Seasons Come and Seasons Go!

Last week I ran my lawn mower for the final time in 2011. Now I can put it away and get my snow blower ready for use. None of this surprises me. A quick glance at the calendar hanging on the wall behind my desk reminds me that today is the final day of November. Tomorrow (December 1st) brings with it the first day of meteorological winter (December, January, and February are the three coldest months of the year and are therefore labeled "winter" by the professionals who track our climate and forecast our weather.). Ouch! Did I just write "winter?"  Yep! Hard to believe but winter is literally at our front door! But it just seems like it was summer yesterday! Yep! But seasons come .... and seasons go. Before we can brew our next cup of coffee, the warm breezes of spring will be telling us that it's time to retrieve the lawn mower from storage!

In Daniel 2:20-21 we are told that God changes times and seasons. In fact, the changing of the seasons demonstrates the faithfulness of our God. Now I know that some would argue that the changing seasons are all due to the rotation of the earth ... but who is it that designed the earth in the first place (see Genesis 1:1)? And who is it that holds the universe together and keeps it running (see Hebrews 1:3)?  

So as the seasons change ... take a moment and thank God for his faithfulness. Indeed "morning by morning new mercies we see ... GREAT is THY faithfulness!"

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj

Black Friday ... Cyber Monday ... Where are we Heading?

The top news stories the past few days have been all about what are arguably the two most important days of the year to our country's retailers: Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Given the preliminary data, retailers must be feeling pretty good. According to the National Retail Foundation, a record 226 million shoppers were out and about. And these shoppers spent an estimated $400 each on their purchases. Wow! That's a lot of people spending a lot of money!

As for Cyber Monday, there are no figures out  yet to say just how many were shopping online yesterday .. but sales did top one billion dollars for the first time!  Again ... a lot of people buying a lot of stuff (I saw an interesting segment on NBC evening news last evening in which the NBC reporter shadowed an "aisle runner" in a million sq. foot Amazon warehouse in Phoenix. This guy's job was to fill orders ... so he had to know where to go to get the items for the order. On a busy day, this guy can walk up to 15 miles!).

I am so glad that I can say that the only store I stepped into over the weekend was a grocery store. For one, I don't like huge crowds. In addition, I would just as soon not get caught up in the consumerism that drives these events. If others want to do so ... that's OK with me. Just don't ask me to go along (in fact, I think I have only been shopping on a Black Friday once in the recent past). I also did not order anything online yesterday. If you did (and got a deal) - hurray for you!  But as for me and my house ... we were busy with other things!

In light of all of this hubbub (of a number of people buying stuff they do not need to impress people they do not like with money they do not have) - I want to offer up a word of caution (keep in mind, please, that I am NOT against buying and exchanging Christmas gifts ... and many who did go out did so to catch some bargains to help their own budgets to go a longer way - certainly not a bad thing at all.). Please do not lose sight of the real reason for Christmas. It is Christ's birth that we celebrate. So let's do all we can to keep HIM central. Don't get caught up with the consumerism that so marks our culture. And as you shop ... please remember the poor among us - whether they be near or far. Giving a gift to Water Street Ministries here in Lancaster or Children's Fellowship of India would certainly be Christmas gifts that would please our God!

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj

Happy Thanksgiving!

Ellen Vaughn, in her book, Radical Gratitude: Discovering Joy through Everyday Thankfulness, writes, "Being thankful is not rocket science. Though the topic of gratitude goes as deep as the grace of God, it does not require tough biblical exegesis or advanced degrees to practice it. It just requires obedience."

Well said, Ellen. So my friends, let's practice obedience and be thankful today (and EVERYDAY! - see 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). I want to go on record for thanking God for all of you who from time to time visit my blog. My whole purpose in writing these postings is to encourage you in your faith journey. If I can help one person deepen his/her love for God with something I write, I am glad (and grateful to God that He has used my imperfect and feeble efforts).

I trust you all will enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday weekend!

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj

What Can I Thank God for Today?

Scottish pastor Alexander Whyte was much loved by his parishioners. Whyte was known for his uplifting prayers which greatly encouraged his flock. One very gloomy and stormy Sunday, his church members whispered among themselves, "What can the preacher possibly find to thank God for about this wretched and miserable day?" When Whyte began his prayer that morning he surprised those present  by beginning his prayer with these words, "We thank Thee, Lord, that the weather is not always like this."

There is a valuable lesson in this story. No matter how dark the day ... no matter how difficult the situation ... no matter how deep the discouragement we find ourselves in ---- there is still something that we can find for which to thank our God. Think with me. It doesn't matter if today's events are "good" or "bad," IF you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you NEVER EVER have to go it alone!  God himself has promised us that he will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). And if we have the God of the universe as our constant companion - what else could we ever want that tops that?

Take a moment this Thanksgiving season and thank God for the relationship you have with him through His Son Jesus Christ!  (and if you do not have this relationship or are not sure, please click here.

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj

When It Comes to Gratitude, Silence Is Not Golden!

Given that this week is Thanksgiving week, I thought I would focus my postings on the topic of giving thanks. With that in mind ... consider the following quote: 

Author G. B. Stern once said, “Silent gratitude isn’t much use to anyone.”  

It is not difficult to understand what this writer is stating here. Just this morning, a friend pointed out to me how few people say "Thanks!" to him when he holds a door open for them (and even if those people are thankful ... their silence sure does not communicate that!).  Indeed, silent gratitude is NOT much use to anyone! 


One "walk thru" the Old Testament book of Psalms certainly bears this out. Over and over again, we are urged to give thanks to God (see Psalm 30:4; 33:2; 97:12; 100:4; 106:1; 118:1). Why? When we verbalize our gratitude to God, we let him know that we appreciate the gifts that he gives to us ... gifts that we are NOT entitled to ... gifts that we have NOT earned ... gifts that we in NO WAY merit. Rather - these gifts flow from his grace! And therefore .... when we thank HIM, we acknowledge that EVERY GOOD AND PERFECT GIFT that we enjoy is from His merciful hand ... His gracious heart (James 1:17).  


I encourage you to do what I plan to do this week ... to draw up a list of blessings for which I want to thank my God! And I hope I don't run out of ink in the process!  


Thanks for stopping by . . . 
pj

A Lesson from a Cell Phone Stalker!

Recently, Dutch authorities charged a 42 year-old woman with stalking after she allegedly called her 62 year-old ex-boyfriend some 65,000 times - all in the past year. When questioned, she claimed the calls were not excessive and he denied any such relationship (a classic, He-said - She said!).

As I thought of the huge number of calls this woman allegedly placed to this man (and even if he did have a relationship with her, I could see why he might want to end it!), I did some quick math. Assuming the calls were made over a 12-month period ... she would have placed a call to him once every five minutes of every single day (assuming 8 hours of sleep each day when no calls would have been made). That's a lot of phone calls!!!  Then I got to thinking about how often I "place a call" to my Father in heaven. I must admit, my zeal to connect with my Abba in heaven can't compare with this woman's zeal to communicate with the man she "loved."

I think there is a lesson here for us all. Give it some thought!

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj

Thursday A La Carte

Here are my Thursday offerings for your consideration ... enjoy!

1. Parenting surely has its shares of "ups" and "downs." And often ... we fail to "get it right" no matter how hard we try. Here is a great little article about one father's failure and what he learned from it.

2. Here is a brief video (2:16) that I found quite moving, The People of the Second Chance: Emmanuel's Story. 


3. Fanny Crosby wrote over 8,000 hymns, many of which are still sung today. Here is a great video (3:34) that talks about the life of this blind woman who had great spiritual insight!

4. When and why is anger essential? Paul Tripp gives his answer to this question ... a good read!

5. Here is a brief video of a prayer offered up to God by assistant Nebraska coach Ron Brown before last Saturday's Penn State - Nebraska football game. A prayer in which JESUS is mentioned!

6. On a lighter note . . . from the Cosby Show (1:14).

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj