May 31, 2008

Part of our Christian faith is expressed through the attitude of joy.

James Moore tells in his book about a little boy at church.  Upon seeing his friend, the little boy beamed with a smile only to be scolded by his mother who said, “Get that smile off you face, you’re in church!”

When you go to church this Sunday smile at everybody you see.  Let them experience the joy of the Lord.  Jesus told his disciples that just as the Father had loved him, “…so have I loved you.”  And then Jesus said, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” (John 15:11)

Complete joy comes from God.  If we’re not there yet, try practicing.

Peace

Jim

May 30, 2008

Malinda quoted Viktor Frankl yesterday.  If anyone does not know, Viktor Frankl was a Holocaust survivor.  I think that gives him the right to speak for most anyone about attitude, and what it can do for you.

While on a short vacation the last couple of days I nursed my attitude of joy by hiking to the Chimney Tops in the Smoky Mountains.  A break of misty mountain air cures a lot of ailments and brings a hint of joy to the soul.

Joy

Jim

Finding Joy

I would like to share a quote that I read yesterday after Dad had asked me to write this for today.

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing:  the last of human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.” –Viktor Frankl

The author of the book (Mark Batterson) then goes on to say this, “Your internal attitudes are far more important than your external circumstances.  Joy is mind over matter.”  (Batterson 68 )

Finding joy in certain situations is not always easy, but choosing to be joyful is another matter.  It takes self control to look beyond ourselves and into the bigger picture – or someone else’s picture – and hang onto joy.  When we do hang on to it, though, we construct a solid foundation for our faith.   

Today, look for joy.  Hold it in your heart and mind.  Then give that joy to someone.  Maybe I should say this instead, “Today, look for Jesus.  Hold to His unchanging hand.  Then give Jesus to someone.”  I think both statements say pretty much the same thing…

Malinda

 

 

May 28, 2008

“Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again Rejoice!”  (Philippians 4:4)

What brought those words from the Apostle Paul is the same thing that prompted the angels at Jesus’ birth to proclaim “Good news of great joy” to a bunch of shepherds on the hillsides of Judea.

Amid all the tragedies of the Biblical record is a message of joy through faith in God.  Jesus himself even said in John 15:11, “I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.”

Complete joy is the wish of God for each person.  I need to hear that from time to time.

Peace

Jim

May 27, 2008

I read something Monday that fell in line with the way I felt that day.  I was thinking about the attitude of joy, and then how so many people are facing things that are not very joyful.  Then I read this:

“The deeper the sorrow that carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.  Joy and sorrow are inseparable.”  (Kahlil Gibran, 1883-1931)

I spent a lot of time thinking about that.  What spoke to me was that sorrow has the ability to carve out cavernous places within us.  But what speaks even louder is that those places can make more room for God to fill us with joy.  I like that thought, especially since there will be sorrows in our life…that being the case, we might as well seek the joy that God offers us.

Peace

Jim

May 26, 2008

Eleanor Roosevelt said, “I have never given very deep thought to a philosophy of life, though I have a few ideas that I think are useful to me:

Do whatever comes your way as well as you can.

Think as little as possible about yourself.

Think as much as possible about other people.

Dwell on things that are interesting.

Since you get more joy out of giving joy to others you should put a good deal of thought into the happiness that you are able to give.”

The attitude of joy brings cheer to the soul in a variety of ways.  Doing things for other people is just one of those ways.

Peace

Jim

May 25, 2008

This is Memorial Day weekend.  A time to think about family and friends who have gone before us.  I was looking through some pictures the other night of my great uncle who was killed in WWII.  A lot has changed since he lived.

Stop for a few minutes and think about all the changes that have taken place in your life.  You’ll be amazed.

Peace

Jim

May 24, 2008

Lots of folks have a hard time with change.  Its not easy to break the habit of always doing things the same way.  It seems that some of us get stuck in a rut of doing things just because we’ve always done it that way.  Like the story of Grandma and the ham.  It seems that Grandma always cut the ham in two pieces and put it in two different roasting pans.  Likewise the family continued the practice when each of the children moved out on their own.  After years went by and the grandchildren grew up one of them asked Mom, “Why do you cut the ham in two pieces?”

“Well,” came the reply, “Because Grandma always cut it in two pieces.” 

Not satisfied with that answer, the grandchild went to Grandma and asked her, “Why Grandma do you always cut the ham in two pieces?”  And Grandma said, “Because I never had a roaster big enough to hold the whole thing.”

Necessity may have caused the whole tradition, but the practice continued because Grandma had always done it that way.  Don’t get caught up into the idea that we can’t change from the routine.   Having an open mind for change will allow us to experience more than we currently know.  And we might just enjoy the variety.

Peace

Jim

May 23, 2008

I heard a story on NPR this morning about Memorial Day.  It made me think.  Memorial Day to this person meant thinking back to lives that had shaped who he was.  When I heard the story, my mood immediately changed, and my heart softened as my mind immediately went to those of my family –  as well as others –  who have died.  (In some of those lives I even had to have an open mind into how they had been a positive  influence to me.)

Think about those kinds of people today.  And then think about what we do each day, and who we might influence.  Some day, they might look back and think about us as a positive influence in their lives.  Don’t do what we do simply for that reason though, do it because we love Jesus, and Jesus is represented in those people no matter who they are.

I picked up a guy walking on the road carrying a gas can yesterday partly because I saw Jesus in him.  Jesus is out there in all sorts of people, and what ever we do for them…we do it for Jesus.

Think about that…

Peace

Jim

May 22, 2008

I have been writing about an attitude of open-mindedness as a way of gaining wisdom, a way of learning, a way of listening to the views of other people in an effort to be open to new ideas.  I want to shift gears a little.

An attitude of open-mindedness is also being open to change.  Most of us really dislike that word “change.”  Change means new ideas, new ways of doing things, being different than what we’re use to.  Mention that something needs to change, and many times you can feel a tension in the air.  Change to many, represents fear.

James Moore tells the story about the family cat.  The cat was doing fine until the family got a new dog.  All the dog wanted to do was play with the cat but the cat would have nothing of it.  The cat became very cynical and took up residence under the couch.  Any time the dog – or anybody else – came close the cat would reach out its paw, claws extended, and scratch whatever came by.  The family wound up nursing clawed ankles, and the dog kept a scratched nose.

The cat didn’t like the change, it hid under the couch fur on end, and hissed and slapped at everything that came close.  My observation is that people have pretty much the same fear when faced with change.  Open-mindedness helps relieve the fear.

Peace

Jim