Standing Next to Steven

The origins of the address of my blog are not clouded in mystery. My closest friends and I share a common view of how God chooses to bless us, in particular me, my wife, and our daughter. It all too often seems as though blessings fall from the sky, unbidden, to more than provide for our physical and financial needs. John Alan Turner wrote about me on his blog last September 2nd (http://johnalanturner.blogspot.com/2004_09_01_johnalanturner_archive.html) that "so many good things happen to him, that all I have to do is stand next to him -- something outrageously cool is bound to fall on me."

I would love to tell you that it's because I'm living right, but I'd be lying. I still worry that I'm not doing enough or working hard enough to earn what I make. (I almost edited that last sentence, but look at the last two words to see into my heart.) He keeps on blessing me in spite of my undeserving behavior and attitudes.

He allows the sun to shine on us all. He causes it to rain on the just and the unjust. If He clothes, feeds, and provides abundantly for me in spite of my efforts to earn it all, perhaps I don't have to earn all of His gifts. Maybe my salvation has already been paid for in full without my having earned it. That being said, I am all the more appreciative of it.