If you know me at all, you know I hate anything that divides. In this season of politics, all that I can see it doing is dividing. We all have our opinions about religion and politics, and that is okay. We all don't have to agree. Nothing good would get done if we did. It is the clash of ideas that gets things accomplished, but yesterday was the "straw that broke the proverbially back" as they say. One of my former students, a sister in Christ, and friend put on her Facebook page that she is upset over people asking for prayers for the direction of our country because she sees that as a form of racism. She went on to say how that disrespects our President. How in the world can someone be offended by anyone praying for the direction of this country and tie that to racism? I just don't get it especially when we are directed in scripture to pray for our rulers and our land. I have prayed for every President since I was an adult. I pray that this country turns back to Godly principles. I pray for a spiritual revival in this country. How is that seen as wrong or as being a racist?
What has happened to us? The very people who preach tolerance are sometimes the least tolerant. I was not raised in a prejudiced home. I was taught that God created everyone, and everyone has value and should be respected. There are too many people out there through their words and actions, on all sides, creating division and dissention. Where are the voices of reason and discernment? It then hit me. Maybe I am to be that voice. Maybe God is saying to me, "When are you going to speak boldly and in love when those around you are expousing division and dissention?" Instead of looking to someone else to stand up, maybe God is nudging me to get out of my comfort zone and maybe be a voice of reason.
So what holds us back? I so wanted to respond to her statement. Everyone that did respond did agreed with her, but surely there are others like me who were offended by her statements. Why did I not respond? Fear of what others would think, would she really listen, would she really think I was a racist because I did not agree, or do I think it's just not worth the fight? It really has given me a lot to think and pray about over the last 24 hours. If I really did only have just a few months to live, would I sit back and do nothing, or would I stand boldy? I have some real soul searching to do.
Blessings and love,
Monday, September 3, 2012
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
What Did Jesus Say?
You hear a lot of people today talking about what Jesus would say or do in certain situations. Actually, I don't think most really know what He truly has said, but it did prompt me to go through the Bible and read all the red letters through the gospels. I encourage you to do the same if you have not done that in a while.
So what does Jesus say?
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind. Love your neighbor as yourself.
But I tell you anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.
Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.
Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you...
Do not judge, or you too will be judged.
Not everyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord" will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
Do not suppose I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but sword.
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.
What goes into a man's mouth does not make him "unclean," but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him unclean.
For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.
Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.
Therefore, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
I am the bread of life.
I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.
I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me.
Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.
I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
If you love me, you will obey what I command.
I am the vine; you are the branches.
Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
These are just a few of the things that jumped out at me as I read through what Jesus said. May I never forget the words of Jesus. May I live them out this year.
Blessings,
So what does Jesus say?
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind. Love your neighbor as yourself.
But I tell you anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.
Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.
Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you...
Do not judge, or you too will be judged.
Not everyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord" will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
Do not suppose I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but sword.
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.
What goes into a man's mouth does not make him "unclean," but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him unclean.
For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.
Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.
Therefore, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
I am the bread of life.
I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.
I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me.
Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.
I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
If you love me, you will obey what I command.
I am the vine; you are the branches.
Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
These are just a few of the things that jumped out at me as I read through what Jesus said. May I never forget the words of Jesus. May I live them out this year.
Blessings,
Labels Belong on Things, not People
When the "political correct" culture started, I did not like it then, and I certainly do not like it now. What it did was divide. When you start putting labels on people, then you start dividing them. God's Word has a lot to say about division. In I Corinthians 1 Paul appeals to the church at Corinth that they should be perfectly united in mind and thought so that there may be no divisions among them. He even went so far as to tell them that they should all agree with each other.
Paul also warns against division in Romans 16. He tells them "to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. KEEP away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites."
Jesus tells us in Matthew 12:25 that "every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined and every city or households divided against itself will not stand."
When we started putting labels on people, we started dividing them and pitting them against each other. When I was teaching, we started dividing students according to their ability. The rational for this seems good, and the intentions were good, but it did not take long for negative side to begin. In English we had five levels of English. The 100 level was special ed students; the 200 level was those who did not meet special ed requirements, but needed extra help; the 300 hundred level was the average student; the 400 level was the honor students, and the 500 level were the top students in the school. Before long we had the "smart" students versus the "dumb" students. Students in my 200 level class would tell me they were the "dummy" class. I hated that they saw themselves that way. The students in the 500 level had an overstated sense of arrogance and self-importance. We eventually did away with this system.
The labels today divide. Think how divisive the words republican, democrat, conservative and liberal are. They immediately divide. When we started hyphenating, our culture we starting dividing it: African-American, Mexican-American, Chinese-American, poor Americans, rich Americans, and the list goes on and on. What happened to the idea of just being American? Isn't that what we are? Why separate us into groups? I hate that you have to check on forms what label you fall under? Shouldn't it just say American?
So what would a united nation and church look like? Being an idealistic romantic, in my world it would look like people loving and extending grace to each other. Are we always going to agree on everything? Absolutely not, but should we not listen and be civil to each other while we are working out our differences? On issues that are not moral or salvation issues, can we not agree to disagree in love? We were so fortunate to attend a church of about 800. It is one of the most loving, grace-giving bodies that we have every had contact with. Did we always agree on all issues? No, but the one underlying thread was we loved each other, so we extended grace where it was needed. We were united in the Truth of God's Word. What the devil tried to use as division points, we turned and extended love and grace to each other.
In our secular world what would this look like? Again in my idealistic world, there would be no such things as republicans, democrats, conservative, liberal and there would certainly be no hyphenations. We would all be Americans. In my perfect world when we were electing people to office, their credentials would be listed, but no labels. A voter would research what each stands for and vote according to how that person lines up with what he/she believes. That would take away people voting because their grandparents were democrats/republicans, and their parents were, and so, therefore, I am a republican/democrat, and so on and so on. The only thing that labels have done is divide us. If you don't believe that, just turn on the TV or radio and listen. It seems all our political leaders want to do is conquer and divided, and that is on both sides of the aisle, and if God's Word is Truth, then we know if something does not happen, we are doomed.
What has political correctness done to us? It has quenched us from speaking and addressing the Truth. It was to promote tolerance, but really all it has done is promote intolerance. I have noticed lately that the people who cry for tolerance are the least tolerant, but we as Christians are never to be tolerant of sin. God still hates sin. Sin separates us from God, and if we die in our sins, we are lost. Those are hard words, that most do not want to hear today. If people are bold and speak up for God's word, they are usually castigated as being intolerant and unloving, but the unloving thing is to let people die in their sins without knowing God. We as Christians have been charged: Go into all the world, and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
I look at our world today and ask myself, "How in the world did we get where we are today?" The answer is easy. We live in a fallen world who needs Jesus. Here lately, I have really been discouraged, but my hope is not in man, but in Christ Jesus. He is the only true hope for change. As I live out this year, I pray I can be a light for Him, and that I can be a uniter, not a divider, a messenger for His Word.
Peace,
Paul also warns against division in Romans 16. He tells them "to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. KEEP away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites."
Jesus tells us in Matthew 12:25 that "every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined and every city or households divided against itself will not stand."
When we started putting labels on people, we started dividing them and pitting them against each other. When I was teaching, we started dividing students according to their ability. The rational for this seems good, and the intentions were good, but it did not take long for negative side to begin. In English we had five levels of English. The 100 level was special ed students; the 200 level was those who did not meet special ed requirements, but needed extra help; the 300 hundred level was the average student; the 400 level was the honor students, and the 500 level were the top students in the school. Before long we had the "smart" students versus the "dumb" students. Students in my 200 level class would tell me they were the "dummy" class. I hated that they saw themselves that way. The students in the 500 level had an overstated sense of arrogance and self-importance. We eventually did away with this system.
The labels today divide. Think how divisive the words republican, democrat, conservative and liberal are. They immediately divide. When we started hyphenating, our culture we starting dividing it: African-American, Mexican-American, Chinese-American, poor Americans, rich Americans, and the list goes on and on. What happened to the idea of just being American? Isn't that what we are? Why separate us into groups? I hate that you have to check on forms what label you fall under? Shouldn't it just say American?
So what would a united nation and church look like? Being an idealistic romantic, in my world it would look like people loving and extending grace to each other. Are we always going to agree on everything? Absolutely not, but should we not listen and be civil to each other while we are working out our differences? On issues that are not moral or salvation issues, can we not agree to disagree in love? We were so fortunate to attend a church of about 800. It is one of the most loving, grace-giving bodies that we have every had contact with. Did we always agree on all issues? No, but the one underlying thread was we loved each other, so we extended grace where it was needed. We were united in the Truth of God's Word. What the devil tried to use as division points, we turned and extended love and grace to each other.
In our secular world what would this look like? Again in my idealistic world, there would be no such things as republicans, democrats, conservative, liberal and there would certainly be no hyphenations. We would all be Americans. In my perfect world when we were electing people to office, their credentials would be listed, but no labels. A voter would research what each stands for and vote according to how that person lines up with what he/she believes. That would take away people voting because their grandparents were democrats/republicans, and their parents were, and so, therefore, I am a republican/democrat, and so on and so on. The only thing that labels have done is divide us. If you don't believe that, just turn on the TV or radio and listen. It seems all our political leaders want to do is conquer and divided, and that is on both sides of the aisle, and if God's Word is Truth, then we know if something does not happen, we are doomed.
What has political correctness done to us? It has quenched us from speaking and addressing the Truth. It was to promote tolerance, but really all it has done is promote intolerance. I have noticed lately that the people who cry for tolerance are the least tolerant, but we as Christians are never to be tolerant of sin. God still hates sin. Sin separates us from God, and if we die in our sins, we are lost. Those are hard words, that most do not want to hear today. If people are bold and speak up for God's word, they are usually castigated as being intolerant and unloving, but the unloving thing is to let people die in their sins without knowing God. We as Christians have been charged: Go into all the world, and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
I look at our world today and ask myself, "How in the world did we get where we are today?" The answer is easy. We live in a fallen world who needs Jesus. Here lately, I have really been discouraged, but my hope is not in man, but in Christ Jesus. He is the only true hope for change. As I live out this year, I pray I can be a light for Him, and that I can be a uniter, not a divider, a messenger for His Word.
Peace,
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Where's the outrage?
Please don't get me wrong, I love animals. I have always had a pet. Growing up, we had numerous dogs, and after I married we have had two cocker spaniels, two parakeets, three rabbits, and currently we have a cat, so please do not think I do not like animals, but animals are not humans, and their lives should never be placed above a human being's. After all, humans were made in the image of God. Animals were not.
I am so weary of waking up most mornings and turning on the news and hearing about a child that has been killed either by his/her parents, has been in a horrific accident, or has been discarded like a piece of trash. Where is the outrage about these incidents?
Recently there was more outrage and outpouring over a dog that was set fire and eventually died, than over the numerous children who have died at the hands of someone who was supposed to love and take care them. We live in a sick world. I do not believe any of God's creatures should be mistreated, but when there is more outrage over an animal than a child, then we are a society that has lost its way. Have we become so desensitized that the life of a child has become so trivial? When are we as a culture going to stand up and say, "Enough is enough"?
In Jesus' sermon on the mount, in Matthew 6, he is talking about worry, but he asks, "Are you not more valuable than they" (birds of the air)? Human life should be valued and respected. In this year of OYTL, I want to make a difference in my culture and world. That may mean speaking out boldly against the atrocities of this world. After all, when Jesus confronted those using the temple as a market place, He did it with boldness and righteous indignation. Maybe it's time we who profess to follow Him, start doing the same.
Blessings,
I am so weary of waking up most mornings and turning on the news and hearing about a child that has been killed either by his/her parents, has been in a horrific accident, or has been discarded like a piece of trash. Where is the outrage about these incidents?
Recently there was more outrage and outpouring over a dog that was set fire and eventually died, than over the numerous children who have died at the hands of someone who was supposed to love and take care them. We live in a sick world. I do not believe any of God's creatures should be mistreated, but when there is more outrage over an animal than a child, then we are a society that has lost its way. Have we become so desensitized that the life of a child has become so trivial? When are we as a culture going to stand up and say, "Enough is enough"?
In Jesus' sermon on the mount, in Matthew 6, he is talking about worry, but he asks, "Are you not more valuable than they" (birds of the air)? Human life should be valued and respected. In this year of OYTL, I want to make a difference in my culture and world. That may mean speaking out boldly against the atrocities of this world. After all, when Jesus confronted those using the temple as a market place, He did it with boldness and righteous indignation. Maybe it's time we who profess to follow Him, start doing the same.
Blessings,
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Truth
"Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free." It seems no one wants to hear the truth these days. Our culture today does not like Truth, and people who speak the truth are usually made fun of or painted as radicals. We are told to always, "Speak the truth in love." What does it mean to speak the truth, and who defines what Truth is? True Truth is found in the word of God. If we are looking for it any other place, we are looking in the wrong place. It seems like today, though, anyone who dares speaks the truth, they are crucified and vilified for it.
I always want the truth, but sometimes I don't like hearing it. The truth sometimes can be painful, and other times it can be liberating. Sometimes, I ask my husband if something I have on looks good on me. I want him to answer me truthfully. I don't want to wear something that does not flatter me. If he says, "No," I have to be willing to hear the truth. Afterall, I asked for it. I need people in my life who will love me enough to tell me the truth. If I have done something to hurt someone, or if I have acted in a way I should not have, I need someone to tell me. How else can I correct something unless someone is willing to be honest with me? Sometimes, people in our culture ask for our opinions, and when we answer truthfully, they get angry. If they did not want to know the truth, why did they ask?
When I was teaching, I used to hear all kinds of excuses for not doing homework or turning in projects on time. I had one student whom a lot of teachers just did not care for. He definitely had a reputation, but what I appreciated about this student was he never made an excuse for not doing his work. He would walk into class and say, "Mrs. Nance, I didn't do the homework." Sometimes, he would even say, "I just did not feel like doing it." This student was actually a very bright student more than capable of doing any assignments given, but he just chose not to do them. I always appreciated his honesty. How refreshing it would be today if people in positions of leadership would just tell the truth!
There are many troubling things going on in our world today. The only way that we will be able to deal with them is with honesty and respect. We have to be willing to hear the truth no matter how painful that may be to get to the solutions. I have learned in my life denying and "sweeping things under the carpet," so to speak, will never make issues go away. It is just delaying having to deal with them. For real change to happen, we first have to be committed to truth.
Truth can sometimes be hard to handle. I have often wondered what Moses thought when God told him he would not enter the Promised Land because he had disobeyed. Was he hurt? Was he disappointed? Because David did not deal with truth and reality in his family, his family suffered greatly. How many times did the Isaerelites suffer consequences because they chose not to believe the truth? Not dealing with reality has a way of bringing a lot of pain.
I want to be a lover of truth. I pray as I live out this year that I have a love for the Truth, not man's truth, but God's. His Truths provide freedom and grace. Anything else is just a sham. The author of untruth loves when we don't demand the truth. We play right into his hands. I have said before, and I will repeat, I never want to be an instrument of him. May God always give me a heart for Truth.
Blessings,
I always want the truth, but sometimes I don't like hearing it. The truth sometimes can be painful, and other times it can be liberating. Sometimes, I ask my husband if something I have on looks good on me. I want him to answer me truthfully. I don't want to wear something that does not flatter me. If he says, "No," I have to be willing to hear the truth. Afterall, I asked for it. I need people in my life who will love me enough to tell me the truth. If I have done something to hurt someone, or if I have acted in a way I should not have, I need someone to tell me. How else can I correct something unless someone is willing to be honest with me? Sometimes, people in our culture ask for our opinions, and when we answer truthfully, they get angry. If they did not want to know the truth, why did they ask?
When I was teaching, I used to hear all kinds of excuses for not doing homework or turning in projects on time. I had one student whom a lot of teachers just did not care for. He definitely had a reputation, but what I appreciated about this student was he never made an excuse for not doing his work. He would walk into class and say, "Mrs. Nance, I didn't do the homework." Sometimes, he would even say, "I just did not feel like doing it." This student was actually a very bright student more than capable of doing any assignments given, but he just chose not to do them. I always appreciated his honesty. How refreshing it would be today if people in positions of leadership would just tell the truth!
There are many troubling things going on in our world today. The only way that we will be able to deal with them is with honesty and respect. We have to be willing to hear the truth no matter how painful that may be to get to the solutions. I have learned in my life denying and "sweeping things under the carpet," so to speak, will never make issues go away. It is just delaying having to deal with them. For real change to happen, we first have to be committed to truth.
Truth can sometimes be hard to handle. I have often wondered what Moses thought when God told him he would not enter the Promised Land because he had disobeyed. Was he hurt? Was he disappointed? Because David did not deal with truth and reality in his family, his family suffered greatly. How many times did the Isaerelites suffer consequences because they chose not to believe the truth? Not dealing with reality has a way of bringing a lot of pain.
I want to be a lover of truth. I pray as I live out this year that I have a love for the Truth, not man's truth, but God's. His Truths provide freedom and grace. Anything else is just a sham. The author of untruth loves when we don't demand the truth. We play right into his hands. I have said before, and I will repeat, I never want to be an instrument of him. May God always give me a heart for Truth.
Blessings,
Friday, March 2, 2012
A Different Perspective
One of my all time favorite books is To Kill a Mockingbird, and one of my favorite lines in the book is when Atticus, the father, is trying to get Scout, his daughter, to see things from a different perspective. He tells her, "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view--until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." Perception is a person's reality. It may not be true reality, but it is their reference point, and it is harder sometime to change perception than to accept reality.
Growing up I thought that my mother showed favortism to one of my siblings. In my mind that was reality, and no matter how many times my mother told me it was not true, I did not believe it. In my perspective, it was reality. It wasn't until I was an adult with children of my own that I finally saw and understood things from my mother's point of view.
The Pharises saw Jesus as a threat to everything they had been taught. It was their perception, but it was not the true reality. They could not accept that Jesus came to bring them freedom and truth. It was reality, but their perception clouded their reality. They did not see the true Messiah that they had been promised when He stood right in front of them.
We live in a world today where it is difficult to see the reality of most things. We pass ideas, people and culture through the lenses of our perceptions, and when we do that we fail to recognize Truth--God's Truth. Our culture today wants us to believe that there are no universal truths, but that is contrary to everything that the Bible teaches. What would our world look like if we put away our perceptions and looked at situations and people honestly and realistically--if we put ourselves in others' shoes for a moment and tried to understand how they see things because how they see things is their reality for that moment. If we did that, maybe there would be more understanding and love in this world, and maybe then we would start working together instead of working against each other.
I want to make a concerted effort this year to put myself in someone else's shoes before I make a judgment about him/her. Too often, I judge before seeing things from their perspective. Hopefully, others will do the same with me before they make a judgment about me. It really goes back to the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you..
Blessings,
Growing up I thought that my mother showed favortism to one of my siblings. In my mind that was reality, and no matter how many times my mother told me it was not true, I did not believe it. In my perspective, it was reality. It wasn't until I was an adult with children of my own that I finally saw and understood things from my mother's point of view.
The Pharises saw Jesus as a threat to everything they had been taught. It was their perception, but it was not the true reality. They could not accept that Jesus came to bring them freedom and truth. It was reality, but their perception clouded their reality. They did not see the true Messiah that they had been promised when He stood right in front of them.
We live in a world today where it is difficult to see the reality of most things. We pass ideas, people and culture through the lenses of our perceptions, and when we do that we fail to recognize Truth--God's Truth. Our culture today wants us to believe that there are no universal truths, but that is contrary to everything that the Bible teaches. What would our world look like if we put away our perceptions and looked at situations and people honestly and realistically--if we put ourselves in others' shoes for a moment and tried to understand how they see things because how they see things is their reality for that moment. If we did that, maybe there would be more understanding and love in this world, and maybe then we would start working together instead of working against each other.
I want to make a concerted effort this year to put myself in someone else's shoes before I make a judgment about him/her. Too often, I judge before seeing things from their perspective. Hopefully, others will do the same with me before they make a judgment about me. It really goes back to the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you..
Blessings,
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Learning to Laugh Again
Last week some of our grand-children came to visit. They were playing and laughing together. Tatum, the oldest grand-daughter, was laughing so hard as she played on the floor with her brother. It was not a fake laugh or even half of a laugh, it was a deep belly laugh. As I watched and heard them playing, I thought to myself, "When did I lose my laughter? When was the last time, I laughed a belly laugh? When was the last time I laughed so hard tears streamed down my face?
During this One Year to Live, I want to find a way to bring laughter back into my life. I don't really know when I lost it. I just know that I don't laugh much any more. As an adult, there have been circumstances that I call "joy robbers," that I have allowed to steal my joy and laughter. Most of these circumstances were beyond my control: my mother's Alzheimer's and her death, my dad's declining health and death, the death of friends, the loss of relationships, and life changes in general.
We are called to be joyful. Phillipians 4:4 tells us "To rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice." James 1:3 tells us to "Count it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds." Romans 12:12 says, "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." My challenge and struggle is how to find laughter in the midst of very sad and depressing events around me. The apostle Paul who suffered many hardships didn't seem to struggle with finding the joy in his life. Even in his imprisonments, beatings, and struggles, he was able to rejoice. I am determined that through prayer that I am going to find ways this year to bring laughter back in my life even through all the trials of daily living. I don't know how this is going to happen, I don't know what it is going to look like, but I am trusting that God is going to answer this prayer.
I do a girl's road trip every year with teachers that I used to teach with. I always look forward to that trip because we are silly, and we do laugh. It's the highlight of the trip, and I always come back so refreshed, but it does not take long to fall back in the rut of the "joy robbers."
Some things that I have already started doing to bring laughter back is reading funny novels, watching funny movies, and hanging out with my grandchildren and people who will make me laugh. I also am going to get out of myself and focus on serving others. Hopefully, with the focus off of me, I can, like Paul, find joy and laughter no matter what I am dealing with.
Joy,
.
During this One Year to Live, I want to find a way to bring laughter back into my life. I don't really know when I lost it. I just know that I don't laugh much any more. As an adult, there have been circumstances that I call "joy robbers," that I have allowed to steal my joy and laughter. Most of these circumstances were beyond my control: my mother's Alzheimer's and her death, my dad's declining health and death, the death of friends, the loss of relationships, and life changes in general.
We are called to be joyful. Phillipians 4:4 tells us "To rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice." James 1:3 tells us to "Count it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds." Romans 12:12 says, "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." My challenge and struggle is how to find laughter in the midst of very sad and depressing events around me. The apostle Paul who suffered many hardships didn't seem to struggle with finding the joy in his life. Even in his imprisonments, beatings, and struggles, he was able to rejoice. I am determined that through prayer that I am going to find ways this year to bring laughter back in my life even through all the trials of daily living. I don't know how this is going to happen, I don't know what it is going to look like, but I am trusting that God is going to answer this prayer.
I do a girl's road trip every year with teachers that I used to teach with. I always look forward to that trip because we are silly, and we do laugh. It's the highlight of the trip, and I always come back so refreshed, but it does not take long to fall back in the rut of the "joy robbers."
Some things that I have already started doing to bring laughter back is reading funny novels, watching funny movies, and hanging out with my grandchildren and people who will make me laugh. I also am going to get out of myself and focus on serving others. Hopefully, with the focus off of me, I can, like Paul, find joy and laughter no matter what I am dealing with.
Joy,
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