Inspirations from the Funny Farm

Proverbs 13:20 Walk with the wise and become wise;  associate with fools and get in trouble.

Proverbs 12:26 The godly give good advice to their friends; the wicked lead them astray.

1 Corinthians 15:33 Don’t be fooled by those who say such things, for “bad company corrupts good character.”

This morning, I was in the bathroom when Diego, my spoiled rotten Yorkie, walked in. He immediately laid down at my feet. Within a mere second or two, the disgusting scent of death pierced my senses. Diego had just come in from his morning outdoor adventures. We live in the middle of 80 acres, and somewhere out there, Diego found some varmint that was decaying, and he decided to roll all around in it so that he too could wear the delightful smell of decay. Ugggh! The smell was truly offensive, and my beloved dog received his weekly bath a bit early. He now smells fresh as Irish Spring after several scrubbings and rinsings.

I do not for the life of me know why our dogs do this. They love to wallow in the wrong stuff, and then they smell so badly. I’ll never understand the nature of a dog, nor will I ever pretend to understand the nature of a human. I’ve always told my kids to choose their friends wisely because their smell is going to rub off on them. Just like the dogs wallow in stench, and then run around smelling disgusting, we too take on the likeness of those that we hang around. Their nature tends to rub off on us. We may not intentionally choose to take on the behaviors, attitudes, or beliefs of those we surround ourselves with, but unless we are intentionally choosing NOT to, they are going to rub off on us. Before we know it, we are running around smelling bad too!

Before I go any further, let me make one thing clear. I am not saying avoid the unlovable. It is our calling as children of God to love everyone, even the unlovable. We are to hit the highways and byways sharing the gospel, but we aren’t supposed to live in their sin situations. We are to love the sinner, hate the sin. So don’t let my words make you think otherwise.

What I am referring to today is our close friendships and relationships. We must choose our friends carefully, and we must surround ourselves with a network of fellow believers. A wise Christian friend will encourage you, build you up, and impart godly wisdom. A great Christian friend will lovingly keep you on track and keep you accountable. Yet, a bad friend will lead you away from Christ and lead you to sin. When we are hanging around non-Christian friends more than Christian friends, we slowly began to acclimate to their lifestyles. We start to get used to hearing the ugly language, seeing the drug or alcohol consumption, or even sexual immorality. After a while, these things start to look okay to us. We start to accept the behavior as a socially acceptable standard, and before we know it, we are smelling just like our friends.

I saw the meme attached to this post that says, “Show me your friends, and I’ll show you your future.” It’s true, Peeps! We become like those we surround ourselves with. God knows this truth, and He will intervene when necessary. Just as a good parent tries to remove bad influences from the lives of their chikdren, God will remove bad influences from our lives and replace those bad influences with good, godly friends. I’ve seen Him do it!

When choosing friends, we need to ask God for wisdom. Bad company will corrupt good character. What do you smell like today? Are you emitting a sweet smelling aroma, or are you stinking everybody out of the room with the stench of decay? Don’t be a Diego! Chase after God and godly friends!

Colossians 3:23 Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.

Colossians 3:17 And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

I Corinthians 10:31 So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

Psalm 90:17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us; And confirm for us the work of our hands; Yes, confirm the work of our hands.

Yesterday was a manic Monday. I work as a nurse practitioner in a small, but very busy medical clinic. Mondays are always the busiest day of the week it seems, and truthfully, yesterday wasn’t really any busier than any other Monday. However, it seemed to be overwhelmingly tiring to this girl. COVID 19 has changed the way we do things. Because our clinic is small, we are seeing all potentially COVID 19 patients curbside. This means that we don all of our personal protective equipment and evaluate the patients at their vehicle. So we are running outside to see the sick patients and running around inside seeing the well patients, and I’m going to admit it can make a body weary. There is hardly time to stop for a potty break, and we do not close for lunch so we enjoy bites of food from our desk in between visits. When I got off last night, I had a little talk with the Lord, and I asked Him if this is what I was truly supposed to be doing because quite frankly, this girl was worn slap out.

I know that my conversation with God didn’t surprise Him. You see, we talk all day long. Well, I talk, He listens. There is a whole lot of distractions and racket going on, so sometimes, I can’t hear Him answering. That’s my fault, not His. I arrived at home after the crazy chaos of the day, and my sweet husband (who also had worked hard all day) had the shower running for me and supper on the table. I slowly unwound with my sweet family, we read our Bible together, and I hit the sack. I talked to God some more, and I think I dozed off praying. I do that quite often. I feel bad when I fall asleep talking to the Lord, but then I think, “what better place to fall asleep than in the arms of my Savior.” Sometime during the night, He woke me up. I never hear the audible voice of God, but I do know when I hear from Him. He reminded me that my job is not just a job. It is my passion. It is my calling. I don’t work hard every day for men, but rather for Him. And no matter how busy or tough the day seems to be, He is always there with me seeing me through.

Peeps, when God gives you a passion and it’s a calling from Him, you can rest assured that He will see you through each and every day. I woke up this morning with a renewed attitude. Instead of thinking, “oh man, I have to go to work again, and it’s going to be a hard day,” I’m thinking, “I get to go to work today, and it’s going to be a great day! I know this because the good Lord told me so!” My job isn’t the toughest one out there by any means. I admit that I get physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted at times, but even on the hardest days, God puts His arms around me and nudges me along the way. I can see His presence. I can feel His strength. I only have to remember that He is there. He reminds me why I do what I do. He reminds me that I love being a nurse practitioner. I love my patients. I love my co-workers. I love that God put me in a job that also doubles as a mission field. I’m still blown away by the fact that in this big old world, God has time to speak to me, reassure me, and strengthen me. God is so very good!

Today, when the day starts to get crazy and chaotic, stop for just one moment and pray. Ask God to guide your steps and control the day. He’s always there, and I promise, if you are working for Him, everything will always work out for your good and His glory! Keep on working for the Lord!

Luke 18:35-43 As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind beggar was sitting beside the road. When he heard the noise of a crowd going past, he asked what was happening. They told him that Jesus the Nazarene was going by. So he began shouting, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” “Be quiet!” the people in front yelled at him. But he only shouted louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” When Jesus heard him, he stopped and ordered that the man be brought to him. As the man came near, Jesus asked him,  “What do you want me to do for you?” “Lord,” he said, “I want to see!” And Jesus said, “All right, receive your sight! Your faith has healed you.” Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus, praising God. And all who saw it praised God, too.

John 20:29 Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.”

Yesterday our sermons were on being a welcoming church. We looked at the story of Zacchaeus in the morning service, and the story of the blind man receiving his sight in the evening service. Of course, both stories are very familiar ones, and we have heard them dozens of times over our lifetime, but yesterday, we looked at them from a little bit of a different angle. Rather than looking at the healing, we looked at the welcoming of Jesus to the blind man and to Zacchaeus.

In Luke 18, we are told about a blind beggar who was sitting beside the road. This man heard the noise of the crowd passing, and he asked what was going on. The crowd told him that Jesus the Nazarene was going by. Immediately, the blind beggar began shouting, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.” The people in the crowd told him to be quiet, but this didn’t deter him. He continued to shout, “Son of David, have mercy on me.” Jesus heard him, and told the men to bring this blind beggar to him. He asked the man what he wanted, and the man replied, “I want to see!” Jesus said, “all right, receive your sight. Your faith has healed you.” The man was immediately able to see, and began praising God, and everyone who saw this also began praising God.

I think that sometimes when we have been in church all of our lives, we tend to kind of glaze over when we read a story that we’ve heard so many times before, but Peeps, we can’t do this. Even if the story is one we have memorized, we must remember that it is from the infallible Word of God, and every part of the Word is important. As such, when we dig a little deeper into this old familiar passage, we can still gain some great new nuggets of truth. First, let’s look at the blind beggar. Here we have a man who has been blind likely all of his life. He couldn’t work, and he lived off of handouts from other people. He had a need, and his need was to see. In those days, afflictions such as blindness were thought to be the result of some sin in the person’s life or in the life of their parents.

Then, we see the crowd. The crowd consisted of the twelve disciples and many followers who had seen the recent miracles performed by Jesus. They were hanging close, waiting to see what He would do next. Jesus had been performing miracles. They were surrounding Jesus waiting and watching, but at the same time they were keeping the very ones who needed Christ most away from Him. This poor blind beggar was calling out to Jesus, and the crowd was ssshhhing him.

Finally, we see Jesus. Little did this crowd or blind beggar know, but Jesus was on His way to the cross. Jesus knew. He even told his trusted disciples, but they did not understand. Though He knew what pain and agony and suffering was soon coming His way, He still chose to show love to as many as possible along the way. The blind man asked what the commotion was about, and he was told that Jesus of Nazarene was coming. The crowd identified Jesus as a man for Nazareth. They didn’t acknowledge who He really was, but the blind man called him “Son of David.” He identified Jesus as the Messiah, and he begged that Jesus would show mercy on him.

Jesus knew that He was on his way to the cross. I’m quite sure that He had a whole lot on His mind. I’m sure He had a few more things that He wanted to accomplish before His earthly body departed. Yet, He heard this poor, blind beggar calling out to Him, and He listened. He didn’t ignore this man’s need. He asked what he wanted, and the man said that he wanted to see. Notice what Jesus said next. “All right. Receive your sight. Your faith has healed you.” Bro. Louie pointed out last night that the crowd could see Jesus, but they were blind to what was going on. Jesus had even told the twelve about the crucifixion and resurrection that was about to occur, but they didn’t comprehend what He was telling them. Even those closest to Him couldn’t see. But this blind beggar, who could not see, believed. He believed in Christ, and He believed that He could be saved. He believed without seeing.

In our culture, we put too much into the “seeing is believing” mindset. We don’t have the good fortune of walking in the crowds with Jesus. Oh, His presence is here, but we can’t physically see Him. We can, however, see the effects of His presence. The joy within each one of us should overflow and ooze from us in such a way that everyone we come in contact with sees Jesus in us. Just as the moon reflects the sun, we should reflect the Son. We need to get in God’s Word, and re-read all of these familiar stories, and re-learn how to live like Jesus. He gives so many examples, y’all. We just need to follow the lead of our Savior. He sets the example for how we as Christians should live. So many people in this world are blind. No, I’m not talking about those who are physically blind. I’m talking about the ones who are figuratively blind. They have never seen Jesus. They have never felt His love, grace, mercy, or the peace that can only be received from Christ. How are those people going to believe without seeing? They have to hear the Word. They have to see the reflection of the Son in us. Who is going to be that reflection? Who is going to share the gospel? How are they going to hear? “Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.” (Isaiah 6:8)

We all are super busy. That’s a fact. But we can’t be too busy to show the love of Christ as we walk through each and every day. I’ve never seen Jesus physically, but I’ve seen Him. I see Him in my daily walk. I feel His presence. I feel a simple nudge to go in a certain direction. I hear a still small voice making me aware of those around me that are in need. Oh, I believe without seeing. Do you? If not, there is absolutely no better time than the present to believe and fully trust in our Lord and Savior. If you do believe, share the love and joy of Christ as you walk through this crazy day. Let others believe by seeing Christ in you! Don’t be too busy to be about loving others to Christ!

Proverbs 3:5-7 Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil.

What do we do when a big problem arises? I think that most of us have a subconcious strategy that we use. I always go to my husband, He is very wise, and is not merely the man that I married. He is my best friend, my confidant, my partner in life, and I trust his wisdom. I also go to my Daddy. He is a very godly man and also full of much wisdom. I’ve entrusted my problems to my mother-in-law. I love and respect her very much, and I recognize the wisdom that she embodies. I also rely on the wisdom of my sisters and my friends, my pastor, and my church family. It seems that after I have exhausted all of these avenues, I bring out the big guns. I go to God, and I tell Him about the problem. I think it’s human nature to want to talk about a problem, but it should be our Christian nature to go straight to the problem solver of all creation.

We often try to fix our problems on our own. Oh yes, we call on friends and family to get their input, but still, we try to solve the problem by ourselves. We tend to wait and bring out our secret weapon when we realize that our strategies aren’t working. Albert Einstein once said, “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” A whole lot of the problems that we are trying to solve were created by our own mistakes in life, and try as we may, we can’t solve the problems using the same line of thinking that caused the problems. We need to call on the Master.

We always try to lean on our own understanding, but folks, our understanding is not always enough. Solomon shares the secret to problem solving in Proverbs chapter 3, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil.” We must learn to trust in the Lord with all of our hearts and not depend on our own understanding. We have to learn to give it all to God. Trust that He knows best. Trust that He always has our best interests at heart, and know that He understands the situation much better than we do. He even knows how everything is going to work out before we even know that there was a problem. That thought always amazes me.

Whether there is a problem at hand or not, we must be seeking the will of God in all things. Don’t get me wrong, it is wonderful to have godly spouses, friends, family, and church members to turn to in time of need, but the first one we should go to with our problems is God. We need to seek His will in everything. God doesn’t want us merely coming to Him daily with a prepared punch list of items we want Him to handle for us. He wants us to bring everything to Him, and He wants us to seek His direction in all situations and circumstances. When we do this, He will show us the path to take. He will show us the solution to the problem.

Solomon also tells us to not be impressed by our own wisdom. Now, that is something that we can’t take too lightly as it was written by the wisest man in the world. Solomon asked God for wisdom, and He was granted this gift. When the wisest man in the world tells us not to be impressed with our own wisdom, we should probably listen. We tend to get all puffed up and think that we know it all. We know what is going on in our lives, and we tend to think that we are the best ones to solve the problems. This way of thinking usually brings us to emptiness when we run out of fuel. We must learn to trust the wisdom of our all knowing Creator, and we must recognize that we don’t know it all.

We all have problems. Some are really big problems, and some are teeny tiny problems, but I’m quite sure that we all have at least one problem. Yet, it doesn’t matter how big or little our problems are, we know the Master problem solver. Our Master created the heavens and the earth. He is all knowing, all seeing and always present. He knows every single hair on our heads, and He knows what we are going through. He knows the troubles of our hearts. He also knows the solution. Why don’t you bring your problems to the foot of the cross today? Jesus tells us to give our burdens to Him. “For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” (Matthew 11:30) Let Him lighten your load today. Just give your problems to the Master problem solver, and get out of the way and watch Him work! Stop saying, “I got this.” Instead, learn to say and fully trust that “God’s got this!”

Psalm 37:4 Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires.

Psalm 16:11 You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.

Colossians 3:23-24 Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ.

About six years ago we traveled to Tupelo, MS, to pick up a couple of Scottish Highland cattle. I fell in love with the breed, and researched them diligently before making the purchase. I searched high and low trying to find them, and finally came across a judge in Tupelo who had a small herd. I called him up, and he said that he wasn’t selling any of his cattle, but after I gave him my spiel, and explaining how badly I wanted them, he conceded. He sold us a ten month old heifer and a thirteen month old bull. Scottish Highlands stand out in the crowd with their long hair and distinctively long horns. They are a beautiful breed. We halter broke Merida, the heifer, within the first two weeks, and she became my baby girl. She would follow me all over the place, especially if I had a bucket of feed. We kept her behind the barn area for the first couple of years. She even learned how to turn the water faucet on to take a cool shower on hot Mississippi days. She has always been the sweetest cow.

We no longer have the bull. They outgrew our little holding area behind the barn, and we moved Merida into the large fields with the other cows. We couldn’t put the bull with the other girls as we already had a bull, and we couldn’t have the Highland bull breeding all the commercial cows. But, my husband knew my love for Merida, and we agreed to keep her. To this day, we can still go out to the cow field, and that girl lets us rub and pet all over her, and she will take us down for a bucket of pellets. This week, Merida had a pretty little calf. She is adorable, y’all. The calf is red with a motley face, long fluffy hair, and so cute! We went to check on the cows yesterday, and I told Jeff that I had to hold Merida’s calf. She is just so cute! He said that the calf would not let me catch it. I proved him wrong. It took a couple of minutes, but I finally got my hands on her. She didn’t really want to be held, but I was so happy to have her in my arms. I fell back onto the ground on my behind, and I laughed so hard as Jeff took pictures with his phone. Merida just looked on patiently. She knows me well, and she knew I wouldn’t harm her baby. We’ve been through a lot together. She is such a sweet cow.

I posted pictures on social media last night, and a friend commented that I always look happy. Now, truth be told, I may not feel happy 24/7, but I do feel happy most of the time. We live a pretty good life her at Hodge Critter Lodge. God has blessed us generously with great jobs, lots of critters, and a love for life. We continually live life to the fullest. We work hard at our jobs, work hard to take care of our home and our critters, and we enjoy doing it all. That sounds crazy to some people. How can working hard be fun? When you work willingly at everything you do as though you are working for the Lord, you can’t help but enjoy the work you are doing! Plus, we have baby critters to play with, and there is always so much joy to be found when playing with new babies.

I truly love my life. I love the ups and the downs because even during the downs, I know that my Lord and Savior will see me through. He always does. He has never failed me though I’m sure I fail Him daily. Do you want to know my secret to enjoying life? I look for Christ in everything. I’m not kidding. If you look around and look for evidence of God, you will see Him, and when you see Him, you can’t help but enjoy life as you recognize all of the blessings that have been poured down on you. It’s true. You just have to look around and recognize the blessings and not the stressing. Having a bad day at work? Can’t find any joy in it? Pray and ask God to help you through your day, and just watch! He will show up and show out. He does it every time. It doesn’t matter what the situation is that is getting you down, if you turn it over to God, He will see you through. When you see God work everything out for your good and His glory, you will likely be amazed, and I bet you will be over joyed.

You have to take time to have fun, Peeps. Working hard is important. We are not to be lazy sluggards. We have to work, and we must work hard, but we can still have fun. Find little ways to enjoy your work day. Have cake and coffee with your coworkers. Whistle while you work. Sing praise songs as you tackle the tough things. And maybe chase down a baby calf that doesn’t want to be caught just so you can hug a cute baby calf. (But don’t do this if you aren’t on really, really good terms with the mama cow! LOL) Most importantly, look for Christ as you walk through each one of these crazy days. Live life to the fullest as you fully live life for Christ!

Matthew 25:34-40 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’  “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’  “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’

Matthew 22:36-40 “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

This morning as I was sitting down to write my devotional, Jeff called my cell phone and asked me to come help him at the barn. Yesterday, we bought a new fainter buck named Big Boy. He’s a cutie with nice long horns, and he can faint at the drop of a dime. He is also very gentle and was hand raised by our goat guy, Raymond. He will make an excellent breeder buck for our little herd of fainters. He is our only buck currently, however, we do have a small flock of blackbelly sheep out there too. The master of that flock is Mr. Man. He too is a very gentle, hand raised male, and he has an astonishing set of curling horns. Even though they are of two different species, they are the only intact males in the barn, and naturally, each one feels the need to prove himself. They needed to prove themselves so much that they broke out of the barn this morning. Mr. Man was right on Big Boy’s tail at the far end of the field when I arrived on the scene. They were both completely fine, and neither was injured in the least. I shooed them back to the barn where Jeff was waiting with a bucket of feed, and Mr. Man was placed in a stall with two of his concubines for a little time out. These two will get used to each other eventually when they realize they aren’t competing for the love of their girls. They each have their own little herd to attend.

That brings me to thinking about humans, and what we feel we need to do to prove ourselves. People will strive to be the best at their job, the best spouse, the best friend, and even try to be the best Christian. This proving of oneself looks different depending on the person that you are asking, but really we needn’t try to prove ourselves. Jesus never asked us to prove ourselves. In fact, we can never do anything to earn salvation or any higher honor in the kingdom of God. So how do we prove ourselves as Christians? There is a great hymn that answers this question, “They Will Know We Are Christians By Our Love’, and God too will know we are Christians by our love. Our pastor frequently shares this point with us: “You can gauge your love for God by how well you love others.” You can either say amen or ouch, but folks, that’s it. We prove our love for Christ by how well we love.

In fact, Jesus tells us that the first and greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind, and He says that the second is equally important which is to love your neighbor as yourself. We are commanded to love God and love others, and others will see Christ in us through this love for God and others. Thankfully, we don’t have to go out in a field and try to prove ourselves as king of the mountain. We merely have to love. And how do we do that? Well, we just have to fall in love with Christ, and once we truly love Christ, we can’t help but love others.

We love others through our actions. Love is an action word. Take a look at Matthew 25 for a great example of how to show love. We need to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, invite the stranger into our homes, and clothe the naked. That sounds easy enough, right? But what about those people we don’t like? Do we have to love them too? Well, of course we do! We may even need to love them a little harder because those are generally the ones who do not know Christ, and they really need to see the love of Christ in you. You may be the only reflection of Christ that person ever sees.

We can try all day every day to prove ourselves to Christ, but there is no need. Christ knows our hearts. He already knows His children, and He knows each and every one of us individually. There is nothing that we can do to make Him love us more, and there is nothing we can do to make Him love us less. However, we can show Christ how much we love Him but showing His love to others. If we are being inspected under the magnifying glass, is our love for God and others shining through? You don’t have anything to prove, Peeps. You just have to love! They will know we are Christians by our love…by our love!

Romans 14:19 So then, let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up.

Hebrews 12:14 Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.

Matthew 5:9 God blesses those who work for peace for they will be called the children of God.

James 3:18 And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.

The first thing I saw on social media at 4:00 am this morning was feedback on the vice presidential debate. I won’t try to stir anyone up with my opinion here because I do like to keep the peace. A peacekeeper can be a good thing. A peacekeeper is one that avoids conflict by avoiding touchy subjects and arguments. It is a natural tendency for most people to try to avoid conflict, avoid arguments, and sweep the conflict under a big rug. Out of sight, out of mind so to speak. Yea, it’s safe to say I like to keep the peace, but do you want to know what is much better than a peacekeeper? It is a peacemaker. A peacemaker is one that actively gets involved to resolve conflict and reconcile relationships.

Most of my life, I’ve been a peacekeeper, but the older I get, the more I have developed into a peacemaker. I no longer want to just avoid conflict. I want to settle the disputes, work out the differences, and solve the problems. I no longer want to sit on the sidelines when two people I love are hurting. Nope, not this girl. Are you mad at so and so? Does so in so even know you’re mad? Well, come on girl. We are going to work this out. That’s right, we are going to pull up chairs, grab some coffee, and have a pow wow.

The truth is that most conflicts can be worked out if both people involved in the conflict would simply talk to one another, share their hearts, and maybe apologize for goodness sake. How many relationships have gone by the wayside merely because someone failed to talk about the problem? I’m betting the number is vast.

James tells us that those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness. What exactly does this mean? Well, we all know the old saying, “you reap what you sow.” When you plant a seed, fertilize it, and water it, you will always get much more than you planted. One tiny cucumber seed will produce a multitude of cucumbers. Our spring garden generally produces enough to feed our whole community. Yet when we plant cucumber seeds, we know we are going to produce cucumbers. We don’t expect to grow a tomato plant from a cucumber seed. That wouldn’t happen. You reap what you sow, and if you plant cucumber seeds, you are going to get a cucumber or two or maybe even a hundred. Therefore. If you are planting seeds of conflict, guess what you are going to harvest? Yep. You got it. You will reap lots of conflict. You will likely end up getting a whole lot more than you planted, perhaps enough conflict to affect the whole family and maybe even the whole community.

However, if you plant seeds of peace, your harvest will be ripe with goodness, kindness, and peace. Oh, but how in the world do we plant seeds of peace? Bear with me. It’s going to take a little effort, but it is very doable. First, you must identify the conflict. Just look around and you can spot a conflict. That’s easy enough. Then, and this is the most important step: pray. Talk to God before you even get involved in this gardening adventure. Tell God that you see this conflict, and ask Him for the wisdom and words needed to plant the seeds of peace in this situation. If you caused the conflict or are personally involved, now might be a good time to go to the other person and apologize, share your heart, and lovingly try to work it out. If you aren’t part of the situation, now is the time to bring the ones in conflict together and lovingly tell them that you care about them and their relationship, and ask them to talk it out. A lot of conflict could be resolved if we would just learn to talk it out. You may not be able to resolve the conflict every time, but if you try to plant these seeds of peace by showing the love of Christ, peace will eventually be harvested.

God will bless your efforts. He loves peacemakers so much so that Jesus calls the peacemakers the children of God. Wait, what? The peacemakers are called the children of God? But aren’t all believers called children of God? Yes, we are so I suppose that means as chikdren of God we are all charged with the duty of being peacemakers. As Christians, we are all called to make peace. Get out there today and make some peace. Don’t be satisfied with merely keeping the peace. Be a peacemaker!

Ephesians 2:10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Psalm 118:24 This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.

Well, Peeps, God has blessed me with one more trip around the sun. Yep, I’m officially one year older today. As I look back on this past trip around the sun, I could easily get discouraged. If I allowed myself to only reflect on the bad things of the year, it wouldn’t seem like I had a very good year, but I have to admit, 53 was a pretty good year for me. I’m willing to bet that 54 will be even better. Oh, but my body is trying to get old before my mind, and I have to keep it in check. My fingers are knotted up with arthritis to the extent that my right index finger points only to the right, even if I’m pointing it to the left. LOL. My right knee has started making this cute little creaking noise when I walk up and down the stairs. Just for fun, my neck decided it would join the party. For the past three weeks, my right arm has been going numb from my neck to my fingertips. A c-spine x-ray told me that I need an MRI, and oh yea, just for giggles, let’s go ahead and get a bone density because the x-ray also showed osteopenia. My bones aren’t the only things that are getting thin. My hair is falling out by the handful, and it seems to be turning more gray every single day. Yes, I think it’s safe to say that my body is trying to turn against me, but I won’t let it win. People ask me how I get so much accomplished in a day, and I have to say part of the reason is because I know that if I stay down too long, I might not be able to get back up with these decrepit joints of mine. But the real answer is: Jesus! I can’t accomplish anything without Him, but with Him, I can accomplish much.

Now, I could sit here and whine and complain about my ailments, but I’m not going to do that. I like to laugh at my crooked fingers and creaking knee, and I learned a long time ago that complaining doesn’t make anything better. I find it just makes me feel worse. Besides, even though my exterior may be falling apart, my interior is becoming more put together every single year that passes. I really love the person that I am becoming. Over the past few years, I have truly drawn closer to my Lord and Savior, and in doing so, I have learned to love me a little bit better. After all, I am God’s masterpiece! It says so right there in the Bible, so I know it’s true. I don’t know exactly why this masterpiece has all these arthritic problems, but I’m pretty sure God thought I needed this to bring glory to Him. So I’m just going to glorify Him.

Ephesians 2:10 says “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” Read that again. We are His masterpiece, and He created us anew in Christ so that we can do the good things that He planned for us. He created us anew in Christ. He did this so that we can do the good things that He has planned for us. Isn’t that amazing? It is so reassuring to know that no matter how bad or challenging the day looks, God has good things planned for us, and He has created us anew through Christ so that we can accomplish those good things. I have absolutely enjoyed watching God’s plans unfold in my life. He has really shown out over the past couple of years, and I am so thankful for the goodness He has given me.

I may be 54 years old today, but I still don’t feel like I’m a fully grown up Christian. I still have so much to learn. I have so many things that I need to do. I feel that I fall short every single day, and I think that is one reason God keeps giving me another day….every day that we open our eyes, we are given one more day to glorify our Father. We are given one more day to accomplish the plans that He has for us. I’m so thankful for second chances…third chances…fourth chances…and a million other chances. Each day, we are given one more day to rejoice in Him, serve our Father, and glorify Him. Yes, my friends, this is the day that the Lord has made, and I will most certainly rejoice and be glad in it! How about you?

Zephaniah 3:17 For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.

Psalm 89:1 I will sing of the Lord’s unfailing love forever! Young and old will hear of your faithfulness.

What makes your heart sing? Many days we wake up without a song in our hearts, and we don’t feel much like singing, but there is always something to be thankful for, and there is always something to sing about. With the thanks in our hearts, we can sing songs of praise and rejoice in the goodness of our Lord and Savior. I’ve been told by my family that I can’t sing, but that doesn’t stop me from singing. I have an awful singing voice, and though I know that I don’t make a joyful noise, I know that my Savior is still glad to hear my happy racket, and I make that happy racket just as often as I can.

I love to sit outside to do my morning devotionals. Our farm is one of the most joyful places I know. This time of year, the songs of the morning are nothing short of pure delight. Hummingbirds take turns buzzing up to our feeders. The birds are joyfully chirping away singing praises to the new day. The sheep are baaing. The emus are whistling quietly. Occasionally the turkey will let out a gobble. She doesn’t know that she is a hen, and she likes to gobble and strut like a dude. The coatimundis are chirping and the raccoons are chattering away. In the distance, an occasional lowing of the cattle can be heard. Wow! All I have to do is walk out of the door of my home to hear God’s creatures singing praises to Him. If all of these creatures who don’t even have a soul realize the need to sing praises, shouldn’t we mortals who have a soul find reason to sing?

Oh, but you may say, what is there to sing about? We have an election coming up next month that has everyone fired up and split in two polar directions. Our president and first lady have contracted COVID 19. The economy isn’t looking so hot right now. And don’t forget, there is another storm that once again appears to be headed our way making landfall this Friday night. Not much to sing about there, huh? Maybe not, but still we have so many reasons to sing this morning. Do you want to know what makes my heart sing? My critters, my farm, my family, my friends, my career, good music, serving others, living life, and loving Jesus, and oh so much more. Y’all, God did not create a bunch of humdrum robots. He created each of us uniquely with our own set of talents and skills to serve Him and to serve others, and He gave each of us a spirit of joy, love, hope, and faith!

We can sing for freedom. Even though politics seem to be really messy right now, we can still rejoice and sing for our freedom. We can sing for gratitude. We have so much to be thankful for. We can sing for joy. Sometimes we have to dig a little deeper to find the joy, but I promise if Jesus is in your heart, joy is residing there also. We can sing of the love of God. Oh my, that’s a good reason to sing. When I think of how awesome and magnificent the love of God is, I can’t help but sing praises to Him. We can even sing in times of trouble or sadness. God wants to hear from us at all times…not just during the good times.

Are you singing this morning? If not, take a few moments to reflect and ask yourself, “what makes my heart sing?” If you don’t know, if your heart isn’t singing, you may be missing the song of the One who can give you everlasting joy! Ask Jesus into your heart, and I can guarantee you that there will always be a song in your heart! “For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” (Zephaniah 3:17) Let your heart sing!

Revelations 3:14-20 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Laodicea. This is the message from the one who is the Amen—the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s new creation:  “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth! You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. So I advise you to buy gold from me—gold that has been purified by fire. Then you will be rich. Also buy white garments from me so you will not be shamed by your nakedness, and ointment for your eyes so you will be able to see. I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference.  “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.

I read this story a little while back, and definitely think it is one that is worth a share today. “A new Pastor in a small Oklahoma town spent the first four days making personal visits to each of the members, inviting them to come to his first services. The following Sunday the church was all but empty. Accordingly, the Pastor placed a notice in the local newspapers, stating that, because the church was dead, it was everyone’s duty to give it a decent Christian burial. The funeral would be held the following Sunday afternoon, the notice said. Morbidly curious, a large crowd turned out for the “funeral.” In front of the pulpit, they saw a closed coffin, smothered in flowers. After the Pastor delivered the eulogy, he opened the coffin and invited his congregation to come forward and pay their final respects to their dead church. Filled with curiosity as to what would represent the corpse of a “dead church,” all the people eagerly lined up to look in the coffin. Each “mourner” peeped into the coffin then quickly turned away with a guilty, sheepish look. In the coffin, tilted at the correct angle, was a large mirror. When it comes to your spiritual life, are you still alive?”

Wow! How many of us today are guilty of being spiritually dead. Is the church of America becoming like the church of Laodicea? Are we lukewarm, neither hot or cold? Oh, I pray that we are not, but I do worry that we are headed in that direction. We remember the church of Laodicea from Revelation chapter 3. The angel of the church wrote, “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other!” Are we becoming lukewarm? Is church not as important to us any more? I mean really, people, look around. This COVID pandemic has changed our country in more than one way. Churches were closed for a while, and that closure has prompted some to continue to stay home. It’s very convenient to watch the sermon on the internet, and I’m thankful that we have that availability. There are many who shouldn’t be getting out and joining in large gatherings at this time, and I completely understand that, but what about those of us who have decided that it’s just more convenient to worship at home in our pajamas? Is that convenience making us a bit lukewarm? Don’t get me wrong, I am extremely thankful for the availability of online worship. We were traveling yesterday, and we were able to enjoy our church services live online, but it’s just not the same. I, for one, need that personal interaction.

I don’t think that it is merely online worship that is causing this nation to become lukewarm, though. There are so many different components. Society in general has become one of acceptance. We are expected to accept what the rest of the world is doing. We are expected to turn our heads and ignore the evil that is being committed around us. We are expected to either accept evil as good or look the other way. I’m a sinner saved by grace. I’m not perfect. In fact, I’ve been pretty lukewarm myself in the past, but God, oh but our God, He deserves so much more than a lukewarm attitude. When we consider the love that our heavenly Father has for each of us, the mercy and grace He has shown us, and the magnitude of His power, there is no way that we can remain lukewarm. We can’t continue being spiritually dead. We have to wake up, people!

Christ is standing at the door, knocking…knocking…knocking. Can we hear His voice? Do we even realize that He is there…waiting for us to open the doors of our hearts and allow Him to come in and fill us with His Spirit? Are we neither hot or cold, but merely lukewarm? Lukewarm is not what our Father desires, and it is definitely not what He deserves from us. The gospel of our Lord and Savior should ignite a fire within each of us that can not be quenched. Rather than getting smaller each day, that fire should rage bigger and hotter day by day. We are surrounded by the lost. There are so many people that we encounter on a daily basis who need to know the Good News. We can’t keep this all to ourselves.

When we first learned of COVID 19, the spread of the disease was projected utilizing the pathogen’s basic reproductive number (RO). For example, for every one person that was contagious, that person would spread the virus to three people. Those three people would spread the virus to nine people. Those nine people would spread the virus to 27 people, and so on. Wouldn’t it be awesome if the gospel could spread like that? If we each told three people about Christ, and then those three people told three people each (nine), and then those nine people told three people each, and so on, can you just imagine how the gospel could spread throughout all nations? It would be akin to an uncontrollable forest fire.

Yes, Peeps, it’s time to wake up and get on fire for the Lord. If you are feeling a bit lukewarm, light a fire within today by getting in the Word, turn on some praise and worship music, and most importantly, pray. Pray, pray, pray! Call out to the Father. He’s at the door knocking. All you have to do is invite Him in!