Keep Social Media In Perspective

The Good News Today Is...I'm off to a seminar to learn new things today. I really enjoy learning all kinds of stuff. Today I will learn more about social media - which is growing faster than anyone can really learn about it. I couldn't be writing this blog without it though. As long as I use it for how it can be helpful to others and don't get caught in the web of the time consuming malignancy of it all, things will be okay. For those of you who are addicted to social media and are losing your days in the midst of it, turn it off!!! It can be as bad as any other thing that takes your attention away from God and gets you enmeshed in a worldly world. I'm reminded of The Screwtape Letters, which was written way before a computer was conceived of. The demons just kept people busy with poker or cards or drinking....any reason so they didn't have time to pray or go to church. How much more are we tempted now??? Keep it all in perspective and live a balanced life. All things in moderation my dears.

Too Many Bills, Not Enough Cash

The Good News Today Is...there is never enough money. Ok - so I really have no idea how to make that into good news, but it is always on my mind. With kids in college and a wedding around the corner, it's always right in front of me. I really enjoyed reading this article, Forgive Us Our Debts, as We Mishandle Our Monthly Bills. It reminded me of myself. I am very conscientious about paying all of my monthly bills and I can get pretty indignant if there is an issue...so sure it can't be my fault! This little writing reminded me that no matter the circumstances or how frustrated I get, there is no excuse for not being curteous and respectful. Living on a tight budget can be tough and it can provoke a lot of stress, yet tonight I will sleep in a warm bed with a full belly.....way above what many have. Forgive me for being stressed about the debts as I dream about winning the megabucks!

New Word for the Day

The Good News Today Is...P stands for Paraclete. That's my new word for the day. This is one of the literal descriptions of the Holy Spirit. Typically in the newer translations of the bible they change the word to advocate...something we can relate to better. Really though the term originally referred to a type of lawyer (yah - I've heard those jokes...and I know using lawyer to describe the Holy Spirit is not expected...probably why they changed it to advocate!!) In the Roman Court the defense was without representation, each person was required to represent themselves. Yet they were allowed to hire a Paraclete - or a lawyer that could advise them how to handle their defense. This lawyer could not speak during the trial but could tell the defendant what words to use. The defendant of course could follow the advice of the Paraclete or not...just like we can follow the advice of the Holy Spirit or not. A very apt description of our Advocate!

The Sprit of the Living God

The Good News Today Is....we are coming up to Pentecost Sunday. This is the time each year that we can read the story about the arrival of the Holy Spirit and rekindle the awe. I would have loved to have been in that crowd when the wind blew through and all could speak and understand the different tongues. It really would have been incredible, it's something we just can't imagine when we read about it. Try visualizing the scene and putting yourself right there, right then.....never again would you ever have any trickling doubts about faith.

I Love to Read

The Good News Today Is...I am reading a really good novel right now. I have always loved reading good books and I used to feel guilty that I would take time out of my busy schedule to read murder mysteries or romance novels. I thought that perhaps it was inappropriate for me to read that kind of stuff when I should be reading Christian novels or self help books. I tried for awhile...really I did, but there's no hope for it. What I find when I read these novels is that we all have similar hopes and dreams, we just go after them differently. I find that I can often build my faith in God by relating to the humanity portrayed in the fiction I read...(really I can, this is not a rationalization...at least I hope it isn't!) I am currently reading a fantasy novel where the main characters know each others thoughts and feelings telepathically. It is a knowledge of each other that is so intimate it seems intolerable. No where to hide their secrets or their fears. I was so taken up by the story I almost missed the point that this is what our relationship with the Holy Spirit is meant to be. There is nothing we can say, think, or feel that we can hide from the Holy Spirit. We should all be much more in tune to that....and that is my lesson from this novel.

What a Friend

The Good News Today Is....What A Friend We Have in Jesus. Well - we already knew that didn't we? I was looking through the hymnal for some stuff on prayer (for the sermon without the computer....we find sources in the oddest places), and ran across this hymn. I just happen to have a book on the history of various hymns and this hymn was in it. Interestingly enough it was not meant to be a hymn or to be shared with anyone. The origin was a heartfelt poem an estranged son wrote for his ill mother. The son had move away from home following his love for God, which his family didn't understand....go figure...anyway when years later he heard his mother was ill and on her deathbed, he wrote this beautiful poem for her to comfort her in her illness. A friend of his found this poem and after the death of the son, put it to music and it has been a reminder for generations that we have a friend in Jesus, whom we can talk to in prayer. Take it to the Lord in prayer!

It is Time to Pray

The Good News Today Is...my computer is totally out of battery. So things are getting done the old fashioned way. Instead of spending time on my computer looking up notes and sermon ideas, I've dragged out my books and various versions of the bible. Today instead of using Google to search for scripture references, I'm letting my fingers do the walking through the pages of various books. It reminds me of college when I had to truly research and read a lot of different books, instead of different web pages, to discover the answers to my questions. I'm finding out that my brain is working a bit harder and my ideas are coming a little slower, but I'm digging deeper into myself to create a meaningful way of expressing the sermon lesson. Interestingly enough my sermon will be on prayer....what better way to learn about prayer than to be in total need of prayer because my normal information sources are unavailable. Hmmmm - my sermon this week will be what it will be because of conversation between me and God. I don't think I can go wrong.

Good News First

The Good News Today Is...my computer is almost out of battery life. The kittens have once again eaten through the cord that plugs into the wall. That means that I have very little time to browse the internet this morning, and I need to pay attention to writing this or else I will be out of battery and not be able to post my entry. Sometimes the little inconveniences in life make us focus a bit harder on the truly important things in life. Usually in the morning I spend a lot of time looking at my e-mail and browsing the internet before I settle down to think about what the "good news today is." Today I am being coerced into thinking about the Good News first....perhaps there is a lesson here!

Witness This

The Good News Today Is...we can live in the world and not be of the world. Life is full of tough choices and tough luck. It is how we make our choices and how we cope with what life deals us that separates us apart. Every day we can be a witness for Christ just by living in a manner that shows the love of God within our souls. When we choose to love as Christ loved us, and deal with life out of that love, there is no greater Christian witness to be found.

The Bumper Sticker

The Good News Today Is...bumper stickers can hit us in the face and make us pay attention. For example the bumper sticker that spouts - Save Me Jesus (and in smaller letters underneath) from your followers. What????? Yup - it happens - we offend people. Now sometimes it's just the message of the cross that gets one's dander up and that's okay. Sometimes it's the Christian not behaving like Christ that gets one's dander up....that's not okay. To read more on this check out the article on the Ransom Fellowship website. It will give you a lot to think about.

Friends not Just Friendly

The Good News Today Is....What a Friend we have in Jesus. "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." John 15: 12-13. Do you have true friends, not just folks who are friendly to you? We are commanded to love each other - love to the point of laying down our lives for our friends. What a place the world would be if we had friendships such as this.

If.....Then....

The Good News Today Is....God loves us unconditionally, but with conditions. As I was reading the passage in John Chapter 15 on love, I realized that even though I know in my heart of hearts that God loves us unconditionally, God does put conditions on love. If you love, then your joy will be complete. If you obey my commands, then you will be my friend. If I choose you, you will bear fruit and God will answer your prayers. If you love me, then the world will hate you. If...then. The choices and the responsibilities are ours to make, the rewards are ours if we make the right choices. God will love us unconditionally even if we make the wrong choices, but it is clear that the right choices have their benefits!

Love is Commanded

The Good News Today Is...This is my commandment that you love one another that your joy may be free. That is an song a learned in Sunday School years and years and years ago. We used to line up and sing it while marching around the Sunday School room. I've never forgotten it and I've taught to my children and countless other children that I have taught Sunday School to. It's not a song for wimps....loving one another is not always easy - but it is always commanded. Love one another as I have love you. Jesus proclaimed these words on one of His last days on earth. Again, a commandment not for wimps. Loving one another the way Jesus loves us, through all the warts, sins and ugliness is a tough commandment. This is the way we all need to strive to live - this is what will heal our broken world. May the love of God be in you - may you share it with others today.

Symptoms

The Good News Today Is...abiding in Christ will give you peace. I'd like to share something I keep hanging on my refrigerator....symptoms of abiding in Christ:

• A tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than from fears based on past experiences.
• An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment.
• A loss of interest in judging self.
• A loss of interest in judging others.
• A loss of interest in conflict.
• A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others.
• A loss of ability to worry.
• Frequent, overwhelming episodes of appreciation.
• Contented feelings of connectedness with others and nature.
• Frequent attacks of smiling through the eyes of the heart.
• Increasing susceptibility to love extended by others as well as the uncontrollable urge to extend it.
• An increasing tendency to let things happen rather than to make things happen.
  

If you have all or most of these symptoms you are showing signs of a life of abiding in Christ. Consider yourself truly blessed.

Less is More

The Good News Today Is....less is more. "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful" John15:1-2. So many times over and over I find out that less is more. When I let go of the me, me, me in life and think about me less, I find more of Jesus. When I stop being so busy, busy, busy all the time, I find more peace and calmness in my life. When I stop talking, talking, talking all the time and I listen to the spirit, I find more love and joy. Yup....less is more. Have a great day today!

Moms Unite

The Good News Today...Mother's you are not alone, we are in this together!

Today is Worth Living

The Good News Today Is...no matter how messed up the world gets, the end is clear. "All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, for dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations." Psalm 22:27-28. Sometimes it is frustrating to live in a world full of political unrest and economic upheaval. It can produce a spirit of helplessness and hopelessness. What can we do when we don't feel like anything we do will change things? Remember that the world belongs to God. Not only will we be rescued from this world, justice will be served. This is not a word for those who believe only in immediate gratification, but for those whose hope rests in the promises of the risen savior. This hope is what makes it worth getting up out of bed every day and doing our personal best to change the world into a better place. Kindness, mercy and grace rule!!!!!

Smile

The Good News Today Is....Love is in the air! "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God." (1John 4:7)

Family

The Good News Today Is...we have a birthday celebration at our house this afternoon. It is such a blessing to have my daughter near enough to home that we can have a big birthday dinner for her with friends and family. Life is short and I cherish the moments that we can be together and just enjoy each other. It is at times like these that I reflect on how wonderful it is that I have children and that they are healthy and safe. Thank you Jesus for allowing me another day to celebrate with my family.

Clean it Up

The Good News Today Is...I finally have time to do some cleaning this morning. Did you know that house cleaning can become a time of spiritual cleaning and uplifting? What better time to take to sing great praise songs than when the vacuum cleaner is running and no one can hear how off key you are? What better time to think about the hard stuff in life than when you're scrubbing the heck out of the bathtub? What better time to pray than while dusting the cobwebs out of the corner? (And I don't mean - "Dear God! How did this house get so dirty?") I used to hate cleaning and dreaded getting up in the morning to face the dust bunnies and dog hair in the corner. Now I sing and pray my way through and before I know it the dirt is gone and I'm still happy. Using the bath tub as a place to do a little anger therapy works wonders, too! I can go about the rest of my week-end in a renewed state. I'll never be a great housekeeper, I always find some excuses not to get the house too clean....I might be just a bit like Maxine....but I don't dread it any more either.

One More Day

The Good News Today Is...it is Friday. I don't typically wish away the days but I am so hoping for a little bit of rest this week-end. I worked straight through last week-end and this whole week has been nothing but a blur. When we do that to ourselves we start slipping up with our spiritual life. There doesn't seem to be enough time to pray, meditate, rest in the Lord. It's work, dishes, cooking, cleaning, a little sleep and more work. It is always when we need it the most that our spiritual life suffers, because we don't put it first. Many famous (and very busy) clergy and spiritual leaders have written about the dilemma, and many have chosen to get up at 4am to lock themselves in their prayer closet, knowing that they need that time with God to keep up their strength for the busy day ahead. I guess I'm just not there yet...I'm still hoping for Saturday to get here so I can sleep in...just one more day...