No more questions . . . at least for this week

Obviously, the SocialInterview.com question series has not been interesting to anyone as there have been maybe five visits to our blog this week.  Just one final question . . . does anyone read this blog?

We will resume tomorrow with our regular blog entries . . .

Question 4 of 7

What would your dream job be?

Question 3 of 7

If God said, “Let’s go today,” – would you be ready?

Question 2 of 7

If you could be anyone you wanted for one day, who would it be?

Question 1 of 7

Several friends on Facebook subscribe to SocialInterview.com, a site that features a variety of questions.  Let’s use one question of theirs per day for a week, and see what you have to say . . .  “What is the best thing that ever happened to you in your life?”

Rushing Through the Christmas Season

    As “Black Friday” is almost upon us, I hope we can all take a step back to remember just why we are celebrating this season. 
   The radio talk shows are filled with people calling in with their plans to stake out a spot in line at various stores in the pre-dawn hours.  But they also tell of how crazy it gets – how rude, pushy and impatient people can be during this day of shopping.
    Personally, I will be spending the day at home . . . maybe putting up our tree and decorating the house.  Years ago I went shopping on the Friday after Thanksgiving, and told myself “never again!”  Each year I tell myself that I am going to “simplify” our Christmas and not get caught up in the rush of shopping, decorating, parties, etc.   That idea appeals to me so much that I could easily be the neighbor in this photo – the one with “ditto” on their house!  Each year I seem to do a little better, although it may have more to do with having older children and less energy than I used to!
   One activity my husband and I did give up was buying a live tree.  I always said I would never have an artificial tree, because you just have to have a real tree, with that real evergreen smell.  The first year we were on our own – the last of our five children being away at college – we waited later than usual to go out to buy our tree. It was freezing cold, and the “pickin’s were slim,” resulting in our driving to several places to find even a decent—looking tree.  At the last place, my husband and I looked at each other and said, “This is crazy!  Let’s go buy an artificial tree!”  So now we are the proud owners of a tall, perfectly-shaped artificial tree.  We just light that evergreen-scented candle and it’s almost like the real thing!
    How many Christmas activities do you participate in because you really want to, or because it’s “what we’ve always done?”  How many parties will you attend in December?  How many cards do you really need to send or presents do you really need to purchase?  By the time Christmas Day actually arrives, are you in the mood to celebrate Christ’s birth, or are you just glad to get the day over with?
   Why not consider, in lieu of a present, giving the gift of a memory?  Plan an outing with that special friend or older grandchild.  Last Christmas, we gave our four oldest grandsons tickets to Noah’s Ark Water Park in Wisconsin Dells.  Yes, we spent money to do this, but we all enjoyed the summer day that we spent together at the park.  And the grandsons are still talking about the experience. The tradition of spending time with family or friends will last far longer than most gifts.
   Shop if you must on Black Friday, but when you hear “Happy Holidays,” be sure to respond with “Merry Christmas!”   In that small way, let’s remind everyone of the true meaning of Christmas.

Instant Connection

Our daily lives are filled with instant connections of all sorts . . . facebook, texting, e-mails, etc.  But how often during the day do we take advantage of the ultimate “instant connection” . . . talking with God? 

In the book of Nehemiah, it talks of how Nehemiah “spontaneously” prayed eight times. (Neh. 2:4, 4:4, 5 & 9, 5:19, 6:14, 13:14, 22 & 29).  My study Bible explained that Nehemiah knew he could “confidently pray throughout the day because he had established an intimate relationship with God during times of extended prayer.  And that God is always present, is always in charge and always hears every prayer.”

 Some may say that they don’t have time to pray, or are never in the “right” place to pray.  If Jonah can pray from inside the belly of a whale, the rest of us should be able to pray wherever we are!  Finding the time to pray is not always easy either, but we should always make an effort to do so – even if we have to get up very early in the morning.  Mark 1:35 says, “Jesus awoke long before daybreak and went out into the wilderness to pray.” 

I like to think of prayer as just an on-going conversation with God.  I can speak to him at anytime throughout the day, in earnest for very important requests, to say “thank you” when I see the stars in the night sky or a beautiful sunset.  God wants us to be instantly connected to him.  We are to “come boldly (or to come with reverence) to the throne of our gracious God.  There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it.”  (Hebrews 4:16) Or as my study Bible states, “Come also with bold assurance because he is your Friend and Counselor.”

What, Me Worry?

 

For as long as I can remember, my Dad had this picture hanging in his work area.  I never really thought much of it, other than it was a silly picture. 

But worry can rob us of so many things.  I don’t know where I heard or read this statement, but it makes a lot of sense:  “when you worry, you say “I” instead of leaving it in God’s hands.”  Worry can actually make us physically sick. Worry causes us to lose sleep.  Worry causes us to miss out on all the good things that are taking place around us. Worry can shake our faith in God. And many of the things we worry about never actually take place!  Matthew 6:27 asks, “Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?” 

In the story of Noah, the Bible tells us that Noah spent his time doing as God commanded.  He built the ark, collected the animals, etc.  Noah did God’s work – God took care of the details.  We often do just the opposite – worry more about the details than about the things we do have control over. 

Now all of this is not to say that there aren’t times for genuine concern.  But the difference between “worry” and “concern” is that worry often immobilizes us, while concern should cause us to take action. We should plan for tomorrow, trusting in God’s guidance.  Planning can sometimes eliminate worry.  But Matthew 7:34 tell us, “Don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries.  Today’s trouble is enough for today.” 

Philippians 4:6-7 tells us, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.  Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.  If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand.  His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

Hand sanitizers and hearts

If we listen to the media shapers, 2009 will be regarded as one of the most historic years in all of mankind on many levels.  Some of the biggies that come to mind are the economic collapse/panic that gripped the world, the unprecedented financial spending by Washington on bailouts and stimuli packages, the election of our countries first non-Caucasian president and his Nobel prize after weeks in office,  Congress and the President attempting radical policy changes despite the protests of constituents, the circus surrounding Michael Jackson’s death, the comeback of Lance Armstrong (wait that only matters to a niche group of lycra wearing geeks) and certainly the pandemic fear of Swine Flu (I just won’t participate in the conspiracy to call it H1N1).

It’s the last one that has me thinking about how we’ve responded to this global pandemic and health crisis.  Most of us have had a case of the flu and for the most part have come through it fine.  Some just tough it out, while others have used a short course of antibiotics to help their immune systems fight it off.  Historically we’ve never thought of the flu as a dire, life and death menace that required consistent changes in our daily lives.  In fact, the CDC estimates that annually influenza kills over 30,000 US citizens yet I can’t recall major changes happening across society.  Not so with the frenzy surrounding Swine Flu in 2009.  It made headlines around the globe, had special live coverage of the World Health Organization press conference (I can’t believe I actually watched it while traveling for work), even Elmo got involved with a public service announcement!  The behavioral changes are everywhere; people coughing into elbows, grown men singing Happy Birthday while washing their hands, fist bumps instead of hand-shakes, face masks on air planes and the ever present hand sanitizer.  One month ago I attended a trade show at McCormack Place and the alcohol based things were everywhere.  I passed a gauntlet of them in the hallway leading to the convention floor, they were at the sample stations in every booth (including ours), they were being handed out with company logos on them (the hottest category of company merchandising in 2009), in bathrooms, in hotel lobbies and I think I saw one in a cab!

Do we take our spiritual health as seriously as we take this recent physical threat?  Are we more concerned with the body and potential death than for their spiritual life?  Where’s the public service announcement warning us to take care and precaution with our hearts, minds and souls?  We know that won’t happen, but I think God has given us sanitizers for our spiritual life.  The two that most quickly come to mind are the Bible and prayer.  I have begun to read Scripture every morning as a way to make time for that part of my spiritual health routine.  Followed with a brief prayer I feel better protected to start my day and ward off life’s impurities (Ephesians 6:12-18 For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world’s rulers of the darkness…¹⁸ with all prayer and requests, praying at all times in the Spirit, and being watchful to this end in all perseverance and requests for all the saints:).  I can’t control all that I’m exposed to in a day, but that’s the beauty of prayer sanitizer.  I can access that whenever I’ve been exposed to life’s germs or I’ve exposed someone else to my sickness.  We all seem to spend a lot more time on the computer and must realize that the flu strains that exist on-line are immense and more deadly than we can imagine.  I won’t list them, but we know that perversions live a mere mouse click away.  Again, the cleansing power of God’s Word is also just a mouse click away in those moments of need!  I am trying to make it a habit that my first stop on-line is to read a daily devotional from my e-mail.  This starts my on-line day off with God at the forefront of my mind.  Certainly prayer is also close at hand when spending time in the virtual world.  What better ways to disinfect ourselves of the contaminations that we come in contact with daily than regular use of these beautiful sanitizers that God has provided for the health our hearts, souls and minds?

by Lance Maylath

Saving Special Messages

The other day, the host on the radio talk show I was listening to, asked this question:  “What text, voicemail or e-mail messages do you save?” 

One female caller said she saved the one from her daughter that simply said, “Leaving now.”  The daughter and her husband had both been serving in the military overseas, and were just at that moment leaving Germany to finally come home.  Other people called to say they saved the messages that said, “It’s a girl!  It’s a boy!”

Most of the messages saved were short, but had a very special meaning to those who had received them.

I know on our answering machine we usually have about 10 messages saved at any given time.  Two that we have never gotten rid of was the one where my daughter called and yelled “Yahoo!  We’re going to the Super Bowl!” (Ok, so that one has been on there a pretty long time, but the way the Bears are playing lately, it may be a while before we hear those words again!)  The other message came just recently when our 7-year-old grandson called to excitedly tell us that he had gotten “10-out-of-10” on his spelling test – a very special moment indeed!

But what words of God’s do we choose to hold close to our hearts?  I have two that are favorites of mine: 

”See, I will not forget you . . . I have carved you on the palm of my hand.”  Isaiah 49:15

“God’s grace has saved you because of your faith in Christ.  Your salvation doesn’t come from anything you do, it is God’s gift.”  Ephesians 2:8-9 

What are a few of your favorite scriptures?