Good Morning

 

 

Psalm 107:8

⁸ Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!

 

My birthday is approaching. After fifty, birthdays take on a whole new meaning. It means any morning that you wake up in your right mind is a good morning. Give God thanks!  The ability to stand on two feet (not everyone has two feet) and not be in debilitating pain is a good morning.  Give God thanks! To be able to brush your own teeth even if you had to buy them is a good morning.  Give God thanks! To be able to eat breakfast, taste it and keep it down is a good morning. Give God thanks! Every day is a day of thanksgiving for the good days God gives. If you read this blog with or without glasses, it's going to be another good day so give God thanks!

 

 

EVERYDAY IS A DAY OF THANKSGIVING

Trust God

Proverbs 22:6

⁶ Train up a child in the way he should go,
And when he is old he will not depart from it.

I wonder how much training occurred between the first and second picture.  According to scripture, we are tasked to set a direction for our children.  Just as a gardener ties a young plant to a stick to direct growth, we are to provide the spiritual truth of God’s word when our children are young. As children mature, they grow in the way of the Lord. It may be heart wrenching when they must leave but you have the promise that when they are old, the training will remain.  The tears might flow.  Trust God and let go.

A Good Marriage

This may seem strange but I gained surprising insight about marriage from an address President Gerald Ford gave before a Joint Session of Congress in 1974. Upon ascending to the Presidency after President Nixon’s resignation, President Ford spoke these words:

 

“With due respect to the learned Justices—and I greatly respect the judiciary- part of my heart will always be here on Capitol Hill.  I know well the coequal role of the Congress in our Constitutional process.  I love the House of Representatives.  I revere the traditions of the Senate despite my too-short internship in that great body.  As President, within the limits of basic principles, my motto toward the Congress is communication, conciliation, compromise and cooperation.

This Congress, unless it has changed, I am confident, will be my working partner as well as my constructive critic.  I am not asking for conformity, I am dedicated to the two-party system, and you know which party I belong to.

I do not want a honeymoon with you.  I want a good marriage.”

 

In his speech, President Ford essentially enumerated the building blocks of a good marriage. 

1.      Coequal partners in the sight of God are joined together for the purpose of building a lasting union and to symbolize the relationship of Christ and His church to the world.  Marriage is a work in progress.  This partnership does have a God ordained head which is the husband.  He leads the team as the President leads the nation. (Ephesians 5:23).

2.      Communication, whether it be verbal or physical promotes intimacy, understanding, direction and care for one another.

3.      Conciliation is not conformity or agreeing on all the issues but it means to willfully decide to concede on some of your wants for the good of the relationship. Begin with the lesser priority moving to the greater.

4.      Compromise might be one person doing the work of the marriage 90% of the time for several months then the other takes the load the rest of the year or changing from day to day  with no one keeping a record.  There is no such thing as 50:50 in marriage.

5.      Cooperation requires marriage partners to work together and not against one another for the common good of the marriage.  God gave Adam a job first then brought his wife to him as a helpmate.  Wives work in conjunction with their husband as he follows God’s direction .  Whom you choose to marry determines where you end up going.

6.      Confidence is integral to a man’s wellbeing.  A husband needs to be confident that his wife is in his corner.  He desires and thrives on your respect which God commands wives to give.  Ephesians 5:33b

7.      Constructive critics pray for guidance to know what needs to be said, when it needs to be said and how it needs to be said.  And never say it in public!

To build a good marriage, all seven building blocks are required with Jesus Christ as the Chief Cornerstone.  Anything less and you end up with a honeymoon that may thrill you for a moment but craters quickly.  Like President Ford, aim to build a good marriage that lasts for a lifetime.

Warning, Warning

Why do we ignore warning signs?  We cross railroad tracks just before the arms go down. We speed through yellow traffic signals.  We make U turns where it is prohibited.  We are all guilty.  I received an email from a friend requesting my cell and home phone numbers because her phone had crashed.  She lost all of her data.  In retrospect, she said the warning signs were there.  I think I have been ignoring those same signs.  Dropped contacts, needing to reboot frequently and avoiding places that do not have charging stations all feel like premonitions of oncoming doom.  Paying attention to warning signs and responding accordingly leads to a good outcome.

 

                                                                                    ^{Matthew 2:12}

¹² Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

 

The wise men had been asked by Herod to inform him of the location of this child who would be king.  After worshipping the baby Jesus, they were warned in a dream not to comply with Herod’s request.  They took heed of the warning and returned home a different way.  What if we took notice of the warnings God graciously places in our lives.  What if we responded to warning signals by actually changing direction, make a course correction and without hesitation head down the correct path.  We lose a lot more than data when we ignore God sent warnings.  Let’s all agree to comply with the signs.

 

 

A Day Planner

This past week, Zachary and me attended the University of North Texas Freshman Orientation in Denton. The UNT administrators planned a three day college boot camp loaded with an onslaught of information.  Advisors assisted with class registration, adapting to campus life and planned activities to foster friendships.  Speaker after speaker emphasized the need for a day planner. Organization is crucial to student success.  If you do not plan your time at school, you are subject to repeat the time the following year.  When Zachary leaves in a few weeks, I want him to know that though you can plan your day, but God orders your steps.

Proverbs 16:9

⁹ A man’s heart plans his way,
But the Lord directs his steps.

 

Of course, Zachary’s backpack will include a day planner.  It is critical that he knows that God will keep him, He will direct his path and He has already made a way.  With God on his side, he will have the ultimate day planner.