“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts                                                                                         Isaiah 55:8-9

Our family had a dog years ago, a delightful little rescue dog named Maggie. As most pet owners, we had a lot of great “Maggie stories”. Such as her propensity to know when garbage day arrived so that she could run off and scope out the neighborhood trash. One memorable evening, she came home with a pizza crust hanging from her mouth. She looked like the gangster who had a cigarette dangling from his mouth as he interrogated some poor victim. Maggie was a joy!

She lived to be 17 years old. I think that was because she was well loved and cared for by us. Mostly, I think, it was because she was a “mixed breed” dog. Yes, she was a mutt. Mutts, you see, tend to live longer than pure breed dogs. Why? Because genetic diversity protects animals from certain illnesses and conditions that more “monoculture” animals may succumb to.  

In nature, the more genetic diversity you possess, the better protected you are from inbreeding problems that lower resistance to disease. It also eliminates inbred hereditary problems. For example, the classic “royals diseases” porphyria and hemophilia, were caused by the inbreeding marriage practices that royal families in the 16^th, 17^th and 18^th century used to make political alliances. The so-called “pure royal blood lines” were actually tickets to poor health and early deaths.

So, as we consider God’s creation and his love of diversity, we once again see the paradox of man’s wisdom versus God’s plans. So called pure blood lines are deceptions, and lead to evil practices such as eugenics- a philosophical and political rage of late 19^th and early 20^th century. Indeed, in the 1930’s the culmination of such thinking was the rise of the racist regime of Adolf Hitler.

God made a diverse creation for us to enjoy. So, let’s celebrate God’s diversity.  

Prayer: Lord, thank you for your plans, Amen

Teach us to number our days and recognize how few they are; help us to spend them as we should Psalm 90:12 (Living)

…your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.                                                           Matthew 6:10 (NIV)

As we start a new year, we become aware of the days in that new year- 365 to be exact. We look upon a new year as a fresh start, and it is. It is a good time to make resolutions for change. We also understand that no days are guaranteed to us. In the words of a sports analogy injury update- we are all “day-to-day”.

So, as we begin this new year, we rightfully want to make some little changes to make our life a little better, a little healthier. As we do that, we also need to remember that we are to make each day count toward a mission greater than ourselves. We have been put on earth to make it a little more “heaven-like”. We are to try to bring some eternal Kingdom life into life on Earth.

In order to do that, we need to be aware of what our personal mission is, and to keep in mind that Jesus would have us make life better for those around us. By doing so, we make life better for ourselves.

Prayer: Lord, help us to spend our days wisely in mission, Amen

Your attitude should be the kind that was shown us by Jesus Christ, who, though he was God, did not demand and cling to his rights as God, but laid aside his mighty power and glory, taking the disguise of a slave and becoming like men. And he humbled himself even further, going so far as actually to die a criminal’s death on a cross                                                                                                                                Philippians 2:5-8 (Living Bible)

A discussion with a friend the other day brought up the idea of limits regarding God. When God created us with the ability and freedom to make choices, he put some limits on himself. As an omnipotent God, he can do whatever he pleases to do. He could have created us in whatever way he chose. He could have made it that we could not ever choose evil or to never disobey him. He could have made us into compliant beings who could never reject him or his love.

But he didn’t.

God allows us to make choices, both good and bad- choices which affect us and others in his creation. He gives us the opportunity to love him as he has loved us, or to love ourselves more than him or anyone else. He has given us the gift of free will.

We love our freedom! At the same time, we rail against God and others when things do not fall in line with what we want. That “free will thing” cuts both ways.

God loves us enough to give us our freedom to choose, even if it is not his best plan for us. He wants what is best for us, but we often choose the path of quick relief and pleasure- a path that leads to short cuts and to addictions. Yes, anything that makes us feel good immediately has the potential to be addictive. God gives us the choice, and he wants us to choose the path of the long- haul disciplines, not short cuts to feel good.

So, God gives choices to us, and in doing so, he deliberately limits himself. Indeed, sending Jesus to earth was the ultimate example of limiting his omnipotence for affiliation with his creation.

What a loving concept.

Prayer: It is hard for us to understand the plan of limiting yourself for us. Thank you for showing us that kind of love, Amen

So then, if anyone is in Christ, that person is part of the new creation. The old things have gone away, and look, new things have arrived!                                                                            II Corinthains 5:17

May I extend my heartfelt wishes for a happy and healthy 2025! This of course is the time of year when we make some resolutions for change. We all can benefit from some tweaks to our behaviors and routines that will make our life better, and perhaps better for those around us.

Just a couple thoughts today as we consider those resolutions. First, always start small when you are trying to make a change. Change one small thing, and you find that suddenly lots of things change. Small changes give us “traction” to continue those positive healthy behaviors that end up being “big things”.

Consider also, if appropriate, sharing your resolution with another. This can spur accountability and gives us more incentive to keep that promise we made to ourself. Finally, consider one small change in each dimension of life- physical (such as eating/exercise), spiritual (such as prayer, church attendance, readings) and mental/emotional (such as meditation or relaxation disciplines, increased social connections etc.).

Whatever you choose, make sure you include a daily gratitude list. It may be the single most important discipline in your routine.

Have a blessed 2025!

Prayer: Lord we are grateful for another year of life, Amen

James Earl “Jimmy” Carter, the 39^th President of the United States, died yesterday. He was a better man than he was a president, and he was not as bad a president as some might say. His famous Camp David Accords have ensured peace between Israel and Egypt to this day. Perhaps his devotion to human rights- a noble calling- was too idealistic for a President.

Yes, there were major problems in his term, mainly the Iran hostage crisis that doomed his presidency. It is clear that his life after his presidency was what he will be known for and acclaimed. He won the Nobel Peace Prize for his international work in ensuring fair elections, and eliminating dreaded diseases in poor countries that some of the developed world seemed to ignore.  

He lived his life as a true example of his Christian witness. He tried to follow the example of Jesus by actively bringing the good news of health and healing to “the least of these”- those forgotten or marginalized by others.

It almost seemed that his one-term presidency was just the “warm-up” for his real work in the world. While others would say that being the President of the United States was the hallmark achievement of their life, I think Jimmy Carter would say that living out his God calling was the achievement of his life.

He was devoted to his wife of 77 years, Rosalynn. That was a true love story unseen in these days. He humbly taught Sunday School in his little Plains, Georgia Church until he was physically unable to get to church.  

We mourn the passing of this man of character. He is now home, finally fully recognized for the good things he has done on this earth.

Rest in Peace, good man of character. We shall miss you.

We just packed off the family, who came from various cities for a Christmas visit. Even though a nasty 24-hour virus went through the family, we were blessed with a wonderful time together. Even illness cannot interfere with the love a family has for one another. So, the house seems a bit empty again as we ready for the start of another year. Yet, we count our blessings with gratitude for another Christmas together. We look forward to 2025 as an opportunity to see God’s hand at work, and to play our part in that as best we can.

In the coming blogs, I will be talking a little about resolutions. In the meantime, enjoy these last days of 2024, and be grateful for family, whatever your family may look like.

Family is precious.

 I thank my God every time I remember you.  In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.                                    Philippians1:3-6

I woke up with this verse in my head today, and I feel compelled to share this with my readers this morning. I have always loved this verse because it speaks to Paul’s love for his fellow believers, and it is also so encouraging. It made me think of the importance of sharing those feelings that we have toward one another on a very regular basis.

Paul’s fellow travelers in faith shared many hardships. Indeed, many faced death on a regular basis. The thing that encouraged them was knowing that others cared for them, and that God sustains them. Paul said that he was “confident that God, who had begun a good work in them, would carry it on to completion”.

We need to be reminded of this promise, especially in these trying days. We need to remind one another of this promise also. So, I want to convey that I am so thankful every day for my family, my friends, my colleagues, my readers- so many people in my life.

Pass on today that sentiment to those around you, or even those distant via our electronically connected world. Blessings on your journey…

Prayer: Father, thank you for sustaining us with your love and provision, and thank you for the plan that we travel together, Amen.

…casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ                      II Corinthians 10:5 (NKJV)

One of the things that I sometimes discuss with my clients is the idea of a “grievance narrative”. I borrow this term from Dr. Fred Luskin who wrote the book Forgive for Good. I think we all fall into this kind of narrative to some extent, but chronically doing this leads to a victim mentality. A quick little example-

You wake up and you stumble into the bathroom half awake; then you bump your toe against the tub. A few minutes later, you drop the soap in the shower, and then upon getting out of the shower, you find that there is no towel handy. You say to yourself, “Wow, this is going to be one of those days!”

Pretty simple and innocuous stuff, but you have given yourself permission to say that this is going to be a bad day. You start to look for things that might go wrong, or that you perceive to go wrong, and you begin to build a little grievance narrative. That is thinking like, “this is just another example of how bad my day is”, or “I have been wronged by the universe”.  

On a more serious scale, some people fall into this thinking on larger issues, and begin to build a case for entitlement to a bad mood or negative outlook. If this thinking is not internally challenged, we can go down the slippery slide of victimhood, anger, and entitlement to lash out at others (or sometimes ourselves). We need to pause, take our thoughts captive and ask, “Is this just my negative thinking at work here? “Are things really as bad as I am telling myself?

Indeed, there are many ways that we can pause and challenge our thinking process. Usually, we can break that negative slide and bring more rational thinking into play. At the very least, we have put a stop to the beginnings of a victim mindset.

This process of “stacking” bad news can happen very subtly, but it can cause problems. We need to learn to take each event that happens on its own, and not build it into a grievance narrative of bad prospects.  

It also helps to look at ourselves with a sense of humor. Nothing like laughing at ourself to bring us back to reality!

Prayer: Lord, give us the nudges to examine our attitudes, Amen

 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you;
    never will I forsake you.”

Hebrews 13:5

Christmas 2025 is over, and we are in the “Twixmas” week. This is a kind of laid-back time for business, a time for kids to wear out their new toys, a time for some families to extend visits, a time to watch some meaningless (but nonetheless fun) college football bowl games, and a time to plan for the New Year.

Pretty soon, we will be back to “normal”, and winter 2026 will descend upon the Northern Hemisphere. People will be making New Year’s resolutions with the best of intentions, and they will feel better for the moment in having made some kind of commitment to positive change. Some actually will keep those resolutions, others, in the words of Ben Franklin, will fall into the old wisdom. “When all is said and done, more is said than done”.

The year 2025 may or may not have worked out as we had hoped. Some people are happy and fulfilled, others are in some level of pain and despair. But here is the truth of the matter. God is good, and he has been good, and he will continue to be good. He will never leave us or forsake us, no matter what kind of problems or issues we may blunder into. Our eyes are on God, not merely our current circumstances.

 That is the good news, my friends!

Prayer: Lord, we give thanks for your blessings in the past year, and pray for guidance in the coming one, Amen.