One step at a time is good walking.
~ Chinese Proverb
Or, as Jesus tells us, "Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today" (Matthew 6:34). One step at a time, indeed!
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Good humor is the health of the soul.
~ Lord Chesterfield
With all the events of life there are times we can laugh or we can cry. Both have a place, but to laugh is often a more creative and life-giving response to our struggles and foibles. Humor can disarm, unwind, and heal. So laugh today, at yourself and your fumbles.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
When Christ is everywhere, wrath and hatred will be nowhere.
~ William Law
Or... If you focus on the "thou shalts" there is a lot less time for the "thou shalt nots."
Or... "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:21).
May you let Christ be everywhere today!
Monday, August 25, 2008
Love will find a way;
Indifference will find an excuse.
Old South had a great mission trip to Washington county, Maine! We joined together with United Methodist churches from North Reading and Orono, Maine. It was a week of Love finding a way. Excuses were left at the door and we spent the week serving the poor and the migrant workers of one of the most economically disadvantaged counties in the United States.
There will be a mission trip to Honduras, the week of April 20. Please join in. "Love will find a way; indifference will find an excuse."
Thursday, August 14, 2008
A life without love is like a year without summer.
~ Swedish proverb
And how great a thing summer is, even when I rains too much!
The Thought for the Day will be on it's last summer break as I lead Old South's mission trip to Maine. It will be back on August 25.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Happiness will never come to those who fail to appreciate what they already have.
We are taught to strive, to always want more. But how much is enough? Typically more than we already have. Jesus teaches us to break out of this endless cycle of wanting and instead to want better things, to want what God wants. "But strive first for the kingdom of God" (Matt 6:33). When we want these things it is enough.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Most of us don't know what we want,
but it is usually something different from what we have.
"You shall not covet your neighbor's house... or anything that belongs to your neighbor" (Exodus 20:17). Or in other words, be happy with what you already have. This simple and yet radical idea cuts right across the grain of our American consumer culture that always must have more. The ancient wisdom of being content with what we already have is a path to the deeper peace and grace that is something we truly ought to covet.
Monday, August 11, 2008
God's part we cannot do;
Our part God does not do.
Job descriptions and divisions of labor, we may talk about them in our workplaces but they are also relevant in life. In fact, the first job description in history is given to Adam when "God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it" (Gen. 2:15). The human could not create the garden and God needs the human to care for it. Each has a role. Knowing what our role is and what God's role is takes wisdom and prayer. Knowing what we need to entrust to God and what we need to do ourselves is a question we must engage again and again.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Don't be like the wheelbarrow —
It has to be pushed all the time and is easily upset.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
The Bible knows nothing of solitary religion.
~ John Wesley
It's not just about walking in the woods alone and thinking good thoughts. Biblical faith is a journey together, a covenant walk with Christ and others. One of the first things Jesus did was to call 12 apostles and then reach out to serve and love the entire community. And that's why we worship, study, pray, serve others, and reach out to the world in and through a community of faith. So join with us in the religion of Jesus, who lived out his faith in community and came not to be served but to serve others.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Never look down to test the ground before taking your next step;
Only when you keep your eye fixed on the far horizon will you find the right road.
-Dag Hammarskjöld
The bigger picture is what our faith life is about. Often we are so preoccupied with the ground right before us that we fail to see the contours of the horizon.
So let's take the time to reflect on our lives. Take time out to examine the larger horizons of our journey and, with God's help, make the course corrections you need.
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