Month: January 2026

Today is a special day.  Haven’t you heard?  It’s national…(you fill in the blank)…day. It seems we have created a day for nearly everything.  And the days for something special just continue to grow.  You really don’t know what you are missing until you celebrate national doughnut day, right?  And as a bakery owner, I think this could be celebrated every day.

It has become quite funny how days have been created for nearly anything and people pick up on it and make it a big deal.  It is always interesting to see what social media clings to.  But what if today really is a special day?  All of the national named days aside, what if today is special just because it is today?  What if this is just a special day because it exists?

So much of our lives are lived according to routine and rote.  We just continue to do the same things day in and day out.  We may have some slight variations but for the most part, not much changes.  Until it does and we realize we have missed so much.  There won’t be another today.  It won’t happen this way again.  Some days, that is a complete relief.  But so many other times, we missed it.  It was special and we wasted it.  We didn’t see it.  And it was here.  

Today, see it for what it is – a special day to enjoy.  Not all days are good.  Not all days we want to celebrate.  But all days are special because we have been gifted with this day.  There are many who wished they would experience this day and didn’t.  So look around…it is national… (just kidding).  It is really a special day.

Time seems to go by quickly for a majority of life.  We wonder where the time has gone.  We look back at years past and think about how it seems like yesterday.  Time continues to move forward even when we don’t want it to.  There are also situations which make time almost stop.  Those are days when we are working on a project we don’t enjoy, waiting at a stoplight, sitting at a doctor’s office, anticipating test results which never seem to come, or waiting for water to boil.  Time seems to slow way down when we just want it to pass.

The seconds, minutes, hours and days always move at the same pace.  The speed at which they appear seems to correlate with our enjoyment of a moment or when we get so occupied we forget to check our watch.  For those occasions, we aren’t watching the clock and don’t even care what time it is.  We are just enjoying or engrossed in the moment.

While not every moment is enjoyable (some are just miserable), we can have more moments where we simply enjoy.  It takes practice.  We could be grateful for the opportunities to slow down.  This can help us gain perspective about what we enjoy and if we really appreciated the good times.  It can give us time to breathe.  And most of all, the moments when life stands still, it gives us the opportunity to pray.  These are the moments to tell God where we are struggling, why we are so worried, or simply how grateful we are.  These times are not to be wasted.  These are perfect opportunities to be reminded in whom we trust.  

So the next opportunity you have where time seems to almost stop, instead of checking your watch every five seconds, pray.  Just give God all you’ve got.  He’s here to listen.  You might find these are some of the most important moments of your life.  And he’s preparing a way.

This morning’s conditions to run outside were less than ideal.  It was wet and cold, I was tired, and the bed was warm. Why would I get out of a warm bed to exercise in the freezing cold?  On the surface, it doesn’t make sense, I admit.  Except, I had made a promise to myself.  I promised that I would exercise this morning regardless.  It is something which helps me physically, mentally and spiritually.  

I would like to wait for the ideal circumstances. Can’t it just be 50 degrees when I run, no wind, and no traffic?  How about no wild animals or crazy folks driving?  Since I’m asking, could I get a path which takes me by beautiful scenery close to my house so I don’t have to drive?  I’m sure I would get up with excitement every morning if that happened, right?

I wouldn’t.  It isn’t the circumstances that needs changing. We live in a temperature controlled world (homes, cars, work, etc).  We have access to food.  We have so many of the things which would make it ideal to take care of ourselves.  Except we don’t always do it.  We don’t because we are always looking for a reason not to.  We are looking for opportunities to take the easy road.  And we have a host of excuses to stay on the easy road.  

But nothing changes on the easy road.  And if we continue to wait for the ideal circumstances, they will never come.  So if it is time for a change, now is the time.  If not now, then when?  The present is all we have.  Maybe we start now.

If someone just starts following us, it is awkward.  It even begins to feel uncomfortable.  If someone follows us for a long time, it is stalking.  So to think about following Jesus in the context of today, it feels out of place.  But this wasn’t the case for the first disciples of Jesus.  They had this curiosity which led them to just simply follow. They didn’t know what they were signing up for.  They didn’t understand who Jesus was completely.  They didn’t follow because they knew there would be adventures ahead.  The first disciples followed out of curiosity.

I draw this conclusion because in the Gospel of John, when two men just start following Jesus, literally following, he turns around and asks them what they are looking for.  They don’t proclaim wonderment or some amazing ideas of what they may see.  They want to know where he is staying.  They want to spend time with him.  They want to get to know him.  They are curious and willing to follow to find out more.

Jesus invitation is one which allows for exploration.  He doesn’t tell them they need to have it together first.  He doesn’t tell them to go home and learn the scriptures.  He doesn’t give them orders to go home and change and look a certain way, talk a certain way, or even believe a certain way.  He simply asks them to come and see.  Come and see for yourself.  Come and experience time with Jesus.  When they do this, everything changes.  And it isn’t how they might have thought or dreamed.  It was better.

I can’t help but think in our culture filled with Christian thoughts, ideas, or standards if we have squelched the idea of exploration.  Have we given up curiosity in seeking Jesus?  Have we narrowed down what it means to be a Christian in such a way that we have to fit a mold, do a certain thing, live a certain way, and accomplish a list of to-do items to be a follower?  Have we made Christianity so rule based and so defined that we have set the parameters for being a follower?  

Maybe the call for each of us is one to simply follow Jesus.  What are we looking for?  Maybe we are challenged to hear him in a different way.  Maybe we are challenged to see him with fresh eyes.  Maybe we are pushed to love like him or hope like him.  Maybe we are just curious and we just see.  It could make all the difference.

My eyesight is not the best.  I wear contacts or glasses so I can function.  Without them, everything is blurry.  But as soon as I either put my contacts in or put my glasses on, things clear up.  They become more defined.  

For me, needing my glasses to read is obvious.  I cannot see the letters on the page, or if there are any.  I cannot read a book or a medicine bottle, my phone, or the computer screen, or really anything else.  With my glasses, I am able to see.  But seeing far off is a different story.  Many people who don’t know they need glasses are amazed at how much clearer the world can be once they put them on.  They didn’t know they were missing objects and events around them.  They didn’t realize how skewed their vision was until they had something to improve how they saw the world.

Maybe following Jesus is finding our spiritual glasses.  Having him as our guide helps us to see the world a bit differently.  Jesus talked to the leaders of his culture and called them blind and said the blind could actually see.  It had to confuse them.  But Jesus was speaking of something much deeper.  He was speaking of a spiritual vision.  

When we follow Jesus, truly seek to be like him, we begin to see the world slightly different.  We begin to see people, not as others but as brothers or sisters.  We begin to see the table as a place to commune rather than simply a place to lay our mail.  We begin to see kindness as a way to be the light rather than a chore should do.  We begin to see how love, God’s love, really can change things.  We begin to see God’s creation not as something expendable but beauty we are to care and tend.   We begin to see everything a bit differently.  Our spiritual glasses begin to clear up so many blurry visions.  We might even begin to see how God is still at work in our world, despite what the news may tell us.  

Maybe we begin to follow Jesus so he clears our way.  Maybe we see through spiritual glasses the great need for the love of Jesus and the craving for the joy, hope, peace and grace that comes only through him.  Maybe, just maybe, we begin to view the world through his lens, and that might just change us.

One of my goals is to pay attention to the small things in life.  I want to notice the beauty I would normally overlook.  I want to see the extraordinary among the ordinary.  That’s why I began this blog many years ago.  It’s why I continue to write.  It forces me to slow down enough to focus – not my easiest task.  

Today I was running on a trail which had a storybook path.  I always think this is a cool idea.  I didn’t read the story but there was one page which just jumped out at me.  I couldn’t help but notice and it really sparked something.  The page read something like… “Kindness is my superpower.”  

Usually when I think of superpowers, I think of extraordinary feats which require bravery and courage.  I think of people who do things which most others can’t.  I think of superheroes I read about as a child and watched on cartoons.  I think of people doing things I can’t.  But this… this struck a chord with me.

Kindness is something we can all offer.  This can be OUR superpower too.  It can be how we are extraordinary and help to change someone else’s day.  We can become the change we want to see.  We can become superheroes simply by being kind.  Don’t believe me?  Try it.  

Because our world is filled with anything but kindness, kind people stand out.  They bring the new and refreshing.  They instigate community.  And they spark kindness in others.  Maybe you and I can make this our superpower today.

Colossians 3 ¹² As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.

Troubled hearts – ever have them?  Do you ever find yourself just consumed with issues or troubles or life problems?  Our mind can become overloaded and it affects our heart.  When we are continually worried, our hearts take a beating (see what I did there?).  It can be difficult to trust.  It can be almost impossible to love.  It can feel hopeless.  Our hearts can be troubled with so many things.  

It can easily happen.  Sometimes it comes on without us even noticing.  And then, we take a moment and realize all is not well.  Something isn’t right.  Our hearts are troubled by the things which have occupied our minds.  We are not the first to deal with this.  Jesus is preparing his disciples for a time when he wouldn’t be physically with them any longer.  For the disciples, Jesus was everything.  They had given up their entire lives to follow.  Their daily schedules revolved around his daily schedule.  They ate with him and spent time with him nearly every moment.  What would they do when he wasn’t there?  And how could this be fair?  And who wanted this anyway?

Jesus tells them not once, but twice recorded in the same conversation – “Do not let your hearts be troubled.”  He saw it in them.  He felt it from them.  They were filled with fear and the ideas Jesus was presenting caused anxiety, all leading to troubled hearts.  But Jesus tells them they do need to fear.  They do not need to have troubled hearts.  He says this because he understands how they feel, but they don’t understand who he is.  They didn’t fully understand God was with them and would always be with them.  They didn’t get how God would provide a path for peace.  They didn’t see how God didn’t need to be physically with them, he would be with them in so many other ways.  They didn’t fully comprehend how the Creator of the universe was taking care of them.

Neither do we.  When our hearts are troubled, we tend to forget who fills our hearts.  When we are afraid, we can easily look for safety in places other than with God.  It happens.  So here’s your reminder…Jesus said it – Do not let your hearts be troubled.  Instead, may he fill your hearts with his presence and his love – where there will no room for today’s troubles.

You make a difference.  What you say and do matters.  It really has an impact more far reaching than we understand.  When we take the time to be kind, It has a ripple effect.  When we take the time to show love to one another, things change.  When we listen to someone else, they take notice.  

We aren’t kind or loving or a good listener to be noticed for it.  Quite the opposite.  Being kind should be our baseline attitude.  It should be where we function from.  To love one another is part of being a good human.  To listen is a gift we simply do because the other person deserves to be heard.

I get it, though.  It is often challenging to be kind in a world that is anything but kind.  It is a struggle to love when the most unlovable folks seem to be around us.  It is frustrating to listen when we have a million other things going on.  And let’s be honest – there are mean, aggravating folks out there.  But if we focus on this, we are missing the point.

Jesus teaches us to be a light in the world.  We are to shine bright with his light.  We are to be disciples regardless of other people.  They are not the determining factor of our attitudes or our actions.  They are the recipient of the gift we are given.  We are giving from a source deeper than ourselves.  We are giving from a place of great love.  We are giving from God and all he has given to us.  We are the light.  

Today, may we shine a little brighter simply because we serve a God who gives us all the light we could possibly need (and then some).  May we be kind.  May we be loving.  May we be good listeners.  May we be the light.

I don’t do well at resting.  It isn’t easy for me and doesn’t come naturally.  When I rest, I have to fight the urge to feel guilty.  I am a doer.  So to think about simply “to be” is a challenge.  I often think about how we are called human beings, not human doers.  But I enjoy accomplishing goals.  I enjoy the outcome from hard work.  But I know I am better when I rest.  I understand I only give my best when I rest.

I think this most becomes apparent to me when I read the scripture in the Gospel of Mark, chapter 6, “³⁰ The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. ³¹ He said to them, ‘Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.’ For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. ³² And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves.”

Here’s what I pick up from this.  The apostles are excited about their accomplishments.  They have done work for the kingdom.  They have achieved many of the goals set.  God had been with them, just as Jesus had sent them.  They were doing great things.  Jesus tells them it is now time to find peace and rest.  They are to go by themselves and just rest.  They had been so busy, they hadn’t eaten (I’ve got to be REAL busy to miss a meal).  But they didn’t have time, things needed to be done.  There was only a limited amount of time to get so much done.  But Jesus didn’t tell them to keep going.  Jesus told them to go by themselves and rest.  

I hear Jesus telling us the same thing.  When we’ve done our best, when we’ve given our all, when we have put everything we have into something, rest.  Find a place and rest.  Find time to be alone and rest.  These were instructions from Jesus to his apostles.  These are instructions for us as well, I believe.  May you find time to do just that – rest.  

Blessings my friends as you seek the place and time to simply rest.

Spend much time on social media, watching TV or listening to the news and fear will ensue.  It is almost inevitable.  There are crimes and wars and injustices.  There are conspiracy theories and folks who thrive on bringing fear to others.  Some will create fear to gain power or control.  And still others will grasp onto anything because something seems better than nothing.  Bad news travels fast.  It captures people’s attention.  It sells ads and makes others money.  Our world is filled with people fearing something – or everything.  

With all of this, maybe we go back to the truth.  Truth is something we almost never hear or read or experience.  Stories are one sided.  Angles are presented to sell the story.  Perspectives are skewed.  Here are truths to cling to, especially when all seems full of fear:

God has not given us a spirit of fear.  He has given us peace.  Jesus told his disciples (and us) that he was giving peace.  He was giving a peace unlike the world could offer.  This means we can have peace even in fear.  We have not been given a spirit of fear and we do not have to live this way.

Plus, the Bible is full of reminders, from the beginning to the end, to not fear.  Do not fear is one of the most prevalent commands.  It is still true for us today.  In addition to having peace rather than a spirit of fear, we are also told not to fear because God is with us.  The Christmas story is about Emmanuel, God with us.  

So maybe we turn off the noise today and listen to the Good News.  God is with us.  He brings peace, unlike this world.  And he gives rest for our weary and fearful souls.  

Matthew 11 ²⁸ ‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.