Years ago in a Methodist Youth Fellowship meeting, we were asked to write out what characteristics we valued in a friend. The discussion that followed demonstrated that we all had similar values. The characteristics of honesty, integrity, sense of humor and spirituality were most commonly mentioned. The differences were mostly activity based. The card players wanted a partner, runners a training partner, travelers a travel partner etc. I wanted to meet an Olympic swimmer.

The point or the exercise was to lead into a discussion on marriage. The facilitator pointed out that the same characteristics would be desirable in a future spouse. At that age most of us had not thought much about potential spouses. We were still in the Charlie Brown era, dreaming about the cute little red head girl. (I do not know who the girls thought about.)

The facilitator then had us look in a mirror. You see, the goal of the meeting was not about finding a perfect friend or spouse. It got turned around. We had to ask ourselves if we fit our own model. In the weeks that followed we had discussions about growth; about becoming the person we specified. For most of us at that age, it was the first time we thought about what others saw in us. It was scary and enlightening.

I am not sure if the Psalmist was thinking about blood brothers, sisters, spouses or whatever. However, we need to live in harmony with each other and focusing being a good friend will make that happen.

In the 40s and 50s there was a Boston announcer that used to say “A quitter never wins and a winner never quits.” Today we live in a fast paced society that seems to demand instant gratification. In the business world everyone is looking for the proverbial “low hanging fruit”; the diet fads are advertising fast weight reduction; if a trip is more than 400 yards we drive to save time. We want what we want when we want it and often fail to be diligent, persistent and patient.

In the 80s, at a sales meeting, Ty Boyd did a presentation called “The Life Plan” in which he talked about making a plan for life like we do for business. He preached that we needed to set goals for life and keep our focus on attaining those goals. We all start out with a plan, but many let it go and start reacting to life’s situations rather than implementing their plan.

A strong factor in keeping a life plan in order is spirituality. Spirituality gives us the ability to focus on the good rather than reacting to the negative. Having the ability to forgive and to pray helps get through the tough days and keep our focus on the plan. In Romans 12 verse 11 Paul wrote, “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” We need that to be a part of our life plan.

Thought for the Week: This week let us remember where we want to go. There will be both positive and negative distractions. This week let us focus on our spirituality in both celebration and under stress. Let us give thanks when things go as planned and pray when they do not.

Often when June and I are working with older people we find them remorseful. Sometimes we even find them angry and focused on what life was like rather than focusing on the joys that they have now. We have seen this so much that we have resolved to make sure that our grand children will remember us as happy and content. That is a lofty goal as we grow older.

Recently we spent a weekend with four octogenarian widows; My mom, her older sister, my dad’s sister and mom’s sister in law. Each has faced the challenges in their lives; the loss of a spouse, ill health at some level, the loss of certain capabilities that accompanies ageing. It could have been a long day, full of talk of what they have lost or what they wish they were. It was not. It was a day full of laughter and fond memories.

These women had persevered. They had paid their dues but are dedicated to enjoying their lives to the fullest. One of my favorite television evangelists, Joel Osteen, likes to say “Keep on keeping on!” They sure are and are blessed because of it.

Thought for the Week: This week there will be negative influences that occur. We can either dwell on them or deal with them. This week let us focus on moving on with our lives and our faith.

Prayer for the Week: Dear Lord and Father, this week the world is full of confusion. There is trouble in the mid east, deranged people shooting up our sacred institutions and some awful winter weather. We pray for the ability to understand it all and put in into the context of your plan. We offer special prayers for the older generation as they move onward. We pray for peace, understanding of our place in your world and the opportunity to do your will here on earth.
Amen

We have talked a bit about how the head and heart lead our bodies. How often our thoughts may be negative and they can lead us into depression. Let’s face it, when we read or listen to the news, they talk mostly about negative events. However, most of what goes on in the world is positive. We need to focus on that!

Remember the words to the old song. “When you’re down and out, lift up your head and shout, It’s going to be a great day.” We are often confronted with the local curmudgeon, the person who finds fault with everything. Let’s face it, they are right, it is always too hot or too cold! Too rainy or their lawn needs watering! Things are too expensive! Coffee is too weak or strong! Pray for them, they need us.

We will have negative influences in our lives. As we move through our daily lives, we are blessed with the tools to deal with the negative side. I read this on a sign in front of a local church recently, “The Lord does not guarantee us smooth passage, just a safe landing.” It is up to use our Christian tools to stay positive and be happy.

One of my favorite expressions, some people call them “Pickeringisms,” is that all days are not created equal. There are days that we are full of boundless energy and others when we are as flat as pancakes. However, these feelings are mental, physical and emotional states. They do not have an effect on our hearts, just on our performance or output.
As a long term weekend athlete, there have been too many days when only the heart showed up for the workout; the arms, legs and head wanted to go back to bed. There were also many days when that’s how the day started but when it ended, the performance was in the excellent range.

One of my best friends and four time Olympic athlete relates to this. Pat has trained every day of his life and he can relate to the fact that the heart and head lead the body. Often,
“ … work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord,” and you will be rewarded with excellence. Excellence starts with belief in your self and in the Lord. The rest will follow.

Thought for the Week: This week let us remember that “All days are not created equal.” On the day that we want to go back to bed, let us trust our heart and move out. Let us take the leap of faith and give ourselves to exhibit the excellence that God wants us to share.

Often we are attracted to people and we do not understand exactly why. It is like a magic or Godly pull. Unlike in Physics 101 where opposites attract, in life we are attracted more by similarities. Our comfort level is found when we are around friends with similar beliefs and behaviors.

I have been associated with Alcoholics Anonymous since 1977 and have had several experiences where people that I liked turned out to be in the program. One day in the early 80s, while running, I caught up to two gentlemen that were about my pace (very slow). We chatted for an hour during a half marathon and decided to train together. Several years later, after perhaps a thousand miles together, we discovered that we all entered the program around the same time. There was a bond that comes from the goal of twelve step programs: spiritual growth! We felt it years before we knew it.

Spiritual growth leads us to what Paul told to timid Timothy. Growth toward “…power, of love and of self-discipline.” When we are around someone with that whichdemonstrates love and self discipline, we are comfortable. Our faith leads us in that direction. God wants powerful and assertive followers.

Thought for the Week: This week there will be a situation where we will want to walk away. It may be someone in the office speaking improperly about a fellow worker; it could be at one of the children’s events or within our family. This week, let us remember that God gave us the spirit of power, love and self discipline to use when this happens. Let us use it to do His will.

Prayer for the Week: Heavenly Father, we are living in a time when it is hard to follow every day. There is confusion, terror, hard times and many other distractions. It is often easier to live our way rather than your way. This week we pray that we have the discipline to demonstrate your power and love throughout the week so that others will follow our lead.

And he walls with me,
And he talks with me,
And he tells me I am my own,
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known”
(The Hymn In The Garden,Vs.1; C. Austin Miles, 1913)

In 1912, C. Austin Miles was asked to write a hymn that would “…bring hope to the hopeless, rest for the weary, and downy pillows to dying beds”. The above reminder that we are never alone, that we walk with the Lord at our side is the result of that request.

It is easy to try to be independent when things get tough. After all WE are humans and in control of our world! Let me share something with you all. As I write this, my brother is undergoing chemotherapy and my mom who lives with him in Massachusetts, is approaching her 88th birthday. That totals up to two concerns and a joy; the concern of aging, the concern of serious illness and the celebration of 88 years of love. I can not control any of that.

June and I both want to fix the concerns while celebrating the joy. We need to remember that “…he walls with me, and he talks with me,....” We need to let go and let God take control and sometimes we, especially me, forget who is in control. Yes, all of us have a tendency to take control.

We are moving toward Easter, a season of reminder of what Christians is all about. We are reminded about who we are and who we follow. Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her. We need to remember Him and allow Him to help us daily.

Thought for the Week: This week let us simply remember that we do not walk alone. When we are confronted with stress, loneliness and the every day events that distract us, let us remember that God is with us.

Prayer for the Week: Dear Lord this week many of us rejected your help. We were sometimes angry, often controlling and occasionally selfish. We succumbed to the pressures that surround us. This week we thank you for being there and pray that we may take the time to allow you to walk at our side and accept your help.
Amen

Recently one of the best high school hockey teams in Minnesota lost a game to a very low ranked opponent. While leaving the game, some of the students were celebrating and a parent from the losing team punched one of the students. That is a sad statement on priorities.

The above parent is now facing assault charges and of course claiming that he was harassed by the students. Well, that is another sad story about how our society behaves. Fist pumping and celebrating have become part of sports since the old AFL in the 60s. Yes, it generates a great show, but it is also a put down to the opponents.

We Christians are blessed with a way to deal with the frustrations of life. We are also commanded to represent ourselves in a Godly manor at all times. Even when things are not going our way, we need to take a break, count to ten, pray about it and move on. We need to present ourselves in a Godly way at all times so that others will want what we have.

John Wesley said it like this,” Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can as long as you ever can.” Now that’s a challenge.

Thought for the Week: This week let us think about walking the extra mile for someone. Take that leap of faith to reach out. Let us take the risk of being rejected to do God’s work.

Prayer for the week: Dear Lord and Father, we give thanks for the many gifts you have given to us. Most of all, we are grateful for the ability to be ourselves in your image. We pray that as we move through our lives, we may use this gift and the confidence it gives us to do your will in our society.
Amen

Most resolutions are about things that we perceive we need to make us happy. But, weight, a new job, fitness, a new car, etc, are not the things that will make us happy. They are great medication and temporary relief. They work like a twelve hour cold capsule and have a limited effect on our lives.

In the late 50s when I was a young married parent, one of my primary support people was my dad’s sister, Ginny. She was the first really spiritual person in my life that lived her internal dreams; the first person we knew that went to church every Sunday and brought it home for the week. In the early 60s I thought she lost it when she gave up high fat foods and took up Yoga, well ahead of fitness fads. It was her vision of what she wanted to be. Ginny walked the walk through out her entire life.

She is now an octogenarian, still a Yoga instructor and still in great shape. She is spending her life walking the spiritual walk and living her beliefs, as she fights the battles of ageing.

The resolutionist’s need to be like that, believe first and develop a vision of what God wants for them. Then they can succeed.

“A righteous person may have many troubles,
but the LORD delivers him from them all”

Thought for the Week: Let us try to understand what we are from the inside out. Let us follow the internal desires that are given to us by God rather than trying to fit some mold that society has placed around us. Let us be renewed on Sunday and walk the walk through out the week.

Prayer for the Week: Dear Lord and Father we are concerned about ourselves. We are constantly trying to find the answer to questions: Who are we in the scope of Your worldly design? How do we do Your will? Where are you when we need you? This week we pray that we may forgo asking those questions and use the knowledge that we have. This week we give thanks for who we are and pray that we may accept ourselves as your children and workers.
Amen

Several years ago June and I took some classes on feelings and emotions. That class identified primary and secondary feelings. Anger and bitterness were defined as secondary feelings. That means that when our feelings are hurt, we often choose to be angry.

The idea of choosing to be angry, to be bitter and hold on to “anxious thoughts” gives us an opportunity to not choose. That concept has helped June and I a lot in our lives. Think about the possibilities.

Look at angst as the enemy. When we are full of bitterness it has a negative on our entire surroundings. Clearly the Psalmist’s prayer is telling us not to do that. As Christians we have the advice and the tools. Our goal needs to be to practice our faith to keep our positive attitudes. Hebrews 12:15 says “See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.”
Have a great week.

Thought for the Week: There is a lot to worry about in our world, everything from the weather to international relations. We need to be simpler than all of that. This week let us all be a positive influence through prayer and see where God takes us with it.

Prayer for the Week: Heavenly father we live in a great place. A place created in perfection. We humans seem to want to mess it up. We eat the wrong foods and get disease, we hold grudges against others and become angry, we discriminate against people and the list goes on. As followers of Jesus we know that is all against your will. This week we pray that we may be free of all the negative influences and that we defeat that enemy with prayer and positive thoughts.

Laughter and happiness go together. It is hard for us to laugh when we are unhappy, over stressed or sad. In our society, there are too many people feeling unfulfilled because they are not keeping up with the Joneses. (a fifty’s expression for all you younger folk!) Many of us keep looking outward for our measure of success and try to have it all. Someone coined the word “afluenza” to describe it.

In our world it is not uncommon for a family to have $100,000 worth of new cars in the driveway, five or six televisions, a club membership and a sad face. That is the way of our materialistic society.

God wants us to be His light. He wants us to shine our lights brightly every day. To do that we need to measure ourselves internally based on Faith and Spirituality. We need to take pride in ourselves. When Paul wrote these letters, his message was that “…we are justified by faith in Jesus Christ— nothing less and nothing more….” ¹ That is all we need to shine our light brightly.

Thought for the Week: This week let us all search for that inner child that we have. Let’s be proud that it exists and be satisfied with it. Let us recognize and be pleased with who we were, who we are and who we will become. Let us grow our spirituality from the inside out.

Prayer for the Week: Heavenly Father we have concerns around the world. Natural disasters and terror are dominating the world news. We pray for all of those directly involved. We give thanks for all of the wonderful gifts of wealth and spirit that you have given us. We pray that we may find a way to use those gifts to help in the world. Amen

Happy New Year! We all say that and think that. However, we do not all live that. There are problems in our lives, illnesses, financial issues, family stress etc. that do not roll over at midnight on December 31st. However, we have control of “Happy New Year” in our heads. If we are the light of the world, then we need to be happy and allow the light to shine.

When we hear or read the news there is a lot in there to be depressed about. Many of the things that are going on in the world are tragic. As Christians we do need to care and be concerned. However, we also need to pray and give thanks to the Lord for the good news side of the coin. Overall, our focus needs to be on the positive side. There is always more right than wrong.

In a recent TV sermon, Joel Osteen, stated, “The bible says we are the light of the world. Have you got your light shining out?” We need to focus on that with our smiles and our laughter.

Thought for the Week: This week will be a great week. Yes, all of the normal things will occur. There will be illness, stress, cranky kids, bad weather, too much to do etc.; So what? There will also be great friends and family, fresh air, good food and other positives. We need to keep our light shining so others may see it.

Prayer for the Week: Dear Lord, this week we offer prayers for all that we do not understand fear. We pray for somehow that we may help minimize the suffering around  the Indian Ocean as a result of the tsunami. We pray for the victims of hate in the mid east. We pray for some understanding of your roll in all of this.

Dear God we also want to give thanks for the warmth and joy that you give us in our hearts and our Christian love for others. We thank you for all the happiness in our lives and the ability to share that joy and laughter with the world. Amen

Happy New Year. For the next few weeks the athletic clubs will be filled with “New Years resolutionists.” Diet programs will come and go, self improvement books will be purchased or at least the dust will be blown from last years cover! Does that sound familiar? Yes, we all have had a few resolutions fall by the wayside.

I do not know if Peter wrote the above on New Years eve but it is appropriate. Many of us have new goals today: weight, fitness, financial goals etc. Peter is asking us to look at our spiritual goals. “...Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize....”Hold that thought as you proceed through 2005.

Thought for the Week: This week let us look ahead rather than behind. Let us look ahead at the opportunities in our lives. This year let us practice Christian ethics and life style in all phases of our lives and by all means share our faith with others.

Prayer for the Week: Heavenly Father as this New Year begins please hear our prayer for serenity:
“God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I can not change
The courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.”

Hear this for all the worlds people so that your love and peace may dominate this New Year. Amen