Rest Easy

When I close my eyes at night, I can literally fall asleep within the first few minutes. Wanna know how? Three things. Got your paper and pencil ready?

First, I make sure that I am physically active during the day. Yard work, disc golf, biking, hiking, you get the idea. An hour is good.

Second, I placed my faith in Jesus 18 years ago. Since that time I have had zero worries. Zero. God is in control. What do I have to worry about? I have concerns, but I NEVER get worried anymore.

And the third thing I do, to be able to fall asleep so quickly, is to recite Psalm 23 to myself after the lights go out. I have it memorized. Why Psalm 23? It's a good reminder of who is in control. It reminds me that, whatever happens, "the Lord is my Shepherd."

Try it sometime. Don't nod off now.

"The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. 

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever." - Psalm 23

No matter what kind of day we have - good, bad, happy, or sad - we will always fall asleep quickly knowing that those reassuring words from King David are true.

Sleep well tonight my brothers and sisters. And may God bless you this week, and always.

Breakwater

Having God as our protector and our strength is like a breakwater protecting a harbor. Life can be crashing against us, but with Jesus as our center and focus, all is calm.

On our recent trip to Michigan, my wife and I walked out to Big Red - the lighthouse at the end of the breakwater in Manistique.

I was struck by the contrast in the waves. On the lake side, waves were hitting the large rocks that line the breakwater and splashing up on top, often getting us wet.

On the otherside however, all was calm. There were no waves at all.

The world is a crazy place to live in right now. We see horrific examples of violence and lawlessness in our cities. How can these things be?

There is great peace to be found by placing our faith and hope in Christ. We must steer our "ship" into the safe harbor of Jesus. He is our safety and our strength.

"The name of the LORD is a strong tower (or a breakwater); the righteous run into it and are safe." - Proverbs 18:10

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble." - Psalm 46:1

"The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him." - Nahum 1:7

The picture shows an example of our choice in life. The left picture represents a life with Jesus. The right picture represents a life without Him. It's your choice.

Another thing about the picture. It has been edited in such a way as to make it appear like it is a path to some ultimate destination. Again, there is a choice involved. We can choose a life with or without Christ. Down below, or up above.

Contact Juggling

Are you good at juggling? I'm not. I taught myself how to juggle in college with some rolled up socks. Although I can juggle (marginally) it doesn't mean I'm any good at it. These days people juggle everyday. We don't juggle balls, We juggle events in our lives.

People develop all kinds of stress in their lives, simply by trying to "keep all of the balls in the air," Is that you? How do you do it? Are you even able to? It takes a lot of effort to keep our busy lives going. How can we ever get the rest we need?

Are you familiar with the art of contact juggling? The balls never leave a persons hands but it often appears like they do. What's interesting is the juggler is always in contact with the objects he or she is juggling. There is a far smaller chance of dropping one of the juggled objects than in conventional juggling.

What if we tried juggling all of the events in our lives lie that? And what if we just let God do the juggling for us. I think the end result would be a lot less stressful and a lot more successful.

"7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." - 1 Peter 5:7

"7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." - James 4:7

"6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." - Philippians 4:6

Contact Juggling

Breaking Free

This time of year we can drive ourselves crazy with Black Friday shopping, trying to find those sought after Christmas gifts and getting ready for family meals and get-togethers. It IS a very busy time of year. So how do we handle it? Do what my wife did.

My wife used to get up at 4:00 AM to go Black Friday shopping in Milwaukee. She NEVER gets up that early. So why did she? She wanted to get the best deals, save the most money and to do that she had to get there before everyone else.

This year she did something different. She slept in. She didn't go Black Friday shopping at all, unless you count going to the deli for some potato salad as "Black Friday shopping." She no longer cares. "It's not worth it," she says and she chose not to participate.

We all do strange things for various reasons then, one day, we stop doing them and ask ourselves why we ever did them in the first place.

I did that with my Corvette several years ago. I had purchased the car just before becoming a Christian. Then, after I became a follower of Christ, I examined my ways and asked myself, "What am I doing with this car?"

A kind of maturity comes in our decision making the older we get. Or, the more experienced we get. LOL! My wife got burned out on the crowds and the traffic so she stopped shopping the day after Thanksgiving. Millions of people are still into that sort of thing but my wife is not one of them. She has moved on.

For me and for many other Christians, Jesus has re-prioritized our lives. What once was important to us no longer is.

The Apostle Paul sent a letter to the church in Philippi. They were struggling with their new-found identity in Christ. A demon possessed woman was causing problems for the church so Paul cast out the demon in the name of Jesus.

There's lots of stuff we'd like to change in our lives but we just can't seem to do it on our own. Sometimes we need help casting out OUR demons.

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God...” - Philippians 4:6

I'm building a tiny home and, as much as I'd like to be able to do things on my own, I am physically unable to lift walls weighing hundreds of pounds up onto the tiny home trailer all by myself. Alone, it's impossible. However . . .

"With God, ALL things are possible" - Matthew 19:26

As I read through the New Testament I am amazed at all of the things Jesus did. The innumerable people He healed, the demons He cast out of people . . . all amazing stories to read about.

At the end of THIS story there is a video by Lacey Sturm. I have seen her perform and have listened to her testimony in person of how God changed her priorities. One day she was ready to die, the next she was loving life. What caused THAT transformation in her life? It was the power of God's love and grace!

So when life gets crazy and the traffic in your brain becomes excessive, pray. Ask God to calm the storm inside. When you finally surrender your heart to Him and submit yourself to HIS ways, He will change you and cast out YOUR demons that are sucking the life out of your daily life.  Make your requests known to God in prayer and your anxiety and panic and stress will all fade away. They did in MY life. They will in yours. Break free!


Lacey Sturm's Story
Breaking Free - Skillet (feat. Lacey Sturm)