Problem Solving

Year 8-Day 70: Today, I am grateful we can problem solve.

This quote is a great reminder that sometimes we make our own problems. 

"Sometimes the easiest way to solve a problem is to stop participating in the problem." -Albert Einstein 

Over the course of a day, we make countless choices on how we will act or respond to things in our environment. I like the reminder that we can choose to not participate in problems that weigh us down. Drama is many times a choice. Removing ourselves from the equation can be a simple solution. We can't always change the situation, but we can control our reactions.

There are times problems are solved by simple choices. 

“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve...But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”-Joshua 24:14-15

Some choices we make, make us. Problem solving is key. It is worth taking the time to pause, prepare and proceed with the best decisions possible.   

Today, I am grateful we can problem solve.

This, too, shall pass.

Year 8-Day 69: Today, I am grateful this, too, shall pass. 

Humor is key in living life fully. I have always loved the phrase, "This, too, shall pass." It is true. Even the worst days end. 

This quote made me giggle:
"This, too, shall pass. It might pass like a kidney stone, but it will pass."

Perspective is a powerful thing. In the moment, pain is a powerful agent. It can be a real joy stealer, but it is temporary. How many times do we let temporary trials overshadow the good in each day. 

If you children are healthy and you have a roof over your head, that is a great place to start giving thanks. If you have enough to eat and clean water, you are truly blessed. If your new shoes give you blisters, remember you have new shoes. The blisters will heal and the shoes will break in nicely after a few wearings. 

Choice is our super power. We cannot always choose the circumstance, but we can choose how we respond to the circumstance. 

"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

Hope floats. Rough times are temporary. 

Today, I am grateful this, too, shall pass. 

Magical Words

Year 8-Day 68: Today, I am grateful words are an inexhaustible source of magic. 

Words are our most inexhaustible source of magic, capable of inflicting injury and remedying it. -Albus Dumbledore

Being a word person, this quote strikes a chord. Albus Dumbledore always spoke with wisdom and confidence whenever he opened his mouth. He listened more than he spoke. When he did speak, Harry and his friends knew they should listen closely.

One of my favorite exercises in college writing was "power writing". Take a well written piece and then power it up. What does that mean? It involves taking word phrases and finding a better way to say it. Are there better adjectives? Are there comparisons that can breathe life into an ordinary description? How many words can be eliminated without losing clarity and meaning. There are times I can almost see a words floating around just waiting to be grabbed out the sky and placed on paper. Capturing the right words to express a feeling is its own reward. 

Words can impact our emotions. They can hurt and they can help heal. We must use them wisely.

A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare.-Proverbs 15:1

"Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body." -Proverbs 16:24

Gentle answers and gracious words can change the outcome of a word exchange. They can calm tempers. They can have a positive impact on our souls and health. Yes, we must choose our words wisely. 

Today, I am grateful words are an inexhaustible source of magic.

To Be Loved At My Worst

Year 8-Day 67: Today, I am grateful to be loved at  my worst. 

We will mark thirty-three years of marriage before the year is done. We have been three and a half decades as a couple. It would be impossible to calculate the many ways we have grown and changed meeting each new season in our lives. I like to think we have grown together. I know we can read each other's thoughts and sometimes speak in unison. 

God really does give us marriage to teach us about his love and faithfulness. I think about times the Love of My Life has chosen patience when I don't really deserve it. He gives me grace when I am struggling in one way or another. I've seen him master so many things, including laundry in recent years (Yes, My Love, I am admitting it in public!) . 

When couples come through the challenging seasons, they are stronger for the struggle. It isn't always sunshine and roses, but it is always worth it. The sweetest loves are those aged by time, trials, trust, triumphs and even a sprinkle of tears. When I see an mature couple holding hands that are wrinkled by time, it melts my heart. It is evidence of storms weathered and choices to love made boldly... even when it wasn't easy, fair or perfect. 

To be loved in, through and in spite of our imperfections is the sweetest of gift. A.W. Tozer quotes have been a favorite this week. Here is another one:

"We please Him most, not by frantically trying to make ourselves good, but by throwing ourselves into His arms with all our imperfections and believing that He understands  everything-- and still loves us. -A.W. Tozer

To be fully known and still loved, that is soul completing. To be known inside out is humbling and heart-filling. 

This scripture is the likely source of Tozer's words: 

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." - Romans 5:8

He didn't wait until we were "good enough", because we never will be. We can't keep the train on track that long in our own strength. We need His strength. We change through His grace, not on our own. We know His love, and claim His forgiveness by simply kneeling at the cross. He takes our brokenness and makes it beautiful again. His love restores us like a tropical paradise heals after the hurricane with love, time and attention. 

The truth is, sometimes we create our own storms. Different choices might have helped us avoid them. 

Other times, like faithful Job, hurricanes and tornadoes hit. In them, we learn to trust His heart, even when it is difficult to see a purpose in the pain. At our worst, we don't always behave in a way that honors His sacrifice and commitment to us. He loves us, anyway. 

Today, I am grateful to be loved at  my worst. 

The Choice To Be Still

Year 8-Day 66: Today, I am grateful we can choose to be still.

Oh boy... some days the scriptures hit in the most sensitive and real places. On those days, there is a temptation to read on to something easier to reflect on instead of wading my way though the lesson to be learned.

Full disclosure post this morning. I am first born. I like to get things "right". I like people to like me. I relish leaving things better than I found them. I have tendencies to perfection in some endeavors, especially creative things. I can make myself crazy... and those around me who see through the calm facade. It is a constant battle. In fact, I like the challenge of doing hard things. My hard wiring is tightly strung. All of those character traits combined can create a battlefield filled with anxiety and stress.

I am so grateful for the truth in His Word. We don't have to fight one battle. Look at these three passages. I know there are more, but these fit well:

"They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the Lord, to deliver you.” Jeremiah 1:19

"and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hand.” -1 Samuel 17:47 

"The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” -Exodus 14:14

I have my plans and ways of preparing for each day, but the most important preparation is to take the time to "Be Still". It is a choice. Stillness is a learned behavior that reflect full trust in the God who has a plan and a purpose for each of our lives. He is still writing our stories, until he calls to His side at last breath.

Why do I worry and fret? Look what Jesus said:

"And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?" -Matthew 6:27 &  Luke 12:25

When two or three gospels record the same passage, pay attention. It means it is important. My communication degree taught me that a receiver typically has to hear something three times to make it stick.  Where is the third?

"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?" -Matthew 6:25

This morning, I smiled when I realized which two disciples recorded the anxiety prescriptions:
Matthew, the accountant and tax collector, knew money can be the source of much stress.
Luke, the physician, knew the toll that worry and stress can take on the body.

To be still is a prescription for anxiety. In the stillness, we learn to trust and find peace and calm. We can learn it at a beach, at sunrise on the farm, at sunset in the suburb and in a traffic jam on the the way to work. One of my life verses... "Be still and know I am God." -Psalm 46:10 

I have not perfected it. I keep working at it. He is faithful to let me take the test again and again.

Today, I am grateful we can choose to be still.

Shelter of a Roof

Year 8-Day 65: Today, I am grateful for the shelter of a roof.

In the seasons of tornadoes and hurricanes, we become increasingly aware of the shelter of a roof. The devastation of losing a home in a storm is very real. Those who live in the islands spend years recovering from category five hurricanes. Today, the Nashville area is still assessing their losses after tornadoes earlier this week.

Our little community we call home has witnessed several tornadoes over the years, with the most memorable being the series that hit Sunday, November 17, 2013. Most of the Village of Morton was spared, although a few lost homes and the damage was real. We were inconvenienced. Our neighbors a few miles away in Washington, IL were devastated. We saw hundreds of homes destroyed with the roofs lifted on and their houses leveled. 

Many had roofs damaged in the 2013 storm. There were so many, it took forever to get the insurance companies to assess. Those without shelter came first... rightfully so. Insurance damage assessors were exhausted. From the home that were leveled or missing walls to the machine sheds that held important farm equipment that needed to be replaced, the work seemed endless.

Insurance companies brought people in from other states to help, but finding hotels for them wasn't easy. Any empty housing that stood became shelter for those without. Communities gathered coats, shoes and other essentials to share. It was a bitter cold November after the storm passed through. The value of solid walls and a roof over our heads was suddenly the thing many were most grateful after the storm and power was restored.

At our house, we were only without power for a few days. We were so grateful for our neighbors, Jim and Susie, who shared their generator to keep our refrigerator going and a few lights. Others were out much longer. Our roof held.

There are times in our lives we deeply feel the value of shelter in a storm. It should be a daily source of gratitude. The Israelite people spent 40 years in the desert with Moses in tents. A tent provided a roof that is shelter from the sun, the wind and the occasional rains. Shelter is always good, but in a storm... it saves lives.

"Each one will be like a shelter from the wind and a refuge from the storm, like streams of water in the desert and the shadow of a great rock in a parched land." -Isaiah 32:2

Sometimes, we need a roof. Other times, we need to reach out and be the shelter another needs in the storms of life. Who needs a little shelter today?

Today, I am grateful for the shelter of a roof.

Daily Conversations

Year 8-Day 64: Today, I am grateful for daily conversations.

This week, I am relishing daily conversations a little more than usual. 

Daily conversations are special, too. The "good morning" chatter over a cup of coffee is really a gift . I often take it for granted. I have people and pets to love in the morning. 

What about laughter over lunch? It can happen at work or with our home people. It is a good and easy gift. Our people might even know what we are thinking before we say it. They know know what we think is funny, before we giggle. 

Dinner chatter can be reflective, informative or entertaining as we review our days. This is the stuff relationships are made of... real relationships. Daily conversations matter.

In high school, my first choir teacher and her husband we active in community theater in Kankakee, IL. I remember many of us went to see them in "Fiddler on the Roof". I already knew a few of the songs, but it was probably my first time at a community theater performance. It was wonderful and fun to watch with friends. 

Tevye, the main character, is mentioned in this quote for his constant chattering with God. I think I need to re-watch the show, as it has been a long time ago. "Sunrise, Sunset" was a song we used at our wedding as our mothers lit our candles. I guess it left an impression on me.Today, I found this quote:

"And so I urge you to carry on an ongoing conversations with God about the daily stuff of life, a little like Tevye in "Fiddler on the Roof". For now, do not worry about "proper" praying. Just talk to God." - Richard Foster (Theologian)

Prayer isn't complicated. The prayer Jesus taught us to pray was more like a conversation, although packed full of His unique understanding of the Father. To begin our days in daily conversations is a gift. We have access to the throne of His grace and mercy. 

Over lunch, we can talk about the day so far. In the evening, there is time for reflection at sunset. At bedtime, we can offer him our gratitude, confessions and thank him for the home that provides safety for our rest. 

Adam and Eve knew daily conversations with God. Noah had them. Moses would even argue with God, not smart, but it showed relationship and trust. David, Daniel and the other prophets spoke in ways that reflected their daily chatter with Yahweh. 

The disciples had daily conversations with Jesus that changed their lives. Their changed lives would change the world. 

When Jesus was on the cross, the shofar blew, the passover lamb was slain, the temple curtain separating the Holy of Holies from the ordinary worshipers ripped from top to bottom. That took a Godly hand, as normally a curtain would rip from bottom to top (Matthew 27:51). 

There is significance here. No longer were only well prepared priests the ones with direct access to God's inner sanctuary. Jesus came lived, died and rose again so we might have full access. That, my friends, is better that free Wi-Fi with a strong connection!

Daily conversations are so important to true intimacy. Even if they are short and sweet. 

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." -Philippians 4:6

"Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving." -Colossians 4:2

Don't believe you will get the words "right"? There is no need to worry. The Spirit has you covered. 

"Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words." -Romans 8:26

When we love someone, communication doesn't have to be a perfect masterpiece or poetry. It can be a post-it note that says, "Good morning. I won't forget to grab milk and eggs." Or, Heavenly Father, on this day, I won't forget your ways when my feet hit the floor to start the day."

Today, I am grateful for daily conversations.