Enough Already!

When I was a skinny little kid, my mother would be serving some food on my plate and I would say, “That’s enough.” But then she would put another big spoonful on my plate.

Some of us often overdo it. We have a difficult time hitting that sweet spot of just right. I think great cooks are the ones who know when the spice is just enough. Cayenne pepper can enhance the flavor of a dish, but when the eater must call the fire department to put out the fire—Enough Already!

I think I am a people person. I like people to be friendly, but I don’t want to be smothered. If someone is walking away and you are pursuing them like a beagle chasing a rabbit. Enough Already!

Some folks think they want to be popular or even famous, but I doubt they would be happy with the Paparazzi camping in front of their house or people snapping pictures while they were eating at Taco Bell. At some point they would scream, “Enough Already!”

I heard a famous minister say that many young ministers often ask him how they can be like him. He wondered if they would be happy being away from their families for over 200 days per year. Even things that look wonderful can become enough faster than we think.

People need to find a balance in their lives. We tend to gravitate to the far end of a spectrum. Some folks think it would be cool to be a radical. Radicals are often lonely people. They are greatly admired from a distance, but when you get too close for too long, most folks end up thinking, “Enough Already!”

We greatly admire the Apostle Paul but how would you have liked to buddy-up with him when you read about his sufferings in 2 Corinthians 11: 24-27 (NKJV).

(24) From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one.
(25) Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep;


(26) in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;
(27) in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness—

See! Case in point, I should have ended my Bible quote at the end of verse 25 because the point was made, yet I kept typing and almost lost you in “perils”. It was Enough Already!

I am afraid many of us would have been like John Mark who had enough and left the first missionary journey about a third of the way. He in essence said, “Enough Already!” To be fair, he later redeemed himself.

I’m not sure what you will get out of this post? My advice: seek a little balance in your life, enjoy where God has you, and who He has put with you! We tend to look over the fence and see bright lights and shiny objects, but it may be a spaceship to a planet you don’t want to go. (It’s a metaphor! I’m not a believer in UFOs—Enough Already! I’m kind of like Jesus, my parables don’t always make sense on the first reading!)

I’m going to go and make me some cheese grits now. If I add too little cheese, what’s the point in the cheese. If I add too much, I have grits in my cheese rather than cheese in my grits. Just enough is just right. How much cheese do I usually put? Just enough. Try it sometime. This post is Enough Already!

Yours on the Journey,

Harry L. Whitt

Simply Put

Simply Put

Put me in a family to love
Put me in a community to serve
Put me in Your Kingdom to sacrifice

Put Your Word in my ear to hear
Put Your Word in my heart to believe
Put Your Word in my mouth to speak

Put something in my hand to give
Put compassion in my heart to heal
Put bread in my hand to share

Put me in a place to trod
Put me in Your field to work
Put me in the world to shine

Put me in the line to stand
Put me in the battle to fight
Put me in the war to win

Put me in Your altar to pray
Put me in Your heart to worship
Put me in Your hand to die

—Harry L. Whitt

Old Men

I remember when I was a boy looking at old men in wonderment. They were either my grandfather or someone else’s grandfather. I knew my granddaddy was once a farmer and he still dabbled with farming. He helped my Daddy with a few things, had a garden, and sometimes had a little patch of corn. He got a few dollars every month from the plan put in place by FDR.

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Be Real

Our present world is one of symbols and images that are often removed from reality. Social media has photos that are filtered to project a prettier face. A short media post shows a perfect situation but a deeper look reveals a flawed reality.

We are swamped with available information at our fingertips. Much of the information is skewed to project a reality that does not exit. It is like the snake oil medicine of old, that promised to cure everything from cataracts to kidney stones but only gave a taste of medicine in the mouth.

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Navigation of Life

Without getting too far into the weeds, navigation is basically knowing where you are in relation to where you started. Basic navigation needs two known points to measure the current location.

The old explorers did not wander aimlessly into the seas. They plotted their course to determine where they were in relation to where they started. If you read some of their exploits, you will be amazed at their expertise even with the crude instruments of their time.

Are you wandering aimlessly into the seas of this world?

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Pressing Forward

We have dipped our toes into the New Year and have the slate our future before us. I encourage you to look up and look forward. God has something good for you. Every day is a gift from God.

Life is difficult. Everyone deals with something. Yes, some folks have had it better than others, but no one leaves this earth without a scar. So, the heart of my remarks is not to belittle your difficulties but to encourage you move forward in spite of them. Some of life’s greatest victories were born out of great tragedies.

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