Finding a deleted post & recovering it (Dissapa-What: It is Back)...

After accidently deleting the below post from Blogger, I had the opportunity to learn something new. You can see a cache screenshot of your blogs on Google. That is all I got this post back. You can learn how to by following the link below:

http://www.ehow.com/how_6756997_recovering-deleted-posts-blogs.html

Dissipaton:

While reading Ephesians 5:14-32 this morning, I came across this verse: 

"And do not be drunk with wine, which is a dissipation;" 

---Ephesians 5:18a

The word dissipation caught my eye, for I truthfully did not know what it meant. Over to Google, I headed to type in "define dissipation." What popped up was not what I thought dissipation might mean. Google's first pop-up says, "1. Dissipated living (it irks me when someone, even Google, uses the word or a form of the word in the definition) and 2. Squandering of money, energy, or resources." God prompted me to focus on the second half of the definition.

Particularly, to ask myself what money, energy, or resources am I squandering? Am I watching TV when I should be writing? Am I fighting and arguing a point that will not matter in 100 years, or even 10 years? Am I utilizing the resources (one of them being time) God has placed in my life? I just read a blog post today, discussing how the blogger utilized the people in her online writing group to receive information to ensure her book's details were accurate. She did not squander her resources. Here is a biggie...Am I acknowledging that everything, even my money, belongs to God? This past week, I had to make a couple decisions. One being whether God wanted me to become part of an online writer's group and the other concerning a part-time writing job. 

Photo Credit: Google Images

Each of these decisions required me to look at money, energy and resources. As mentioned, one of our resources is time. God gives 24 hours each day. No more or less. Do we spend it wisely? This subject of time would be an integral part of the decisions I had to make. The online writing group would take time and energy. The part-time job would take time, energy and involves money. The part-time employment looked good. It required attending and reporting on council meetings, which were being held at night. The majority of the writing could be done at home. Plus, the extra money would be sweet. It looked really good...at first glance.

 However, it would require me to be in the newspaper office for 6 hours every Monday. This last requirement would be the deal breaker. My darling hubby works night and his schedule is Tuesday-Friday. He is off on Sunday and Monday. On Sundays, we are at church and spend time with family. Therefore, it is on Monday that we are able to run errands and then spend time with each other.  The newspaper editor would not budge on the Monday, so I graciously declined. For me to give up Mondays with my Sweetie would be squandering one of the resources God has given me...time. Some may question, "Wouldn't it be two resources...time and her hubby?" However, I don't consider my Sweetie a resource but a GIFT.  

Photo Credit: Google Images

All of this made me think long and hard before making my final decision about the writing group. The decision's deadline being today. Yes, it will take time besides the 90 minutes per month on the actual call. Yet, in the long run the benefits and accountability by a group of Sisters in Christ were determined worth the time. I made the commitment to this group for the rest of this year. When I looked at all aspects of the group, God made it apparent this would not be squandering.  

Instead it will be Him blessing me.

Have you been squandering your money, energy and/or resources? 

Join me in taking to the Father. Let's declare together:

Father, give us focus (my one word for 2012) and help us not squander what You have graciously supplied to each of us. May we fruitfully use our money, energy and resources for Your glory.  

In Jesus Name, Amen. 

Then our loving Savior can accomplish the second half of verse 18:

"be filled with the Spirit,"

and then we will participate in verse 19:

"speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord." 


CHECK OUT WWW.DAWNWHITMORESPEAKS.COM
FOR THE COMPLETE DAWNWHITMORESPEAKS WEBSITE