Tah-Dah! Today is Paper Bag Day. On July 12, 1852, American schoolteacher Francis Wolle invented the first machine to mass-produce paper bags.

If you are saying to yourself, Thats interesting, but paper bags have nothing to do with a faith-based newspaper column that encourages above the sun thinking, you would be correct.

The reason I used that little known fact as my opening sentence was to illustrate that some days are just very average, nothing really exciting or unique about them. Judging from the trivia I found on the internet, July 12 is one of those ho-hum days in history.

There may be some of you who became a Christian on July 12 or re-dedicated your life to Christ on July 12. But I am guessing that spiritually speaking, July 12 represents a fairly average day in most of our lives. For me personally, I am okay with having a day where no news is good news. But for many Christians, having a boring day spiritually is a real downer, so to speak, completely unacceptable. For some of us, if we do not experience a spiritual breakthrough or have an incredible mountain-top moment often enough, our faith begins to dip, and our attitude begins to slip.

The purpose of this article today is to remind us that if we do not have an earth-shattering spiritual moment every day, that is not a bad thing. Maybe having a boring day is Gods way of encouraging you to do something you have not had time to do lately, like study Gods word, pray, or go strike up a conversation with a neighbor who could really use some human interaction. A boring day also gives us time to relax, reflect, re-evaluate, make new life strategies, go on a fast from TV and radio, or a social media fast. A boring day can be a valuable tool in helping you re-fill your cup.

Noah didnt get to build an ark and survive a worldwide flood every year. Abraham didnt have a direct encounter with an angel every day. Balaams donkey did not speak to him every day. Peter did not walk on the water every time he had a conversation with Jesus. And Lazarus did not rise from his grave every time he died.

Most days are just not that big of a deal by the worlds standards. And most days are not even that big of a deal spiritually, at least on the surface, in that we do not experience multiple wow moments each week, month, or year. But that does not mean God cannot be seen working in our lives, our communities, and in nature every single day, and that IS a big deal. God created the human heart to beat over 100,000 times in one day and about 35-40 million times in a year! The question is, what will we do to honor God with the beats weve been given?

Have a great week!

Barrett Vanlandingham is the Youth Minister at the Fort Gibson Church of Christ. Reach him at (918) 478-2222 or barrett@ftgcc.org.

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Above the Sun: Boring days are filled with opportunity - Muskogee Daily Phoenix