To Complain or To Give Thanks - That is the Question!

Yesterday, my wife and I stopped by the dealership were I had bought my PT Cruiser seven years ago. They had just completed the required PA state inspection. It was time to bring the Cruiser home. After paying the bill, I walked out to the car, climbed in, and started it up. The engine coughed and sputtered a few times and then quit. It refused to start up again! So I calmly walked back into the service department to inform them of my dilemma. The mechanic who had done the work was summoned. After a quick look under the hood, he announced that he would have to check it out in the morning as he had no idea as to the cause of the problem. So I climbed back into our Nissan and Sharon and I returned home.

Now I could have grumbled and complained about this situation. After all, it would mean another day with only one car, another trip to the dealership when the Cruiser was finally road worthy and another bill to pay! But I made a choice to look on the "bright side." The Cruiser could have shut down halfway home or in my garage - either case necessitating a tow back to the dealership. Also, if something major was about to go ... better now than after the middle of April when my extended warranty is due to expire. Finally, I chose to be thankful that the Cruiser is our second vehicle and not our only vehicle.

All this to say -- we can ALWAYS find something for which to be thankful, no matter how trying, irritating, frustrating or difficult a situation might be. And God wants us to cultivate a thankful heart for He tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 that we are to "give thanks in ALL circumstances." So the next time you are tempted to grumble or complain ... instead look for something in the situation for which you can offer thanks and DO IT!

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

Beware of Thinking too Highly of Yourself!

This past Friday morning, a man was robbed at gunpoint in a restroom at Harrisburg hotel and conference center. With a gun in his face, the victim surrendered his wallet and cell phone to the thief, who then fled out of the building and hailed a cab. Unfortunately for the criminal the man he robbed was a retired police chief and the conference he was attending was for narcotics officers - of which approximately 300 were in attendance. So to say the robber never had a chance to get away just might be an understatement!!! Here is a case where the perpetrator did not pick his victim with much if any forethought. Yet when asked by a reporter for a comment, the suspect replied, "I'm smooth." Apparently he got mixed up with his "s" words. I think "stupid" might have been a more appropriate choice!

But this guy suffers from something we all struggle with ... and that is the tendency to think too highly of ourselves. That's why Paul in Romans 12:3 tells us "for by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned." In other words, we are to look at ourselves honestly and see ourselves as God sees us. But this is easier said then done. For our fallen nature is hard-wired toward pride. So be careful. Be aware of this tendency we all have. Pursue the attitude of the tax collector in Luke 18:13 who realized that he was totally dependent upon God's mercy! And that is not a bad place to be!

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

Living Up to Expectations!

If you read my posting of yesterday, you would know that Sharon and I took in the performance of Riverdance at the Hershey Theater last night. We went with high expectations and we were not disappointed. I can't recall ever seeing foot work like I observed last night. The dancers seemed to glide across the stage as they tapped and stomped, moving as one with each other and the music. And the musicians (all five of them) were among the most talented muscians I have heard perform live! Add in some acappella choral arrangements - that were both soothing and haunting at the same time, and it made for quite the enchanting evening. If you ever have the chance to see this performance - GO!

But what if the performance of the dancers, musicians and vocalists had not lived up to our expectations? What if the vocalists had been off key, the dancers out of sinc and the instrumentalists had missed notes? If that had been the case, we would have walked away disappointed. And the greater the gap between our high expectations for the evening and the reality of it all - the greater our disappointment would have been.

All of us have expectations about everything all the time. And if reality falls short of our expectations - we experience disappointment. If we allow that disappointment to linger in our souls, then we experience discouragement which will eventually grow into disillusionment, then depression and finally despair (this is what I call the 5-D response to unmet expectations). It is important to understand this if we are to avoid this downward decline toward despair. So what can we do? Two suggestions:

1. Be aware of your expectations. Ask yourself "Are my expectations of this event or of this person too high? Too unrealistic?" Remember, if you set your expectations too high - you are setting yourself up to be disappointed (which is the first step in this 5-D response to unmet expectations). We live in a broken and fallen world among broken and fallen people (and that includes you and me!). Yet we were designed to live in a perfect world among perfect people. So life and people will not always live up to expectations! So be aware of your expectations.

2. When expectations are not met - deal with your disappointment quickly and if you need to do so, adjust your expectations. But if your expectations are met, be thankful (to God and others).

Expectations. It is important that you keep them in mind!

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

A Much Anticipated Gift!

Every Christmas, I try to come up with some sort of meaningful gift for my wife. One I know that she will appreciate. One that shows her just how much she means to me. This past Christmas, I think I hit a home run! About a month before Christmas, as I was still debating with myself (I can't figure out if that is a good or bad thing - to debate with yourself. On the one hand you always win- a good thing - but on the other hand you always lose - a bad thing!) ... but as I was saying I was debating with myself as to what to give my wife. It was around that time that I took my son to a Hershey Bears hockey game. During one of the intermissions, a commercial aired on the big screen which hung over the rink. It was all about the Irish River Dance which was coming in March to the Hershey Theater. As soon as I saw it, my debate with myself was over! My wife has for years mentioned her desire to see this production. And since this tour is being billed as the River Dance's farewell tour - I knew that this would be the perfect gift to give! And her response on Christmas morning proved me right!

So tonight we will be seated in the Hershey Theater (God willing, of course) enjoying the Irish music and dance! Yes, my wife has had to wait three months and a day to enjoy her gift. But she has assured me that it has been worth the wait (and I am sure she will feel the same, if not more so, after seeing the performance!).

We Americans are not very good at waiting. We complain whenever we have to wait in a line. Whether at the bank or grocery store. We just hate waiting. Don't give it to me tomorrow or even today! I want what I want YESTERDAY!!! But in the real world in which we live, waiting is part of the package of life. So all of us could learn a good dose of patience (me included!!)! Ecclesiastes gives us a good perspective on life and time. King Solomon tells us that God "has made everything beautiful in its time" (Ecclesiastes 3:11). We impatient Americans need to learn the value of WAITING ON GOD! Allow Him to work out HIS purposes in HIS time! After all, doesn't FATHER KNOW BEST???

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

Blessed to Do What?

I want to follow up yesterday's posting with another thought concerning God's blessings. Yesterday I encouraged all of us to regularly pause to thank God for his blessings. It is only due to His grace that we enjoy anything at all!

Today, I want to remind you of another truth that I was reminded of this past Sunday by our missionary, Jim Momeyer. Jim and his wife Deb serve with Grace Brethren International Missions in the African country of Cameroun. In his sermon, he shared this principle: We have been "BLESSED TO BLESS FOR HIS PRAISE!" He drew this principle from the first three verses of Psalm 67 which reads as follows:

"May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us, ²that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations. ³May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you."

Jim pointed out to us that what this portion of Scripture teaches is that God doesn't generously bless us so that we can enjoy his blessings just for ourselves. No, God blesses us so that in turn we can bless others ... and all for the praise of God's glory! Jim wrapped up his sermon by encouraging us to ask ourselves these three rather pointed questions:

- How has God blessed me?
- How am I in turn blessing others?
- Are people "bragging" on God because of me?

Good questions! I urge you to use these questions to guide you in a time of self-evaluation. If you are in any way like me (and I suspect many of you are) - you will find that you all too often horde God's blessings for yourself!

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

It's Easy to Forget to Say, "Thanks, God!"

Joe was a factory worker in suburban Cleveland. He started at the plant right out of high school. He was in his 22nd year on the job, married with three kids. Recently, a number of his co-workers had been laid off. But he thought he was safe given his years of seniority. But one day, he found out other-wise. As he drove home from work that last day at the plant, he wondered how he would ever find another job - at least one that paid him as well as his factory job had done over the years. After all, he had no education beyond high school and given the poor job market, he knew he was in for a rough time.

The very next morning, he began his new job - that of finding a job! He registered at a local "career-link" job center. There he honed his resume and learned a strategy to find employment. With a renewed feeling of hope, he began in earnest looking for his next job. But days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months with no results. Joe's unemployment benefits were soon scheduled to run out. Desperate and discouraged, Joe turned to God. Not a praying man, he got down on his knees one night and asked God (or as he called him "the Big Boss upstairs") for a job. He told God if God would come through for him, that he, Joe, would come through for God. He crawled into bed that night, feeling some relief and managed to sleep for the first time in several nights.

He was awakened the next morning by an early morning phone call. It was an employment agency calling about a potential job. They wanted to see Joe that very morning. With cautious optimism Joe drove to the agency. After the agency interview, he was sent to a new distribution center that had recently opened near his home. At the conclusion of that interview, he was offered the job on the spot. He took it! Soon, he was enjoying a healthy regular pay check (and enjoying his new job as well!). However, Joe forgot about God and forgot about the "deal" that he had made with God. Joe would eventually retire from the distribution center. But never again did he get on his knees before God.

The lesson I want you to get out of this parable is not that we should avoid making deals with God (which is true!). But I want to remind you (and me, too!) that it is God "who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment" (1 Timothy 6:17). Therefore we must be careful to recognize and honor HIM as the provider for all of our needs and wants! Don't be guilty of taking God's gifts for granted. Remember to thank Him for His many blessings!

Tomorrow I will discuss one other step we must take in response to the generosity of our God. But for today (and just don't stop with today - but get into this habit EVERYDAY!) please pause and take a moment to mentally list some of the many blessings God has showered upon you - and THANK HIM!

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

A Case of Mistaken Idenitification

The headline in this morning's paper read, "Police had wrong guy." Curious, I read the article. Seems like the wrong guy, Clark Lilley, was arrested last month for robbing a Manor Township convenience store. Turns out, he never did it! Yet for the past several weeks, he has languished in Lancaster County prison, day after day proclaiming his innocence. Authorities turned a deaf ear to his protests (after all, most inmates do the same!) until, a man now identified as the true culprit was arrested after robbing another convenience store. And since Lilley was incarcerated at the time, it was clear he was innocent as he claimed! So last night, Lilley slept in his own bed for the first time in FIVE weeks! Now how did it come about that Lilley was arrested in the first place? Seems that a worker at the convenience store picked him out of a photo line up and identified him as the robber. Because of that mistaken identification, Lilley's life was turned upside down! At the time of his arrest, he was a student at Lancaster Bible College. Due to his arrest, he lost his on campus job and now a whole semester of work.

As unfortunate as this story is, we can understand how these things happen. People make mistakes. Most of the time, these mistakes are on the minor side (like making a wrong turn while driving, or overcooking the roast). But in Lilley's case - the woman's mistake led to a major disruption in his life.

Friends, there will come a day that we stand before Almighty God. Be assured that unlike the woman who was the truly guilty one in this story in making her false identification of Lilly as the robber, God will never be guilty of this. He knows all things perfectly and exhaustively. So when we stand before Him to give an account of our lives (which we will, see 2 Corinthians 5:10 and Revelation 20:11-15) - you can count on the fact that God will make totally accurate judgments about us and our lives. That's a sobering thought! Keep that in mind as you live out today! It just may make a difference in the choices you make! God is watching! And you and I will one day give an account for our lives!

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj