Month: August 2014

If the Mona Lisa was a Book…

Posted on by Wendy
Every August, we start a new year with a fresh crop of sixth graders.
Every August, we start a new school year with a fresh crop of sixth graders.

My hubby and I teach a middle school Sunday School class during the school year. We take a break for the summer to rest and rejuvenate and reconnect with our adult class. It’s always fun, but I also look forward to getting back to the kids, which is kind of  a miracle in itself.

I said for years I’d be willing to work with any group of kids except for middle-schoolers, only to find that God has really given me a heart to work with this age group. I suppose simply living produces a learning all on its own.

We have a fairly large crop of new kids this year, ones who have just entered the sixth grade. Our class is usually very different from what they have been involved in before. We all sit in a circle and everyone has to talk. They only balk on that the first couple of Sundays and then they are totally into it. Kids this age really love to talk about themselves.

We ask them to bring their Bibles every Sunday and give them a Jolly Rancher when they do. They catch onto that pretty quickly too. We have them look up verses and read, no iPhones allowed, and then we try to relate it to their lives. We feel that the key to a desire to learn about God’s word is to make them understand that it has relevance to their lives. Isn’t that they key for everyone?

I think that the Bible is like the Mona Lisa. Her eyes are supposed to follow you wherever you are in the room. The Bible speaks to you wherever you are in your life.

We always like to start with the story of  Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, found in the Book of Daniel. Most of them are familiar with the story because of their miraculous rescue from the fiery furnace, but when we have them actually read it, we are able to point out similarities to their lives.

First of all, we point out that the three friends and Daniel, were taken as captives to Babylon. The culture was completely different. They ate different foods and drank a lot of alcohol. They worshiped different gods. At this point we ask them how different middle school is from their elementary school environment. This is where many of the eighth graders will chime in about all of the foul language. Peer pressure inevitably comes up and they all have something to add.

As we read further, we find that these friends stood together and refused to eat the foreign food and drank just water and remained incredibly healthy. They didn’t try to fit in by doing things they knew were wrong. Then they refused to bow down to a golden statue even though not doing so would result in them being thrown into the fiery furnace.

They stuck together and they prayed together and God delivered them. Then we talk to them about their friends and choices of friends. Is peer pressure always bad?  What happens when friends pray for each other and when they stick together and refuse to bow down to whatever may be going on in middle school? What would have happened if one of them caved and gave into the pressure to go against God?

They usually leave intrigued by the notion that the Bible is relevant in their young lives and I too, always leave a little amazed by God’s ability to speak to all of us wherever we are on the age spectrum or faith spectrum.

If you haven’t read the about Daniel and his three friends in awhile, check it out. It really is some amazing stuff. It may surprise you on how it relates to you on your walk at this very moment.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

First Fruits

Posted on by Wendy
The Bible tells us to give God our first fruits.
The Bible tells us to give God our first fruits.

My hubby and I were discussing our church’s financial issues recently, along with the idea of tithing. The idea of ten percent comes from the Old Testament in Leviticus and Numbers and has to do with taking care of the priests. In the New Testament, not surprisingly, Jesus tells them to give generously to all who are in need.

I love this about Jesus. He wasn’t bound by a mere number. He liked to raise the bar on the human heart. He wasn’t nearly as interested in the legalistic as he was in matters of the heart. He was more impressed by the poor widow who only had two coins to drop in the offering plate, than the rich man who gave the prescribed amount.

Our conversation turned away from actual money, but to physical and spiritual tithing. How much of our actual time do we give to the church? Is it even close to ten percent? How about spiritually? How much time each day do we spend in prayer or Bible study? How much time do we spend growing our faith? Is it at the top of the list everyday or do we fall into bed at the end of the day and say a quick bedtime prayer as we fall asleep?

God’s feelings about our gifts to Him are made clear in the Cain and Abel story. He accepted Abel’s sacrifice because it was the best of what he had grown, the first fruits. Cain only brought, “some” of what he had, not his best. I wonder if we are doing much better than Cain? Are we giving God our first thoughts and steps of the day? Does our service to our church community find itself first on our to do list, or do we wait sometime til Saturday night to even think about church? Do we go an entire week without talking to God?

I was reading in a recent Bible study where Paul was fussing at the Hebrews. “You have been believers so long now, that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food.” Hebrews 5:12

Has our modern society with limitless amounts of information at our fingertips, really decided that we simply can’t understand the Bible, so we wait until Sunday mornings and limit our learning to one hour? I feel like that probably does not qualify as first fruits.

The more I learn about the Christians being persecuted in Iran and Iraq, the more I feel like we need to get back to giving God our first fruits. The world is in turmoil. I think that we not only need to pray; we need to read God’s Book and get really grounded in what we believe. We need to give our time as much as our money to causes close to the heart of Jesus. The church definitely qualifies.

I heard Joyce Meyer say one time, “As a Christian, when you get up in the morning and your feet hit the floor, hell should shake with fear.” We have been given that kind of power. What we do with it, is up to us.

What’s your take on physical and spiritual tithing? I’d love to hear from you.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

We Only Have to Do What We are Called to Do

Posted on by Wendy
This bee never questions its calling. It simply works hard at pollinating.
This bee never questions its calling. It simply works hard at pollinating.

I have had so many wonderful conversations with God this summer while tending my garden. One of them was the fact that in a garden there are many insects. They are all different, but they all have an important job. This little bee was very busy pollinating my squash blooms. It doesn’t seem like much, yet I would have no squash without the bee. I watched that bee for a little while and it went from bloom to bloom. It never seemed to tire and it never stopped to question its existence.

This ladybug is always at work too. She rids my tender plants of pests that will harm them.
This ladybug is always at work too. She rids my tender plants of pests that will harm them.

I photographed this ladybug on my okra plants. Ladybugs are good insects that eat the bad ones who would harm my plants and keep them from producing. The ladybug flies from plant to plant eating the bad bugs. She’s like a little super hero. God even provided her with an awesome little red and black uniform.

This spider moves to wherever the pests are.
This spider moves to wherever the pests are.

Then there is the garden spider. I confess that I am a reformed spider hater. They have always creeped me out. But, when this one appeared, I knew she had a reason to be there, so I left her undisturbed, even when she was blocking a tomato that was ready to be picked. But, I learned something about spiders this summer, they move their webs to where the bugs are. If I had a tomato or a squash with a hole in it that had drawn bugs to it, the spider would be close by. She moved around to get her job done, kind of like the ladybug. She still kind of scares me and I always look for her before I pick anything, but she has a job to do and she’s getting it done.

My hubby and I used to watch the news every morning on a television in our kitchen. When our cable provider decided that every television in the house would require a box to work, we had to get rid of the kitchen television. We switched to music and its been fun and freeing. However, we have been completely out of the world news loop.

We have known that Israel has been under attack and we have been praying for the safety of the people in the Jewish country. We haven’t known the details, but we know in our hearts that Israel will always be under attack until Jesus comes back.

I have just learned some of the horrific details of the Christians under attack in Iraq and I have been moved to tears. I have been praying for their safety and for world intervention. Then there’s the Ebola virus that is sweeping through Africa. I spent the entire day yesterday questioning the purpose of the simple words that I share here about my truthfully, bountiful life and God’s presence in it. I felt guilty for living in complete safety with abundance. Shouldn’t I be doing more?

I prayed a lot about it and this morning, God brought me back to my garden pictures. All of the little insects are doing what they are called to do. I haven’t been called to Africa to fight Ebola or to the foreign mission field. I haven’t been called to physically render aid to our persecuted brothers and sisters in Iraq and Israel fighting for their lives. For the moment, I have been called to write about God’s existence in the world around me and to share it with others.

Just by doing what I am called to do, makes me a success in God’s eyes. If I can make just one person seek more of God in their lives, I feel successful in my own eyes. Your calling is different than mine. No two will be exactly alike. No one knows why God calls us to do different things, but faith leads to obedience and that’s truly all He asks of us.

We are all important pieces of God’s plan, in His eyes. Feeling insignificant doesn’t come from Him. So, I will do on this day what I am called to do and share with you. What are you called to do? Let’s get to it!

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Giving Thanks in All Circumstances

Posted on by Wendy
Today, I'm thankful for a sink full of dirty dishes.
Today, I’m thankful for a sink full of dirty dishes.

Our dishwasher died last week. It gave us  no warning. We turned it on and it sounded like it was chopping up glass. It wouldn’t drain and the dishes were a mess. I am blessed to be married to a man who can fix just about anything. His mother was a child of the Great Depression and he grew up not throwing anything away.

He took the dish washer apart. He thought he had it fixed. I ran one load and then it got worse. If we called somebody out to fix it, there would be a trip charge of a hundred bucks. It was already nine years old; so we made the decision to go dishwasher shopping over the weekend.

I love modern appliances, but I hate spending money on them. You know, kind of like getting a new roof or new tires, they cost a lot of money and you never feel like you have much to show for it.

So, for almost a week, I have been doing dishes by hand at least three times a day and I have not been very happy about it. I don’t have a dish drainer, so they are spread out all over my counter tops. I’m having to wash dish towels all of the time because they are always wet.

While I was washing dishes for what seemed like the tenth time, the other day, I was praying about my attitude. I always try to look for the silver lining in every situation, but I was struggling to find one. As I was asking God how I could possibly be thankful in this situation, I could almost hear His quiet reply.

“At least you have dishes; some people don’t. At least you have food to go on those dishes and make them dirty; there are millions of people who are hungry.  At least you have clean running water. There are many people who don’t have access to clean water period, much less hot running water.”

I was humbled as I should have been. Of course, He was right. I was whining and complaining about such a small, insignificant problem in the big scheme of things. My life is pretty good. I have been blessed with abundance, but sometimes I forget.

The Bible tells us to, “Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

That is sometimes a tall order. It’s easy to be thankful when everything is going well, but when it’s not; that’s another story. We all struggle with being thankful when times are tough, but God knows that. He made us and He understands. It’s okay to fail; we just need to make an effort and remember to pray. Even when we don’t know how to pray, the Holy Spirit does and joy, patience and peace are some of the fruits of those prayers.

As for me, I’m thankful for the reminder to always give thanks. I’m supposed to get a new dishwasher delivered mid-week. Until then, I’m thankful for a sink full of dirty dishes.

Have you ever had a hard time being thankful? Did prayer help? I’d love to hear from you.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Never Say Never

Posted on by Wendy
Looks like I'm going camping.
Looks like I’m going camping.

When my kids were little, we used to take them camping every summer. As they got older, we went with some other families from church. My sweet hubby loves to camp and he does all of the cooking while we are there. I mean serious cooking. We don’t eat honey buns for breakfast. We have eggs, bacon and pancakes and most importantly, coffee. For dinner, he grills chicken or smokes something and it’s delicious.

At one point, though, my daughter was no longer interested in going and quite frankly, neither was I. Camping takes so much planning. I have to pack everything, but the kitchen sink and then everything comes home wet and has to be washed. It’s exhausting. I was done. Then we got a new youth pastor. She was young and energetic. She loved the idea of taking the middle schoolers camping and including the rising sixth graders as a welcome to the youth group.

Both of my kids were included in this group; so I grudgingly agreed to go. It rained most of the time on Saturday, but the kids had a ball and truthfully, so did I. We had the opportunity to have them outside in God’s Creation, away from electronics and they loved every minute of it. They bonded with each other and created community.

The next year when we went, my daughter had just finished 8th grade. She would not be eligible to go on the trip the following year. I figured my hubby could go with my son. I announced, very publicly, my retirement from camping, once again.

Today, my hubby and I had a meeting with our young, energetic youth pastor right after Sunday School. We had many things to discuss. When we got to the camping trip, I was ready to tell her to count me out. But, she and my hubby got to planning. They decided it would be a fabulous idea to combine the high school and middle school youth and invite all of the families too, for a youth family camping trip. For those who didn’t want to camp, the parents could come and spend the day on Saturday and stay for dinner.

I found myself once again, inexplicably, being drawn into camping plans. I even found myself getting excited about it.

Once I got home I found myself talking to God about it and laughing. His plans quite often, don’t line up with mine. I write about the importance of community all of the time. I also write about the wonder of God’s Creation and how I believe that one of Satan’s big schemes is to keep us indoors and away from God’s wonder. How could I possibly say no to a chance to build community and be out in nature at the same time? I couldn’t.

I have come to understand on my faith walk, that I sometimes get called to go where I wouldn’t have chosen to go on my own. But, I have also learned that when I obey His call I am always blessed and I have the opportunity to bless others. So, I’m going camping and for some reason, I’m looking forward to it. God works in mysterious ways!

Have you ever been called to do something you said you never would do? I’d love to hear from you.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Your Testimony

Posted on by Wendy
We sometimes forget how beautiful and freeing grace can be.
We sometimes forget how beautiful and freeing grace can be.

I have a dear friend who has spent the past year and a half, wrestling with God. She was raised Catholic, but had lapsed for the most part. Her son, had friends who invited him to the Baptist church. He really loved it and kept telling her how much he was learning about the Bible. She decided to attend.

She also loved it, but had no intention of joining. Jesus had a different plan and repeatedly put on her heart that she needed to join. The thing was that they wouldn’t accept her Catholic baptism. They wanted her to profess her faith as an adult and be dunked. She wrestled with Jesus for a long time about it.

She told me that he kept telling her that she needed to be baptized. I told her if that was the case, she better get baptized. I asked her if it ever occurred to her, that if she would be obedient, that she could stop wrestling. She smiled and shook her head.

She and her son were both baptized last Sunday. She asked me if I knew what all joining the church entailed. I told her she had been baptized. Now, she and her son would simply stand in front of the congregation and publicly say they wanted to join. Then she asked me about her testimony. She said that word kept coming up and wasn’t really sure what it meant.

I told her that it’s simply your story. How exactly did you find your way to Jesus? What sorts of detours did you take along the way?

She considers her past quite checkered and has had a lot of regrets. When we have talked about it before, I reminded her that there are no degrees of sin. It’s all the same in God’s eyes and it’s all bad. Her sins are no worse than anyone else’s. That kind of thought comes from Satan, not Jesus.

But, that day, after her baptism, when we were talking about the concept of testimony, her story had changed. She said she was happy to share her past if it would help others. Then she intently looked at me and said, “I mean, I have no reason to be ashamed, right?”

I can’t tell you the joy I felt at her words. She really had, “gotten it.” She truly understood and embraced grace. I told her, “no.” She had no reason to be ashamed. Jesus had washed all of the past away. She was forgiven and loved.

That’s the beautiful freeing power of grace. So many of us lifelong Christians forget the freedom that comes from knowing Jesus. We are forgiven. We are loved. Jesus doesn’t care about our baggage. We have work to do.

And as far as your testimony, she nailed it. If you can help somebody on their faith journey with it, by all means share, but that should be the only reason you feel the need to bring up your past mistakes. Jesus has moved on and we should too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Teaching Trust

Posted on by Wendy
Whenever I try to teach my kids to trust in God's plan, He always intervenes.
Whenever I try to teach my kids to trust in God’s plan, He always intervenes.

My kids started back to school today after a fabulous summer break. They were not happy. My son spent his last day of sweet summer with friends in the neighborhood, riding bikes and enjoying the outdoors. My daughter met some friends at a pool and then we added a few more and they convened in our basement to talk about the perils of school and how they dreaded it.

I had to run a quick errand to pick up some drum sticks for my son when my daughter called panicked. While she wasn’t happy about going back to school, she had what she considered, the perfect schedule. She had friends in every class and lunch with three of her besties. The girls had all checked the Power School app one more time and she discovered that her schedule had been changed. She had been taken out of math and put into chemistry. This also changed her lunch period.

It had been less than twenty-four hours since we attended the school open house and someone had changed her schedule. This may seem like a very minor issue, and to adults, it is, but to a high school sophomore, it was huge. She asked me to e-mail her adviser and I reminded her that I was driving. I suggested that she e-mail him.

She hates to deal with authority. She would much rather avoid conflict at all cost. Reluctantly, she agreed. I said a prayer for her at this point. I could feel God’s hand in this situation. She e-mailed her adviser and he e-mailed her right back. He was very kind and told her that he didn’t change her schedule, that one of the administrators did, probably to balance class size. He promised to look into it.

She worried all evening. I asked her if she had prayed about it and she said yes. Then I asked her if it ever occurred to her that God had a plan for her, that perhaps she was supposed to meet some new people in the chemistry class. There would be upperclassmen in there as well. I reminded her that when she got put into a group on her mission trip without her friends, she had the time of her life and was thrilled that she ended up where she did. She wasn’t convinced.

She went on to bed and this morning, she was surprisingly calm. I reminded her that life is full of curve balls and that everyone at some point in life, had something changed against their wishes. She e-mailed her adviser again and he asked her to speak to one of the assistant principals. She was super nervous about that, but she had also found a friend in the new class, a girl from church, a girl from our small group class last year. She decided that either way, things would be fine.

Teaching my teens to trust God is one of the most difficult tasks around. When the seemingly minutiae in life is a huge deal, it’s hard to show them that there is in fact, a bigger plan and that God has their best in mind. I find myself praying a lot about wisdom and the ability to show them the truth.

The thing is, when I pray about teaching them trust, God always comes through. After all, He wants them to learn about trusting Him too. I know that God doesn’t work like a genie and the answer to some prayers is no, but the fact that we talked about praying about it, and the fact that she dealt with her adviser herself and the fact that she decided it would be okay either way, had God’s fingerprints all over it.

In the end, she texted me that she was able to keep math and I said a prayer of thanks to the God who loves my children more than I do, as hard as that is for me to understand.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Jesus Take the Wheel

Posted on by Wendy
Jesus take the wheel, should probably be our go to answer for all of life's issues.
Jesus take the wheel, should probably be our go to answer for all of life’s issues.

My fifteen-year-old daughter has been driving for right at a week now. It has been a white-knuckle experience. It’s not that she’s a bad driver; it’s that she’s a new driver and very inexperienced. I promised myself that I would not be a yeller when my kids started driving. I remember feeling like my mama was always screaming when I was newly behind the wheel.

I am sorry to say I have broken that promise and I’m sure as my mama is reading this, she is laughing out loud. I am also sure that she’s looking at the screen and saying out loud, “My daddy always said that you don’t pay for your raising until you have your own.” As usual, Granddaddy was right.

As we were traveling to guitar lessons yesterday, we approached a yellow light. I told her to slow down. She kept her speed. It turned red. I told her to stop. She gunned it. At this point, I was screaming. She slammed on brakes, stopping us in the cross walk. She started crying. The guy on the bike crossing the street was cussing and glaring at us. I am sure if I were ever going to have a stress related heart attack, that would have been the moment.

When we finally arrived at guitar, she was still sniffling. I was shaking, (close to shock I think), when Ms. Vanda, her guitar teacher, came to the door calling out how proud she was the my daughter had received her learner’s permit. When we described what had happened, she had a few stories of her own about her son and her own experiences while learning to drive. She attributed her surviving them to the “hand of God.”

She told my daughter that she had worked on the perfect song for them to play; “Jesus Take the Wheel,” by Carrie Underwood. Perfect.

As I sat on her couch working to regain my composure and thanking God for keeping us safe, it occurred to me that we all have those driving stories. I’ll bet you can think of a few of your own. Almost every adult I know drives, which means at some point, they had to learn. But, rarely do I hear a fatal story involving a student driver. It has to be the “hand of God.”

When I pray that God will grow my faith, I should know by now, that I have to fasten my seat belt. Growth is rarely painless. But, let me tell you, if you want to really trust God, get in the passenger seat of a teen driver. He is definitely clearing your path and keeping you safe.

But, the deeper reality is that we are never really in control. We can make choices, but in the end, the big stuff, like our health and whether we keep our jobs or if we will return home safely from work everyday, that’s out of our hands. Riding with a student driver is a concrete reminder that we all should be saying, “Jesus take the wheel,” and stop panicking and worrying so much. That’s easier said than done, believe me; I know, but it really is the only way to find peace in the turbulent world we live in.

I know I’ll be saying those words very regularly over the next year. Maybe you would like to join me.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Here’s to New Beginnings

Posted on by Wendy
What will you do today to celebrate the first day of the rest of your life?
What will you do today to celebrate the first day of the rest of your life?

I attended a retirement celebration for my Daddy on Saturday. I have to say that it really was a treat. Is was a rather informal affair. An invitation went out over the internet inviting all who worked with him or had worked with him to meet at a bar-b-cue restaurant in Macon. We were happy to drive down and participate.

What I wasn’t prepared for were the sixty plus people who showed up to bid him farewell. The sheer number made me incredibly proud of him. Then there were the gifts and presentations. There were more than a few people who shed some tears. My heart swelled with love for him as grown men dabbed at their eyes.

Most all of them commented on how much they would miss his smile. He worked there for eighteen years. I think to be remembered for his smile is a really awesome testament to him.

The evening wound down and we went back to my parents’ house. When we were sitting at the pool the next day, Daddy came walking out in his swim suit. I was pretty shocked. He works on keeping the pool perfect for swimming all of the time, but he rarely swims. He’s always too busy. He has worked his entire life and relaxing has never been something he is good at.

Imagine my surprise when he grabbed a float and tossed it in the pool. When he got in and got on it I was speechless. (a fairly rare occurrence for me)  Of course, I had to get the camera and snap some shots. When I finished, I told my mom how shocked I was.

She leaned over and told me, “I told him when he got up this morning that today was the first day of the rest of his life, that he better get up and start enjoying it and that he needed to put on his suit and come out to the pool.”

Those were wise words to be sure. We have all heard them before; but that doesn’t make them any less true. Everyday that we wake up and get out of bed is the first day of the rest of our lives. It’s a brand new chance to eat better, exercise, be a better spouse, be a better friend, call an old friend, spend more time with family, read the Bible or talk to God.

Every morning when we wake up, we have concrete proof that God is not finished with us yet. We have work to do and dreams to pursue.

New beginnings can be scary. We are starting a new school year this week. New jobs can be scary or new relationships. New chapters can be scary. But they can be exciting too and they can be fun.

Daddy’s zest for the first day of the rest of his life has inspired me to play more and smile more and not to be afraid to take the plunge, whatever that may be. The Bible tells us there is a time for everything.

I challenge you to say a prayer and find what your time is today and jump in. There’s no time like the present.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Tossing Out the Bad

Posted on by Wendy
I discovered this squash on my daily garden check. It had to be thrown in the trash.
I discovered this squash on my daily garden check. It had to be thrown in the trash.

I check on my little garden everyday. There are usually a few tomatoes and okra to be harvested and sometimes some squash. Yesterday, I discovered this unfortunate squash. Something had burrowed into it and it was rotting rather quickly. I hate to throw out something that I have taken the time to nurture and grow.

But, if I leave something rotting, hanging on the vine next to healthy fruit and vegetables, it will draw more pests, putting my entire little crop in danger. That little squash stayed in my thoughts and made me think about how our lives can have similar issues.

We can be cruising along, minding our own business, when something unexpected happens to us. A person or a situation can make us angry,  hurt our feelings or make us jealous. Often, these feelings are fleeting and only upset us for a very short time. But, sometimes, we allow these feelings to take root in our hearts.

When we allow things like anger, jealousy and hurt feelings to take root, they begin to take on a life of their own. They grow and get bigger. They fester. They begin to poison the good things in our lives. Feelings of contentment, thankfulness and forgiveness begin to take a backseat, while the negativity continues to grow.

As we focus on the negative, we attract more pests, and all of the good gets overshadowed by the bad. There is no room for the Holy Spirit within all of that negativity because we shut down and can no longer hear him. There is no room for things like love, joy and peace which are the Spirit’s fruits.

We can allow that one slight, whether big or small,  to take over our entire being. The good news is that we can take precautions.

The good news is we have a guide-book to help us navigate life’s sometimes bumpy, roads. The Bible has a ton of advice on dealing with life’s curve balls. Philippians 4:8 says, “And now dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”

I have always loved that verse. It helps to remind us to focus on the good, not the bad.

Psalm 37:8 says, “Stop being angry! Turn from your rage. Do not lose your temper- it only leads to harm.”

We are told here that we do have a choice whether to turn towards or away from anger.

Ephesians 4:26-27 tells us, “And, don’t sin by letting anger control you. Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil.”

Here again, we have a choice about how we deal with our emotions. Sure, we are going to get angry and we will likely get our feelings hurt from time to time, if we choose to live among other humans. We may find ourselves with some jealousy over someone else’s accomplishments. These are normal feelings, but they are only feelings. When we acknowledge them honestly in prayer, we can activate the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives and toss them in the trash where they belong, like that little squash.

Then, we can live in peace with joy. I think that is something worth striving for. What about you?

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂