Are You a Bully?

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All of us are in charge somewhere, aren’t we, even if it’s only our own household?  Maybe we are head of the PTA or the local Bridge Club. Perhaps we run the local 4-H group or lead a large political party, even a country.

Would we like people to curse us, write disparaging things about us, revile us in public or slander our best work? No, we would not. However, we freely denounce other leaders. They may coach our child’s hockey or be the mayor of our town or even the President of our country. No matter. We voice our highly negative personal opinions for all to hear, then we wonder why our children are bullies.

God has a different plan.

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. (1 Timothy 2:1-4, NIV)

Prayer- Lord, may our mouths adjust to your Godly goals for others.

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Destress Your Mess

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  • Delegate as much as you fairly can.
  • Concentrate on one thing at a time. (No folding laundry, making lunches and texting all at once.)
  • Spend at least one day out of seven electronics free. Yes, this includes TV, cell phones and more.
  • Meet your own, God –given expectations, not those of others.
  • Plan a bit. Keep a list of what you have to do.
  • Share your stress mess with a sympathetic friend.
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Cock-a-Leekie To You!

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Do you know . . .

  1. What is Cock-a-Leekie and what is in it?
  2. What is in Haggis?
  3. Have you ever eaten a Cloutie? What is it made of?
  4. Is a Tweed Kettle made of copper or iron?

The answers . . .

Cock-a-Leekie is chicken soup sweetened with prunes.

Haggis is made of sheep’s’ pluck (?!), heart, lights and liver, suet, oatmeal and seasonings.

Cloutie is a sweet, spicy boiled pudding.

A Tweed Kettle is made of neither copper nor iron, but poached salmon.

According to my informant, only a Scotsman would know the answers to these questions.

Accordingly, only a Christian would know the true joy of following the Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ. That means we should be able to explain it to someone else.

You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace (Isaiah 55:11-12a, NIV)

Prayer-Lord God, thank you for the joy of knowing You and Your salvation available only in Christ. Amen.

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Wonder Women

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My friends and I, all of a ‘delicate age’, constantly joke about our age and its consequences.

“I am Wonder Woman,” says one. “I wonder what happened to the phone. I wonder where I put my check book and most of all; I wonder how I got this extra 20 pounds.”

“It’s the air here,” quips another. “We breathe in calories and exhale bone density.”

Since we live in a retirement community, we notice aging more than some. We regularly see ambulances; hear of friends in poor health and others who pass on. It’s just part of life. We’ve learned to lighten the burden a bit by joking about it.

King Solomon said this:

What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.  (Ecclesiastes 1:9, NIV)

Maybe you aren’t experiencing aging issues yet. However, instead of wondering why this or that is happening to us, we can laugh in the midst of it. We might as well. It makes the journey easier.

Prayer-Father God, help us to laugh in the midst of everything because You have done great things for us, and we are filled with joy. Amen. (from Psalm 126:3)

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Prayer Manual

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1. If you live in Me [abide vitally united to Me] and My words remain in you and continue to live in your hearts, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you. (John 15:7, AMP)

Abide means to live or reside in a place while vitally means crucially or extremely or indispensably and united means to be combined or made into one. It is the result of the union of two or more persons or things.

While we want to be one with Christ, abiding in Him, none of us surely expect Christ to change to be like us. Nope. We are the ones who will change to be more like Him. That means we will pray for things that He would stand for. We won’t be praying disaster down on an enemy or for a big win at the casino, right?

So then, this is number two in the Manual for Answers to Prayer.

2. If you live in Me [abide vitally united to Me] and My words remain in you and continue to live in your hearts, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you. (John 15:7, AMP)

Prayer- Now God we offer up these petitions -

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Hopeless?

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Have you ever been in a hopeless situation? People pray but God doesn’t respond. That’s where Peter was.

In Acts 12: 1-5, Herod beheaded James and arrested Peter. People prayed but Peter was still in prison. Just in the nick of time, an angel arrived to ‘save the day.’ This is not as wonderful as it sounds. The angel swatted him awake, and told him to get a move on.

(Verse 6-8) Peter thought it was a dream or a vision. Surely God didn’t answer prayer like this? Did He? (Verse 9)

Peter had trouble convincing others that he was free. (Verse 13-17) In spite of the miracle of freedom, Peter is still in danger. See how carefully the writer couches the truth in verse 17b. ‘Then he left and went to some other place.’

Prayer isn’t answered where, why, when, or how we think it will be. Our job is to pray, hang on through the situation, recognize the answers when they come and move forward into obedience.

Prayer-Lord, remind us to pray fervently and persistently no matter what your answers might be. Amen. (From Acts 12:5)

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Steal This Book

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The most stolen book of all time? Unfortunately, it is not the Bible! It is “Steal This Book” by Abbie Hoffman.

Book sellers had to remove it from shelves because people did just that. They stole the book.

A Bible is a book that is considered an authority on a particular subject. That’s why we have shelves full of books called names like The Gardener’s Bible, The Tattoo Bible or The Baker’s Bible.

What if we labeled The Bible as ‘Be Kind to One Another,’ ‘Hug an Enemy’ or even ‘Grab Onto God and He Will Grab Onto You?’ Would more people want The Good News? Would you?

Many people buy Bibles because they notice the difference in their Christian neighbor, co-worker or friend’s life and they want the same. The best Bible is one that is lived out in our lives.

Prayer- Lord, let our lives be an open book that others can read from cover-to-cover and find You in it.  Yours for holy living in Christ! Amen.

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