I had a good article started yesterday. It was about the contractors across the street. They are remodeling a house. From watching them work, the interior of the house must be amazing. The other day I was watching the kitchen counters being cut and going into the house. Today the painters are across the street and I surmise the house is entering the final stretch. I was going to ponder the commonality that the construction trades share. Whether painters, carpenters, or those who cut the stone cabinet tops, all of the trades carried extension cords. The cords were twisted and worn, but everyone seemed to carry one at the beginning of the work day.

The question for pondering was simple, are you connected to a source of daily power? Do you spend time in prayer and meditation connecting with God? If it is not a daily practice for you, I would suggest that God is “ever more read to hear than we are to pray.” If you stay connected your tool runs, if not then you face daily challenges without any spiritual tools. The thought would work for this home remodel but maybe not for subsequent ones, because power tools are beginning to be battery powered.

I was deep into the typing of the first draft, when I decided to give my keyboard a taste of my coffee. I have spilled coffee on my desk before. To tell the truth, I need a sippy cup for my morning coffee. I didn’t realize how much coffee I had dumped into my keyboard until I finished cleaning off the desk. I returned to my philosophical pondering about prayer and discovered I had a problem. When I typed the word “where” the screen displayed “@o00*****” when I hit the delete key the string continued “@o00******(((((+_.” I knew the problem.

The keyboard drying process is simple. The sun is a great drying tool. I had done this before, so I knew the formula to rescue the keyboard. Alas, the keyboard was sundried, office ceiling fan blown, prayed over and anointed with oil. The keyboard has died. Our secretary offered me a temporary keyboard to get my work done until I can replace my keyboard. I had one of those ergonomically correct keyboards. I could type on it for hours. This little keyboard has already caused a cramp in my right arm. I know for a fact now that people who use Apples are not typing. Those keyboards are even smaller than this one. Oh yes, Apples are for desktop publishing and such not.

When I finish this article, I’m going to Walmart and buy a replacement keyboard. I wonder if I can get one that comes with a plastic cover so I don’t kill another keyboard by baptizing it in coffee. I hope they still sell the old fashioned ergonomic keyboards. Walmart here I come.

I have returned from Walmart and there is no joy in Mudville. I can’t believe that Walmart does not stock my kind of keyboard! This is terrible.

We all do dumb things like spilling coffee. Some of our dumb things rise to the level of sin. We all sin too. The Bible tells us that while we were sinners, Christ died for us. The good news is that we don’t need to clean up our acts before we come to the Lord. He has already reached down to us to lift us out of our self-inflicted pain. He has the power to take our brokenness and make us whole. He offers us a new beginning which is way better than a second chance.

I hope you are connected to that source of power in your life. Having that daily connection with Christ allows you to meet all challenges, even coffee in the keyboard.