27…Train Them Up
Good morning! We’ve all heard the saying that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but that’s not always the case. Yesterday as I was waiting to see my doctor, a woman and four kids came into the waiting room. Within a few minutes of their conversation, one of the kids started loudly giving his responses. The real problem wasn’t that his voice was too loud, but what he was saying. Let’s just say if that language was used in a movie, it would have to be R-rated. The mother quickly let the rest of us know that he was not her child but a friend’s child that she was babysitting.
It was a great reminder that it makes a difference what we do and say around children. They observe our behavior and hear our words and often repeat them. You don’t have to be their parents or grandparents to make a difference either. It can be a neighborhood child, or your friend’s kids, or just a child you see a lot. Since we know that children look up to adults, we need to be aware of our surroundings and who is in earshot of what we are saying and choose our words carefully.
Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it.” As adults, we have a wonderful opportunity to influence the next generation for Jesus. So, here’s to choosing our words and actions carefully, especially around children, and giving them something good to imitate!
28…In God We Trust
Good morning! When I was little, there was a cute little chant we’d say when we saw a penny on the ground. “Find a penny, pick it up, all day long you’ll have good luck.” When I was putting groceries in my car, I saw three pennies on the ground and “the kid” in me picked them up. Of course, that familiar saying went through my head. I picked the pennies up and looked to see what year was on them, something Alan got me doing, and then I was reminded about what was inscribed on the coins, “In God We Trust.”
Is that inscription something we do all the time? How about when life comes raining down on us with hurricanes, fires, or earthquakes? Or what about when the doctor’s report isn’t what we prayed for? And do we trust when relationships are strained or even ended? Our founding fathers knew that to live this life, we needed to put our trust in the Lord ALL the time and in EVERY situation.
Psalm 20:7 addresses the trust we need to have in the Lord. “Some boast [trust] in chariots, and some in horses; but we will boast [trust] in the name of the Lord, our God.” For our era, that verse could be written as …”Some trust in their own power, and some in their money; but we will trust in the name of the Lord, our God.” You could easily replace those things we trust in, to lots of other things the world boasts, or trusts in, but the last part of that Scripture will never change … we will trust in the name of the Lord, our God! What or who do you place your trust in? Praying your answer is always JESUS!
29…Blessed Assurance
Good morning! As I was watching the weather forecast on TV, I was again amazed how they can determine what the weather will be like over a week away. Even more amazing is the fact that the Farmer’s Almanac predicts the weather a year in advance. Now it’s true that their predictions aren’t always accurate, but they’re close. I can’t tell you what will happen in the next hour, let alone next year but I know someone who can. You guessed it … God.
Even though God doesn’t show us in advance everything that will happen throughout our lives, I am confident in the plans He has for us because Jeremiah 29:11 says, “‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.’”
Then as I was flipping through Jeremiah, I found this verse in Chapter 17, verse 7. “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is the Lord.” We all look for certainties in life. It helps us deal with the things that come our way. If I had no other assurance but those two verses, I wouldn’t need to worry about what lies ahead for me in the future because God has already figured it out and He’s the One that can make it good. We can be confident and rest in the Lord knowing He has great plans ahead for our lives. Here’s to seeing what God has in store for us!
30…Seeing Their Hearts
Good morning! I was walking down memory lane and it took me to the deli that Alan and I owned. I have so many great memories there. Because of the deli, I met some amazing people and this Veteran’s Day reminded me of one of them.
The deli operated on the honor system. Once people had finished eating, they just came to the register, told us what they had, and paid us. It was there at the register that I saw people’s hearts. It was at the register that people would ask to anonymously pay for someone’s meal or even for an entire table of people. I got to see the giver and the excitement they had to do something nice for someone else. And I got to see the receiver’s face when they came up to pay their bill and I was able to tell them they didn’t owe anything because someone else had already paid for their food. Those are those priceless moments that I will carry with me always.
It’s that “putting your money where your mouth is,” that brought up memories today. Every year on Veteran’s Day, a guy who we were so proud to call our friend, gave us money to buy as many meals for veterans that day as he could. That was his way of anonymously saying “thank you” to the veterans for their service. Some veterans would get teary-eyed when they came to the register and we were able to extend our friend’s thank you for their service. 1 Peter 4:10 tells us that we are to serve one another as good stewards out of what God has given us. There’s all kinds of ways we can serve our brothers and sisters, but some of my favorite ways were things that I saw take place at the deli. So, as we honor our veterans today, I pray you find your own way to say, “Thank you.”
31…Overflowing
Good morning! Don’t you just love those days when you wake up and realize that you don’t have any set plans and you can just let the day flow? Well, my day did flow … right over the top of the toilet and onto the bathroom floor. Not exactly what I had in mind as I thought about my carefree day. This situation is what Alan called the “joys of homeownership.” This toilet issue wasn’t a major problem, just more of an inconvenience. Nothing that a trip to the hardware store wouldn’t fix. As I was attempting to stop this overflow, I broke the plunger. They just don’t make them like they used to. Either that, or it was an operator error. LOL
It’s the same way with our relationship with God. He is in the restoration business. Once we accept His gift of salvation, He takes our sins and forgives us; takes our emptiness and fills us; and takes our fears and replaces them with hope. In Psalm 23, David reminds us that our Great Shepherd provides all we need and that He not only protects us, but He is our constant companion. With that being so, my prayer is that our lives would overflow with all the blessings that the Lord has for us. May our cups runneth over!
32…Healthy Diet
Good morning! Many people make yearly resolutions and one of the resolutions that is typically made each year is to lose weight. People go and sign up for gym memberships or enroll in exercise classes. A commitment is made to eat healthier, even though it costs more money to do so. We start out strong and then within a short period of time, we stop going to the gym and attending those classes for a gazillion different reasons. We tell ourselves we’ll just exercise at home since it’s much easier to fit that into our schedule. Then we make ourselves feel better by saying that eating healthier will make a big difference in our weight just by itself. Does this sound familiar???
So, how is your diet looking? I’m not asking about the physical food we take in, but the spiritual food. Just like your body needs healthy food every day, your soul needs to be fed daily, too. 1 Peter 2:2 says we should want to spend time