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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Accent (02/21/13)
May I Have Your Attention Please?
 
When my children were small and I needed to get their attention sometimes I would put a strong emphasis on a word or words. For example, I might say, “Go clean your room NOW!” The accentuated word of course would be “now”.  If we are driving and we hear a siren approaching that certainly gets our attention and we hope those lights are not meant for us!
 
I tend to get so busy with life that I don't always listen to what God is trying to tell me or what He wants me to know.  God's Word tells us that He has a plan for our lives.   Jeremiah 29:11 (KJV) says, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”  But sometimes God just has to slow us down, to reach down and get our attention so we can focus on what He is trying to tell us.
 
So how does God get my attention?  One way is by causing me to have vague feelings of restlessness about nothing in particular. I have learned that when those feelings start to build up inside me God is about to make a change in my life. God has something He wants me to do or something that He wants for me to hear.
Another way God gets my attention is by wrapping me in the blanket of His peace.  Sometimes I don't know why, but I feel His assurance that everything is going to be OK and no matter what happens I will be able to handle it.  I remember a time when this happened in my life and I knew with a certainty that it was God's peace.  I wasn't in a crisis, everything seemed to be going smoothly, but God showered me with His peace.  A few days later I found out that my mom was going to need triple by-pass heart surgery.  God's sweet peace had come to let me know that it would be OK.
Sometimes God gets my attention by making His Word come alive to me.  It may be a passage I have read many many times before, but it is as if I am reading them for the very first time.  Sometimes it is a verse I do not remember ever having read before, but suddenly there it is. God has something He is wanting to tell me in this verse.

One of my favorite verses comes from I Kings 19:11b & 12 (KJV),  â€śBut the Lord was not in the wind and after th e wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire, and after the fire a still small voice.” Sometimes God just whispers softly to me and quiets me enough to get my attention.  In the book of Samuel I am reminded of God getting Samuel's attention by a small, still voice, I Samuel 3:4 (KJV), “Then the Lord called Samuel and he answered, Here am I.”
God speaks to me in many ways. I sometimes have to be called to attention long enough to listen to what God's message is saying to me.
Don't be too distracted on this journey of life, there may be something God wants you to hear.  He may be saying to  you today, “May I have your attention?”
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This article has been read 457 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
Judith Gayle Smith
03/04/13
A definite "pay attention" article, worthy of reading more than once. I truly enjoyed this.

Loving you in through and because of Jesus, the Christ . . .

Have you "thrown a brick"?
http://www.faithwriters.com/Boards/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=56&t=36621

Shann Hall-LochmannVanBennekom 
03/05/13
I think this is an excellent example of a devotion. You did a great job of formatting it to draw the reader in. I like how you started with a true life example that most anyone can relate to. It pulls the reader right in and makes them comfortable.

If you make shorter paragraphs, I think it would be less overwhelming to some reluctant readers. (When you switch to another verse you should start a new paragraph. Also, in first paragraph, you switched from past tense to present with the sentence that starts with If, so that too should be a new paragraph.)

I also really like that you used the first person for your examples. It pulls me in and I find a connection with the MC.
Personally, I wish you had stayed with the first person for the last paragraph. Some people can feel like they are being lectured when an author uses the word you. I think you did a fantastic job of writing on topic. Your scripture choice is a perfect match for your message. Overall, I think you did a splendid job on this. With just a bit of polishing, I think you could submit it to a devotional magazine or website.
C D Swanson 
03/05/13
Beautiful devotional. Thank you. God bless~
Shann Hall-LochmannVanBennekom 
03/07/13
Congratulations for placing 10th in your level! The highest rankings can be found on the message boards.