Oh, Lord Jesus, thank you for the opportunity to speak on your behalf to the boy scouts on Friday.  It was definitely a challenge for me.  I am not really a public speaker so this really took me out of my comfort zone.  I feel you are preparing me for something else not known to me yet.  This was definitely easier than the first time I ever spoke to many.

What has puzzled me though in preparing for this discussion, Lord, is the commandments.  As you know, I was asked to speak on the 9th and 10th commandments.  I believed that these two commandments were "Thou shall not lie." and "Thou shall not covet." These were the two commandments I was prepared to speak about to the boys.

When I got to church and I looked at their schedule, the schedule indicated that I was to speak on "Thou shall not cover thy neighbors wife."  and "Thou shall not cover thy neighbors goods."  These boys were from a Catholic church.  I did not realize until then that different denominations would have the commandments broken down differently.

As I meditate on this and recollect my Catholic days, I do remember that "Keep Holy the Sabbath Day" was the third commandment taught to me by the Catholic church.  Which would put the 1st three commandments about loving you and the last 7 to teach us about loving others.

But in the church I attend today and in my belief, the first four commandments are about loving you.
1.)  Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
2.)  Do not keep idols
3.)  Do not misuse the name of the Lord your God.
4.)  Keep Holy the Sabbath Day.

And the last 6 commandments about loving our neighbor.
5.)  Honor thy father and mother.
6.)  Do not steal.
7.)  Do not murder.
8.)  Do not commit adultery.
9.)  Do not lie.
10.)  Do not covet.

So in some churches it seems they combine "Do not keep idols." and "Do not misuse the name of the Lord your God." into one commandment.  But in the church I attend and other churches the combine "Do not covet your neighbors wife." and "Do not covet your neighbors goods."

I, myself, Lord, prefer the latter and it seems to would be preferable to you.  As I review Exodus 20, I see that "Do not keep idols." and "Do not misuse the name of the Lord your God." are separated into their own paragraphs but the coveting commandments are all wrapped into one paragraph.

Well, despite, my ill preparation according to their schedule, I was able to speak on both the coveting commandments they needed me to speak.  Thank you for your words of wisdom, Lord. Without you I would not have been able to pull through.

But I am glad that I prepared for "Do not lie." as it was enlightening and healing for me.

Thank you again, Lord, for this awesome opportunity and I look forward to serving you in this capacity again.

I love you, Lord.  Mary

If anyone has some feedback on the commandments and their order, I would love to hear from you.