Joy Archives

How would Jesus spend our taxes?

“For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.” —Romans 13:6–7

Taxes are the talk of the day. Do you think you pay too much? Are your tax dollars being spent honestly, in ways you would approve? Those subjects are the debate in today’s news. But maybe the better questions to ask are, “Do you wish you lived somewhere else?” “Do I wish the country I love had better spending policies?” Finally, maybe we should be asking ourselves, “Who can I vote for that will do the best job with the dollars we send?” I wish we could vote for Jesus. Then we would know our taxes were being spent properly.

If Jesus were in charge of our tax dollars, how would he spend them?

Jesus spoke often about money

About 15 percent of all the recorded words of Jesus in Scripture mention money. About 40 percent of his parables addressed the subject. Jesus knew that money was a significant aspect of our earthly lives, so he provided important teaching on the subject.

Money can be an idol in our lives, but it can also purchase our idols as well. Jesus was preaching his Sermon on the Mount when he taught, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21).

Jesus wanted his followers to have the right perspective on their possessions. To understand what Jesus taught, we need to examine the word “treasure” in its original language.

We should “treasure” things as Jesus taught

According to Strong’s Concordance, the Greek definition for “treasure” in the Sermon on the Mount describes “the location of treasure,” which “reveals the object of affection, shaping attitudes, priorities, and behavior.”

In other words, Jesus was describing our treasure as the places where we invest our money, but also our time, emotions, and values. I’ve heard preachers say, “If you want to know what you treasure, look at the monthly withdrawals from your checking account.”

If you are an active, Spirit-led Christian, you can probably feel pretty good about your spending. I’ve often said that if every Christian tithed, we would never need sermons about budgets or building campaigns. The money would just be there for everything the church needed to do. There is a reason God said, “10 percent.” That would be more than enough if everybody tithed.

The same is true at the national level. If everybody in our country went to work and paid their taxes, we would never have a pothole in the road, inadequate health care, or a person who was cold and hungry. If everyone paid their taxes and tithes, our world and our churches would function as God intended. Of course, we would still need to treasure the same things Jesus treasured. We would need to spend and prioritize our lives as Jesus taught.

Do we spend our money on the things Jesus wants us to have?

You might think I’m about to tell you to give up your expensive cup of coffee, your nice car, or your designer clothes. Those things might be just fine if they don’t reflect your treasure. How high a priority is having costly things in your life? If you lost your ability to purchase those things later this year, what would you do, think, or feel? Does wanting those things keep you from paying your “taxes to Caesar” or from giving your “tithe” to God’s kingdom work?

My husband and I were married in 1980, two weeks after we graduated from college. We combined our checking and savings accounts, paid our moving expenses and rental deposits, went to the grocery store for necessary items, and, after balancing the checkbook, we were in really bad shape financially.

Jim was a seminary student, and I was looking for a teaching position that wouldn’t actually happen until three years later. Jim worked part-time while attending his classes. I worked full-time at a receptionist/secretarial position that didn’t pay well. Both of us found a second job, and we were able to make it, but not easily. I found out later that we could have qualified for some help from the government, but that thought never crossed our minds.

Those early years in our marriage were tough, but formative. We tithed because God told us to. This year, our first quarterly tax payment exceeded our combined annual income from that first year of our marriage. Our income has changed over the past forty-six years, but our priorities, our treasure, are still pretty much the same. Living in poverty is not the measure of spirituality. If that were the case, then we would have been stronger Christians in our first year of marriage. (Thankfully, we’ve grown some!)

How would Jesus spend our taxes?

Living a life that God has directed and blessed is a witness to our treasure, our investment priorities. We don’t just invest our money in our personal priorities; we invest our time, our emotions, our energies, and our focus.

How would Jesus spend our tax dollars? Jesus was fully invested in those things that matter eternally. When God is King of our lives, we realize he is King of everything we own. Are we investing in things that matter for a moment, or matter eternally? Are we investing in possessions or people? Do we mistakenly teach others, especially our children, that their earthly lives matter more to us than their treasure in heaven?

Jesus would spend our taxes on things that prioritize people’s souls. Everyone has both an earthly life and a life eternal. If our priorities are eternal, we will spend our money, time, emotions, and focus on the things that will matter most forever. Everyone we meet today is either destined for heaven or hell; there is no third option. Does Jesus guide our spending with his priorities?

Jesus said:

To the tax collectors: “Collect no more than you are authorized to do” (Luke 3:13).
To the Pharisees: “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:21).
To his disciple: “What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tax? From their sons or from others?” And when he said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free. However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for me and for yourself” (Matthew 17:24–27).

Be encouraged today

Taxes have never been fair because not everyone pays them fairly. The tithe has never been given because some keep part of their 10 percent for themselves. Some will always pay more than others, and some will always pay less. Jesus knows all of that and reminds us that he will provide all we need to give if we live according to his will for our lives.

As Jesus told Simon Peter, “The sons are free.” God’s children live imperfect, earthly lives, knowing that things will never be fair because God gives people freedom to make choices. Jesus would tell us that we are free to choose what is best. We can live our earthly lives with his priorities, and our obedience will produce an eternal treasure. We can trust Jesus to provide us with all we need.

Pay your taxes with joy because we probably don’t want to live anywhere else. Prioritize the 90 percent that God has allowed us to keep and freely use. Invest with the priorities and direction of our King. When we asked Jesus to be our Savior, we also offered him our lives, including our finances. We asked Jesus to be our Lord and our Savior.

Americans will “render unto Caesar” today, but hopefully Christians will be reminded to “render unto God” today as well. Our taxes will be spent. Everything we give to God is invested eternally. Consider it your “401K-ingdom” account. Let’s spend our treasure as Jesus leads, investing in his kingdom priorities.

Photo by Nathan Anderson on Unsplash

How do we increase our joyspan?

My husband Jim sent me a great article by Angela Haupt, a writer for Time magazine. Haupt interviewed Dr. Kerry Burnight, a geriatrician who treats older patients each day. Dr. Burnight coined the phrase “joyspan” and defines the term as: “the third piece of the longevity puzzle, alongside ‘lifespan’ (how many years you live) and ‘healthspan’ (how many of them are spent in good health). Joyspan, as its name suggests, describes the experience of well-being and satisfaction in longevity.”

The article also suggests that the sooner in life we make our “joyspan” a priority, the better off we are. It was a great article, and I couldn’t help but notice how, once again, that Scripture has always taught us lessons we don’t fully appreciate and use to govern our lives. Dr. Burnight’s suggestions for aging could be summarized as living with biblical priorities.

God truly knows what is best for our earthly lives if we just believe and then practically apply his truth.

How do we increase our joyspan? Let’s see how Dr. Burnight and God answer that question.

How do we age with joy?

Dr. Burnight says, “The research groups it into four areas: grow, connect, adapt, and give. They’re all verbs, because they all take effort.”

We all want to experience joy, but we often want it to happen to us. Biblically, happiness happens, but joy, according to Scripture, is a pursuit, an effort. Psalm 21:6 tells us, “For you make him most blessed forever; you make him glad with the joy of your presence.”

The greatest pursuit in life is our pursuit of God’s presence. God knew that we needed him, and through Christ, gave us his Presence when he gave us his Spirit. Joy is becoming increasingly aware that God is near.

How can we increase our joyspan?

Grow in our knowledge of, and love for, God. We tend to want to stop growing at a certain age. Growing older isn’t something we like to dwell on. But one of the best things about growing older is growing wiser about our priorities. Wisdom, knowledge, and understanding are the gifts of aging if we will continue to seek God’s presence and make the effort to study and walk in his word.
Connect with God and others through his Spirit. God created us to need fellowship with him and with other Christians. The Holy Spirit of Jesus will help us with the how, the when, the why, and the words we need. The apostle John told the early believers, “But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge” (1 John 2:20). The apostle Paul told the church in Corinth, “we have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16). When we connect with God and others through the Spirit of Christ, we will develop and enjoy our most meaningful relationships.
Adapt to the changes that are inevitable this side of heaven. King Solomon wrote, “What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9). King Solomon’s life was filled with change, and he could never imagine what our century would be like. So, how are his words biblical truth? God looked at the chariots of Solomon’s era and knew that one day drones would fly. God looked at the wall of scrolls in the temple and knew there would be an internet. God looked at the tendencies of mankind and knew those tendencies would remain the same. We must adapt to changes all the time, while our unchanging God simply notices that these changes have arrived. The more closely we walk with God, the more we recognize that change is just the next stepping stone toward our permanent destination. Adapting to change is simply forward progress.
Give our best because that is what God gave to us. “For God so loved the world, he gave us his Son” (John 3:16). God set our example when he placed Jesus in the manger to grow up in this world. God taught us about sacrifice when he allowed Jesus to carry his cross and die for our sins. There is a reason people say, “You can’t outgive God.” That said, we need to make the effort to give to others like God gave to us. Jesus taught, “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11). The joy of aging is that we have a lot to give, and giving is the example of Christ.

What is the measure of our joyspan?

Our lifespan refers to the number of days we spend on Earth. Our healthspan is the number of days we remain healthy on earth. Our joyspan is the number of days we make the effort to enjoy the blessings of God’s presence and purpose in our lives because, for a Christian, that is our greatest joy.

We were created in God’s image. We were created to live with his joy.

If we choose to measure our days by his joy, we will continue to grow, connect, adapt, and give. Christians know that each day is an opportunity to store our treasure in heaven and go to sleep each night knowing that we are one day closer to eternal perfection.

Aging is a gift of joy when we see it through the lens of God’s truth. Let’s not spend so much time fighting the process as we spend focused on all that we are progressing toward. I hope those thoughts bring you joy today.

Let’s make the effort to live a joy-filled week in God’s presence. His Spirit will take care of the rest.

Photo by Johannes Plenio on Unsplash

Masked blessings

I have to confess, sometimes I’m a prayer whiner. Admittedly, things have to get pretty tough before I slip into the “whine mode,” but it happens.

I’m supposed to be on a fun girl’s trip this week, but I decided to stay close to home. (And I promise. . .I won’t use this blog post to whine about that—at least not anymore.)

I was almost home from a glorious walk watching the beautiful sunrise through the tall East Texas trees, and I almost missed my blessing. I was still whining to God when I passed a neighbor’s home with cute Halloween characters in the front yard. His quiet answer to my self-centered, immature prayers caught me off guard.

Sometimes, life sends us into toddler mode spiritually. Our loving Father puts up with our whining, but only for a time. He’d rather bless us instead.

The cute Halloween display

Generally, I’m not a fan of Halloween. I decorate for fall, but my decor reflects the season instead of that holiday. That’s why the display caught my eye and surprised me. I actually liked it. I wouldn’t usually enjoy a Halloween display, but this little grouping of witches, each dressed in cute little dresses and masks, made me smile. Why would I write about that? Because in that moment, God taught me something about my prayers.

Sometimes our blessings wear masks, too.

I have good reasons to whine, but no excuse

Here is a quick list of the reasons I was whining.

I missed a fun girls’ trip.
Most of my adult life has included the responsibility of taking care of an aging or dying parent. First, Jim’s mom. Then my dad. Now, my mom.
I’ve missed trips, vacations, sporting events, and other moments that felt important to me.
Craig, my youngest son, was going into kindergarten when Jim’s mom got cancer for the first time. She was diagnosed and treated for cancer twice more after that.
Two years after Jim’s mom passed, Craig was planning his wedding when my mom called to say they were moving to Dallas to be nearby. She needed help with my dad. After my dad died, my mom began to decline and needed help. Now, a decade later, my mom is entering her last days.

I was whining to God about how much time I have spent going to doctors, paying bills, handling funeral arrangements, closing out estates, etc., etc., etc. Then, I passed a Halloween display that made me smile. Why?

The Halloween display stopped my whining, and God was able to insert his answer into my prayers. I looked at those cute little witches and heard, “You have no reason to whine. Those moments are your blessings.” As with all the “God thoughts,” I knew it was truth the second I heard that quiet, very clear God voice within.

I knew but needed to remember and rely on the truth of God’s answer to my prayers. I finished my walk thinking about how Satan loves to put a “mask” over God’s truth, especially the truth about the hard times in our lives. Sometimes, we have to quit whining long enough to allow God to get his word in edgewise!

We all have reasons to whine when we pray. Spiritually, though, we don’t have an excuse because of God’s word to us. Every reason that causes us to pray will be redeemed as our blessing.

God would rather bless our prayers than just listen to them

God’s voice is a blessing that too often gets masked by the world’s messaging. There are some tough times right now. I’m slowly losing my mom. A LOT of people have lost their homes, a family member, their jobs, their pets, their finances, and almost everything they had come to value in their lives because of a hurricane. They have so many reasons to whine to God, but spiritually, there is no excuse. Why is that?

God understands our struggles and hears us every time we cry out to him in pain, exhaustion, fear, anger, and grief. But God would rather heal us than just hear us. He wants to bless our prayers with his answers.

Do we spend more time telling God what we think, feel, and need than listening for him to give us what we need? Some thoughts about prayer:

Our whining isn’t necessary, but his answer is. “Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear” (Isaiah 65:24). God already knows what to do and how to direct your life toward his answers.

Our circumstances may feel too difficult to endure, but they aren’t. “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). If God allowed it, you are equipped and able to handle it with his help.

Every difficult time is an opportunity to help people know God and give him glory. “And call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me” (Psalm 50:15). People are watching, and you can show them God’s amazing grace.

God will hear us, help us, and bless us throughout our trials. “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). You will also receive God’s amazing grace when you ask.

Unmask your blessings

I rediscovered Psalm 66 as I was putting together this blog post. That psalm is the eternal truth we all need for life on this side of heaven. It is a psalm of praise for God’s compassionate character, especially his care and compassion for us during the tough times.

The psalmist gives some crucial advice toward the end. He wrote, “If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer” (Psalm 66:18–19).

I wouldn’t have heard God’s voice if I hadn’t stopped whining to him. If I had “cherished” my self-centered thoughts, I wouldn’t have been reminded of my blessings. God attended to the voice of my prayer by giving me new thoughts that unmasked his truth.

What has God said to you as you read this blog post? What prayers do you need to pray, and what prayers do you need to re-pray with a new perspective? Choose to spend more time listening than talking. God already knows what you want, need, and hope for. Will you allow him to get a word in edgewise? I hope his answers will make all of you smile, too!

Photo by dominik hofbauer on Unsplash

Finding the peace we need for the turbulent times

I think my television remote’s “mute button” is beginning to wear out. By this point in the political season, I just don’t want to listen to the rhetoric or the ugly ads any longer. A mute button brings a refreshing silence into the room and our lives.

God recommends we find a mute button for the world if we want to experience his peace in our lives. We need to pursue silence so we can listen for his peace-filled voice instead. The prophet Isaiah praised God, saying, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock” (Isaiah 26:3–4).

The moment we realize that the world’s angst is controlling our thoughts and choices, we need to focus on God and trust him. That trust in God is our “everlasting rock” and our source of peace for the turbulent times of life.

The peace of God

There are so many important news stories right now, any of which would carry a normal news cycle. I check on Israel throughout the day as tensions in the Middle East continue to remain a significant crisis. I’m grieving for the thousands of people along the East Coast, especially in North Carolina, who have had their entire lives upended by the hurricane. I like to keep up with the ever-changing news about the presidential election. I don’t think I’ve watched this much news since 9/11 and 2020.

Each day, I have to remind myself to pursue God and his word more than I pursue the news of this world. I was reading a long list of Bible verses about God’s peace when I saw Jesus’ words to his disciples. He was sending them out into the world to do ministry when he said, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household” (Matthew 10:34–36).

Jesus told us not to expect the gospel message to give peace to the world. In many cases, sharing the gospel will divide us from others. But Jesus also promised his disciples, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (John 14:27).

The peace of God we need for the turbulent times of life is a gift from God through Jesus Christ. God’s peace is not something we can create for ourselves or discover in the world. Instead, it is something we receive from the Creator of the world.

How do we receive the peace of God?

Again, God’s peace is a gift we must receive. How can we open our hearts, hands, and lives to allow God to pour out his peace?

Position ourselves to receive his peace. Paul told the church in Rome, “For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace” (Romans 8:6). When the world seems volatile or our lives are stress-filled, we can set our minds on the reality of the Spirit’s work in our lives and trust that God’s perfect peace will follow.
Trust we need God’s peace more than the peace the world offers. As Christians, we should love God’s word more than we love the promises of the world. “Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble” (Psalm 119:165). We are hearing a lot of “promises” from politicians and others these days that we might like to believe, but common sense tells us those are goals or possibilities rather than promises. God’s word contains promises that we can trust as truth. If we will love his word that promises our peace, we will not “stumble” over our disappointments.
Understand that God’s peace is our blessing as we acknowledge and follow his guiding Presence in our lives. The church in the city of Corinth experienced a number of turbulent times. Some of their troubles came from within the church, while others came from without. Paul wrote to the Corinthian Christians saying, “Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you” (2 Corinthians 13:11). When God is invited to join you in your tough times, he arrives with his gift of perfect peace.

Live with God’s peace as our visible witness

Over the years, I have seen the reality of God’s peace in the lives of his children. As a minister’s wife, I have sat and prayed with people who were going through the worst moments of their lives. The moments can be painful and the future is unknowable, but the Presence of God in those turbulent moments can be a tangible reality. When God was invited into those moments, his Presence brought a peace that truly was beyond understanding.

I have been blessed to witness the work of God’s Holy Spirit in the lives of his children, and I have seen God’s power. I don’t question God’s peace because I have witnessed it.

That’s why God allows those moments to be part of our earthly lives. Because, as James wrote, you should, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2–4).

Let’s make the effort to mute the world’s news and the world’s promises this week. Let’s choose instead to enjoy the quiet peace of God’s promises and the reality of his Presence in our lives. There are so many things to care about right now, but nothing is more important than trusting God’s word and receiving his peace for each day.

Will you find and use that mute button today? May his perfect peace be your great reward.

Photo by MI PHAM on Unsplash

The power of joy can fix your face

Christians owe it to God to consider their face and make the necessary improvements.

I’m not talking about Botox, fillers, makeup, or using your napkin after a meal. I’m talking about the expressions on our faces that others see throughout the day.

What does your face look like during church? Walking through the grocery store? Waiting in a line? Waiting at a stop light? Talking to a friend? Talking to someone who is definitely not a friend?

What does your face look like when you aren’t thinking about it? That is a very real part of our daily witness so it is worth considering. If our face doesn’t indicate our faith, then we should think about fixing it.

Consider this: the power of joy can fix your face.

Spiritual Botox

According to this article, people in America spent more than $2.2 billion on Botox last year. I watched the red carpet show for the Academy Awards, and I’m pretty sure half of those dollars were spent in Hollywood! I didn’t even recognize some of the older actors and actresses. They did interviews, and the only part of their face that moved was their over-plumped lips. It was kind of eerie watching them speak.

I’m not a big fan of all the cosmetic procedures that are now available. There is a huge profit for those who administer these procedures. Meanwhile, it’s getting more difficult to find a doctor who wants to treat our important health needs. We might need to evaluate our priorities just a bit.

It’s okay to get old and it’s okay to get wrinkled. For Christians, it just means that you likely have wisdom, experience, and a shorter walk to the gates of heaven. Why would we want to erase our smile lines that indicate we have lived a life of joy and laughter?

James, the half-brother of Jesus, prescribed some spiritual Botox. He said, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2–4).

People earn their wrinkles by living a life full of trials and tests. Spiritual Botox is to count it all joy knowing even the tough times help us perfect our faith. Joy has the power to fix our faces into peaceful smiles as “steadfastness” has its “full effect.” When our face carries a smile, we can tell the world we are Christians who are “lacking in nothing” because our hope is in the Lord.

Spiritual fillers

I must confess that I knew “fillers” were popular, but I didn’t really know much about them. I googled and was amazed at the quantity of stuff that is now being injected into people’s faces. Fillers are expensive and very popular. I’m sixty-five years old and could probably benefit from a few fillers, but frankly I’m way too frugal (or cheap) to think it worth the time and money.

This is the face God gave me, and I’m good with that. Maybe I’ll change my mind a decade from now, but so far I’m okay with my lines, wrinkles, etc. I’d rather have that money in my bank account.

We have a spiritual “bank account” in addition to our earthly one. Each day we invest in this world and we invest in our treasure in heaven. Our faith will determine our earthly priorities and our eternal investments. The apostle Peter said, “Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls” (1 Peter 1:8–9).

Every day there are moments when our face will reflect our faith. When are those moments for you? Is anyone else aware that your smile is sourced in the joy of your faith and the hope of your salvation? How can you help them see and know the Author of your joy?

The glory of God is the best “filler” for our faith and for our face. When we believe in him, we “rejoice with joy that is inexpressible.” People will notice joy on your face more than they will notice a wrinkle or two!

How do you obtain a spiritual facelift?

The psalmist tells us how to obtain the fullness of joy for our face. He praised God, saying, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11).

If you want or need a spiritual facelift, spend time in the holy presence of God. God will put a smile on your face because he will provide his joy to your life. Christians will one day dwell in his presence, but, for now, we need to make daily, frequent visits to the throne of heaven.

God is “the God of hope” and faith is the spiritual “filler” our faces need. People will see the beauty of Christ within us, and that is our best witness to the world.

Are you ready to fix your face?

I close with these words from Paul. His wish for the church in Rome is my wish for all my readers today. Paul said, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope” (Romans 15:13).

I hope these words from a blog post put a smile on your face because they provided his joy to your soul. Now, carry that joy throughout your day and allow your face to reflect your faith to the world. I bet someone will comment on your smile today if you do!

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Scheduling Christmas with God

I’m not sure I ever told you all this, but I do most of my writing in the early hours of the day. I’ve always been an early riser and during the Christmas season that is especially true. I even have the timer on the Christmas tree set to come on twice a day, at 5 a.m. and 5 p.m. If my fireplace had a timer, I’d probably set that on the same schedule.

I love the lights of Christmas, but I love them the most in the early morning hours.

I might have been a psalmist

I often wake up thinking about the Lord . . . (and coffee.) I love that the lights on my Christmas tree light the way to the kitchen and the coffee pot. My computer enables me to read Scripture and prayer lists and to write blog posts while I sit in the darkness and enjoy the beauty of the Christmas lights. For me, these moments are a favorite celebration of the holiday.

The Bible says quite a bit about the morning hours and the importance of using the morning to start our day with God. We are supposed to walk through our day with him, but that’s easier to do if we share the first part of the day at his feet. Jesus got up early in the morning to spend time with his Father. He is the perfect example of how we should begin our days too.

The psalmists said a lot about seeking God in the morning. I am typing this blog post in the early darkness of the morning while enjoying their ancient wisdom for keeping life filled with God. As this Christmas season begins, let’s allow their wisdom to touch our lives and holiday season this year.

God is our audience of One

Psalm 5:3 says, “O Lᴏʀᴅ, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.” The quiet beauty of morning is the perfect time to talk to God. The Creator God of the universe is listening to you—right now.

What amount of time and attention will you give to your Father this morning? What activity can wait until you have spoken to him? We will likely sacrifice a few of our plans for the day if we ask God to plan the day for us.

Your Christmas season will be different if you will give God your voice in the morning, prepare to listen, and then watch for his answers throughout the day.

Trust God to lift you up

Sometimes I wake up thinking about a long list of activities for the day. One of my favorite things about growing older is that more and more of my schedule is optional. I well remember the rush of keeping kids on their schedules while planning the rest of my life around theirs.

Those were great days, but there is a serenity to these days that is pure joy too. The great goal for this Christmas season is to live it on God’s schedule. Psalm 143:8 says, “Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.”

People will always matter more than plans. People sometimes fit into our schedule, and sometimes they will need to interrupt it. We can trust God to guide us and strengthen us to serve him by serving others.

Every morning’s sunrise is a reminder of God’s steadfast love. He has given us another day, and he has a trustworthy plan for how we can live it well. How can we carefully walk his plan for today?

We hear from him in the morning, and we trust his voice, his word. It is to God we lift up our souls. God wants to do more than direct our activity. He wants to provide for our joy and our strength and give us his love and compassion for others.

This Christmas season will be different if we lift up our souls to God and trust him to fill us with his goodness.

We can be satisfied with God

The Christmas season can pull and tug us in many different directions. There have been some holiday seasons that lacked the genuine Christmas joy. So much of our expectations and wishes for the holiday are authored by movies, social media, and the lives of others. The genuine joy of Christmas will come from the moments you spend with Christ and the moments you spend serving others in his name.

In the early morning, it is only about your relationship with the Lord. The psalmist wrote, “Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days” (Psalm 90:14). The joy and beauty of the season are in the genuine celebrations of his blessings.

God will satisfy us this Christmas season with his love. We need only give him our worship. His “steadfast love” will be the joy of each day and our great blessing for the holiday.

Joy comes in the morning

Psalm 30:5 is rarely quoted fully yet is a perfect message for us to begin our Christmas season considering. We often hear the phrase “joy comes with the morning” but rarely do we hear why that matters.

No Christmas season is perfect. No Christmas season is lived in a flawless fashion. We are human beings surrounded by other human beings. Traffic is tough. People are edgy and rushed. Gifts are sometimes hard to come by and difficult to afford.

Some parties are fun while others are an obligation. Sometimes the lights on the tree stop glowing and need a new bulb to work again. There will be a few moments this Christmas season that don’t inspire the “fa la la” in us! Sometimes anger is justified, but often it is simply a natural, human response to stressful situations. It’s then our goal to return to a right relationship with God.

Psalm 30:5 is our gift of wisdom for those times. God’s anger is always righteous, but his example is the perfect one for us to follow as well. The psalmist wrote, “For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning” (Psalm 30:5). God doesn’t hold onto his anger, and we shouldn’t either. We can seek God’s favor, knowing it is our promised gift of Christmas.

Let’s schedule this Christmas with God

Each new morning is a chance to sit with our audience of One and seek his voice. We can trust our heavenly Father to forgive our mistakes and lift us up for the new day. We can count our blessings and be satisfied with the genuine joy of the Lord each day. We can rush through a day or two and trust that the Lord will guide us back to a quiet morning with him.

Joy comes in the morning. Will you give your Christmas mornings to the One who authors our joy? Will you do the same tomorrow?

Photo by Jametlene Reskp on Unsplash

Turning your thoughts to praise

Last week I wrote about the scientific discovery that the brain cannot focus on worry and praise/gratitude at the same time. Therefore, the answers to our worries are the answers God has taught, now revealed in Scripture.

I love that science continues to prove God’s perfection!

It occurred to me that I had blogged about the need to praise but had not included some of the concrete examples from Scripture about moving our thoughts in that direction. I thought I would do that in this blog.

Here are some concrete ways to turn your thoughts from worry to praise.

We need to examine what we trust

I actually just finished writing a Wisdom Matters entry from Jeremiah 17:7. (If you want that content, just click the link and scroll down a bit.) God told the prophet Jeremiah, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lᴏʀᴅ, whose trust is the Lᴏʀᴅ” (Jeremiah 17:7).

I thought a while about that verse and it occurred to me that a lot of us tend to trust in the Lord as one of our options. God repeated himself to Jeremiah with the clarification “whose trust is the Lᴏʀᴅ.”

We have worked hard to build our lives, save our money, take care of our health, and establish our lives so that we don’t have as much to worry about each day. We find our trust for the future in a lot of different places as a result. Trusting those places causes us to put our hope in the next bank statement we receive, the next president elected to the Oval Office, or the next prescription medication to come out. We build bank accounts, investment funds, and plans for retirement, trusting that our plans will be enough. Those are good things—unless we trust them instead of God.

God made it clear to the prophet that we need to trust in the Lord because the Lord is always the One we are able to trust. Consider the people in Ukraine. Three years ago, they trusted in a lot of the same things we trust today.

If we want to replace our worry for the future with trust in God, we should say with the psalmist, “Praise the Lᴏʀᴅ! Oh give thanks to the Lᴏʀᴅ, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” (Psalm 106:1).

The reason our trust is the Lord is because the Lord is the only One we are able to trust completely. We don’t just praise God for all he has done, we praise God for all that he is. He is “good” and his love for us has no end; it “endures forever.” God loves us now with a perfect, enduring love. It is the same love he will show us in heaven. If you are worried about your future, remember that our trust is God. His love and our future in heaven are guaranteed.

Aging is our blessing

I have a big birthday this year. I’m not sure how I got to be almost sixty-five, but it happened! For the first time there are things like roller coasters and long, uphill hikes that I really can’t do anymore. I walk into my closet for a reason but only remember that reason some of the time. Aging doesn’t always feel like a blessing, but aging is our great blessing.

After Adam and Eve sinned God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat and live forever—” (Genesis 3:22). By the way, here is a little fun Bible trivia. Notice the use of the word us in that verse. It is an early reference to the Holy Trinity.

We often think of the ejection of Adam and Eve from the Garden as a punishment for their sin when, in truth, it was a provision for their eternal lives. Sin had entered the world, and God didn’t want the world to be everyone’s eternal future. Aging, and dying are our blessing. God provided a way for us to live with him again in a perfect heavenly home, the new Garden.

We can praise God with King Solomon who wrote to encourage all believers to “remove vexation from your heart, and put away pain from your body, for youth and the dawn of life are vanity” (Ecclesiastes 11:10). We shouldn’t be at odds with our aging bodies. Put away the fears, pains, and anxieties that can shadow the older years because the true value of our lives is that they are eternal. I know that because Job wrote, “Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding in length of days” (Job 12:12).

Joy is knowing God better now than ever before. Knowing God enables us to trust him completely.

The Lord’s lesson to Mary and Martha (and Mike and Marvin as well)

One of the biggest problems I have with Luke 10:41–42 is that it is so often applied to only the lives of women. It’s hard to attend a Women’s Conference that doesn’t speak to this passage at some point. The truth of the Lord’s words to Mary and Martha is God’s truth for every Christian.

For those of you who watched The Brady Bunch in the day, the Lord said, “Martha, Martha, [Martha], you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:41–42).

If we want to turn our thoughts to praise, we have to turn our thoughts away from worry, away from stress, and away from the normal, day-to-day concerns of living. Mary knew how to choose the best use of her time; Martha was still choosing her daily chores. And, for the men who read this blog post, remember that we all have Mary-and-Martha moments. We aren’t one or the other; we are both.

I’ve often wished I could take back my Martha moments and have a do-over with them. It takes time to move our thoughts from worry to praise. It takes time to think through our wrong priorities so we can right them. It takes time at the feet of Jesus if we want to hear him speak.

Paul’s path to praise

Paul wrote his letter to the Philippians while he was sitting in Rome under house arrest. He closed his letter to that church by telling them what to think about instead of worrying about him. He wrote, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:8–9).

Paul could have told them to meet together and devise a plan for his escape or his time before the Roman court. He could have expressed worry about the future for his ministry. Instead, he told them to think about the things that are the opposite of worry. Take time to read and reread those verses again. When you have worries or anxiety, God, through Paul, has told you what to think about instead.

Final verses that will turn your hearts and minds to praise

God told Isaiah, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10). God created the world with that righteous right hand! What then should we ever worry about?

King Solomon, known for his wisdom, was at the end of his life when he wrote, “He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end” (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

I spend a lot of time with my mom at her assisted living center. I am BLESSED by the smiles of those who are writing the final chapter of their stories. My time there could cause me to worry about my older years. Or I can watch them and know God has made everything beautiful in its time.

Each time we worry, praise thoughts should be our next thoughts. The dark stuff of this life is just waiting for God’s touch to either expel it from our thoughts or turn it into something beautiful.

Fear not.

God has us in the palm of his righteous right hand.

Photo by John Salzarulo on Unsplash

The ancient roads aren’t paved at all

We’ve been in ministry for a long time now, and our most important lessons have been learned by living our faith journey with biblical truth. Don’t let anyone convince you that the faithful life is always easy and filled with joy. It never has been, and it never will be. It is rewarding, blessed, fulfilling, and often an uphill effort.

Walking God’s ancient road to heaven isn’t the easiest way to live our lives, but it is the road that takes us where we want to go.

The “road to hell is paved”

The familiar words say, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” I find it interesting that we are supposed to think the road to hell is paved. The familiar saying isn’t a biblical concept, but the fact the road is paved actually is.

Proverbs 14:12 is ancient wisdom. The proverb says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” Scripture spoke of the “ancient road” as the more difficult path to follow, but it was also the path that led people to heaven. The easy path is the road that seems right but isn’t. Taking the easy way, or the popular way, is often taking the wrong road. The prophets were called to preach the truth people needed to know, even when it wasn’t what they wanted to hear.

It would seem like every generation of humanity has wanted this life to be easier than it turns out to be. I’ve always squirmed a bit at Jesus’ words when he said, “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few” (Matthew 7:13–14).

Jesus’ words to his disciples were really clear and clearly sobering. Living a holy life in this unholy world will not be an easy or widely popular road. Jesus said the way is hard and few find it.

If the road to hell is paved, it is a much easier road to walk. It “seems right to man” and it has a lot more people to walk alongside. The road to heaven is often a difficult journey, a narrow road that requires constant direction to navigate. The only way to walk that path is to be willing and determined to do whatever it takes to reach the end.

Ancient paths require ancient truth

The prophet Jeremiah is sometimes called “the weeping prophet.” He preached to the people of Judah when Josiah was king of Judah. Jeremiah’s dad had been a priest so he grew up knowing the ancient truths about God and the nation of Israel. As the nation turned more and more to the worship of Baal, God made his truth very clear.

God told Jeremiah to tell his people what to expect if they wanted to make the journey to his eternal Presence and blessing. Jeremiah 6:16 says, “Thus says the Lᴏʀᴅ: ‘Stand by the roads and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls.’ But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’”

Sometimes the journey to heaven is filled with paths that can appear too difficult to walk and may seem unfairly narrow. Jeremiah and King David questioned God, saying, “Why do the evil prosper?” It is tempting to live this life on the roads that are most popular and easier to enjoy. We have to consider the destination more important than the journey.

God told Jeremiah to ask for the ancient paths. Why?

The answer to that question might be the most important part of this blog post and a change point in your spiritual journey.

Our culture is full of “fresh ideas” and “new thinking.” Many of our churches are leaning that way as well. All is good if the fresh ideas and new thinking are still based on ancient truth. Scripture teaches us that Jesus was with God in the beginning (John 1:1) and that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8).

If someone believes today what Christians have never believed before, their theology is not going to carry them down the ancient paths that lead to heaven. On the other hand, there is a new movement beginning among some Christians in college today who are looking for ancient, proven truth. They are a generation that recognizes the abundance of confusion and discord in popular thinking and have learned to appreciate what has always been considered true.

Ancient paths require ancient, eternal truth. The ancient paths are “the good way,” and it is on those paths we can find “rest” for our “souls.”

The question for each individual to consider is: Will I walk in it?

Have we forgotten the ancient truth?

Jeremiah 18:15 reveals God’s heart for his people: “But my people have forgotten me; they make offerings to false gods; they made them stumble in their ways, in the ancient roads, and to walk into side roads, not the highway.”

There is a higher way to live our lives and it depends on the ancient, eternal truth of God’s word. God’s definition of truth doesn’t change, but people’s interpretations of his truth have always drifted, then returned, only to drift again—throughout centuries of biblical history.

Every generation in Christian history gets some things right and other things wrong. We are a fallen people who need their Lord to direct their daily walk. Jesus offers to guide us along the ancient path but the question remains, “Will we choose to walk it?”

Tough journeys require a great God

None of us wish for the difficult parts of this road, but it is the road that takes us to the place we need to be. We learn to trust doctors to save our lives. Some of you have experienced the pain of difficult treatments that while painful at the time, have led to your healing.

Shouldn’t we all consider that crucial thinking for our spiritual lives as well?

As Christians, each of us has our own journey and that will be a difficult road at times. We should want to walk the ancient paths of God’s eternal truth because that road leads us to heaven. It isn’t the easier, paved road of popular thinking; it is the proven path of ancient truth. It’s the road to “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”

I hope all of us will choose to say, “Yes, Lord. I am willing.”

That narrow gate is an uphill effort at times but worth every step that draws us closer to our eternity with God.

The Giver: a Christian perspective

I’m not sure why I missed seeing the movie, The Giver, but I will try to see it soon. I remember seeing the trailer in the theater and thinking I needed to see it. Meryl Streep, Jeff Bridges and Katie Holmes seemed like a promising cast, and I remembered that one or both of my sons had read the novel when they were in school.

Recently, I was in a bookstore looking for another book when I saw The Giver, by Lois Lowry, on the same table. I picked up a copy and decided to purchase it. I read The Giver on a recent flight and barely noticed the four hours pass. If you have been reading my blog posts for a while, or if you know me, you know that I love a great book. A great book should be entertaining, but it should also cause a person to think. Lois Lowry won the Newberry Award for The Giver because she wrote a great book.

After I finished reading the book, I did a little research. Spark Notes described Lowry’s inspiration to write her novel:

“She was inspired to write The Giver—which won the 1994 Newbery medal—after visiting her elderly father in a nursing home. He had lost most of his long-term memory, and it occurred to Lowry that without memory there is no longer any pain. She imagined a society where the past was deliberately forgotten, which would allow the inhabitants to live in a kind of peaceful ignorance. The flaws inherent in such a society, she realized, would show the value of individual and community memory: although a loss of memory might mean a loss of pain, it also means a loss of lasting human relationships and connections with the past.”

The Giver is not a Christian novel, but if I were doing a review, I would be able to point out what a Christian should learn from the story. When I finished reading the novel, I couldn’t help but compare the colorless, or boring, society that allowed individuals to live in “peaceful ignorance” to the untrue perception many non-Christians have of those who live in faith.

Christianity is often described as a “crutch” or a way some people choose to avoid dealing with the realities of life and death. Non-Christians often believe a life of faith to be rigid, routine and restricted—often colorless or boring. I can see how someone could read The Giver and believe it was a condemnation of religion while another might read it and believe it to be supportive of faith. I can see others read it and believe it has nothing to do with faith at all.

In the introduction to the latest edition of the novel, Lois Lowry describes some of the comments she has received from people over the years. She said a Trappist monk had written to say he considered the book a sacred text. Another man had escaped a cult that he had been raised in and his psychiatrist recommended he read The Giver. One mother read the book because it had been assigned to her child at school. She wrote to tell Lowry that she was clearly a disturbed person and she hoped the author would get some help.

I liked what Lowry had to say about the multitude of comments she had received over the years. She wrote, “A book, to me, is almost sacrosanct; such an individual and private thing. The reader brings his or her own history and beliefs and concerns, and reads in solitude, creating each scene from his own imagination as he does. There is no fellow ticket-holder in the next seat.” I would agree with her words as they apply to every book except the greatest book in history, the Bible.

The Holy Bible had a holy Author, with a perfect purpose. Billions of people have read its pages and been able to come to the same, important conclusions. We read the Bible with our imaginations, but the words we read were not imagined. Scripture was creative, but each truth was created. The Bible was not written to describe a “peace filled life of ignorant bliss.” The Bible was written to guide people to the peace filled life that will certainly exist for all eternity. We don’t live with full understanding. In 1 Corinthians 13:12 Paul writes, “For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” We live with hope because we live with God’s promise of eternity.

The Giver ends with the main character escaping the created utopia because he discovered that even though the real world had suffering and pain, it was better than a world with no joy. Joy, as the novel teaches, cannot exist without the understanding of pain and suffering. Success in The Giver is described as choosing to live in the real, yet fallen world. Success in the Bible is described as choosing to live in the fallen world for the sake of heaven.

The Giver is a great book that makes a person think. It is written for young people, but it was meaningful to me, a “not-so-young person.” I love a great book, but I respect and do my best to govern my life by the only perfect book. Paul taught his young protégé, Timothy, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

The Giver is a great novel but the real “Giver” is the One whose breath created your Bible. Enjoy the novel, but live by God’s Word.

This blog post was originally published on November 18, 2014.

Work and rest: God meant both for joy

If King Solomon wondered about something, we should too!

If you have been reading my blog posts for a while, you know I am a big fan of King Solomon. I’m not unaware of his weaknesses; I am just a huge fan of his wisdom.

King Solomon asked, “What gain has the worker from his toil?” (Ecclesiastes 3:9). Solomon wrote those words at the end of his life. Most people who have studied his life would probably wonder why he, of all people, would write those words! One article estimates that King Solomon would have a net worth today of $2.2 trillion!

Again, why would he write “What gain has the worker from his toil?”

BUSY WITH BUSINESS

King Solomon answers his own question by saying, “I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with” (v. 10).

The best way to understand King Solomon’s words is to interpret them for the era in which he lived. I’ve often said, “I was born at the right time.” I earn a living with my computer. I fill my refrigerator by making a trip to the grocery store. If it gets dark, I flip a switch. If the clothes are dirty, I push a few buttons. If I want a cup of coffee, I reach for a coffee pod. I could keep going, but you understand my point.

God’s children have always been busy, but we aren’t as busy today as we think we are! After the fall, God told Adam, “By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19). Adam and Eve had enjoyed the garden because, bluntly, they had it so good. Don’t you know there were days after the fall when they turned to God and said, “It was just one bite, Lord!”

One of the results of the fall is that we will always be busy. Even with all the luxuries today, that is still true. Solomon said, “I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with.” We will always be busy with business.

Was that God’s judgment—or his provision?

GOD’S PLANS ARE BEAUTIFUL

Solomon’s next statement in Ecclesiastes is one of my favorites. He wrote, “He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end” (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

All of us spend our lives working until we find we can’t work any longer. We get tired and we get tired of our work. Then we often miss the work, along with other things, when we get older. We are funny creatures, and God is good to put up with us!

But then, God understands because he made it to be this way for a good reason. After God judged Adam and Eve, he caused us to work, to age, and to need rest. He had a good reason. Solomon’s wisdom provides a perfect perspective on the nature of our lives. This whole process of life is God making everything beautiful in its time.

I’m going to try to remember that as I age. QVC was selling a potion that makes you look ten years younger and I told Jim, “If that comes in vats, I’m buying it.” What does aging have to do with this verse?

God caused it, God made it, and God made it beautiful.

Because, at the same time, God also “put eternity into man’s heart.” God planned our lives so that, as we age, we can rest from our busyness with business and more often consider the things of eternity.

IT’S ABOUT JOY

King Solomon wrote, “I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man” (Ecclesiastes 3:12–13).

God made us to work and made us to be busy with the things of life. Our work is what earns us the ability to enjoy things we have worked for. I would love to hand some of our political leaders the wisdom of Solomon. The most important thing we can do for the self-esteem and for the souls of our citizens is enable them to work. Everyone deserves the chance to know the joy God wants them to have. It was his gift, and we should be careful to help people receive that.

WHAT GOD DOES ENDURES FOREVER

I love my work. I’ve just finished writing the Bible study for next year from the book of Romans. Many have asked if I plan to continue to do the video format. The answer is yes. Stay tuned and we will tell you how to download the study later this summer. I will also teach in person and continue to write this blog post, among other things.

I love working with and teaching God’s word. I’ve spent some time during the past year listening to historical sermons from people like Charles Spurgeon. His messages are amazing! I’ve discovered a website that makes old sermons downloadable. (My podcast of choice!)

King Solomon said, “I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him” (Ecclesiastes 3:14–15). The sermons I’ve been reading and listening to are just as remarkable today as they were when they were preached to congregations.

“Whatever God does endures forever.”

RESTORATION IS WORTHY WORK AS WELL

As you might have read, I’m a big fan of home restoration shows. I love watching older, out-of-date homes become cleaned up and ready for a new family. That said, I also love that the people who lived in the home before it was all fixed up still called it home.

I’ve often told Jim that I cringe sometimes when the young people complain about the old carpet, parquet floors, and clamshell sinks. (That was a hint about my décor!) But, I’ve also learned that brass fixtures are coming back in style. If we live in this house for another decade, we could become officially “retro” instead of just “old!”

But, keeping up a home is a lot like keeping up our lives. Everything needs restoration once in a while.

I love my work and am grateful for this job. I stand in full agreement with King Solomon. My work gives me joy because my subject is God’s eternal word. But, my business is busy. That has been especially true this past year. Our ministry didn’t slow down during 2020. In fact, it grew a lot!

That is a huge blessing, and we are grateful to all of you who have helped that happen. But, last year Jim and I celebrated our fortieth wedding anniversary with a takeout steak dinner in Styrofoam boxes! (I did light a candle, but that was about all I could do to fancy up our COVID anniversary.)

Now, we are fully vaccinated and, for the first time in a long time, we are packing our bags! It’s time for our much-delayed anniversary trip. I’m leaving my computer behind, and I’m headed for sunsets over the Pacific Ocean. Because restoring our souls is worthy work as well!

The Brand Manager for janetdenison.org, Trace Kennedy, will be writing this blog post for me for the next couple of weeks. I will be soaking up warm air and sandy beaches and reaping the joy of hard work and God’s blessings in our lives. I’ll come back to my parquet floors and clamshell sinks, and they will look good to me because I’m home.

I hope all of you are planning that first, post-COVID break as well. We all need the restoration that God can provide. Thank you Trace for helping me to travel with joy.

And to all my readers, I’ll be back to work in a couple of weeks. Until then, “Aloha!”

Yep . . . sunsets, beaches, fresh pineapple, and joy! (At least we made it before we hit our forty-first anniversary!)

Blessings to all of you . . .