What You Want MOST

Discipline is just choosing between what you want NOW 

and what you want MOST.

I like this saying because it reminds me that many times the situation I find myself in may be somewhat to my liking for the moment, but further down the road I will not be happy if I allow myself to settle there.

This could be a job that pays the bills but is not bringing me the satisfaction of making a difference in the world.  It could be a relationship that takes my time to cultivate but that would be wiser spent working toward an education goal.  It could be buying a car on credit and having to pay it off for a long time which would disable me from pursuing a long term financial goal.

Life has a way of distracting a person, and it is so easy to fall away from the path that will lead me to my ultimate dream or goal.  I might be comfortable in my present situation, and I think it is always important to be content, no matter what circumstances I find myself in. However, if I get too comfortable I can lose sight of my true goal, and not do the things that are required to pursue it.

It is often more pleasant to remain in your comfort zone than to face challenges that cause pain and ultimately growth, but in the end, choosing wisely will take you where you want to go MOST instead of living a mediocre existence. 

Doing the Easy Things

In a fairly famous speech by a motivational speaker, a man named Jim Rohn said that it is often the easy things that make or break our success.

 The things that are easy to do are also easy not to do.  

It is easy to make a call to a contact, but it is also easy not to do.
It is easy to read a motivational article each day, but it is also easy not to do.
It is easy to read the assignment ahead of time, but it is easy not to as well.

Those simple things we can do each and every day to improve our lot in life are cumulative and like compound interest, often build upon themselves to create a far reaching effect.  Not only does doing them affect us in a positive way, not doing them will usually affect us in a negative way.

For instance, I have enough dishes in my cupboard to last several days without washing them.  I can go four days without even running out of my favorite coffee mug!  But if I use all the dishes before I wash any of them, the negative effect will be that my kitchen is cluttered and I have no place to work, and it will take me twice as long to wash a large batch of dishes as it will to wash several small batches since I will have to stop midway through to dry and put them away to make room.

That is a silly example, but success in almost any arena of life is a series of small, seemingly inconsequential decisions and actions that add up.  Whether you choose to do the easy things each day or choose to wait until they are either too big or it is too late is up to you.

I hope you choose to do the easy things.

Living Without Limits

I am not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward--to Jesus. I'm off and running and I'm not turning back.

So, let's keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision--you'll see it yet! Now that we're on the right track, let's stay on it.                    Philippians 3:12-16 (the Message)

Have you ever thought about the areas in your life where you experience limits?  I think it is common for us to allow our past experiences and beliefs to dictate our present choices and thus our future successes.   Paul reminds us in this passage that we can desire everything God has for us and that God is cheering us on toward that goal.

The more I hear and understand about how we create our own world by our attitudes, emotions and beliefs, the more I am convinced that it is true; we have exactly the life we want in our hearts. We may not be happy in all the areas of our lives, but if we are not, at least God has given us opportunities to experience the abundant life if we choose to. It is because of our own choices not to believe in His promises that we are not fulfilled.

I once heard of a man who was afraid of getting cancer because it was in his family. He went to the doctor who told him that all the symptoms he was experiencing showed he did indeed have cancer and that he had maybe two weeks to live. The man went into the hospital and in two weeks he died. Due to the agressive nature of the cancer involved, they decided to do an autopsy. They discovered that the man didn't have cancer at all: It was his imagination that killed him. 

When I was younger, I remember hearing about a man who accidently got locked in a refrigerator car on a train and died with all the symptoms of hypothermia--he even kept a written record of time and how he was feeling colder, sleepy, lack of oxygen, etc. The refrigerator car, however, was not "on" and the temperature never got below 60 degrees. The expectation of his heart was what killed him.

We experience what we believe with emotion, both in the negative and in the positive realms. The focus of my mind effects my emotions, which in turn effects my energy, health, and life.  When we focus on the limits instead of the freedom we will cement them more firmly in our lives.  Focus on your pain and it increases.  Focus on freedom and it increases. 

What would a life look like with NO LIMITS? 

• No more limiting pain to keep me from doing what I want to do. "I am pain free" 
• No more limiting sickness to keep me from having the energy I need. "I am in excellent health" 
• No more limiting emotions to keep me from experiencing God's full and abundant life of blessing. "I am filled with the peace and joy of the Lord" 
• No more limiting fear to keep me from speaking love into every situation. "I am filled with God's love and glory"

We can claim these truths with confidence because the Word tells us we are all these things and more. The promises of God are infinite--without limits--to those who believe in Him. 

I pray you will reflect on your life today and consider what limits you have allowed to be put on your life, then seek out God's promises showing you no longer need to live within those limits.  You are FREE!!  As you consider the freedom and picture a life lived without limits, may you also deeply sense God's incredible love for you and know His desire for you to live His abundant life.

What God Sees

It has been a great challenge to me throughout my life to see myself in a positive light.  My flaws are quite evident to me, and no doubt to those around me as well, but the more I think about my relationship with my Father, the more I realize He does not see me as I see myself.  It is important, therefore, to change my view to reflect HIS view and opinion of me so I may see the truth.

Here are some scriptures that help remind me of His viewpoint.  

• Jeremiah 31:3 says God loves me with an everlasting love. He draws me to Himself with loving-kindness. (not force, feelings of inadequacy, guilt, etc., but with sweet wooing, kindness and generosity)

• Psalm 5:12 says I am blessed by God and He surrounds me with favor as a shield. (I have often thought of his surrounding me as protection, but never noticed that His favor is a shield)

• Psalm 139:17-18 says His thoughts are precious toward me. If I could count them they would outnumber the sand! (that means He is thinking good things about me all the time--so many that I can't even begin to number them! I picture the love of my life and how many good things I think about him, then think about how puny my love is in comparison!)

• 2 Corinthians 5:21 says I am the righteousness of God in Christ.  Christ's righteousness is in me, and flowing through me: it is a part of who I am!  If I am His righteousness, I can love others as He loves me. It would be a tall order if He wasn't living within my heart, directing my paths and showering me with His love all the time! 

• Song of Songs 4:7 says that God thinks I am beautiful. He sees no flaw in me. (This is where I stumble! NO FLAW??? BEAUTIFUL??? That's what HE sees. Lord, help ME to see that, too!)

• Zephaniah 3:17 describes God's heart toward me as protective, delighting in me, calming me with his love and rejoicing over me with singing. (He is serenading me! He is so happy with me that He is humming as He thinks about me!)

These are not ways most people picture God's view of them, or there would be more wanting to know and spend time with Him!  If He sees me this way, I know He sees others this way. 

Matthew 11:28-30 in the Message says:

Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion?  Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life.  I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me--watch how I do it.  Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.  I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you.  Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly.

Unforced rhythms of grace. We don't have to work at this. We just need to believe it. What JOY and freedom that brings!  

God knows who you are and all you have done and He still loves you completely, unconditionally and wholly.  He sees the wounds and scars on your heart and desires to heal them and make you whole. He wants you to trust Him and rest in the knowledge that His grace is sufficient to bring you through any circumstance, and that it won't seem like a burden to be in His company. 

I pray you will learn to live freely and lightly and that you will discover how to take a real rest in Jesus.  I pray you will search His words to discover how He sees you, and once you learn how valuable you are to Him, that you will rest and draw near to His heart so He might continually bring you love, joy, and peace.

Praying for Others

No matter what past history we may have with others, we need to see them through God's eyes of love. On some level we feel justified in recalling all the hurts we have experienced in the relationships, but that is an "old man" mentality, and according to Romans 6 that old man died when we accepted Christ in our hearts.

Since we now live under the New Covenant and are free to experience all the gifts we have been given through the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, we must reexamine our prayer lives, as well. Since we already have been given the inheritance of Christ by the nature of our commitment to His lordship, we no longer have to ask God to DO anything. It has already all been completed through Christ. (2Peter 1:3) Since the covenant for our inheritance is with Jesus, not ourselves, we can't screw it up by not holding up our end of the covenant: it has been sealed by Jesus. (Now THAT is some good news!)

With that in mind, we realize that we can "pray" for people by blessing them. A blessing in this sense is a spoken positive whereas a curse is a spoken negative. When we talk negatively about people and remind ourselves of things they did that hurt us, we are cursing them. When we talk about people and speak positive things about them -- in this case the things God says about them-- we are blessing them.

Here is an example: We think about a person and get a picture of them in our minds. Then we speak the truth of the Word while thinking about them, adding their names in the promises. "John (in this case I have used a fictitious person) has been given the mind of Christ. He makes wise decisions and hears clearly from the Holy Spirit who resides in his heart to teach Him. John has been made righteous (as it should be) through Christ. He exhibits the fruit of the Spirit in all his actions. John has the healing power of Christ residing within his body. He desires to live his life in a manner that reflects health."

This type of prayer reminds us of the provisions for all believers because of our salvation (safe from harm, healed, delivered, protected, anointed, reconciled, given all the promises, etc.) and causes us to see others as God sees us. If the person has not entered into a personal relationship with Christ, we can still agree with God's word for these things (God loved us all while we were still sinners and loves each of us equally) and that He will draw them unto Himself, because it is not His desire that any should perish.

By agreeing with what God's word says about others, we don't have to wonder about whether or not our prayers are "heard" because they are divinely inspired! The answer then does not depend on our faith, but rather on the choice of the person we are blessing, and their response to God's wooing. We are essentially all responsible for the outcomes of our own lives (we are given free choice by God) but we are drawn to God by His great love for us. It is for this reason that nagging or manipulation of any sort are not effective toward changing others--even if it is for their own good!

I recently heard an excellent analogy relating to this. It is much easier to fish than to hunt. Hunters chase their pray who run from them in fear, whereas fishers lure theirs with appealing bait. Could be why Jesus called us to be "fishers of men" instead of hunters!

Crystal Reflections

I have always been drawn to the reflections of the light in cut crystal and love to see the sparkle of it under bright lights. Normally I am not interested in colored crystal, but this vase caught and held my attention. I went back to it several times in the 20 or so minutes we were in the little shop, and while it cost way more money than I had intended to spend on a souvenir from my trip, my husband kindly purchased it for me as an early anniversary gift.

When I brought the vase home, it took me a while to decide where to put it so I could look at it often. It didn't really fit with any of the rest of my collection: it was like a peacock in a dove cote. For a while it settled on a cedar chest in front of a large window. The light from the window made the colors come alive. When the sunshine hit the glass, it became almost too bright to look at, and the rainbow patterns were reflected all over the room.

I was thinking about that colored vase and how my life is similar. When I allow the light of Christ's love to shine through me, the beauty of all the facets He created in me comes through and reflects His love on those around me.

It is my choice as to how brightly I allow His light to shine. He is always present and always desiring to beam His love to any and all, but just as the old children's song reminds us, we don't want to hide that light under a bushel. I can choose to be less than friendly or refuse fellowship with others.  Likewise, if I continually have a cloud of misery hovering in my mind the light will be muddied and fail to reflect His love.

As you go through your day, I encourage you to remember that your life is a reflection of what is inside you.  Your thoughts are broadcast through your body language, your facial expressions and your words.  As you draw nearer to the source of light, more will shine through you and color with warmth all those around. 

Why Serve God?

There are many people who would say it isn't beneficial or even practical in today's world to be devoted to a set of principles or a divine being one cannot see or touch.  They may have bought into the Darwinian survival of the fittest mentality, the belief that we are all victims of circumstance, or that we make our own Karma and experience the results of our own behavior--either in this life or a former one--if they even philosophize  about it at all.

I bought into some variation of these and many other theories at one time or another in my youth, but my search was driven by a desire for the meaningful relationship with God that I eventually found.  God is not threatened when we question His authority, His divinity, His omnipotence or even His love.  He would not have given us a choice in the matter if He was threatened by our decision.  It is this very freedom to choose whether or not to accept His love that makes Him unlike any other deity--for He doesn't withhold it whether we accept it or not.

I am not really a deep thinker, and I realize that much of my desire to devote my heart to God is based on feelings, but since we are created as living souls and the ability to feel and reason are unique to man, I am not sure I should be concerned that feeling good about my relationship with my maker is all that bad.

When I believed that the Law was the path to relate to God, I was not as interested in living according to it because I knew I was incapable of fulfilling the Law on my own.  Oh, I could manage the Ten Commandments alright because those were ingrained early in life.  It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that there is a lot of pain involved if you kill, steal or break any number of those laws.  It wasn't the thou shalt not's of the Old Testament that had me worried about relating to God, it was the writings in the New Testament and all the various warnings that had me thinking I could never measure up.

Once I realized the words of excellent guidance offered in the Bible were tributes of God's unlimited love to all mankind instead of a set of rules to gain His approval, I was able to break the old thought patterns of needing to measure up for acceptance.  God not only gave us true-north guidance and wisdom but He also gave Jesus that we might have access to His power and ability (grace) to live above our circumstances and hear His voice to avoid chaos.  I really do need that grace to enable me to walk in love because I am very self-centered without it.  Self-centered living leads to loneliness, pain and chaos--at least in my experience.

It is only by acknowledging God as my Father that I can access the identity of being His child.  It is by identifying with Him that I have access to His grace.  His grace enables me to walk in love and in wisdom.  By walking in love I experience fulfillment, and by listening to His voice I am able to be wise and avoid chaos and fear.  The more I walk in love, the easier it is to overlook offenses and keep peace.  This peace that passes understanding is the prosperity of the soul that leads to abundance.

What a generous and loving God to have given everything we need before we even asked.  I daily uncover some new aspect of His perfect love which fulfills more than any fallible human could ever do.  Until I discovered His love for me, I lived in fear of His judgment, but now I walk in His love which does away with fear.  I know I will never be judged for my short-comings or mistakes, but that He will remind me of my position as His righteous child who has rights and responsibilities of the position.  It is His love that draws me to repentance (changing my mind/direction) not the fear of His disapproval.

I pray you will discover this God-of-love and grow to know and love Him intimately.  He is the one who gives the power and ability to love at all, and with His love flowing in and through us, we are able to broadcast love and acceptance to others who are searching, just as I once was, for a meaningful life.  Indeed, it is the sharing of this perfect God-love that is the purpose of life.

Focus on the Positive

It seems there is always a kernel of truth any time someone offers a critical remark.  It may not be true in reality, but it is a reflection of their thoughts and beliefs or they would not have come up with it to say aloud.

I am finding it is better to not even think negative thoughts about another, but just focus on their positive attributes.  It keeps me from inadvertently spouting off something I may regret later.  In truth, most people have enough positive attributes that this is easy.  It is only when they touch our self-worth that we look for a way to discredit them in some way.

I am not about to admit that this has been easy for me, nor am I all that good at it, but I am tapping into God's grace and any other method I have at my disposal to make it a reality.  It is not really all that fun to live life on the outskirts of everything, and until I can see others through God's eyes of unconditional love, I will always be looking for ways to categorize people as those I can trust or not, befriend or not, accept or not, etc.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.  Philippians 4:8


I think this is one of those verses that has some really great benefits attached when we apply it to our lives.  May you find many excellent and praiseworthy things in your life everyday.

Speaking Kindness

Today during a meditative exercise, a startling recollection of an long forgotten incident that occurred when I was about four years old surfaced in my mind and brought mortified tears of shame to my eyes.  As I recalled it, I could feel the horrible wrenching pain that was dealt to me with this teasing remark.  With adult reasoning the event could easily be laughed off and dismissed as a playful remark from someone who was just looking for an excuse not to do something they didn't want to do:  from the perspective of a vulnerable child it was devastating.

The same opinion was expressed in diverse ways on multiple occasions by many different people, always having the same painful effect on my heart.  Eventually, that internal burden was heavy enough to drive me deeper and deeper into the lifestyle predicted by those misguided people. It only takes three times for a negative remark to become reality--imagine hearing it repeated so many different ways over many years!

Unfortunately children are often dealt these off-the-cuff insults in the name of teasing, or in some cases from a misguided sense of "helping" them.  They may or may not sink into the heart to later surface as a blockage of some sort, but if there is any emotion attached--embarrassment, shame, fear, anger--without the tools to release the pain and send away the offense, a child will bury the memory and it will later haunt them with some sort of physical or emotional ailment or impediment to a happy life.

The most cruel of these remarks are those that relate to a child's physical or mental state, over which even an adult has little control--much less would a child. The inability to reason, which is not developed until around the age of 12, makes it all the more necessary to be very honest with a child, building him up with truth from God's word about his worth.  Calling him names or impugning his character in some way has a strong negative effect on his sense of worth.

Laughter, which reflects the desirable emotion of joy, is just as potent as shame as a means for applying a negative emotion to the heart.  For instance, if mother always refers to her child as a brat or hellion, then laughs about it, a child can easily transfer that opinion to his or her heart, thereby cementing it as an owned trait.  Later in life when they are continually in and out of trouble, unless they discover the tools to release the emotional burden placed on them, they will have no way to overcome a life of chaos and misery.  They were repeatedly told this was who they were, so they have no choice but to assume that identity.

Consider what effect it would have for someone you counted on for love and acceptance to continually berate you for your weight, height, or lack of some physical characteristic considered to be beautiful by societal standards.  The remarks need not even be overt, but might be something like, "If you wouldn't eat so much..." or "You are so short ..."  It is challenging enough to hear that as an adult for most people, although there seem to be some that are able to overlook such remarks.  But consider how a child might react--they feel judged and found guilty of an offense they have no control over.

I am grateful to have discovered the tools necessary to identify and clear out the burdens that were placed on me in my youth, which was marked by many losses and little positive encouragement toward God's view and opinion of me.  As I gradually peel away the layers and reveal the source of many of my poor decisions and misguided paths, I am finding some wonderful God-given gifts and much love that had been buried along with the pain.

I pray you will spend some time quietly before the Lord asking yourself some questions about your past to discover the cause of the limits in your life.  As you discover these indignities and hurts, release them and find a path to the person you were meant to be and the life you were meant to live.  Then concentrate on finding all the good, beautiful, perfect, kind aspects of your life and those around you and speak them frequently and with fluency.  As you reinforce God's good opinion of yourself and others, you will see a lovely life unfold around you.

God has provided you with healing, dignity and worth through Jesus Christ and wishes above all things that you prosper in all ways.  As your soul prospers (your thoughts and emotions) you will walk in abundance in all areas of your life.  So be it.

Giving an Answer

Almost always when I meet someone new, eventually the conversation comes around to religion.  It seems like lately there have been many opportunities to answer the questions, "What religion are you?" or "Where do you go to church?"

Both these questions indicate to me that a person is trying to find the quickest way to discover who I am, what I believe and whether or not they can identify with me. Unfortunately, it seems like my answers to either question do not gain them favorable insight.

I am a Christ follower and have an intimate relationship with the creator of the universe. I am not religious, though. I am not bound by a set of traditions or rules that govern my behavior; rather I try to walk in love and compassion, which Jesus says fulfills the law. I consider myself to be part of a family, where God is my Father and Jesus is my brother.

I believe in the New Covenant offered by the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and believe that I am saved, redeemed, healed, prospered, delivered, righteous, and that all the promises ever given to anyone in the Bible are yes and amen to me. I believe that faith, the measure of which is given to every believer, is the cornerstone of seeing the life of abundance we are promised in the Scriptures--not only in the New Heaven and Earth, but here, now, in this life.

I believe that we are free to make choices, and to a large extent, we control the world as it affects us based on what we are willing to receive from God. There is nothing else He has to do for us, it has all already been done. Laws were set in motion at the creation of the world that continue to perpetuate, and we are responsible for applying them to our lives, whether they seem visible or "real" to us or not. God is only in control if we invite Him to be, and we do not need to live as fatalistic victims of circumstance because His grace empowers us to live beyond our circumstances.

Now, while that is a very sketchy view of our beliefs, and barely touches how fully life encompassing our love-relationship with God is, it is still more than I can offer in answer to the casual acquaintance who querries! It is vastly different than the reply, "I am a Christian," an answer that is interpreted in so many ways from narrow minded to liberal thinking, or, "I am a Protestant," which really only narrows that field slightly. If I say I am Charismatic, which in some ways I am, that conjures up a whole different set of images and depending on their perspective or experience with others in that group may completely put them ill at ease.

How do you tell someone you are having a love affair with your Maker? What do I say to define how God has changed my heart, my mind, my life, my relationships, my goals, my perspective, my philosophy, my health, my feelings and my dreams? If you can tell me, I'd sure appreciate your insight, because I  don't want to be boxed in, nor do I want to lead someone down a path that will keep them from experiencing the joy and love I have been blessed with because of some past experience they have had with someone who professes to have faith in God.

Bird Brain

A robin is determined to fly through my studio window.  It spends hours each day flying into the glass and dropping to the window sill.  From there it darts up to the fence and makes another run at the window.  Over and over, all day long.  He can never catch the other bird, or enter into the house, or whatever his bird-brain is telling him to do, despite repeating the same exercise over and over again.

My bird friend has a vast world in which to seek entertainment.  If it is a partner he wants, there are millions of other robins around that are far less elusive than the one he thinks he sees reflected in the glass.  If it is a threat he perceives, a mere change in perspective is all he needs to realize the error of his ways, although the battering he gives himself each time he throws himself against the window is likely painful enough for him to believe he is being abused!

Albert Einstein reportedly said that the definition of insanity is to repeat the same action expecting different results.

It is a good exercise to consider all the things I have repeated in life to no avail.  Weight loss and controlling people are two that come to mind right away.  It has taken me so many years to understand that control is an illusion, whether over my own life or someone else's.

When I change my perspective to view my body as the temple of the Holy Spirit rather than a battleground for my will, I am able to release my control and consider how best to care for it--which starving and abusing through excessive exercise is not!

Likewise when I consider my propensity to herd others toward my viewpoint of what is right, I have discovered that a change in perspective gives me freedom to allow others to make their own mistakes and revel in their own successes.  I have no guilt if things go awry, nor pride if they do not. There is much peace with this way of life not experienced at any time when I felt the need to direct the lives of those around me.

I can't change the bird's mind, but with the grace (power and ability) of God within me, I can certainly set a different course for my own life.

I pray as you consider the areas in your life in which you are confronted with an impenetrable resistance, you will not repeatedly batter yourself with the same actions only to end with the same miserable resulting experiences.  Rather, I hope you will tap into God's grace and allow Him to change your perspective so that you may see your situation in a different light, with different solutions to your problems or such a changed view that you realize your problems were merely figments of your imagination after all.

Pride and Self-worth

It isn't very fun to discover that my behavior often stems from the idea that "I know the right way, so I am doing it that way." One of my favorite teachers asserts that those who have to always be right in any given argument or situation are acting out of pride, and before they can really have any significant transformation in their lives, they must deal with that spiritual blockage. (moan)

I often say, "I'm proud of ..." It may be my children, my work, my writing, my progress, etc. Some might say I have a "right" to be proud of those things. When I consider that Jesus is living in me, that all I do is a reflection of His work, I have no right to be proud, only extremely grateful. It is HIS presence in my children's lives that make them the man and woman they are. It is HIS inspiration and motivation to press on that enables me to accomplish any worthwhile goal, be it creatively or in the physical realm. I am only a vessel, a cracked pot as it were, and as such there is nothing in me other than Christ to be "proud" of.

However, there is much to be grateful for, and as I discover words and ways to demonstrate my appreciation for all that God has done in the lives of my family and myself, hopefully my pride will subside and be replaced by an overwhelming sense of gratitude and praise for His magnificent love, grace and mercy--none of which can I lay claim to on my own merit.

I have learned there is a difference between pride and self-worth.  Pride is a self-righteous feeling that comes from things I do.  Self-worth is an awareness of who I am in Christ and the great value God places on my life because Jesus has given me to His Father.  Pride rejoices in behavior and situations I feel responsible for, but self-worth is not related to anything I can do; only the awareness that the creator of the universe thought enough of me to make sure every good thing was available to me without my having to life a finger to get them.   

May your heart be touched by the immense value God has placed on your life.  In response to that great love may you in turn reach out to others with all your gifts, talents and encouragement. 

Need

A much loved and re-read novel tells of a twenty-something spinster living with her mother and aunt in a dreary, unloving environment.  She has developed a heart condition and covertly seeks the counsel of a local physician who informs her by mail that she has but a short time to live.  With nothing to lose, she throws off the restraints of her meddling and belittling family that previously hindered her from fully living.

She leaves her sanctimonious mother's home to care for a dying motherless friend whose life was marked by disgrace; the daughter of a local drunkard.  While there she befriends and falls in love with a mysterious man known about town as "notorious."

Several weeks after she assumes her role as care-giver, her friend passes away and she is left to deliberate her future. She has not told her family of her impending demise, but she cannot imagine returning to her former dreary existence, so she asks her notorious new friend if he will marry her.  To her surprise, he agrees.

With the freedom to discover herself and the remarkable world around her, she is transformed from a dull spinster to a fascinating woman.  Her appearance improves, and even the usual colds and other indignities of an unhappy life desert her entirely.  In the end, a moment of extreme happiness cures her heart condition--inaccurately represented by the doctor who had received startling news just as he finished examining her and erroneously sent her the letter that was to go to another patient.

The thing that strikes me most fervently each time I read the story is how it took the belief that she had nothing left to lose before she determined to take her life into her own hands.  When she believed she had no other options, she silently suffered through ignominious insults and grievous family gatherings.  Once her perspective altered and she had no fear for the future, she went after that which she wanted:  to be needed.

While good works will not ever gain us anything from our Heavenly Father who has already given us every good thing, they do serve the purpose of satisfying a God-given desire to feel needed by someone.

It is natural to exchange with others the experience of feeling and meeting needs. My wish for you is that you learn how to offer and graciously receive love and care from others as an expression of God's wonderful love.  May you always feel a need to experience His lavish love and ultimately the satisfaction of believing you already have it.

Midnight Mockingbird

I was awakened in the night by the cheerful sounds of a lone mockingbird.  He must have taken a few sips from a discarded energy drink can, for he sang exuberantly and with abandon. I thought about him standing atop the highest peak around and pouring his joy into song which reverberated among the few houses nearby.  I smiled to think of him disregarding conventional birdsong time and ignoring the darkness surrounding him to rejoice in his talent.   I wondered if he was celebrating some momentous event, was  ridiculously happy to see spring arrive early, or if he had just rediscovered a forgotten tune. 

This midnight awakening held many lessons for me.

1. Never fear the darkness around you, no matter how oppressive.  The song in your heart will lighten even the darkest of days when it is broadcast afar.

2. Traditions are not sacred.  If my bird-friend had sung during the day among the noise and distractions therein, I would not have heard him at all.  By choosing an alternative time he held a captive audience.

3. Don't be afraid to stand out. There were likely others in the houses nearby who were not as content to be awakened by his song. There will always be critics, no matter how well executed your talent.

4. Celebrations are important.  My feathered friend reminded me that while I should express gratitude for the great things that occur, the simple gift of life is enough to sing about as well.

5. No matter the size of the audience, deliver your good-news-message.  My mockingbird cared not whether anyone heard the delightful trilling of his voice or not. His song had expanded within his heart until he had to let it out or burst.

It is unimaginable for any day begun with a song to turn out to be other than joy-filled.  May your day begin with a song that plays in your heart and brings you joy.