Extra! Extra! Read All About It!

 

Sing to the Lord, bless His name; proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day. ~Psalm 96:2

Do you watch the news on cable television?  I certainly do, but I'm a one-trick pony when it comes to my choice.  It's Fox News, hands down for me.  Why?  Because I know I will see and hear different views and impressions about the news of the day, and even see clips from other major news outlets.  Fox truly lives up to its slogan - Fair and Balanced.

Now, am I so much of a news nerd that I watch it from dawn to dusk?  No way!  But there are a few go-to favorites that reliably grab my time and attention.  As I tend to rise early in the mornings, I like to wake up with Fox & Friends as I sip my coffee and get my bearings for the day ahead.

The hosts are always entertaining and informative, down-to-earth, and just plain likeable.  Their camaraderie and candor with one another are so refreshing to see.  And the special human interest features are always a plus that can add a lighthearted feel to any news of the day.

My other choices are The Five and Jesse Watters Prime Time for many of the same reasons.

I mean, honestly, how many news shows can you name that are able to interject good-natured humor and some laugh-aloud moments along with the actual news?  I know I can't think of any that beats out these two in my book.

And why, might you ask, do I even like watching the news at all?  Is it an obsession with FOMO, the Fear of Missing Out?  No, for me it's FOBU - the Fear of Being Uninformed.  I like to know what's going on in the world so I can look it straight in the eyes and deal with it accordingly.  Even when the news is bad, it isn't an options for me to run away and bury my head in the sand.

Today's news cycle changes constantly.  What grabs headlines on Monday may very well be tossed out of the media window by Tuesday.  And if we perceive it as bad news, we gladly bid it farewell.  But the good news?  We wish that it could linger just a bit longer.

Still, as believers, we know the good news of God's salvation day after day.  It never fails or fades away, but is new every morning.  And best of all, this good news is eternal.  It is our go-to headline when the world seems to have lost its collective mind.

When it comes to the Lord's good news, we can joyfully proclaim:  "Extra!  Extra!  Read all about it!"

Amen!

Rain or Shine

 Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven.  He answered and said to them, "When it is evening you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red'; and in the morning, 'It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.'  Hypocrites!  You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. ~Matthew 16:1-3

Unusual weather we're havin', ain't it? ~The Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz

The month of May here in Georgia is usually one replete with warm temperatures to herald the hot, humid, sticky, wall-of-heat summer in the offing.  But if you look at the header photo, you can see for yourself that this May is off to an anomalous start.  Yes, here it is, 4 o'clock in the afternoon, and our high is 64 very cool degrees.  Since neither Danny nor I are partial to Georgia summers, this is a welcome, if temporary, respite from stifling temperatures and high air conditioning bills.

According to our local weather prognosticators, this entire week should feature highs only in the low 70s.  Talk about a breath of fresh air!  Now, to be fair, there will be rain for most of that time, but in my book, that's not a downside.  I love the rain, and with it, our moss transforms into a thick carpet of emerald green - a joy to behold!

Weather is the one topic that everyone talks about, but there isn't anything we can do to change it.  Yet, it can change much about us.  For example, we can grumble and complain about that washed-out picnic or rain delay in a baseball game.  Or, we can accept the inclement day with gratefulness for an opportunity to put our feet up and read that novel or watch that movie we've been putting off for far too long.  It's all about attitude and outlook.

In today's fast-paced world, we have all kinds of computer models and sophisticated technology that allow meteorologists to predict the weather for the weeks ahead with astonishing accuracy.  The people living in Jesus' day depended on the signs given in the natural world to know when to prepare for sun or rain.  Even in the 21st Century, the saying in the scripture above is paraphrased this way:  Red sky at morning, sailors take warning; red sky at night, sailors' delight.

But Jesus isn't idly chatting about the weather with the Pharisees and Sadducees.  He's chastising them for their inability to see, right before their eyes, the very manifestation of all the scriptures they claim to understand and interpret better than anyone else.  Despite their immersion in the law and the prophets, they miss the Sign to which all are pointing.  They, like the elite in our time, are so consumed by their prestige and power, they cannot accept that this no-name, itinerant preacher from Galilee, with His rag-tag followers, is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God, the One for whom they have been waiting.

Jesus IS the sign from heaven.

Like the blind Pharisees and Sadducees, do we fail to see Him?

Do we fail to see Him for who He truly is?

Do we fail to follow Him in obedient joy for the grace He has so lavishly poured out upon us?

Since of of us sin and fall short of God's glory, the answer to the questions posed above is a resounding YES.  But when we confess our sins and run to Jesus, He will wrap us up in His arms of love and compassion, and forgive us those sins.  He isn't a fair-weather friend, but a forever one.  Rain or shine, we can rejoice because the Lord Jesus is with us.

Amen!

The Power to Heal

 

And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. ~Matthew 4:23

I take the photo featured in the header last week.  Why?  Because I spy it hanging on the wall in one of the last places I would expect to see something like this.  Yet, there it is, as plain as day.  Care to guess where Danny and I are?

Believe it or not, this plaque is on display in the patient check-out area of a doctor's office.  I must admit, I do the proverbial double-take, then whip my phone out of my purse to document this anomaly.  Like dear Doubting Thomas, I have to confess that until I see this with my own eyes, I would never take someone else's word that this plaque is proudly displayed in a doctor's place of business.

Will wonders never cease?

In our predominantly secular society, God is rarely given the credit when it comes to healing.  That's become the domain of physicians, nurses and medical researchers.  We humans have a dangerous tendency to posit our trust in those who have more knowledge, education and training in the field of medicine than we could ever hope to understand.  Sadly, from this worldly perspective, we put our faith in perceived professionals instead of the One who created us all.

This plaque, with its succinct and truthful statement about healing turns our upside-down thinking into right-side-up understanding.  Our competent and skilled doctors are just that because they've been endowed by God with the gifts of healing.  It is their calling.  But they are only the vessels of those gifts, not the source.

In the end, whether it's by divine intervention in this life, or not until we enter our eternal rest with the Lord, we will be healed, fully and completely, as God assures us in His Word.  I have some dear friends who struggle with pain and its debilitating effects on their wee-being each and every day.  No amount of medicine or therapy can change that for them.

But they know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that God walks with them every step of this earthly journey.  They don't complain.  They lose neither faith nor hope.  They continue to pray.  I continue to pray for them.  God hears all of our prayers, and will answer them in His impeccable timing.

Jesus may no longer be physically among us, teaching, preaching and healing in person, but He knows every pain we endure and each diagnosis that causes us suffering.  He's gone through it all, and more, Himself.

May we be truly thankful for our medical professionals, but remember always the only One who has the lasting power to heal us.

Amen!

The Smart Move

 

As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. ~1 Peter 4:10

I've never been one who buys anything for the sake of merely owning it.  I'll use it up or wear it out before replacing clothes or other items that don't require an upgrade of sorts.  Take my phone, for example.  Even though it's seen better days, and no longer holds a charge reliably, I dig in my heels and obstinately refuse to entertain the idea of a new one.

And then, just like that, Danny persuades me otherwise.  His reaction is prompted by the tariffs proposed that will more than likely raise the price of smart phones in the foreseeable future.  We determine that it's better to invest in an upgrade now than wait and watch the costs soar.

Danny's brother recently purchases a Motorola Edge 2024 and is pleased with the product.  We decide that this same model will work well for me, too, without costing the proverbial arm and leg.  I pay for the phone, and much to my surprise, Danny orders a 68-watt charger separately, one made specifically for this particular model.

When Danny claims this gadget will charge my phone to full in 15 minutes, I'm skeptical, of course.  How can anything work that quickly and efficiently?  Oh, but how wrong I am!  It works lightning fast, and the new (for me) phone holds that charge to the point where I only have to think about giving it some "juice" every three days at the most.  Wow!  I can't tell you how many times I wake up in the past to discover that my smart phone is "dead."  Not anymore!  Not having that to worry about will take some getting used to.

And best of all, Danny is correct about the cost.  Had we waited until today to purchase it, instead of two weeks ago, it would be $75 more than what I paid.  Now, I'd say that is one smart move for one smart phone!

We know we are blessed to have the financial wherewithal to afford things that can be viewed as non-essential.  But this hasn't happened by accident.  Danny and I believe that we are to be good and faithful stewards of every blessing God sees fit to give us, and that includes our finances.  We work diligently to strike a balance between saving for later and giving in the moment to our church and to those in need.

And always, always, we give thanks to God for the undeserved grace that He freely offers to every one of His children when we first seek His kingdom above all else.

If you haven't already, make the truly smart move:  Allow God's great grace to fill your hearts with peace, joy and abundant life.

His power is always there to recharge you.

Amen!

What's so Good About Good Friday?

 

At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.  And at three in the afternoon, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" (which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?")  When some of those standing near heard this, they said, "Listen, he's calling Elijah."  Someone ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink.  "Now leave him alone.  Let's see if Elijah comes to take him down," he said.  With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.  The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.  And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, "Surely this man was the Son of God!" ~Mark 15:33-39

What's so good about Good Friday?  This is a question I have pondered in my heart over these many years.  After all, this is the day our Lord and Savior, Jesus, suffered an excruciatingly painful and ignominious death on a cross.  Shouldn't we be calling Good Friday the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Friday?

Bishop Justin Holcomb of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida offers some insight as to why this holy day is called "good."

Still, why call the day of Jesus' death "Good Friday" instead of "Bad Friday" or something similar?  Some Christian traditions do take this approach.  In German, for example, the day is called Karfreitag, or "Sorrowful Friday."  In English, in fact, the origin of the term "Good" is debated; some believe it developed from an older name, "God's Friday."  Regardless of the origin, the name Good Friday is entirely appropriate because the suffering and death of Jesus, as terrible as it was, marked the dramatic culmination of God's plan to save his people from their sins.

Good for us.  No, wait!  Grand and glorious for us!

Because of Jesus' willingness to obey His Father's plan, we are forgiven our sins, once and for all.  And we can look forward to the coming Easter celebration with hope and joy, and the promise of a renewed relationship with our Father in heaven.

But on Good Friday, let us all take time to see ourselves sitting at the foot of that cross.  Let us become Mary and the disciple whom Jesus loved, who witnessed His immeasurable suffering.

Let us be fully present for our Lord as He gives His all for us.

Let us weep and mourn and pray.

And let us give thanks always for God's undeserved gifts of forgiveness and grace because Jesus took the cross of sin upon Himself for our salvation.

Amen!

See, I am Doing a New Thing!

 

See, I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?  I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. ~Isaiah 34:19

This spring, we living in northwest Georgia have set record pollen counts, with a week ago Saturday topping the charts with a whopping 14,801 grains per cubic meter of air.  Oh, I feel so sorry for people who suffer with seasonal allergies, especially when pollen is reaching unprecedented levels.

I discover these unfamiliar, to me, slender flower-like strands on our back deck just the other day.  What can they possibly be?  Danny uses the Google Lens on his phone and voila!  It turns out these are the nascent flowers from our sugar maple growing right beside our house.  But why have we never seen these before?  More research reveals that sugar maples don't reach seed bearing age until they are between thirty and forty years old.  And since Danny estimates that he planted our maple a little over 30 years ago, it makes all the sense in the world.

Using his zoom lens on his camera Danny captures some amazing photos:

Our mature sugar maple is doing a new thing, and now it springs forth in a way that both delights and fascinates us.  Isn't that just how God works at times?  When we least expect anything about our old, familiar shade tree to do anything else but leaf out for the summer and to grow taller each season, God shows us that there is so much more that He does behind the scenes that we, in our limited knowledge, cannot even begin to fathom.

When the ways before us are seemingly choked with obstacles and debris, and our souls feel parched and sere, the Lord will be there always to make straight our paths and refresh us with His Living Water, the well that will never run dry.

Amen!

Renovation

 

He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. ~Mark 8:31

March, as most of you already know, is one of the busiest months we've had in a while.  With the kids coming for a week's visit, there are so many preparations and planning for feeding and entertaining the family troops.  We are so pleased, too, that we can show them our most recent, and necessary for us, home improvement project that is finished and ready by the time they arrive.

What is this project, you ask?  A complete renovation of our master bathroom!  Believe me, this is NOT a decision that Danny and I make lightly.  It takes lots of research in choosing a reliable company, not to mention the timeliness of the actual renovation itself.  We feel so fortunate to contract with a local, family-owned and operated bath company with fantastic reviews and stellar customer service.

Their pleasant, knowledgeable sales rep shows up to our home right on time so we can see samples of what we can choose in the way of shower insert, fixtures such as handlebars, which we need, believe me, showerhead options, and new water-resistant flooring.  She isn't pushy or forceful in her presentation, and allows us ample time to pick and choose from seemingly endless styles and colors.  Danny and I easily agree on what we want for this new shower; being married for twenty years (this April 2nd), we know each other's tastes pretty well, if I say so myself.

And why now to accomplish this renovation?  Honestly, we aren't getting any younger, and would like to stay here in our home for as long as the Lord allows.  Danny recently hurts his knee to the point where stepping over the edge of our old-fashioned tub is a daily painful experience.  I, too, have had my fair share of balance issues, so this decision, while an expensive one, makes perfect sense to us.

Here is a photo of our old bathroom:

And here's what it looks like after the remodeling is complete, and freshly painted:

Wow!  What a difference, right?

Yes, our bathroom is completed in one day, as promised.  However, there is a catch:  We have to wait three days before we can use the shower insert to make sure everything has time to set and dry correctly.  Immediately, I'm reminded of the Easter story, the one we will soon be celebrating, the glorious day when God the Father resurrects His beloved Son, Jesus, from the dead.

Waiting three days, taken in the context of our bath remodel, seems unbelievably easy in light of the pain, anguish and confusion that Jesus' followers must have suffered in those dark days between the Lord's death on a cross and His resurrection.  A three-day span must have felt interminable for them.  Consumed by grief and fear, they forget what Jesus has promised them would happen on that blessed third day.

But we, as Christ-followers today, know how the story ends.  And we give thanks and praise to God for the grace and mercy He shows to us through Jesus' conquering, once and forever, death and the grave.  May we all celebrate the renovation of us all from the inside out on Easter and always.

Amen!