Exodus 20:3: "Thou shall have no other Gods before me."

Today I decided that I am a controlling, domineering "know-it-all." (Readers, please do not call me to confirm this opinion.) Admitting one's faults is a hard thing to do. It took two little children to open my eyes. Kids are good at this.

Not long ago I took these two kids and their mom on their first trip to my beach. In my controlling way, I showed them how, when, where and what to fish for. I dominated the day, proving to them that they could learn it all from this "know-it-all." I enjoyed introducing them to my beach, sharing my tackle, teaching my techniques and giving my expertise.

Today their mom called me, laughing. She said her kids asked her if she would take them back to the beach fishing and if Elaine could go. She told them that Elaine had other plans and couldn't go fishing.

The youngest replied, "Well, then, will you call Elaine and ask her if we could borrow her ocean for just one day?"

Dear Lord, forgive me when I let myself become the only god that comes before You. Help me to learn that my every opinion is not necessarily fact and that You are God and that I am not. It's OK for You to be the Know-It-All.

Ecclesiastes 3:1: "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the sun."

Today something happened to me while I was fishing that proved to me how really old and "out of it" I am.

I had gone to the coast to get away from it all and was wade fishing with one of my favorite little reefs. A man waded up not far from me, nodded a "good morning" and started casting near the reef. I could tell he needed to get away, too.

Suddenly, out there in the ocean, a telephone started ringing. I couldn't believe my ears at first, but sure enough, a phone was ringing insistently. The man calmly reached into a pocket of his wading vest and after taking it from a plastic bag, pulled out his cellular phone and nonchalantly said "Hello."

I couldn't help but laugh and he looked at me as if I was the strange one. As he stood there still watching the popping cork he has just thrown out and all the while carrying on an animated conversation, I couldn't help but try to imagine who in the world would call a fisherman while he was fishing.

My imagination ran away with me like the fish he was scaring off with all that talk. Who could be calling? Maybe it was the game warden asking him the size of the last redfish he had strung. Maybe it was his wife seeing if he was really just fishing for fish. Maybe it was his boss asking him how his cold was and when he thought he could return to work. Maybe he was CIA or FBI and was working undercover, or underwater as it were.

Who would call a fisherman when he was fishing? I guess in this modern age it is becoming increasingly harder to "get away from it all." I felt so sorry for that guy. I slowly moved away to the other side of the reef when I heard the seagulls call and I knew the trout had moved away.

Anyway, I was afraid that the phone would ring again and he would say, "Hey, Lady, it's for you."

I'd just die.

Dear Lord, when You call me, help me to answer, even if I am fishing. But, Lord, in your wisdom and power, don't let anyone else do it when I am trying to get away from it all. Call me old-fashioned.

Proverbs 3:6 "In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path."

Today I was discussing fishing with a lady who has been my friend for the last 25 years. That's nothing new; I don't have many friends for 25 years that don't discuss fishing.

My friend asked me what was my favorite fish to catch. Without a moment's hesitation, I answered, "Flounder."

She replied, "I always gig my flounder. I have never caught one on a hook. How do you hook a flounder?"

Being a long time friend, I began to give her flounder hooking lessons: "When you are wade fishing for them, you use live bait and a split shot weight. You cast just a little way out and bounce the bait along the bottom until you feel something stop your bait. You stop pulling and keep the line tight until the right time and then you pull back and hook the flounder."

"How do you know when it is the right time to pull back? Maybe it is just a rock instead of a flounder."

"Rocks feel like rocks and flounder feel like flounder. They just feel differently. You set the hook at the right time by the way it feels."

I could tell that the friendly conversation was quickly deteriorating into a worthy confrontation when she shouted, "Wheat, how do you know rocks from flounder and when to pull?!!!"

With all the love in my heart, I was really trying to explain so I shouted back "Rocks feel dead and flounder feel alive. They feel differently and if you fish for flounder long enough you will know when to pull!!!"

Amazingly, we are still friends.

This conversation reminded me of many times as a counselor, kids and grown ups have asked me "How do you know...?" How does one answer the "How do you know when you're in love, how do you know that he or she is the right one, how do you know what you want to be in life, how do you know when what you are doing is wrong for you?"

My simple advice is just to keep on casting and experiences of life will tell you if you have caught a rock or a flounder.

Dear Lord, for years I prayed to know Your will for my life. Then experience taught me that to know Your will, just simply seek to live each day experiencing how to know God better. I am not very theologically wise, but I do know that if I am trying to daily follow You, I won't go too far wrong. My faith is only deep enough to keep on casting, and if I catch a rock have sense enough to throw it back, and if I hook a flounder, string it.