To Err is Human.....But Who Likes Making Mistakes?

I spend many hours of my day at my computer; typing my daily posts, providing technical editing for other writers and giving encouragement to friends on social media. With all that typing, editing and publishing, I installed a writing app called "Grammarly". Grammarly's app makes sure my messages, documents, and social media posts are clear and mistake-free. The app highlights the incorrect spelling or punctuation and I just tap on it, and whoa la -- everything is corrected. Within seconds, I've made my corrections and I'm good to go. What a blessing it is, considering the old days when we used a manual or electric typewriter. If we made mistakes with our typing then, we used correcting paper or correcting ink. It was laborious, and often difficult to make corrections if a space was needed between words. Whew! We've come a long way, Baby!

And isn’t that true in our lives, as well? As much as we try to do better, it seems our nature is prone to emotional, physical and spiritual mistakes. Maybe it has to do with the company we're keeping, some unhealthy habits, some compromising of our ethics and integrity, or literally missing the mark. Little mistakes can really slow us down and even limit some of the blessings God wants to give us. I remember back in my early learning-to-type days when I made so many mistakes because I wasn't focusing or I was concentrating more on speed than being mistake-free. Now, at this stage of my life, I really want to be as mistake-free as possible, but like what I heard someone say "I do really well with living mistake-free, but then I get out of bed and meet up with people, and then I need the "correcting fluid" to clean up my mistakes.

I was being challenged by my own post by purposing to live a mistake-free life. I know that's just not possible. As long as we're in these earth suits, we'll be prone to missing the mark. But here's the good news: God is so quick to forgive us when we come to Him, and like the "correcting fluid" I used, "Wite-Out", God applies His "white-out" to our mistakes and not only covers them, but He makes us white as snow. "Come now, let's settle this," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool." Isaiah 1:18 His forgiveness really is divine.

I've come to know that focusing my attention on getting it right in my heart, attitude and life makes for a beautiful page in this chapter and book of my life. My daily prayers are “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10 and "Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O God!" Psalm 19:4

SHEER Fish-ness!

It's good to be back home, but our home away from home was AWESOME-ness with SHEER Fish-ness over the last several days. Hootsuite, an app to use to schedule Facebook posts, sure made me look like I was really trying to get a message across.... emphatically, as it reposted Sunday's post about 8 times (one for each photo I posted, which I had lumped together in one). Oh me!

God and I have a pact that I will do a daily post (Yes, I know, you don't give "teachings" on FB because it's for quick messaging, but I know folks may not take the time to go to my daily blog at www.livinginthepeacezone.blogger.com, so I post on both places, daily.) Because we were in a no-wifi zone in the deep woods, and on the banks of the Illinois River for the last several days, I had to pre-schedule my posts at a laundromat in Gore that had wifi. Hootsuite provided my Day 2 posts over and over again with each photo I added, individually. I apologize for that!

Since I'm home, I deleted them all but one, and now have the whole album of all the fun photos posted here -- from me walking into the cabin and seeing the photos Staci brought from home of my Sweetheart to these I'm posting here of years ago when he kicked off the love of the Great Outdoors in our family and now to this trip where we gave "Big Larry" a birthday surprise celebration, the kids floating down the Illinois River, making s'mores and playing in the fire (Kids, don't do this without adult supervision!), lots and lots of fishing, and lots and lots of cleaning those fish. Larry and Staci were fish-cleaning machines and I was the chief cook and cheerleader for everyone. I said, "I haven't caught a single fish and Lexi said, "Nana, it would help if you'd put a line in the water!" LOL! I just loved getting caught up in all their successes.

Technology may often disappoint, but God sure doesn't! I loved taking photos with "memories to treasure" in mind, and postings in mind to archive. This photo album is some sweet photos of yester-years with our big boys and Staci's two, and these last few days. You can see we're a "fishing family" both when it comes to fishing for fish AND fishing for men and women to know God, His amazing WORD and all that He has created for each of us. It just doesn't get better than that on this side of heaven, and oh what a time it will be once we cross over to the other side!