Psalm 86:11

....Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. Psalm 86:11 (NIV)

Restaurants are such good environments for book research....and for unintentional eavesdropping, which are sometimes one and the same. My sisters and I enjoyed a rare "all three of us" lunch not long ago.

That day, as we looked at our menus, I overheard the woman at the table behind us tell the waitress, "I'll have a piece of Dutch apple pie... and a diet cola." Decadent dessert....and a diet drink. It struck me as funny. And then it didn't.

My heart was quickened by how often I choose a similar combo. I couple my prayer with a complaint. I finish off my expression of gratitude to Jesus with a chaser of a request. I'm in the middle of a serving of worship and find it laced with thoughts of myself, or the music, or the lighting, or something other than Jesus. I take a big bite of peace....with a side of worry. I dish up a big ladle of kindness to a friend and an  impatient retort to my husband.

The Bible has a lot to say about the double-minded (James 1:8), the waffler (James 1:6), and the mouth that speaks both blessing and cursing (James 3:10). It's making me look more intentionally at the combos I "order" as I follow Jesus. - Cynthia Ruchti

Faith Step:  In your efforts to follow Jesus more closely today, stay alert for the incompatibles. Ask for His help in making the best choice.