Of the 365 days on the calendar, three are more time oriented than the other 362. Two of them are associated with a specific hour in which the hours of clocks either spring forward or fall back 60 minutes. The third day is a festive occasion where people bid farewell to the year that was and celebrate the potential and promise of the year that will be.
Every year is like each day—there is a sunrise and a sunset to each one and the interluding period between the two is filled with joys and sorrows, rights and wrongs, and victories and failures.
As I write this, we are minutes away from the final sunset of 2020, and I’m reminded of Paul’s admonition to the church at Ephesus: “Don’t let the sun set on your anger.”
Several years ago, I read Forgive for Good: A Proven Prescription for Health and Happiness (Harper Collins 2002). After reading this book, I concluded: Smoldering anger and spiteful resentment will rob us of joyful contentment.
Fred Luskin, the author of the book, believes that carrying a grudge raises your blood pressure, depletes immune function, makes you more depressed and causes enormous physical stress to the whole body. Forgiveness interrupts this downward spiral by purging the toxic mixture of anger, bitterness, hatred, and resentment.
Since the health benefits of forgiving far outweigh the disadvantages of nursing a grudge, I encourage you enter 2021 with a spirit of forgiveness.
Like Bil Keane (Family Circus) has said: Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift of God, which is why we call it the present.”
I encourage you to use the present to give the gift of forgiveness. The one who gives will be as blessed as the one who receives.
The health benefits of laughter were known centuries before recent studies discovered the connection between laughter and endorphins (indoor-fins).
A person’s path in life can be influenced by the trails he walks and the trials he endures. I’ve walked many trails that have been scenic adventures, and I’ve encountered several trials that were dismal and disappointing.
For many people, today’s shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas has stirred-up unwanted memories of Las Vegas, Columbine and Charleston. We should not be surprised that these events are beyond our comprehension, because they are often perpetrated by people who lack a conscience.
If you could look inside your head, would you find the thought center of your mind dotted with the warts of worry and the ulcers of anxiety? If so, you might find some comfort in the potent promise of Isaiah 26:3: You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.
Did you awaken this morning feeling more down-and-out and less up-and-at-it? If so, you might identify with the “woe-is-me” mentality of Jeremiah who said:
Each year at this time, my interests are directed towards my garden. I visit it often to watch the yellow flowers become tomatoes. I also add a little fertilizer to stimulate the growth of the plants, and put a fence up around the garden to keep the cats out; I don’t like their soul-enriching methodology.
Social media has found an unwelcome guest in the form of fake news. This strange bedfellow forces us to look beneath the bed sheets to validate the integrity of the stories being told—are they truth’s faithful companion or are they legends and lies?
If you know anything about a 4-wheel drive vehicle, you probably know it has a transfer case, and if you know a little something about psychology, you most likely understand the concept of transference. An incident occurred earlier in the week that caused me to think of both.
For many people, yesterday’ shooting in Fort Lauderdale stirred-up unwanted memories of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold in Columbine and Dylann Roof in Charleston. We should not be surprised that these events are beyond our comprehension, because they are often perpetrated by people who, unlike most, have no concept of conscious.
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