Multiple choice

A couple diverse thoughts to start off your Monday morning. Kind of like those multiple choice tests from high school. Pick the one that best applies to you. No grades will be given, but a 1,000,000 bonus points for sharing your thoughts.

• Do you think we should pray like the ones written in Psalms? I can't help but imagine what a Sunday morning would look like if we heard some prayers like these. They didn't seem too concerned with "prettying up" their thoughts. Read this morning about smashing the heads of their enemies. These were not prayers about so-and-so's sick grandma (not that grandma isn't important), but raw and intense prayers for help and emotional prayers of thanks. They seemed to take to heart the fact that God already knew their true thoughts and feelings and just honestly shared them. Wonder why our prayers sound so sanitized? They often sound more like a speechwriter has crafted them (lots of words, but not much substance) than us honestly talking to God.
• Not sure what even prompted me to write down these two questions yesterday, but I've been trying to take an honest look at my life and answer them. Give it a whirl and see what you come up with. How do you sacrifice your convictions? What is your compromise?
• Do you listen before speaking the truth? I have had several people speak truth into my life the last couple of days. Some I was glad did, others just made me angry. The truth is always needed, but sometimes our delivery of it can make it harder to receive. I have tried to sort through and hear the truth, but have wondered if some of the ones delivery it were more concerned about me or saying what they felt needed to be said. One says I care about you, the other says I am right. You may be right, but if you don't care about me first, it really doesn't help me much. What do you think?
• How do answer the question - How are you doing? Do you really tell everyone how things are going for you? Do you just default to the acceptable answer - fine? I have probably been asked this question about 10 times (at least) over the weekend. I probably honestly answered two of those people. Eight people got something else. Why the difference? For me it is because those two really seemed to want to know. They allowed time for me to answer. I wasn't on the clock so they could move on to the next person. They had seen something that made them wonder about me and they asked. They cared enough to see me. The people in line checking me out will probably always get the "fine" response. Those who throw it out as a greeting, will get the "fine". When I ask that question, I want that person to know that I really want to know how they are doing. I don't want the expected answer (unless of course you are really doing fine and then you will probably have to convince me of that). How do we slow down enough to see the people around us?

There you go. A few thoughts to get you started today. Go for it and weigh in with your thoughts. How often do you get the chance to make this easy of an "A"?