Packages, Premiums, Publicity

"Publicity, please!" Individuals and companies are forever sending press kits to media outlets, always in the hope that someone will find their products/services of sufficient interest for a story.
Often, the companies simply send slick folders with the company's name on the outside. Inside are press releases and pictures of the product, sometimes with a CD containing publicity stills and other information.
However, some companies send samples. We wait for the sample boxes, and a dizzying array of goods have crossed our desks. We've received candy, cookies, plastic wrap, foil, posters, potting soil and seeds in press kits. If it can be legally mailed, chances are, we've received it in a press kit.
I have a decent coffee grinder at home, courtesy of the Folger's company. When they introduced whole-bean coffee a few years ago, we got two press kits, each with a grinder. I arranged to get one of them. I also have a cute Chick-Fil-A stuffed cow that came in a kit, and one department has had their calendars posted for the past couple of years.
Most recently, one of the shipping companies had a package from Disney Publications. They were a little leery of the brown cardboard box and wanted to know if I knew what was up. I looked at the box. On one side, a substance that looked like red ink or paint, stained the side. I was mystified as well, but then smelled it. Nail polish. Red nail polish--dry, fortunately. I took the box to my desk, and opened it gingerly. I don't know what marketing major at Disney thought sending nail polish was a good idea. Cute, but not a workable idea. Anyway, the box held a little plastic pouch, with four colors of nail polish, each promoting a teen girls' book to be published. Unfortunately, the bottle of red nail polish had broken and spilled all over the pouch and consequently, the box. As luck would have it, there actually were three usable colors in the package, so those bottles went home with me. I never cease to be amazed at the things people will mail as marketing tools.
One of the best kits contained a tiny cutting from an evergreen tree, a little pot for planting, and even soil. The seedling was cute, but the prize in that gift was a Christmas tree ornament. It was wooden, in the shape of a birdhouse, with a black roof that proclaimed in white letters: "See Rock City." It has made it on the Christmas tree every year since. It's one of my favorite ornaments.
We're always on the lookout for boxes that don't contain microfilm. It's always an adventure to see what the marketing people have decided to send us next.

Sweet Hour of Prayer

"Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer, that calls me from a world of care, and bids me at my Father's throne, make all my wants and wishes known..." I've always loved this old hymn, but as I've gotten a little older, it means much more to me. I've always understood it, but lately, it seems to have come alive all over again for me.
I love the old hymns anyway, and this one is a lovely example of how much meaning can be packed into four verses of a song. I have come to realize more and more, that going before the Lord in prayer is what keeps me leveled and balanced. It's what connects me to other believers. It's something I can do for someone when there seems to be no other solution. It's something I can for someone I don't even know. I can always pray.
It's been a long time since I turned the car radio on in the morning. I'd rather have that time quiet, and apart. It's easier to focus on God when the radio isn't blaring at me.
In prayer, I find everything seems to equalize, even if I'm praying about something I'm struggling with. Simply putting the situation before the Lord changes it. He speaks most often to me in that still, small voice, and I have to be still and silent in prayer to hear Him.
Prayer is also one of the best ways for me to exercise unselfishness. In bringing the needs of others before the Lord, I am putting their situations before my own. Our culture today emphasizes taking care of self and putting self first, but I function best when I put the Lord first and attend to what He wants. When I do that, I end up taking care of myself, but also being concerned for other people. A faithful prayer life helps keep me grounded in this.
It's not easy to keep an active prayer life. I'm apt to say, "O.K. Lord. Bless so and so and this person and bless my family and me, and here's a need to keep in mind, and Amen." But that's not enough for me. I have to make an effort to pray with intention and with focus. It's not that prayer is difficult, but it is difficult for me to pull away from other pursuits to get on my knees. I'm always glad I did. I always feel better for doing it. But I have to make prayer a priority in my life, for it to work and to keep my relationship with the Lord fresh.
And this hymn, composed by the blind minister, W.W. Walford, reminds me that my time in prayer is some of the sweetest time I will ever spend. "I'll cast on Him my every care, and wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!" Thank the Lord for His gift of prayer! Amen.