Six words I never imagined I would hear myself screaming:  “The phone is in the oven!!!” But there I was on a Sunday afternoon screaming them.

I was trying to do too many things at once. My sweet mom was spending the day with us so I was caring for her, I took a call from a neighbor while busy preparing side dishes for dinner and managing two roasts that I had put in the oven an hour before. 

Crooking my neck and holding the phone between my right ear and my right shoulder, I opened the oven door to put an aluminum foil tent over the roasts so they didn’t brown too much. My right hand accidentally met with the side of the scorching hot oven and two of my fingers got burned. Natural reflex jolted my hand and body away from the hot oven and the phone went flying away from where it was tentatively perched on my shoulder. At first I wasn’t sure where the phone went, but then I saw it in the roasting pan comfortably sitting next to one of the roasts! 

A phone never knew life could be so good.

More concerned that the phone would ignite and start a fire than ruin my roast or itself, I proclaimed and then planned in the midst of panic.

“The phone is in the oven!  The phone is in the oven!  The phone is in the oven!”

Screaming the alarming news flash for my family, my husband and children came running from different directions in the house. All with jaws dropped and, not sure whether to laugh or scream themselves, they stood shocked. All of us were bent over staring at the savory site before our eyes.

Indeed, the phone was in the oven.

With a quick strategical search and rescue mission underway, I picked up the long metal tongs from the counter top and pulled the wire oven shelf out as far it would come. With the tongs, I grabbed the marinating phone and placed it on a towel. My husband dried the outside of the phone off and then disassembled it so the insides could drain and dry.

Phone au jus.  Not what I had planned for dinner.

Nursing my burned fingers under cold water for several minutes, I realized where I had gone wrong:  Doing too many things at one time. Had I slowed down just a bit I would have waited until I was off of the phone to handle the roasts in a hot oven. Or I could have returned the call to my neighbor later that evening when things were more settled.

Everything I was doing was “good” ~ caring for my mom, preparing dinner for my family and taking time to talk to my neighbor on the phone. But sometimes we do too many good things at one time, and we get burned.

In His sweet goodness, God whispered to my heart through this now-funny kitchen mishap. Keep in step with Me.

By His grace, God lovingly leads us through our days. He is faithful to show us how to spend our time and our labors of love. He invites us to LET.IT.GO. and allow Him to guide our steps. We need to only ask and yield. “He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them His way.” ~ Psalm 25:9 

Ask and yield. Humility and surrender. Letting it go and allowing God to lead. A daily, moment-by-moment surrender.

My friend Karen’s newest book encourages us to give God His job back!

From my November 9th post here, I am delighted to announce the winner of the book I am giving away to any new likes of my FB page ~ “Why Is My Raincoat ‘Dry Clean Only’?”.  The winner of LET.IT.GO. is Ruby Robbins Grisham! Also, a little serendipity here today, an additional winner ~ Janelle Hepfner!  

Karen will be giving away more copies of her book and TWO KINDLE FIRES…so continue to leave comments (click here) until December 5th!!!

I encourage you to begin your day today, or pause in the middle of it, and open His Word. Need a place to start? Read Psalm 119. His Word is the essential lamp to our feet and a light to our path.