I do a lot of sewing and crocheting. These are some of my favorite pasttimes, and I take pride in the things I create for my family, my friends, and my home. In the past, my mother and I even had a little business where we sold lots of our hand-made treasures. And it always amazes me when God teaches me something from the little, mundane, everyday things in my life that I never even think about.

Take my crochet work, for instance. It takes a lot of time to make a blanket or an article of clothing. But the most important part of the design is the foundation row. It determines how well the entire project will turn out. If I am a bit careless with my stitches in the foundation row, the item may be just a bit bit crooked when finished, no matter how careful I am with the following rows. It may not fit exactly the way it was intended to, because the foundation might have been too loose or too tight.

Things begin to go haywire very quickly when the foundation isn't right. And it's so easy to be hurried and careless with the foundation. There's so much yet to do, and it's only one row, surely it isn't that vital. If I just take the time to do it right, the whole thing goes much quicker and easier for me. Yes, sometimes I can hide a slightly messy foundation, or make adjustments to the pattern, but the fact is, if the foundation is not right, the item I'm making will not be as easy or turn out as well as it should have.

I've found it's the same way in my spiritual life. If my foundation is planted in anything other than the solid Rock, things are not going to go well for me when the storms of life hit. If my foundation is shaky or careless, things don't turn out quite right. If I don't begin my day with a foundation of prayer and meditating on God's word, things often begin to go haywire very quickly. Little things that God may have better prepared me for if I had only taken the time to talk to Him first can become big mistakes in my day. Things throughout my day may not go as quickly or easily as they could have, and the results may not be as good as they should have been. All because my foundation was neglected or slightly off.

What about you? How is your day going? Just how firm is YOUR foundation? Anchor yourself in the solid Rock and begin every day with a foundation of prayer and Scripture. I think you'll see what a difference that foundation makes in your life. I know it does in mine!