Praise Him anyway!

So this morning after struggling to decide what to wear to church I finally decided on a orange shirt and khaki skirt with some nice brown boots. I felt like I looked nice...not that that is what going to church is about but being a stay at home mom...I enjoy getting dressed up on Sunday! My girls are taught to bring their best to the Lord's house too. Anyway, as we are sitting at the red light to turn onto the church's street when my COFFEE CUP LID COMES UNSCREWED AND DUMPS THE CONTENTS ENTIRELY ON MY SKIRT!Yes, I know at this point normal people would be thinking about the scalding that my legs took with the coffee spillage but no, ladies, no. I was devasted at the wreck on my skirt! I mean it was drenched!At this point there was no going home..gas prices and we live a good 30 minutes away. Plus, my youngest baby would have to miss out on her Sunday school class. I resigned myself to sitting in the car and listening to worship music for the time that my kiddos were in church. I mean, come on. I couldn't possibly go into church in that condition. What would people say/think? They would stare or feel the need to comment because they were caught staring at my mess. I acutally toyed with the idea of running to the local walmart to get a new skirt...but the budget told me to get other ideas. As I was sitting there in my car, wearing my coffee, I felt the gentle nudge of The Holy One..." You were looking forward to church today are you really gonna let a little spill keep you from my house?" Thinking that apparently God was having a little trouble with His vision today, I pointed out to Him that I was wearing almost an entire cup of coffee. There was no hiding it! But what a persistant God He is..." Praise Me anyway." My response, " Really?" He said, " This is not what church is about. It's not about the right clothes, the right hair. It's not even about you...It's about Me. So, yes, Praise Me anyway." With a renewed love for Sunday worship in God's house I got out of the car and strategically held my sweater in front of me as not to cause too much of a ruckus. When I sat down next to my oldest daughter she said," I'm glad you joined me." I said to her, " Praise Him anyway right?!" Turns out I really needed to hear the message and you aren't going to believe the Scripture that I was led too. Well if you have been enjoying a relationship with God for any length of time this will probably not surprise you one bit. Philippians 4:4 Rejoice at all times. Again, I say, Rejoice! WOW! Then the Lord gently pointed out that that Scripture doesn't have any add ons. No rejoice as long as your aren't wearing coffee, as long as your hair looks good, as long as the kids behave and hubby picks up his laundry. Nope, we are commanded to Rejoice! Rejoice because God is good! Because we are free to go to church, because Jesus saved us...I could go on for days! This morning was a good reality check! I needed to be reminded of why I go to church in the first place and last but not least....it was an awesome teaching time for my girls! Praise God! Happy Sabbath to you all!

Joyfully,
Kathy