Author: kenlassblog.net

Traveling and sightseeing will make a believer out of you. I’m certainly not a world traveler, but I’ve seen the beaches of Hawaii, the snow capped mountains of Alaska, the street marketplaces of Mexico, the majesty of the Grand Canyon, the amazing caverns of Carlsbad.

I’ve stood on my back porch and observed breathtaking sunsets and even a few eclipses. To try to convince yourself that all of this just evolved into existence by random chance requires a much greater stretch of imagination, than to acknowledge it is the work of a great Creator.

God reveals himself all around you every day. You may run from Him but you can’t hide. Why would you want to?

We’ve had several dogs over the years. A good dog adds joy to your life. It will love you almost unconditionally. All you have to do is love it back. A pup will wait patiently for you to decide to have time for him, always ready to play and keep you company. It’ll go for walks with you, play fetch your tennis ball, curl up on your lap and watch TV with you.

Once it accepts you as its master, that dog will acknowledge your authority over its life, and will trust you with its protection, well-being and destiny. Wherever you lead your dog in life, it will follow you willingly.

When it comes to our relationship with God, we could learn a lot from a dog.

Our mail deliverers usually come in late afternoon. But one early morning I happened to glance out my window and notice the mail truck pulling up to our box. This was a bit of a problem because it also happened to be garbage pick-up day. I had parked our trash can in front of our mailbox because our trash usually gets picked up in the morning.

Postal workers are not required to get out of their vehicles if your mailbox is blocked, and she could have just driven on past. However, I saw her step out of the truck, walk around the garbage can, and place our mail in the box. She didn’t have to do that.

I’m thankful for just small acts of kindness like this, and I’ll try to pay it forward. Good plan for all of us.

Controlling our behavior is one thing. Controlling our thoughts is quite another. The website fitstream.com reports that the average person has more than 60,000 thoughts each day. That’s a lot of brainwork to try to keep positive.

We may not be able to keep sinful thoughts from popping into our heads, but dwelling on them is the real problem. You fight them by being ready in advance. Think of several pleasant people, situations and experiences, things that bring you joy, and store them in your mind. When bad concepts creep into your head, kick them out and call upon one of your positive mental pictures. It takes a little practice, but you can take command of your brain.

You can do this. You get 60,000 chances to succeed every day.

The other day I logged on to my Facebook account and found that I have a new friend request. It’s always kind of exciting to learn somebody out there thinks enough of you to want to friend you on social media. There was just one problem with this particular friend request. This person has been dead for two years. I know this because he was a good pal of mine.

Clearly his account has been “cloned”, and someone with bad intentions wants access to my information. It’s unfortunate that all attempts to harm us are not as easy to spot as this. Things are not always as they seem. Internet thieves are getting more clever and subtle every day.

Save your trust for people and things you know you can rely on. Things that you know to be good, honest and uplifting. God will never phish or spam you.

It’s interesting that we humans need sleep to rest our bodies, but our brains never rest. During sleep our minds are busy conjuring up dreams and emotional experiences. Research indicates that 75 percent of all dreams are unpleasant. Our subconscious seems to want to dwell on what scares us or makes us feel insecure or uncomfortable.

Ever wonder why? Just a thought. Could it be the forces of evil try to prey on our weaknesses at a time when we are not in control of our visions and reactions? If so, all the more reason to spend our waking hours in a rightful relationship with God. He is no dream. He is real and ready to protect you.

Sleep well.

Trying to keep up with what’s in style can be like chasing a moving car on a bicycle. Styles keep changing. The hemline of ladies’ dresses goes maxi, then mini, then everything in between. The width of a man’s tie is narrow, then wide, then narrow again. Long hair is in, until it’s not. Boots, heels, or flats? It’s all so confusing.

Somebody, somewhere decides what’s in vogue, then decides when it’s not, and designs something else. The goal, of course, is to sell new merchandise. Staying in fashion will cost you a lot of money.

Wouldn’t it be great if there was an authority who set the style for life absolutely free? No purchase necessary? A style for living that never changes, and always leads you to the right decisions?

The hardest part about getting closer to God is giving up control. We crave control. The other day I approached an elevator and pushed the “up” button to summon the car. The button lit up and I stepped back to wait. Seconds later a woman came up beside me. She looked at that elevator button, still clearly lit up, then looked at me, then looked at the button again.

Ultimately, she couldn’t resist. She walked up and hit that button. She just had to take control of the situation. She couldn’t trust me, a stranger, to meet her need.

Imagine how hard it is to trust our lives to a God we can’t see. But eternity is worth the effort.

I’m a big fan of daffodils. The bright yellow flower is a great example of resiliency and determination. Every winter, about early February or so, our daffodils begin to sprout and open up. Problem is, that’s always too early. Inevitably there is a hard freeze at some point during the month. The frigid temps cause the new flower to droop and sag toward the ground.

But though they are going through trauma, these bold little plants refuse to die. They hang tough through the sub-freezing days, and somehow they survive until the sun shines brightly and brings milder times. That’s when they burst into full, healthy bloom and show off their beauty. They only last about three or four brilliant weeks, and then it’s time to go dormant again until next year. But they make the most of their opportunity to shine.

We could all benefit by being more like daffodils.

No one will ever accuse me of having a green thumb. I used to have a big garden. I tried growing melons and corn and pumpkins and lettuce and cucumbers. The bugs bored into my melons, my pumpkins stopped growing after reaching the size of a tennis ball, my corn stalks withered, and my lettuce turned brown.

But the cucumbers were a different story. My cuke vines spread throughout the garden like wildfire, sprouting the long green vegetables in droves. I gathered baskets of cucumbers and gave them to family and neighbors and food pantries and total strangers. I am a terrible gardener, but I am clearly good at growing cucumbers.

Everybody is good at something. You may have to fail at some things to find out where you excel, but you have a talent. Keep trying and you’ll find it. And if you need a pickle, I’m your man.