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February 1, 2016

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Challenges & Difficulty, God's Grace & Love, Knowing Him, Peace of God, Thanks & Praise, Trusting God, Worry

COMFORT ME

As a mother comforts her child, so I’ll comfort you. You will be comforted in Jerusalem. [Isaiah 66:13 (MSG)]

9-26-15Family-WEBRecently, a new mother I know had to leave a restaurant in the middle of dinner. The sitter had called in desperation; nothing would stop the baby from crying and she was at wit’s end. I’ve had that happen both as a sitter and a mother. We’ve probably all had an occasion when there is a fussy baby and his mother isn’t near; it is not a good situation! The infant is passed around from person to person. The baby is sung to, bounced, rocked, jiggled, walked, patted, and even tickled; the binky is offered, diapers are changed, funny faces are made, and a bottle is tried. The adults try in myriad ways to comfort the crying baby but absolutely nothing works. In fact, the child usually gets more agitated the harder everyone works at calming him down. Then, miracle of miracles, his mother returns to the room. She reaches out her arms and cradles her child. Almost instantly, he quiets. These are arms he can trust; he knows he’s loved and that all of his needs will be met.

We are God’s children and, sometimes, we’re not much different from that crying infant. Something is wrong in our lives and nothing and no one can still our troubled hearts. Fortunately, God is like that mother; while other people, try as they may, can’t calm us or ease our fears, He can. When we let God’s arms surround us, He will bring us comfort. We just need to be still, feel His embrace, and accept His reassurance; we are safe and loved.

Thank you, Lord, for the life you gave us. Thank you for nurturing and sustaining us through the years. Thank you for the comfort you offer us, the caress of your arms as you hold us, the tenderness of your voice as you soothe our troubled souls, and your gentle touch as you dry our tears.

Oh, love me—and right now!—hold me tight! just the way you promised. Now comfort me so I can live, really live; your revelation is the tune I dance to. [Psalm 119:76-77 (MSG)]

Can a mother forget the infant at her breast, walk away from the baby she bore? But even if mothers forget, I’d never forget you—never. [Isaiah 49:15 (MSG)]

Copyright © 2016 jsjdevotions. All rights reserved.

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January 29, 2016

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Attitudes & Behavior, Challenges & Difficulty, Joy, Peace of God, Thanks & Praise, Today: Make it Count

THE GRATITUDE JOURNAL

Praise the Lord! Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. [Psalm 106:1 (NLT)]

pine grosbeak Last week, I started a new gratitude journal and thought back to when I first started keeping such a record of daily blessings. More than fifteen years ago, we were spending the entire winter in our Colorado mountain home. Having had the misfortune of breaking my knee the first day skiing, my outdoor pursuits were over for the season. Watching family and friends hustle out the door each morning, seeing their happy faces upon their return, and listening to them recount the day’s exploits became an invitation to my pity party. During a lonely afternoon, while everyone else was out having fun in the snow, I watched an Oprah show about gratitude. I was clearly in the need of an attitude adjustment so keeping a gratitude journal seemed a good idea. Every night, I listed five things for which I was thankful; some days it wasn’t easy but I kept at it. Later that winter, Oprah and several audience members shared some journal entries. Their entries were long, introspective and weighty while mine, for the most part, were simply a list of ordinary everyday things. People wrote of finding sacred spaces, authentic selves, true paths, and deep spirituality while I’d been grateful for figuring out how to manage the stairs in a multi-level house, chocolate chip cookies, seeing a cardinal on the deck, cable TV, and that the library had the Stephen King novel I wanted to read! My gratitude for pizza delivery, ibuprofen, warm fleece blankets and home-made granola seemed shallow when compared to the philosophic reflections that were shared. Some people had even fashioned beautiful hand-made books while others used handsome leather-bound journals—I was writing in a little appointment book we’d received from our accountant!

At first, I thought I’d done the whole gratitude journal thing wrong but then I was thankful that I hadn’t turned gratitude into work (as it appeared many of those women had). Regardless of the kind of book used or the words chosen, the journal worked its magic. Daily gratitude changed my negative attitude and what could have been a miserable winter became a wonderful one, just not the winter I’d expected. Gratitude journals don’t need to be works of art or literary masterpieces, they just need to be written with a grateful heart.

I’m thankful for Jesus, forgiveness, salvation, love, answered prayers, memories, my family, the Bible, and a host of other things and I thank God daily. My gratitude journal, however, makes me look for specific blessings of each day. Sometimes, my list is deeply introspective but, most of the time, it makes for rather boring reading. I list the ordinary things and events that make each day extraordinary—fireflies, a stranger’s smile, children’s laughter, warm slippers, fresh corn on the cob, rhubarb jam from the farmer’s market, the grosbeak at the feeder, or finding shoes that fit. It really doesn’t take much for me to feel full of gratitude and for that I am thankful!

Most of us live rather simple lives; the people we meet, the things we do, and the places we live are pretty run-of-the mill. Fortunately, life-changing events are few and far between. Just because our days are ordinary, however, doesn’t mean there’s nothing for which to be thankful. Without writing in the journal, there are many small things in my day (like the ninety-eight cent pineapples I got yesterday), that easily would be overlooked. Keeping a gratitude journal reminds me that every day with which I am blessed is a good one! While some days may be better than others, every day brings reasons for thanksgiving.

Heavenly Father, open our eyes to the many simple blessings in our lives. Help us realize that gratitude for the little blessings of life gives us both strength to endure and joy to sustain us during the many troubles and difficulties of life.

It’s not happy people who are thankful, it’s thankful people who are happy. [Anonymous]

This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. [Psalm 118:24 (NLT)]

 

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January 28, 2016

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Attitudes & Behavior, Church & Worship, Family, Friends & Fellowship, Joy, Love & Works, Thanks & Praise, Today: Make it Count

SMILE – IT’S GOOD FOR YOU

smilecrop-horzWhy are you down in the dumps, dear soul? Why are you crying the blues? Fix my eyes on God—soon I’ll be praising again. He puts a smile on my face. He’s my God. [Psalm 42:5 (MSG)]

Good news! There’s something more satisfying than a Snickers or Dove Bar and it’s non-fat, sugar-free, and zero calorie! Apparently, smiling stimulates our brain’s reward mechanism far better than chocolate! I’m sure this is good news for all those who made (and didn’t keep) New Year’s resolutions about health and wellness. According to “healthy aging expert” Mark Stibich, smiling boosts the immune system and lowers blood pressure. It reduces stress, elevates our mood, helps us have a positive outlook, and feel good. If that’s not enough to convince us to smile, he adds that a smile makes us look more attractive, appear younger, and seem more successful. Smiling certainly takes less effort than dieting or going to the gym and has much the same effect.

When in Florida and I walk through the park taking photos for the church website, I see how easily a smile can change someone’s looks. Since taking pictures of the congregation, my entire concept of beauty has changed—there is nothing more beautiful than a smiling face. No matter what the person’s age, no amount of plastic surgery can equal the beauty of a smile! Beauty has nothing to do with youth, a flawless complexion, perfectly coifed hair, wrinkle-free skin, fashionable attire or a model’s figure. Beauty truly does come from within and shines out through a smile. Physical beauty is only skin deep but someone’s inner beauty radiates out from the heart through his or her smile.

Now that I’m in northwest Colorado and attending our mountain church, I continue to notice smiles and must agree with Dr. Stibich’s final claim that smiles are contagious. At both our Florida and Colorado churches, we always pause to greet one another early in the service—and that greeting isn’t just a little courtesy nod to one’s neighbors. People walk from row to row, chatting, shaking hands or hugging one another. Sometimes, we’re slow returning to our seats but not because we’re uninterested in the day’s music and message. It’s the smiles! Along with the handshakes and greetings, there are smiles galore and those smiles are infectious. Once we receive a smile, we have a smile and simply have to pass it along to someone else, and so it goes. No matter how serious the sermon, no matter what is happening in my life or the world around me, I have never left either church without joy in my heart and a smile on my face.

What do smiles have to do with God? It’s certainly not necessary to believe in God to wear a smile and lots of non-believers smile quite nicely, at least when life is going well for them. A believer, however, fixes his eyes on the Lord and can wear a smile even when life has dumped a big load of bad. Having a relationship with God—resting in His peace, experiencing His joy, having a grateful heart, being confident of salvation and knowing we’re safe in His hands—that just can’t help but bring a smile to anyone’s face.

If you haven’t done a good job of keeping those New Year’s resolutions about health and fitness, don’t give up—keep trying. In the meantime, do yourself (and the people around you) a big favor by smiling. God is love and sharing a smile is just about the easiest way possible to share His love with the world—and get some valuable side benefits, as well.

Smile at each other. smile at your wife, smile at your husband, smile at your children, smile at each other—it doesn’t matter who it is—and that will help you to grow up in greater love for each other. [Mother Teresa]

O my soul, bless God. From head to toe, I’ll bless his holy name! O my soul, bless God, don’t forget a single blessing! He forgives your sins—every one. He heals your diseases—every one. He redeems you from hell—saves your life! He crowns you with love and mercy—a paradise crown. He wraps you in goodness—beauty eternal. He renews your youth—you’re always young in his presence. [Psalm 103:1-5 (MSG)]

A cheerful heart brings a smile to your face; a sad heart makes it hard to get through the day. Proverbs 15:13 (MSG)
smiles

 

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January 27, 2016

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Attitudes & Behavior, Church & Worship, Family, Friends & Fellowship, Love & Works, Money & Wealth, Temptation & Sin

BRAGGING RIGHTS

Beware of doing your good deeds conspicuously to catch men’s eyes or you will miss the reward of your Heavenly Father. So, when you do good to other people, don’t hire a trumpeter to go in front of you—like those play-actors in the synagogues and streets who make sure that men admire them. Believe me, they have had all the reward they are going to get! No, when you give to charity, don’t even let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be secret. Your Father who knows all secrets will reward you. [Matthew 6:1-4 (PHILIPS)]

snowy egret and tri-colored heronA recent “Close to Home” comic, by John McPherson, certainly hit close to home for me. While the wife stretches in preparation for a run, her husband is strapping a Fitbit to the dog’s legs in readiness for some Frisbee tossing. The caption read: “Determined to put 100 miles on the Fitbit before his wife did, Stu got a little help from Pepper.” Having no dog, I’ve never cheated at my step count, but I do want full credit for every step I do take. Once, after having taken over 15,000 steps, my Fitbit died before the steps were logged onto my phone. When a new battery brought the device back to life, my step count was at zero. I was visibly upset because just my knowing how much I’d walked wasn’t enough. I wanted official web recognition for those miles because I wanted bragging rights—I wanted my husband and the rest of my Fitbit friends to be impressed.

I think of a friend who told me she was getting active in a variety of good causes so that her obituary would be long and impressive. Even dead and gone, she wanted bragging rights. Sometimes, we want bragging rights in our faith. Our faith journey, however, is not a competition to see who can pray the longest, knows the most Bible verses, volunteers for the most committees, gives the most money, or has the loudest “Hallelujah!”

In Matthew 6, Jesus warned his disciples about seeking a good reputation through outward showmanship. Their new life was not to be about impressing people but rather about having a relationship with God. Good acts done for personal glory are hypocrisy. When our giving, serving and conversation is led by the desire to impress others with our Christian behavior, we become the hypocrites Jesus described. When we strive to be perceived as more pious, generous, faithful, or loving than others, we become self-seekers, not God seekers. While scripture tells us to serve the Lord with gladness, it never tells us to serve him with fanfare. No matter how good the cause or worthy the work, bragging rights or boosting our worth in the eyes of others should never be our motivation for what we do.

Granted, we should be good examples but there are only two who need to know how much we believe, give, pray or serve: God and ourselves! Life is not about having a long impressive obituary—it is about living the life God intended for us in the way He wants it lived. When my Fitbit cheats me of steps, it really doesn’t matter because I know how much I’ve walked and that’s all that counts. When I serve the Lord, no matter in what the capacity, God already knows and no one else needs to know. His approval is the only approval any of us should seek.

And then, when you pray, don’t be like the play-actors. They love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at street-corners so that people may see them at it. Believe me, they have had all the reward they are going to get. But when you pray, go into your own room, shut your door and pray to your Father privately. Your Father who sees all private things will reward you. … Then, when you fast, don’t look like those miserable play-actors! For they deliberately disfigure their faces so that people may see that they are fasting. Believe me, they have had all their reward. No, when you fast, brush your hair and wash your face so that nobody knows that you are fasting—let it be a secret between you and your Father. And your Father who knows all secrets will reward you. [Matthew 6:5-6,16-18 (PHILIPS)]

 

 

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January 26, 2016

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Attitudes & Behavior, Challenges & Difficulty, Family, Friends & Fellowship, God's Plan, Patience & Perseverance, Spiritual Gifts, Temptation & Sin, Today: Make it Count

COMPARISONS

Let everyone be sure that he is doing his very best, for then he will have the personal satisfaction of work well done and won’t need to compare himself with someone else. Each of us must bear some faults and burdens of his own. For none of us is perfect! [Galatians 6:4-5 (TLB)]

julias and clouded yellow butterflies When I log the number of steps I’ve taken each day, I often compare my total with that of my Fitbit friends. No matter what I do or how far I’ve walked, one friend is always far ahead of me. True, a little friendly competition can be good for us when it makes us challenge ourselves and work harder. Walking with this friend, for example, challenges me to step up my pace. Too competitive a spirit, however, can hurt us. Last year, bound and determined to record more steps than she, I devoted a week to out-walking this woman who is nearly thirty years my junior. I ended up with a stress fracture and, to add insult to injury, she still logged more steps!

Comparing ourselves to other people can lead to more than a stress fracture. We usually end up thinking we’re either inferior to or better than the other person. Either way, comparing puts the focus on us rather than our goal and love ceases to be our motivation. We’re commanded not to covet and comparing ourselves to others often leads to jealousy and coveting. By trying to out-walk my friend, I was coveting her youth and fitness. I was focusing on what I wasn’t and wanted to be (a beautiful athletic young woman) rather than what I am and can be (a healthy fit older woman).

When comparing ourselves to others, we also risk becoming pride filled. Even though I can’t out-walk my friend, I usually manage to out-walk most of our other Fitbit friends. I confess to having felt rather smug about that until I remembered that their goals may be quite different than mine and they probably don’t have the free time for fitness that I do.

God created each of us with unique strengths and weaknesses and gave each of us our own custom-designed race to run and track on which to run it. Some people will be faster and some courses will be easier but that’s God’s business, not ours. Instead of comparing ourselves to anyone else, we should be thankful for who and what we are. Rather than trying to be better than the other guy, perhaps we should just try to be the person God wants us to be! The good examples of others can encourage us and our good examples can inspire others, but we must never get bogged down by comparing ourselves or by trying to run someone else’s race. If we must compare, how about comparing ourselves to Jesus? A word of warning, however, it’s a guarantee that we’ll be found wanting in that one!

Be all you can be. [U.S. Army slogan from 1980-2001]

I don’t mean to say I am perfect. I haven’t learned all I should even yet, but I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ saved me for and wants me to be. No, dear brothers, I am still not all I should be, but I am bringing all my energies to bear on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God is calling us up to heaven because of what Christ Jesus did for us. [Philippians 3:12-14 (TLB)]

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January 25, 2016

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Attitudes & Behavior, Challenges & Difficulty, Faith & Hope, God's Grace & Love, God's Plan, God's Promises, Joy, Patience & Perseverance, Thanks & Praise, Trusting God

WINTER JOY

Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? [Romans 8:38 (NLT)]

Steamboat Ski Area

As I stepped off the plane into biting wind and blowing snow, the shock of the bitter cold took my breath away. Having started the day at a balmy 70 plus degrees, I wanted to turn around, get on the plane and go back to where I’d been. The plane, however, wasn’t returning that night so neither was I. As I trudged across the tarmac, I questioned my sanity in leaving the warmth of southwest Florida for a stay in our Colorado home.

That first night in the mountains, I just wanted to go back. Once I traded my t-shirt for layers of fleece, my shoes for insulated boots, and my light jacket for a heavy parka, however, things improved. Once I saw the beauty in the aspens’ glistening hoarfrost, strapped on my snowshoes and enjoyed the snow instead of cursing it, and once I’d taken my first ski run down the mountain and embraced the wintery world in which we’ll live for the next two months, my attitude changed. Once I’d accepted and adjusted to where I was, I found joy in my surroundings.

We made the deliberate choice to spend part of our winter in the cold and snow but, sometimes, life drops us off in cold dark places not of our choosing. We end up at the funeral home, principal’s office, police station, or in the ICU. We find ourselves in cardiac rehab, divorce court, an Al Anon meeting, or across from an unsympathetic loan officer or angry boss. Bills pile up, loved ones get sick, tornadoes hit, accidents happen, children get in trouble, and dreams disappear. When those times occur, we want to turn around and go back to the way it was before—before sickness, bankruptcy, death, betrayal, or unemployment. God, however, does not offer return tickets to the land of before.

Several years ago, it felt like God left me in a cold dark place and I longed for the time before—before any of the bad happened, a time when everyone seemed happy and life was good. There was no going back, however, and it was fruitless to yearn for what had been but was no more. By trusting in God and His purpose, I surrendered my circumstances to him. Along with my tears were prayers and, with His guidance, I eventually adjusted my behavior, changed my expectations, stopped yearning for the before and looked with hope to the after. As for the after—while different, it’s possibly even better than the before! Granted, it didn’t happen overnight and it took more than wearing wool socks and long johns to get to a place of acceptance. It happened when I stopped asking God “Why” and started asking Him “What do you want me to learn from this?” It happened when I managed to find reasons for gratitude in even the darkest place. Eventually, out of the pain came not just acceptance but joy.

At some time or another, we all end up in cold dark places and enter a winter time for our souls. We need to find a way, not just to survive them, but to thrive in them. To do that, we must trust in the Apostle Paul’s words that while not everything that happens is good, God will bring good out of whatever happens. As difficult as that sounds, God will open our eyes to the good in the bad and we’ll find a way to have joy in all circumstances.

Thank you, God, for taking the broken pieces of our lives and putting them back together so they are stronger. Thank you for taking the cold winters of our souls and shining your love and light upon them, warming our hearts and enabling us to once again face life with joy.

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. [Romans 8:28 (NLT)]

Whatever happens, my dear brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord. [Philippians 3:1a (NLT)]