October 2, 2023
#732 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
April, 2023 Family strife. I suppose it is all around me, even in my families (I pray I am not a cause!). It’s all deep and complex and usually hidden. If I was a family counselor, I could only offer one piece of advice: read I Corinthians 13: 4–7 — “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” Apply it to yourself. Only to yourself–can’t even breathe it to the other side in the conflict. If I apply that to every family situation I am in, I am not going to have much family strife.
October 3, 2023
Kind of a non-Golf Tuesday this time…
#733 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
September, 2023 Doldrums. We have had, with just a couple of exceptions, over eight straight weeks of 100+ degree weather. I have played golf one time in the last 35 days due to a torn bicep (yep, the guys are still playing). I have never spent this much time on my recliner in my study. Even knowing that my life is still wonderfully blessed is not a surefire defense against the doldrums. I know of only one cure: “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall rise up on wings like eagles.” (Isaiah 40:31). God’s promise.
October 4, 2023
#734 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
November, 2022 Righteousness. One of the foundational words of the Christian vocabulary, yet it’s always made me a little uncomfortable–I think of a standard which I constantly fall short of. But I don’t need to achieve righteousness, I need to receive it. That happens when I recognize and choose what God wants instead of what I want. Make me righteous, Lord Jesus.
October 5, 2023
#735 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
August, 2023 I’m an exhorter (that’s what my friend told me). Exhort: (v.) to strongly encourage or persuade someone to do something. Well, if I am, this is my exhortation: Trust God with your life.
October 6, 2023
#736 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
May, 2023 Mockingbirds. Atticus said it was a sin to kill them–it still disturbs me that he said it was okay to shoot blue jays. To Kill a Mockingbird was my favorite book to teach in all of my career–it’s most basic theme is goodness. Not as canny as crows, not as haughty as hawks, not as dogged as doves–mellifluous is the word for mockingbirds. My spirit always lifts when I see one.
October 7, 2023
#737 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
December, 2022 Periodically, I come to what my friend Mary calls “come to Jesus” moments–when I need to repent, or buckle down, or let go, or just plain believe–and the sign post is so clear it could be in neon. Tonight as I wavered the word “avowal” jumped into my head. Avowal: (n.) an open statement of affirmation. Pretty cool. Yes, Lord, I believe that You are in control and I pray You will use me in the service of Your kingdom.
October 8, 2023
Es Domingo de Familia!
#738 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
October 3, 2023 My mother used to day, “Company is like fish–it starts to stink after three days.” Karen and I have been staying with my sister and brother-in-law in Spain for the past 13 days! They have been the most patient, hospitable hosts imaginable, and they have bent over backwards to show us why they love Spain so much. What’s not to love…the food, the climate, the serenity… I am so grateful to God for landing them here. Just as I know they will breathe a little sigh of relief when we depart, we will too when we return to Texas, where God has been gracious enough to land us.
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