Comfort
We don’t really know the extent of someone’s pain or hurt unless we’ve experienced it ourselves. We may say to someone grieving; ‘I know how you feel,’ unless you’ve been in a similar situation and even then not completely for each person’s experience is unique.
A New Year’s Perspective
A new year and new beginnings. We all hope for a better year every January. It’s a 50/50 chance that a new year will be an improvement or live up to our expectations.
End of Year Communique
Psalm 121:7-8 The Lord will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.
Christmas Eve in a German Labor Camp during WWII
We prayed that God would miraculously
sustain our strength; each day our food rations
diminished so the German soldiers on the
battlefronts could receive more food. Shortly
after all of us Christians had prayed for
physical strength, the neighboring farmers
again rallied for us.
280 AD
The Year was 280 A.D. when in the town of Patara located in present day Turkey, a wealthy elderly couple who were unable to have children finally gave birth to who would be an only son; they named him Nicholas.
Practice Gratitude
Gratitude does not come naturally and the media capitalizes on that by constantly telling us we don’t have enough, or we deserve better. Gratitude retrains the brain to notice what is good even when things aren’t perfect. Over time (not night) practicing gratitude changes the brain and mental health.
This is the Day
Perspective can change everything, and it comes down to our choice. You’ve heard it before; We can look at a glass and see that it is either half full or half empty. One is a positive outlook and one is negative, and both perspectives are correct.
Psalm 118:24 “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
My Peace I Give You
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
Peace treaties here and there. There is so much conflict in our world, no wonder many live in fear, anxiety and with little hope of improvement. Peace is usually defined as the absence of conflict. Some want peace at any price which often leads to regret giving up what you would rather hold on to.
A.S.K.
Luke 11:9 Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. Jeremiah 33:3 ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’
Stop and think about what these verses say. Ask! What an amazing privilege and miracle it is to be able to talk directly to Almighty God and to get His answer. Sometimes that’s more than we get from people. Whether we ask out loud or quietly in our mind, God hears and understands.
Freedom
Galatians 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. We all want to be free to make our own decisions, think what we want and speak what is on our minds, just so it doesn’t incite violence.