Thanksgiving

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 Deerfield, Ohio) 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 in 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

Positive Christian II

Positive Christian II

Even youths grow tired and weary,
       and young men stumble and fall;”

(Isaiah 40 vs. 30)

            For the last several years I have exercised with an older retired physician, Phil. We walk/jog/waddle 15-20 miles a week and we have a lot of time to talk. He has completed over 25 marathons, 20 ultra-marathons and many of know my triathlon history (Retired from competition on my 72^nd birthday.) Phil and I talk about our youthful days and have determined that growing older is not for the weak! We just do not recover as fast as we used to and often are fatigued and sluggish. It is hard to stay positive. June can tell you what I mean!

            I want to talk about friends that Phil and I have who have lost their spouse. Staying positive while grieving is a difficult challenge and nearly half of us will face it. It is a time when our Faith may be challenged, we may ask, “Why me Lord?” and we need to deal with our new loneliness. It takes a strong faith to stay positive.          

All of the above sounds a bit negative and that is not intentional-it is just data. The reality is that it is great to be a Christian. We have a great perspective on life and a lot to share with future generations. In our later years 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

Positive Christian I

Positive Christian I

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

(Isaiah 40 vs. 29)

            It is another early morning and I am in Sterling, Mass caring for my ailing ninety-eight year old mother .I am thinking back to a summer when June and I moved into our seventies and deeper into over 40 years of marriage. It was a year of celebration and joy. We also did a lot of reminiscing about the victories and challenges we worked through over the years. June and I are truly blessed.

            The story is not all that positive however, we are getting older and as my mom says, “Growing old is not for the faint of heart”. It comes with its own set of challenges. We get tired easier, recover slower and can eat less. Several 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.

Thought for Today: Today will be a milestone; things will happen we do not expect. Today let’s recognize the blessings we will have, even if they seem like challenges.

Prayer for Today: Heavenly Father, today we thank you for our many fond memories. As we face today’s challenges we pray that we accomplish your will, deal with issues Jesus way and generate more fond memories for tomorrow.

Amen

Always Friends

Always Friends

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved,

 clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.

Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”

(Colossians 3, 12-14; NIV)

            Most of us have a problem with feeling like one of “God’s chosen people”. The control freak in us wants to believe that we chose to follow Him. That is ego-centric and introspective. We all know that we chase Him until he catches us. In our lives, who are “God’s Chosen” and what do they do? 

            This is Thanksgiving week and one of my traditions is to do a Christmas letter. Each gets addressed or emailed to someone special. All played a roll my life. Each in some way has been a friend, advisor, mentor, coach etc. It is wonderful to sit think about each of them (you). Are they God’s chosen people? 

            There is a priest in the UK who included me in his daily prayers during my cancer period, another is a running buddy of over twenty-five years duration, and several former pastors who were spiritual advisors… the list goes on. The holiday season is a great opportunity to celebrate Christ’s birth and life. Also, it is a chance to pause and think of the many people God has placed into our lives that have demonstrated to us “… compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience...”

Thought for Today: This holiday season, let us simply think about our friends; remember why they are, who they are and what they mean to us.

Prayer for Today: Dear lord and Father, we have many blessings that you gave us. Among them are our friends and contacts. Each of them is in some way a blessing. This week we offer our prayers for their health and happiness and thank you for presenting them to us.

Amen

Tha Dalai Lama on Man!

The Dalai Lama

“Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”

(Matthew 6 vs. 27)

           

            June and I have been blessed with the ability to enjoy our lives; both the pitfalls and the pleasures. We strongly believe that somehow the Lord has been involved in our lives and lead us to enjoy the simple pleasures. We both believe that the ability to put the events of our life into perspective is our greatest blessing through our faith.

            Several weeks ago a “Good News buddy” forwarded this to me. I believe that this is not describing a person of faith but is right on for those that have not developed a spiritual lifestyle.

            The Dalai Lama when asked about what surprised him most about humanity answered “Man. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices his money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives like he is never going to die and he dies having never really lived.”

           

Thought for Today: Who in our circle of friends resembles the Dalai Lama’s description? It could be family, neighbor, friend or even someone in our church. Today let’s think about that and find a way to share our faith with them.

Prayer for Today:  Dear Lord, today let us pray for those who have not included Christ in their lives; those who are spiritually weak, worried about physical rather than Godly issues. We pray for them and ask you for a way to help, a way to share and a way to contribute to their spiritual growth.

           

Global Peace

Global Peace

"Whatever you have learned or
received or heard from me,
or seen in me—put it into practice.
And the God of peace will be with you."
(Philippians 4:9)

            There are almost 300 million people in America and billions worldwide. As individuals we are not statistically significant overall. We all know that statistics can be manipulated and are often misrepresented. Within our Christian faith, each of us is significant to God. In many of Paul’s letters he advised that "God will be with you". I will add; personally, up front and close.
            As statistically insignificant as the mathematicians make us, God gives us meaning, power and faith. We are the Power of one. As Christians, we can impact the world one individual at a time through our faith. When we demonstrate that we are at peace, we infect those around us. When we demonstrate good Christian ethics, we lead others to follow us. When we are at peace, others want to join us.

            We have an opportunity through our faith to be at the top of a living pyramid scheme. One of peace and love! Each day we are at peace through our faith we will positively affect our environment. Our challenge as people of faith is to work our peace and show our love so others will join us.

Thought for Today: It is challenging but exciting to think that we can affect others with our positive actions. This week let us consider others and by example, share our hope a regarding our future.

Prayer: Heavenly Father we see and hear ugliness in the world daily. The mid-east is in turmoil, many streets are not safe and there are many negative financial issues within our institutions. Our world is un-godly in many ways! We pray for understanding of your role and that we may help resolve issues through our Christian faith. We pray for peace on earth.
Amen

Hope II

Hope II

“God, fill them with hope, joy and peace

that may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

(Romans 15-13)

There must be some lucky guy out there married to a woman named Hope. Isn’t that a great thought; awakening every morning with hope; drinking morning coffee with hope; never being too far from thinking about hope. I like that analogy and the reality is we can be all those things because the Lord is always with us and through Him hope abounds.

            Last night I sat down to write my message, and nothing was happening. There was nothing there to inspire hope but plenty to pray about. My concerns are locked in my own confusion:

1.      Democracy in the US is broken and full of hate! We are deadlocked.

2.      Democracy in the UK (June’s home) is the same, Brexit.

3.      Violence worldwide!

4.      Income gap, health care costs, climate change, fires in Ca. ...

ENOUGH of that negativity, that is not my style, but I am torn and confused by worldly events.

So, I re-publish this today because as bad as things seem we can never give up. As Christians we always have hope through prayer and Jesus Christ.

            The book of Proverbs is full of hope and direction, Proverbs 23 vs. 18. “There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.”

Thought for Today: Let us contribute to making today be a day of hope and light!

Prayer for Today: Dear Lord and Father, today we give thanks for our everlasting hope and joy available to us through Jesus. Through our faith, we commit to contribute to making the world a better, more loving and peaceful place.

Amen