Like belly buttons...

...everyone has one. That's what I've heard said about excuses. (I've also heard the saying used with other areas of the body, but we'll stick with belly buttons.) My thought, though, is we should compare excuses to hairs on your head, maybe. Because we don't just have one. When we get in the mood to make an excuse, we lay it on thick. We use an arsenal of reasons not to do whatever is up for discussion. Today, the topic happened to concern church.

One person told me why they can't attend regularly - something about kids and a spouse and other such nonsense. All I heard was, "it's not priority enough to me to make it work. I can rearrange schedules to get to birthday parties, outings and sports events but this one just isn't high enough on the list."

Another girl explained why she can't serve regularly because of her overcommited work schedule. I would argue a choice is being made to serve - it's just a matter of what and whom.

One friend can't be a part of our regular women's group at church because of the possibility of things coming up. She didn't even pick one! Just wanted to leave things open in case a good excuse came up later.

And my favorite - me. I attend regularly, I serve, I even help manage the women's groups at church. So apparently, I thought I was all good and done - about broke my arm patting myself on the back. Feeling real good about myself, I ignored the fact that I was doing the same thing everyone else was. All God asked of me was to commit to pray. He even told me who and what to pray for. So this is my public confession. I did it. I made an excuse. And I'm now choosing NOT to make anymore. I'll rearrange my schedule and adjust my priorities. I'd rather be on God's team and make some mistakes than sit on the bench. Wanna join me? It's about time...

(Disclaimer: I talked to A LOT of people today. If you think I'm talking about you, I'm probably not. But if it makes you get off your butt and do something big for God, then I'll be the bad guy. I don't mind. Just ask Brynna.) :)