Just Breathe

November 13, 2009

My son, Matthew was looking at something about rocket ships and asked me why there was no air in space. I told him that “air” is oxygen and the farther we go up, the thinner the oxygen. Since we need oxygen to live, we must take it with us into space.

Then I started thinking...Air is invisible, yet God supplies it for us every day, even though we don’t even think about it and I would guess that we rarely thank Him for it. Yet, He keeps supplying it. Do you ever wonder where your next breath will comes from? I don’t (except when I’m hiking in the mountains). Why? A lifetime of experience has proven to me that all I need to do is breathe and the oxygen will be there. So, if God is constantly supplying this vital resource for life, why would He not provide everything else that we need?

You and I may not be able to see the future or understand our “present”, but we can rest assured that our Almighty and Loving God is working to supply all of our needs (Philippians 4:19). We can trust Him who gave us that promise.

So breathe in and thank God for providing “air” AND so much more for all who seek Him (Hebrews 11:6)

Which "Dwarf" are You Today?

Monday, November 2, 2009

I think I am going to write a book titled, “Things I have learned while taking my 1st Grader to School”. It seems like there is always something that hits me in that short, 7-minute ride with Madison that gets me to thinking.

This morning, Madison was a little grouchy. We usually sing songs and make up silly stories on the way to school, but today she was unusually quiet and would only answer my questions with that “leave me alone” look.

So I said, “Madison, we wake up every morning with a choice to be grumpy or happy.” Then trying to be fun, I said, “In fact, we can choose to be any one of the 7 dwarfs”. Then I started naming them, “Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, Dopey, Sneezy, Doc”. Neither of us could remember Bashful.

She simply listened, with little response to my attempt at humor. So I prayed with her and dropped her off at school.

On my way back home, I remembered that my day started as “Sleepy”, then turned to “Grumpy”, before I finally landed on “Happy”.

Seriously, we all have tough days. I’ve had my share of them. But life is too short to stay in a pit. OK, so you woke up “grumpy”. Choose instead to be “happy”. How?

Philippians 4:4-8: Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Today, I choose “Happy”. Tomorrow, I’ll have another opportunity to choose, and then the next day and the next...