ministry and has spent the last ten years loving and supporting her fellow mothers. Now she's reaching out through her writing. As an author, Alycia combined her love of children, geography and God's amazing creation as she wrote 'While The Giant Is Sleeping' - the story of the Sleeping Giant of Helena who slumbers while the world continues to grow and change around him. To learn more about Alycia check out her website -  www.calmcreations.com.