A warm welcome to those who are new to Ginger’s Corner!  Many thanks coming your way for all who have responded to my desire to seriously start building an audience.  For those of you who have been holding your breath for the next post on transitions, I’ll get back to that topic soon.  Considering that there are many new subscribers, I am reposting my original post that introduces the title of this blog.  Here goes…

We all occupy space on some corner of this earth and we want to make our days count for something of value—that’s just the way we are.   If you are like me, you want to be the best you that the real you can become.  I learned a long time ago, that when God is working in my life, I will grow forward in that process of becoming truly me.  Conversely, I have discovered, rather painfully at times, that God’s ways really are higher than mine. When I am certain that I know best in my own imaginings, I am actually in danger of being at my worst:  selfish, irritable, impatient, focused on the momentary rather than the significant, and on occasion, just plain wrong! Somehow, getting this truth through my thick head is where God meets me, a place where the spiritual meets the practical…my everyday life.

So why did God plant this phrase in my brain?  I am realizing  that if I don’t let God show me how to put the spiritual and the real-life-live-it-out-practical together,  spiritual knowledge has very limited value and quickly atrophies to dry, self-righteous religion with little heart in it.  Understanding that the Bible is to be lived, not merely read, opens the door for the spiritual and the practical join up.  This happens anytime I apply God’s ways in the moment to moment thinking, talking, walking, and whatevering I do with myself each day.  Hear and act, know and do, show and tell…not just kid’s games for the playground.  This is where the truth of God get’s worked out in my day.

Now I am not talking about the practical instead of the spiritual.

I’ve tried it that way….many times.  And let me tell you, it ain’t what it is cracked up to be….Busy is not better.

Frantic is not productive….necessarily.  Although, when I really have to crank something out, a little bit of frantic can go a long way.

Frantic can come in handy on occasion, but mostly it’s just miserable in a stressful, my-blood-pressure-is up-and –my-claws-are-out-kind of way.  There are some days when the balance in my life flies out the window.  When the duties of the day are running my schedule, the spiritual can get pushed to the side in favor of that next task on the “to-do list.”   Ever feel like this is your life?

Times like these the spiritual can become a distant memory as my soul runs dry and yearns to slow down, to be still.  To know God is good in my today, and to savor truth like a good cup of coffee that warms my bones and fills up my soul.

And it’s not the spiritual instead of the practical.

Good thing this isn’t a cooking blog!

I realize many days that neglecting the practical with the spiritual gets a little old around dinner time.  This has been known to happen on occasion when I get caught up with God, a good idea, and my computer.  Yes, growling tummies and hungry teenagers aren’t happy about late dinners, overdone meat, and burnt French fries at all.

The spiritual instead of the practical is certainly not appreciated when there is a lack of clean underwear in the house….just kidding; I don’t do that.  In fact, Laundry (yes, with a capitol L) rarely stops in my house, and is definitely a continual part of the family.  By the way, don’t you just love those few moments when the laundry is done?  That, my friend, truly can be a spiritual moment in the practical—one rarely experienced in my house.

Yep, the spiritual can’t take the place of the practical.  Some things you should just NOT multitask;  for instance, bible reading does not go well with driving carpool.  Do you know what I mean?

That’s not spiritual…that’s dangerous…and stupid.  So don’t do that.

You’re Invited!

I invite you to join me as I explore this process where the spiritual and the practical intersect in daily and family life, humor and real-girl mistakes, devotions and lessons, how-to’s on spiritual growth, and sharing life as it is. I hope you will have as much fun following this blog as I am going to have writing it because I am blessed—all day, every day, as the spiritual meets the practical in my little corner of life.