Autumn; Fall: Indian Summer!

Indian Summer

"This is the day
that the Lord has made,
Let us rejoice and be glad in it"
(Psalm 118:24)

            In Minnesota we are experiencing a wonderful Autumn. An "Indian Summer" as it is called. Our first heavy frost was followed by a freeze and now we have warm temperatures. Certainly, this is a gift to us by God. It is something that we all appreciate and offer our thanks.
            During this time, the crab grass has died; there is color in the leaves; the lawn does not need to be mowed as often; the evenings are cool; the garden does not need weeding.
            There are many blessings about "Indian Summer" and they are easily recognized. In our daily lives there are also many blessings, but we often do not see and acknowledge them. We try to control our lives and often do not turn enough over to God. The more we allow Him to take over, the more blessed our lives become.
            The Psalmist says "...But may all who seek you, rejoice and be glad in you..." As we give thanks for good weather, we need also to give thanks and recognize God's roll in our daily lives.

Thought for Today: The fall season is upon us. The busy holidays are approaching us all too swiftly. This week we can relax and enjoy the dwell in activities between the end of Summer and the holidays. Let us enjoy by allowing God's will into our daily lives. Let Go and let God and appreciate the things he will do for us.

Prayer: Father, we pray specifically for those in the World that need food, shelter and a quality of life. In our country there are too many people out of work or threatened by unemployment. In many countries the Holy season approaches many desperate people. We pray for them and that somehow the prosperous peoples of the world can find a way to do your will. We pray that we may find a way to contribute.
Amen

Eisenhower

Eisenhower

“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 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

This is the Day!

This is the Day

^” This is the day the LORD has made;

let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

(Psalm 118v 24)

            There are 365 days every year. Our goal and challenge is to enjoy them all. We can not allow our finances; boss or other outside influences to steal the pleasure from any day. God put us here to be happy and we need to do that for Him.

OK, let’s get real, some days are just a drag, things go terribly wrong, God rains on our parade, our back goes out again etc. When negative things get in the way, we have hard choices to make. We can choose to have a bad day or chose to trust our faith and give thanks for what went right. Some days it seems that the only thing to give thanks for is that it is over. Well, that’s enough to make it a good day.

We all have problems and challenges that will take longer than one day to resolve. Many issues seem unsolvable. We need to remember two very important things. When we live one day at a time, we simplify our solutions. If we do not get it today, we can work on it tomorrow. When we believe an issue is unsolvable, we need to remember that the Lord is with us and He can change the rules. We need to pray and turn unsolvable issues over to the Lord.

Allowing God to be with us every day guarantees that we will have a good day.

Thought for the Day: This will be a great week for all of us. We will walk through the challenges and bless the Lord for the experiences and lessons that we learn one day at a time.

Prayer for the Week: Dear Lord and father, we are often confused by our world. There are problems that we want to fix NOW and cannot. This week we give thanks for the many things that go well and the blessings that we have. We give thanks and pray that we may contribute to your plan in a cheerful and blessed way.

Positive Christian

Positive Christian

“He gives strength to the weary
       and increases the power of the weak.

(Isaiah 40 vs. 29)

            Today I am thinking back to last summer when June and I moved into our eighties and deeper into our 50 years of marriage. It was great to celebrate; great to reminisce about the victories and challenges we have worked through over the years. June and I are truly blessed.

            The story is not all that positive however, we are getting older and my mom always said, “Growing old is not for the faint of heart.” It comes with its own set of challenges. We get tired easier, recover slower, can eat less. Years ago, June and I set a goal of not becoming grumpy senior citizens. We decided to pray and always try to be positive Christians. It is not always easy.

For over ten years I have exercised with an older retired physician, Phil. We walk/jog/waddle 10-12 miles a week and have a lot of time to talk. He has completed several dozen marathons and ultra-marathons and I have a lengthy triathlon history. We talk a lot about those youthful days and have determined that we just do not recover as fast; in fact, we think that it takes three times as long to get our strength back from a good day. During that time, we feel a bit sluggish and it is hard to stay positive. June can tell you what I mean!

            All the above sounds a bit negative and that is not intentional-it is just data. The reality is that it is great to be 80 plus and have those memories. It is also great to be a Christian. June and I have a great perspective on life and a lot to share with future generations. We have the support of our Lord and have time to help others, time to share, time for ourselves, and time to recover from our ills. We need to be positive Christians, set an example on how to live and be happy. As we struggle through our many challenges, we need to remember the following:

“but those who hope in the LORD
       will renew their strength.
       They will soar on wings like eagles;
       they will run and not grow weary,
       they will walk and not be faint.”

(Isaiah 40 vs. 31-32)

Thought for Today: Be happy, be positive and share our enthusiasm with others.

Prayer for Today: Dear Lord, today we thank you for our blessings and the ability to focus on positive feelings through your love. Today we pray that we may be positive and radiate joy to those around us.

Amen

Rejoice Always!

Rejoice Always

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.   Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.   And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
(Philippians 4: 4-7, NIV)

        In our very active, overcrowded lives, we are often "stressed out". Often conversations start out with how busy we are. Fitting things in seems to be the norm. Even retirees like to say that they do not know how they ever had time to work! Then they go home and take their blood pressure medication.

        Several years ago, a very good friend had both serious back problems and high blood pressure. She had tried too many chemicals to work on the problems and was addicted to the pain killers. The addiction  upset her tranquility and effected her blood pressure. A very common and viscous cycle for a young lady.

        In desperation, she and her physician reduced the chemicals and substituted hypnosis and meditation. The meditation evolved into prayer! Well, I can't say that all her problems were solved. She had a bad back disease and a family history of high blood pressure. This is not a story of healing.

        However, most of her problems went away. The meditation and prayer brought her peace and relaxed her back muscles and her blood pressure went down. The disease did not leave, but the symptoms were relieved. She found peace and a better life.

        The effect of slowing down and taking time out for prayer will make God's peace be yours.

Thought for Today: Slow down, pray for peace, pray for the tranquility and serenity that God has for you when you are willing to let it in.

Prayer for Today: Heavenly Father, with these words we pray for the ability to live serene and peaceful lives doing your work:

"God grant me the serenity,
to accept the things we can not change
The courage to change the things we can
and the wisdom to know the difference."

Our Shield

Our Shield

“In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith,

with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  

Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit,

which is the word of God.”

(Eph 6 vs. 16&17)

            All days are not created equal as we go through our lives. There are highs and lows  and we have to deal with them.

            One day in July 1998 it was way too hot for golf. I did not want to walk the course at 95 degrees, but I was the league captain, so I begrudgingly went to the course. It was hot and steamy. On the first tee my practice swings made my hands sweat so that the club would slip in my hands. I brought an extra towel just to keep them dry. My confidence was really low, and it seemed like a bad idea to be out there.

            By the third tee my extra hand towel was already soaked from keeping my hands dry, my shirt was sticking to my body, but I had two pars in hand which is a good way for an 11 handicap to start. It was on this par three that my negative attitude changed. I dried my hands, did my set up and put the ball in the cup; my first hole in one! My two partners kidded me because I had been complaining!

           

            As I said, things change; that day went from miserable to great!

            In our ever-changing life there is one constant force available and if you are reading this you more than likely understand. That constant force is our faith. We read that God is always with us. Paul advised the Ephesians to take up the shield of faith. We need to remember that when things are not perfect and give thanks when things are going well.

Thought for Day: Today it may rain on the outside or the sun may be hot on our foreheads. With that said, let us keep our faith strong so that we will have a great day!

Prayer for Today: Dear God, some days are good, others not so good. Today we know will be a good one because we are thinking about you and know we have you with us.

Amen

Peace Together

Peace Together

“Remain in me, as I also remain in you.”

(John 15 vs. 4)

            Often people tell me they are no longer interested in organized religion The ritual, rules, money and work did not do it for them; shame on them and shame on their church. There are others that change churches often searching for something they never quite find. They are sad and typically don’t know what they are after.

In general those described above are less than happy in their lives.

            Jesus message is clear, He is with us always. When we are searching and restless the ball is in our court; we are the problem. These are the times that we are out of touch with the Holy Spirit; not taking the time to open our hearts. When we are spiritually down and out, we need to look at ourselves first.

            There was a song in the 50’s that said, “…open up your hearts and let the sun shine in.” We need to allow the Lord in. Then we may find peace together.

Thought for Today: Today let us open our hearts to the Lord. Let’s find peace with Him.

Prayer for Today: Dear Lord, today we thank you for being wit us; joining us on our walks, at work, in our cars and in all phases of our day. Today we pray that we may stay in touch with you under all conditions.

Amen