Help Me Find the Stairs: Seeing God in Everyday Life

By Susan Sherwood McCabe

Have you ever wondered what spiritual lessons you can learn from hot chocolate, or puppy dogs, or prickly pear? Have you ever had a hard time hearing what God is saying to you? This book looks at things from a unique perspective. It is a 30 day devotional guide. Each selection contains a story, either an event from the author's life or an allegory. Each story is followed by spiritual applications and scripture references.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Oct 12, 2010
• ISBN: 9781452016511

Susan Sherwood McCabe

Susan McCabe has had several poems published and is a screenwriter for a Christian Children's television show. This is her first prose work. She grew up in Panhandle, Texas. She has degrees from Abilene Christian University and Hardin Simmons University. Susan lives in Abilene, Texas where she works as a social worker. She lives with her husband and two teenaged sons. Besides writing, she enjoys singing, computing and playing with her dog.

Book preview

Chocolate

Count it all joy my brothers when you encounter various trials, know that the testing of you faith works patience, and let patience have its perfect work. James 1:2-4

The other night I was drinking hot chocolate and I heard from the Lord. I love to drink hot chocolate, especially on a chilly evening. I was thinking about the different kinds of hot chocolate. Once, my child decided to make his own hot chocolate. He stirred chocolate chips into a glass of milk and was very distressed that it did not taste better. Then there are the instant hot chocolate mixes. They taste good, but often leave clumps of chocolate at the bottom. Finally, there is the good old-fashioned hot cocoa, where you heat the milk and stir in cocoa and sugar. Nothing quite compares with this.

Believe it or not, there is a spiritual application here. All of us are in different places with God. Some are just beginning to be open to the word and it has not taken root in their lives. Their walk with God is like the chocolate chips and milk. The good things of God’s word and his spirit are present, but they are not able to make much difference yet. Others have come farther with God and are letting the word and the spirit affect some area of their lives. They may have cleaned up their language or behavior. They are becoming sweeter. They still have clumps in their lives, though. These are areas where they have not allowed God to touch, for some reason. Finally, there are those who are trying to let God into every area of their lives and live by the power of the spirit. They are like the old fashioned hot cocoa, a sweet sacrifice to God.

There are two requirements to this state. There must be heat and the ingredients must be stirred. Have you been feeling the heat lately? Has God been stirring you up? Don’t despair. You will be a sweeter fragrance to the world of God’s glory. Finally, remember, God has not left you on the burner alone. He is still in control and will not leave us.

First Things First

I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord... to give you a future and a hope. Jer 29:11

My family and I were sitting on a blanket in the park. It was blazing hot. We were waiting for the sun to go down and the fireworks to start. It was 4th of July about 3 years ago. As we ate cantaloupe and drank lemonade, we looked around the park. I noticed that every few minutes, a Roman candle would go off somewhere to the side of where we were sitting. Then a pop and crack and another firework would shoot sparks in colorful patterns somewhere else. Finally, it got dark and the show started. The fireworks were amazing. The sparks shot out high into the sky and the colors against the dark sky were brilliant. The noise from the explosions was enough to make me jump. I noticed something interesting, though. While the real show was going strong, the small fireworks were still going on. Even though I wanted to watch the show, the small fireworks would catch my eye and take my attention away from what was going on.

At this point, I started to see how this situation applied to life. I was not in a good place that year, though. I had just lost a friend who had gone to the hospital for a routine operation. To be perfectly honest, I was really mad at God. So as the Spirit showed me the lessons in this situation, I mentally crossed my arms and told God, I came here to watch the fireworks. I did NOT come here to learn anything. The best description of what happened is God turned up the volume