Happiest Season!

Happiest Season

“Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi.

On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”

They replied, “Some say John the Baptist;

others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.”

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”

(Mark 8 vs 27-29)

            It is a great time of the year when we look forward to celebrating Christ’s birth. We are blessed because we believe and are warmed by His presence in our everyday lives. Amongst the daily stresses that our society places on us we have a God given relief.

            I find it interesting that 30 plus years after his birth he was asking who they believed he was. My thoughts are that the Christmas story would be enough. But then, nothing in this world is ever easy; not then and certainly not now.

            So what is Christmas really about? Gifts, material giving and a recharging of our spiritual batteries. It is a great time of the year, the happiest time of the year. We need to enjoy the season while we recharge our batteries, reinforce our beliefs and prepare for the New Year ahead.

             Katharine McPhee said in her song:

“Have yourself a merry little Christmas
let your heart be light
from now on our troubles
will be out of sight”

Blessings to you all for a great season of Joy!

Thought for Today: The Christmas season is not all joys. We will encounter stress, financial hardships, bad weather and all the events of winter life. They are all blessings that are part of our lives. We need to keep Christ as our focus and our stresses will be overcome.

Prayer for Today: Heavenly Father we give thanks for Christmas and all the festivities. We give thanks that “our troubles will be out of sight” through prayer.

Amen

THanksgiving Again!

Thanksgiving

"As therefore you received Christ Jesus the Lord,
so live in him, rooted and built up in
him and established in the faith,
just as you were taught,
abounding in thanksgiving".
(Colossians 2:6-7)

            June and I are especially thankful for a family running event we started in 1990, now called the Turkey Day 5K. Each year we are tearfully proud when 10,000 plus runners, walkers, pets and wheel chair participants enjoy their Thanksgiving morning in downtown Minneapolis.(…and Chicago, Boise, Miami and Phoenix) As an aside, but probably more important, will be the contributions of food and hard cash that will be received by the Second Harvest food shelf. We both feel blessed that the Lord gave us the inspiration start this event and placed people in our path who have made it special.

             Thanksgiving is the traditional start of what we call the holiday season. While giving thanks we must be aware and focus on the good rewarding parts of our lives; on the positive.

I like the way H. Norman Wright put it, "Thanksgiving is not to be limited to only the times when we are aware of blessings. Let us give thanks even when we have a problem to solve, when there are difficulties to be met.  At these times, we give thanks to God for unconditional love and goodness, for unlimited wisdom and abundance. When we give thanks continually, we are rejuvenated- spirit, mind and body."

    Let us hold those thoughts and be thankful for all of our blessings. 

Thought for Today: Let us focus on giving thanks to God for the love we have for each other and the support we both give and receive.

Prayer for Today: Dear Lord and Father, this week we give you thanks for our friends, our families and our troubles. Yes, we give you thanks for our financial crises, our family stress and the ripples in our personal seas of tranquility. Through our troubles we learn to pray and appreciate the many blessings that seem greater when compared with the ripples of life. We give you thanks for our lives, your love and your Grace.
Amen 

Standing

Standing         

“Standing on the promise of Christ my King,

Through eternal ages let his praises ring;

Glory in the highest, I will shout and sing,

Standing on the promises of God.”

(Promises verse 1)

(By R. Kelso Carter 1849-1926)

            This is one of June’s favorite Hymns and covers a lot of issues in our lives. What do we stand for? What is the promise? They are simple questions that I will over simplify today.

            First, we stand for ethical Christian behavior that will benefit ourselves and everyone around us. We stand for living by following the Ten Commandments. Examples of being good are needed in our world and we are designated to show our stuff!

            Second, the promise is Grace; given to us by Christ when he died on the cross. We want to think there are more promises than that. When we need more money, more self-control, more time; more… etc! Somehow we feel deserving. We want what we want when we want it! We already have what we need; Grace!

We need to show off, stand for our faith!

Thought for Today: Today let us stand out in the crowd; stand for our Christian beliefs.

 Prayer for Today: Dear Lord and father, we find it easy to sit and watch. Today we pray for the opportunity and courage to stand up and be counted in your name.

Amen

Winning!

Winning

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of

compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so

that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God."

(2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

            Who in our lives are the winners? Some say the one with the most toys wins. That materialistic one liner that gives me goose bumps. However, in our society today, we tend to pursue things instead of happiness and peace. So who are the real winners and how do they win?  

            God placed us here to be his stewards with our first priority to be sharing the gifts we received from Him with others. That seems to be a very tall order. However, we always feel great when we have reached out and helped a friend or stranger.  This reward is explained in Paul’s message to the Romans, 2 vs. 6 “God will give to each person according to what he has done.”                           

God gives us resources in many different forms. We have money that we earn and knowledge that we have learned. We graciously share these things with our families and children and that make us feel good. We also reach out beyond our own family units and share. We share at work, in Church, through volunteer activities and in too many ways to list. We share and sow the seeds that God has given us to plant, and we are real winners when we reach out and share our gifts.

Thought for the Today: Let us look for an opportunity to help someone; perhaps someone who is sick, someone hurting or someone lonely. Let us see if we can share a bit of ourselves to make someone else feel better.

Prayer for Today:  Heavenly Father, today we pray for an opportunity to help and share with someone, an opportunity to demonstrate your Grace through our actions.

Amen. 

Halloween 1991

Halloween 1991

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything,

by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,

present your requests to God

. …which transcends all understanding…?”

(Philippians 4 verse 6)

            Halloween, October 31st in 1991 was a significant event in the northern part of the United States. In our neighborhood we had two significant events to prepare for; children trick or treating and June’s departure to the UK for a family visit on November 1^st. Mother nature also had a plan that she had not consulted with us on; the great Halloween three day blizzard in Minnesota which was a piece of what is now known as “The Perfect Storm.”

            Paul told the Philippians “Do not be anxious about anything…” but millions of Americans were anxious that weekend! People died on lost ships on the Grand Banks and Minneapolis had 30 inches of snow. But it was not all bad on our end. Let me explain.

            In the early afternoon we had a temperature drop and a snow squall started. That is not unusual in Minnesota in the fall and we did not expect it to be anything but a fun Halloween! You see, I had already decorated the outside of the house with Christmas lights so we turned them on. The lights drew a large group of Halloween revelers. We met them with a special greeting, “Ho Ho Ho, Happy Halloween.” There was six inches of snow on the ground and we did pray for the safety of the children.

            In the morning there was 15 inches of snow and the visibility was near zero. A trip to the airport seemed impossible. Prayers were needed. We decided to depart after lunch for a 6:30 flight and the 20 minute trip took over two hours and was very dangerous. June’s flight departed 3 hours late and I had a three hour ride home. Happy Halloween.

            I assume you all know about the perfect storm and sinking of the Andrea Gail from Gloucester. Our trials were minor when compared with the loss of a ship and lives. When we heard the story, it put our events into perspective. We were stressed and blessed at the same time.

            Monday is Halloween, enjoy it with your neighborhood goblins!

Thought for Today: Monday, Halloween, is a special day and we should enjoy it with the revelers. We should also think back to 1991 and be prayerful.

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, this week we pray for children on a day they look forward to each year. We pray that they be safe and have a great evening. We give thanks for their presence in our lives.

Amen 

Harvest!

Harvest

^“Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly,

and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.

Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give,

not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times,

 having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”

(2 Corinthians 9 vs 6-8)

This is the tenth season that June and I have not had the benefit of the large gardens that we had at our home before we down sized. We worked very hard evenings and weekends to  create a bountiful harvest to have and share. We do not miss that very much but we do have ten pots on our deck and we have other harvests.

Since we “downsized” and became non-landowners, we have had 40 -45 days each summer to fill that use to be spent gardening. Many of those days are spent together, often at our favorite arboretum, sowing seeds in our relationship. Other days are taken up by spending time with friends that we did not have time for in the past. As a result, we reap a closer relationship with each other and the friends..

You see the analogy of reaping crops used by Paul in his message in Corinth is still valid today. We need to sow seeds every day in relationships, our minds and with each other so that we may reap the harvest of love and friendship.

Thought for the Day: For today let us take a quick look at our calendar and see where we can sow seeds for our future. Look for the opportunity to sow seeds selfishly for our worldly future as well seeds for the Lord. He is our real future

Prayer for Today: Today is the day you have made for us. Unfortunately the roads have bumps and there are unknown troubles out there awaiting us. Today we pray that your presence will guide us through the tough moments and that we may accomplish our goals in Your name. Amen

Be Selfish

Eisenhower (or Be Selfish!)

“He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant

—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”

(2 Corinthians 3 vs. 6)

            We are in some way the light, ministers of the gospel or promoters of the Holy Spirit. That is a part of the covenant we make when we join the Christian church. That is an awesome responsibility and I for one certainly don’t feel like a spirit promoter every day.

            Those of you that know me are aware of my propensity for relaxing through exercise. It is a daily piece of my live and pursuing it often shows my selfish streak. In my late twenties I made a covenant with myself to be as good as I could be. I wanted to be a good dad and husband and believed that fitness was a piece of the equation.

            Later in life, June and I decided together that fitness was more than physical; i.e. it was spirit, mind and body! OOPS- that decision meant three times as much work. We agreed that we would work on the spirit and mind together but she had no interest in joining with me on my swims, bike rides and runs. (She was always a bit smarter.)

            Our 34^th president Dwight David Eisenhower was a strong believer in this. He did his morning exercises and whenever possible he kept his calendar open for an after lunch nap. When at the Whitehouse he would spend time chipping and putting before his afternoon meetings. His colleagues considered him eccentric and selfish. He felt he needed a scheduled break to be the best he could be for himself and his country.

            We all need to be the best we can be, for ourselves, our families and to serve the Lord. Be a bit selfish so that you can help.

Thought for Today: Today let’s do something for ourselves that will help our spirit, mind and body.

Prayer for Today: Dear Lord and father today we pray that we can keep our covenant to made to you, we pray that we are shining your light as bright as we can. We pray that we are the light of the world so others may see find you through us.

Amen