All in Encouragement
She finished reading the book and declared, “It was a journey I didn’t like being on.” Using that statement to describe a book is no big deal. But for many of us, that statement describes a complicated life situation that we can do nothing about. Many of us are on journeys we don’t like.
Down I fell, flat on my face! I was running downhill with my dog when suddenly she darted ahead. I hung onto the leash trying to slow her down. Instead, her momentum pulled me down until I was face down in the dirt.
“What is that smell?” my husband asked as we entered the resort where we were vacationing. “Whatever it is, I want it!” he exclaimed.
Man was not created to walk alone. God created each of us to walk with Him. He also designed us to walk with others. In Genesis 1 God declared all He created to be good. But then God identified something as not good. God said, It is not good for the man to be alone… (Genesis 2:18).
Recent studies suggest that the most influential person in our lives is ourselves. We can talk ourselves into things and we can talk ourselves out of things.
Oh, my goodness, what joy we get when our two-year-old grandson laughs. It sounds like music to our ears. As he ages, he notices so much more about his little world that makes him laugh – including our mistakes.
Our detached garage has a step up from the garage floor and a step down into the patio. I get a kick out of our two-year old grandson when he tries to maneuver those steps. As he attempts to do them, he looks up at me and says, “BIG step, Tida.”
So I have a teenage daughter. I am learning new things by the minute. She is filling my life with laughter and terror all at the same time! It's a roller coaster, and I love it. This week I'm going to catch you up to speed with communication in the style of a teenager.
My daughter cracks me up with all the things she says. One of those phrases is, wait . . . what? This is what she says every time she misses something or wants something repeated.
That our culture—like Esau—is one of instant gratification, is hardly news. The soaring statistics in both credit card debt and divorce have been proof of this fact for many years. The following chart is a stunning summary of what has happened to American/Western culture in the last century and a half:
Modernism: the late 19th/early 20th century. Personal experience questions truth.
Post-modernism: mid-late 20th century. Personal experience defines/chooses truth.
Pseudo-modernism: 1990’s—today. Personal experience creates truth.
I was 23 when tragedy struck our family. My mom lost a courageous battle with cancer. I found myself despondent and somewhat lost. I learned a valuable life lesson from God’s Word that can be summed up in 2 words: Who Knows?
“Mrs.___, have you fallen lately?” Young people have yet to encounter that question. My husband and I have. We laugh when we share the experience because as a couple we average about three or four falls a year. We fall off ladders, in flower beds, down stairs, and sometimes for no reason. Welcome to the world of seniors.
“I can’t find anything after I put it away. I know I need to organize, but I just don’t know where to start. I want to invite friends over, but my house is such a mess. I want less clutter, but I just can’t figure out how to get started.” Sound familiar?
“Lucas, get your soccer shoes from the utility room. Katie, the half-time snack is in the refrigerator. Sean, come here so Mom can button your jacket.”
Have you ever found yourself putting off a challenging task until the last minute or indefinitely? I know I have.
When you don’t know what to pray… because there are no words… what do you do?
I have learned…
Use God’s message to help you. That will be like a sword that God’s Spirit puts in your hand (Ephesians 6:17b Easy).
I could recognize the melody but not the words. It was my son singing his seven-year-old daughter to sleep.
I am a life that was changed by one woman stepping into the life of one woman.
After the unexpected bad weather we experienced a couple of years ago in South Texas, people took the anticipated freeze warning seriously. The forecasted eighteen degrees definitely fell below any normal winter temperature in the South.
We are all on a journey. Interestingly enough each one travels his or her own unique path, but there are commonalities that tend to draw us together.
