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Friday Funday

 w00t woot!  it’s Friday and it’s the start of football!!!!  (oh did you know that woot is a now an official word?  yep it is now in the Oxford Dictionary)

Well since it is Friday, here is just a simple thought to consider. (plus I am already jammed up with 7 and 8 am appointments)

Did you know you can’t create darkness?  It just exists.  But you can create light, and so here are some random Friday thoughts about creating light:

First an ancient chinese proverb (or so I am told, it’s still pretty cool):

Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.

And then this thought which I always find encouraging:

Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky  NIV Philippians 2:15

And finally just a little bit more:

 14-16Do everything readily and cheerfully—no bickering, no second-guessing allowed! Go out into the world uncorrupted, a breath of fresh air in this squalid and polluted society. Provide people with a glimpse of good living and of the living God. Carry the light-giving Message into the night so I’ll have good cause to be proud of you on the day that Christ returns. You’ll be living proof that I didn’t go to all this work for nothing. Philippians 2:15 The Message (MSG)

Shine your light today! ( and forget about all that cursing!)

 

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Shining Brighter

Ok Ok, sorry for the delay today.  I am afriad you may have thought I was caught up in the excitement of Saturday, but alas we are all still here!  I am not sure if that’s a good or a bad thing!  But since we are, the show must go on and we need to continue the “daily buffeting” and renewing that we do each day.  I was delayed today because of some end of the school year stuff at the boy’s school.

So, this is a bit of mid day encouragement instead of a morning starter. 

18 The path of the righteous is like the morning sun,
shining ever brighter till the full light of day. Proverbs 4:18

I hope that you are shining bright to those around you today and as the Andrew’s principal said at his program this morning, I hope you are making the world a more beautiful place to be today!


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The Peculiar Paper Dispenser

Sometimes at the office after drinking my morning jug of the gentleman’s coffee, I have to head over to the “Men’s lounge” and refresh myself.   And since there are several hundred wash your hand signs in our facilities, I oblige them.   Anyway, many a day I stand their with wet hands in front of the automatic paper dispenser waving my hand.   I continue to wave my hand and watch as the little red dot flashes, but no paper rolls out- ever.   One day during this ritual a co worker was there with me.  I commented on how this particular machines was not working.  He responded “It always works for me” and he promptly walked up waved his hand and was given more paper then he needed to dry with.  It seemed like I was invisible to this machine.

Invisible.

19 “For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” (Galatians 2:19-21, New International Version)

This whole idea of becoming invisible, or maybe better put, the idea of dying to yourself and replacing your selfishness with the mind of Christ, is something that I have been struggling with and praying for for some time now.  For I know that that the days with I live for myself usually end up with things happening that are not so great, and the days when I hide myself and let Christ shine through are days of glory.

The dispenser still does not work for me, and I count that a blessing and a reminder.  A reminder of how I should be living my life.  A reminder that I should not be seen, but that the Christ should be seen in me.  When you wash your hands today and look in the mirror, ask yourself, “Who’s living in you?”

 

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Shining like Cereal???

Somehow I started receiving a daily email called Geek Today or Your Daily Geekness or something like that.  I am not even sure how I got on the mailing list, I guess my geekiness proceeds me.  Either way, a few days again this email pointed me to the video below.

That’s right – Cereal boxes that light up! Can you believe that! I just can’t help thinking about the words of the Christ in Matthew where he instructs those listening as follows:

14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:14-16 (New International Version, ©2010)

I would love to have my cereal boxes remind me each day that I am too be the light to the world.  It sure stands to reason that if even a cereal box can produce light, then I should be able to as well.

I write this today and refer to this verse as I often do to encourage myself, because as Paul says, “I have not attained this” in any way yet! Anyway, spend a little time considering wireless power and light up cereal boxes and hopefully you get a little encouragement from them to let your light shine.

So.. coming to a breakfast table near you soon…

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Another Reason I Love My Truck

I love my truck for lots of reasons, but mostly because when we bought it Amy told the sales guy before we test drove it that we would be buying this when we returned. So, usually when I spy it across the parking lot and walk towards it I always think about her.
But, I yesterday I discovered another reason to add to the list of reasons that I just love my truck.

So yesterday, I am rushing to pick up the forgotten uniform and get it back over to my eldest before his game when in front of me is stop and go traffic. So much for rushing – all I can do is just roll along at a slow rate of speed and stop every so often. Then it happened. I rolled to a stop and Boom. Yep, the car behind decided my bumper was a better way of stopping then the breaks. No way! As the traffic pulled off in front of me, I pulled to the side and looked in the rear view mirror to see an upset young female driver. No way! Not only am have I been rear ended, but now I am on the side of the interstate with a crying teenage girl! As Filch from Harry Potter would say in his snarly voice, “ohhhh, we are in trouble”.

I jumped out, made sure she had her car off the road completely and tried to assure her that it was ok. What had happened happened. There was nothing to be done about it now. She decided to call her dad. The damage was surveyed, the TDOT assistance vehicle stopped by, the CPD eventually came.

While we were waiting for the PD to come, one of this young ladies high school coaches who was following close behind her had stopped off to help her – which was a blessing from above!
This lady noticed the Boyd-Buchanan sticker on my vehicle and started talking about some mutual people we knew that she went to church with, included my wife’s old principal. This got me thinking. What if I had come out of the truck angry as a hornet? What if this was the time I decided to leave Christ in the passenger seat? How would that have completed destroyed any ability to show Christ. It’s in these moments when we are able to let our lights shine. I hope that I was able to be kind and gentle in that stressful moment for that young lady, and I hope that when she think back on his first collision that that part stands out, and that in some sort of way I was able to point her towards my leader.

As you go about today, remember you never know who is watching and who you are influencing.

15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:15-17 (New International Version)

Oh why is this another reason that I love my truck – no damage. 🙂