Week One - The Tone of Your Life

Somewhere, I read the phrase, the tone of your life. It was noted in my little travel journal, and I thought, "What an apt evaluation at this time of year." Consider these thoughts.

What was the tone of your life in 2023? Was it loud and turbulent? Was it quiet and full of grace? Were you patient or demanding? Were you frustrated or trusting? Looking back, what attitudes, reactions, or decisions could have sounded better?

2023 is finished, but now, this New Year gives us an opportunity to adjust our pitch. If you've ever listened to the William Tell Overture, you'll recall it begins with peaceful music. Then, moves into the galloping section we know so well. Life can also be compared to classical music with a mix of slow and lively sections as we move from year to year or through different seasons of life. But each season, each year, there is a distinct tone.

No doubt you've been through turbulent times. I have as well, but even then, I recognize that the tone of my life remains my choice. How I respond to the circumstances reverberates to those around me and becomes the driving force behind my decisions.

Consider these questions. What is the tone of my life? What do others hear? Do I generate a clear pitch? Is there a constant annoying vibration? Is my tone steady or wavering? 

Here's something fun to consider. In the great symphony of life, what instrument might I be? A drum? A trumpet? A flute? Each instrument has a distinct tone and purpose, and so do you.

As we enter 2024, carve out a space of time to meditate on the tone of your life and do some self-evaluation. How would you want the music of your life to sing to others? What minor keys could be changed? What section of life are you in and what music is it creating? Ask the Lord to give you a new song in this New Year, and let that song be your testimony. 

"And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord" (Psalm 40:3).

Week Fifty-Three - Four Pills for Depressed People

It seems odd to talk about depression at this most wonderful season of the year, but Christmas can be a downer for the mother trying to create something out of nothing; the father burdened by the financial pressure; the pastor praying for inspiration; and the broken families finding it hard to rise above the challenges to find the joy of the season.

Let's focus on four simple things that can help.

Good exercise. Sitting on the couch counting your miseries will not work. Better to get up, take a walk, run a while on that treadmill, or do a few jumping jacks to get the blood flowing. It helps clear the brain and makes room for new ideas. Exercise is a key to not only physical health but also mental health. So, as long as you remain stationary, your problems will remain there with you. You might be unable to outrun them, but an active body means fewer can cling on! Even the pounds must eventually give way, giving you more energy.

Good diet. And while you are sitting on the couch, are you stuffing your mouth with chocolate and Cheez-Its? Has your diet been fast food and processed meats? You may feel sluggish because your body cries for something fresh and real. My mother used to tell me, "If God made it, you can eat it. If man touched it, you need to beware." So put that clip on the chips and grab a banana! Feed your body foods God made and see if it doesn't respond more positively.

Good sleep. More and more, the medical community is discovering the benefits of a good night's sleep. If you are struggling here, it is no wonder you feel tired and depressed. If there is a medical issue, get it sorted. Meanwhile, good sleep comes when we are right with the world, content and thankful for what we have, and go to bed without worries. It also comes easier when we have put in a good day's work and are tired enough to sleep. 

So, exercise, diet, and sleep are basic, but the fourth pill for depressed people, and the one most missing in today's society, is a good Lord's Day. God designed our week to be six days in which to do our work and one day to rest and focus on Him. For the Israelites, it was the Sabbath. But in the New Testament, Christians began gathering on the first day of the week, Sunday.

I have found benefits from observing both. I work from Monday to Friday, rest and play on Saturday, and rest and focus on the Lord by attending His house on Sunday. 

Church attendance creates a place to get away from my problems and focus on others, listen to God's Word, and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to my heart. Christ gave Himself for the church. It is an undeniable part of God's plan for His children. When I skip church, I skip something God designed, and when that part is missing, I am vulnerable to depression. I need the strength and encouragement I draw from fellowship with other believers in collective worship.

We can exercise, eat right, and sleep to strengthen our mental state, but if we fail to exercise and feed our spiritual side, we miss out on a vital part of emotional and mental health. So make it a point this Sunday and for the next several Sundays to attend church. Then, look and see if that little pill hasn't boosted your outlook!

Week Fifty-Two - Adoration

The night skies blazed with the splendor of heavenly angels announcing the birth of a Saviour, and there in that lowly manger, creation knelt in adoration of Immanuel, God with us. The Christmas story incites such adoration and wonder that words often fail to capture the beauty, so today, let's look at one thought - love.

Within the manger lay the fulfilment of prophecy, the expression of humility and sacrifice, and the promise of eternal love. Do you love Him? 

Spurgeon wrote, "It is a wonderful thing to be able to say with assurance, without any ifs, ands, or buts, that you love the Lord. Saying you hope you do, or trust you do, is a poor and shallow experience. Don't stay there. Don't let your spirit rest until you are sure you love Him. Don't be satisfied with a superficial hope that Jesus loves you and a faint trust that you love Him. That's not enough."

The apostle Paul said positively and plainly, "I know who I have believed." Job said, "I know that my redeemer lives." Do you have that confidence? Solomon wrote, "I have found him whom my soul loveth." Have you found Him? If you have, or when you do, you gain a positive knowledge of your love for Jesus. You embrace a joyful certainty of your love for Him and will adore Him.

Spurgeon said, "True love for Christ is, in every situation, the Holy Spirit's work, and must be wrought in the heart by Him. He is the efficient cause of it; but the logical reason why we love Jesus lies in Himself. 

Why do we love Jesus? Because He first loved us. 

Why do we love Jesus? Because He gave Himself for us. We have life through His death; we have peace through His blood. Though He was rich, yet for our sakes He became poor. 

Why do we love Jesus? Because of the excellency of His person. We are filled with a sense of His beauty! an admiration of His charms! a consciousness of His infinite perfection! His greatness, goodness, and loveliness, in one resplendent ray, combine to enchant the soul until it is so enraptured that it exclaims, "Yes, He is altogether lovely.

Blessed love is this - a love which binds the heart with chains softer than silk, and yet firmer than the hardest metal."

Do you know this deep, deep love of Jesus? Is it real in your heart, solid and confident? Such is the love of God toward you, and He longs for your love in return, a love that adores the Saviour.

Week Fifty-One - The Day Star

There are two very interesting words in the Bible to follow. One is the word water, and the other is the word light. You will find them from Genesis all the way through Revelation. Makes for a great study.

As I sat in church on Sunday, the pastor preached on Zacharias' prophesy of Jesus' ministry and God's purpose for the Messiah, closing with these words, "to give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace" (Luke 1:77-79).

When I heard the word light, my mind took off with the idea of God bringing light into darkness. This is the beautiful picture of Christmas that is often overlooked. In the darkness of the hillside, angels blazed with light. In the dark and dreary manger lay the Light of the world. But we needn't stop with the Christmas story as we think about light into darkness. We can apply it further. God brings light into darkness. Actually, He is light, and in Him, there is no darkness. (1 John 1:5)

So, if you are blind and in the dark, He invites you to His light. "In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them" (2 Corinthians 4:4).

If you are looking through the darkness, shine the light of His Word upon your life to find your way. "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path" (Psalm 119:105). "The entrance of thy words giveth light; It giveth understanding unto the simple" (Psalm 119:130).

If you are growing discouraged with the darkness around you, set your sight on the Light - look to Jesus. He is the dayspring, the day star. "A light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts" (2 Peter 1:19).

Let the lights of the season remind you that life shines brightest when we look to the Light! 

Week Fifty - Dirty Fingers

I have been reading this year from Spurgeon's devotional collection entitled Morning and Evening. Tom and I enjoy reading from the same devotion book because it gives us things to discuss. We have been reading only the morning ones while on furlough, and when the New Year comes, we will switch to reading the evening ones. Anyway, as I read the devotion on 2 Corinthians 6:17, I just couldn't cut it down, so I will share most of it with you. I hope it challenges your heart as it challenged mine.

He writes,

"The Christian, while in the world, is not to be of the world. He should be distinguished from it in the great object of his life. To him, "to live," should be "Christ." Whether he eats, or drinks, or whatever he does, he should do all to God's glory. You may store up treasures; but store them up in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. You may strive to be rich; but let your ambition be to be "rich in faith," and good works. You may have pleasure; but when you are merry, sing psalms and make melody in your hearts to the Lord. In your spirit, as well as in your aim, you should differ from the world. Waiting humbly before God, always conscious of His presence, delighting in communion with Him, and seeking to know His will, you will prove that you are of the heavenly race. And you should be separate from the world in your actions. If something is right, though you may lose by it, it must be done; if it is wrong, though you would gain by it, you must scorn the sin for your Master's sake. You must have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. Walk worthy of your high calling and dignity. Remember, O Christian, that you are a child of the King of kings. Therefore, keep yourself unspotted from the world. Do not dirty the fingers which are soon to sweep celestial string; do not let your eyes, which are soon to see the King in His beauty, become the windows of lust - do not let those feet, which are soon to walk the golden streets, be defiled in muddy places - do not let those hearts which are before long to be filled with heaven and to overflow with ecstatic joy, be filled with pride and bitterness."

And so the challenge is before us. In this world of darkness are we shining a clear light? Is our walk different, our words seasoned with salt, and our joys placed on heavenly things? We are bound for an eternal, holy kingdom. Are we keeping our eyes on the heavenly goal or dirtying our fingers digging in the dirt here below?

Week Forty-Nine - Where Do You Run?

Dottie Rambo wrote,

Where do I go when there's nobody else to turn to?
Who do I talk to when no one wants to listen?
Who do I lean on when there's no foundation stable?

I go to the Rock
I know He's able
I go to the Rock

I go to the Rock of my salvation
Go to the stone the builders rejected
Run to the Mountain, and the Mountain stands by me

When the earth all around me is sinking sand
On Christ, the solid Rock I stand
When I need a shelter, when I need a friend

I go to the Rock.

My video blog on YouTube this coming Friday is about our reaction to bad news. I hope you'll take time to listen. But I wanted to use our time today to put a bit more of a preface to Friday because bad news has been something in the forefront, hasn't it? 

I began thinking about where we run when we hear bad news or when bad things happen. Let me assure you that no amount of positive or wishful thinking can change the world. No amount of hiding makes it go away, either. The world is what it is, but we are still called to be His light. But sometimes, we, too, need a place to hide, a place of shelter and security, a place to work from or run to that gives us hope.

God's Word is that place, both a place to live from and a place to run to. This thought brought me much meditation. If I am living from God's Word, then I have a solid place to stand. My thoughts and actions will be based on His directives, and I will avoid fear and confusion. I'll be like the man who built his house upon a Rock; when the storms blow and all around me rages, my life will not collapse.

I remembered verses about the solidness of God's Word; it is our final judge and will be fulfilled to the utmost.

Proverbs 19:21 reads, "The counsel of the Lord, that shall stand." Proverbs 21:30 says, "There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the Lord." God's Word is solid, trustworthy, and consistent.

Ephesians 1:11 tells us God will accomplish all He has planned. "According to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will."  All things! God is fully in control.

My part is to allow His Word to be the light unto my path, to fill my thoughts, and to work within me. It gives me a place to stand.

God's Word is also where I run when things get difficult or fearful. It is my refuge, comfort, and counselor.

As I mused about this, I again began remembering Scripture where the psalmist spoke of God's Word as a refuge, a safe place, a shield, and a buckler. 

Psalm 3:3, 5 reads, But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head. . . I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the Lord sustained me."

And I love Proverbs 18:10, "The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe."

So, God's Word is a place to run. 

So here's where I settled. If I want to be effective for Christ and not be blown around by all the bad news, then I must be persuaded that His Word is truth, truth that sets me free. But also, His Word must remain my refuge when bad news comes, and life grows fearful or more challenging. I go there, and He meets me with words of love. Ultimately, I live in and retreat to God's Word in every situation. I go to the Rock! Do you?

Here is the link for this week's video if you'd like an early viewing.

https://youtu.be/2GZtFS6WEM0

Week Forty-Eight - Twelve Thanksgiving Hacks

Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you have a lovely time with your family and your heart brims with thankfulness. I will be spending time in the home of one of my sons. It's the first time in years I have been stateside for Thanksgiving, and I'm looking forward to it!

Today, I want to share a post by Shane Bishop that encouraged me to refocus on the holiday, made me giggle, and created even more thankfulness in my heart. I hope some of his ideas also put a spark back in your celebration.

He writes, "There is a lot to like about Thanksgiving. I love the fact we don't buy each other gifts. You don't have to draw names in advance. You don't have to get a loan to celebrate Thanksgiving. You buy some food, make it, eat it, and clean it up. Simple. Come to think of it, this year you may have to get a loan to buy food. Gas to go to Grandma's? Another loan, but I digress.

I love the fact that we have one standardized Thanksgiving narrative (regardless of historical accuracy) and we stick to it. I am glad we don't have fictional stories on Thanksgiving. No one wants to hear about the Thanksgiving Puritan riding in a magical Buggy pulled by anti-biotic and steroid-free turkeys who travel all over the world on Thanksgiving Eve delivering unusually appreciative children cans of canned, gelatinous cranberry sauce and tossing in corporately sponsored can openers.

Thanksgiving is about turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, your Nana's special dish, and desserts made of pumpkins, cherries, and pecans. It is about family, friends, and football but most of all it is about taking time to remember. Thanksgiving is where we have conversations with people long since gone who sit in empty chairs in the houses of our childhoods. We smile at them and they smile back. We used to sing a song at church called, "Count Your Blessings," and for me, Thanksgiving is a time to do just that. "Count your blessings, name them one by one."

With Halloween out of the way and November upon us, it is time to lock into Thanksgiving. Here are twelve hacks that I humbly offer to you and yours:

1) Make everyone stay at the table for a full hour. Set a timer. No one leaves. No one. "Are you done eating? Who cares? Sit down," and not a bit of dessert or a sip of coffee for forty-five minutes.

2) No phones at the table. None. If you look at your phone, it goes in the turkey carcass with the stuffing until supper. If your phone rings, you are doing dishes. No exceptions. Late violations can carry over to the next year.

3) Say grace. Old fashioned. Heads bowed, eyes closed, holding hands. Have the patriarch or matriarch do it. Kids are cute. Let old people say grace. One person can keep their eyes open to monitor.

4) Remember those by name who are not in their chairs this year. Speak out the names of deceased loved ones. Remember their lives, place in your family and their sacrifice.

5) Tell your favorite Thanksgiving stories. The year of the huge Thanksgiving blizzard. The year when it was like summer outside and everyone went on a walk. The big family football game of 1972. The sweet potato casserole debacle of 2001. When the dog ate the turkey. Get out the old photos. The kind you don't have on your phone.

6) Laugh. A lot. Tell your funniest family stories. Make them better than last year.

7) Count your blessings. Slow it down. Focus on what you have in front of you instead of what or who is missing. Have people share one thing for which they are thankful right before dessert.

8) Tell the people around your table just how much you love them and why they are special to you. There are no guarantees they will be here next Thanksgiving. Or you either, for that matter.

9) Help clean up and stick around. Clear the table. Watch some football. Remember great Thanksgiving football games past! Google Clint Longley. Take a nap. Go on a walk. Drink coffee. Drink more coffee.

10) Give thanks. Find a moment to get away, drop to your knees, and personally tell God thank you.

11) Don't talk politics. If anyone does, construct them a home-made political button denoting the opposite party and touting the name of their least favorite president of all time. Make them wear it all day. No button, no pie.

12) Make the best of things. Things will never be "perfect." Take what you have and make the best of it. No matter how things go, at least you are not a turkey.

Why do I write? Because you wouldn't want to eat the turkey and dressing, gobble up the pie, and miss the point."

To add to his hacks, I thought of a few other things that could be part of our Thanksgiving celebration.

1 - After the meal, stop again, hold hands, and pray for your family. Maybe ask the Lord to watch over each one and bring you back safely again next year. Praise Him for the beauty and wonder of family and ask the Lord's blessing on each one, including those away from the table.

2 - Before the dessert is served, join hands and sing a song of thanksgiving. The Doxology, Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart, or Thank You Lord for Saving My Soul, came to my mind. But maybe you have a family favorite.

3 - Recite the Lord's prayer together. Or even use this little verse below to express the reason for the season.

Whatever your time looks like, I hope you don't miss the point of Thanksgiving - "In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Be sure to catch my video blog on Friday - Gobble, Gobble, Gobble - as we prepare our hearts for the final celebration of 2023.