Monday, January 21, 2013

this is the day


 

 

 
well my dear ones,

 


I passed someone in a hallway the other day

who commented that I always seem to be happy.

 

I told him I always try to bear in mind,

“This is the day the Lord has made;

 let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

 

He said he really liked that.

 

I went back to my desk

and wondered if he realized

that that was a part of a Psalm;

so I printed him out a little card:

 

This is the day the Lord has made;

let us rejoice and be glad in it.

--- Psalm 118:24

 


When I handed him the card,

a couple of his friends came over to read it,

and said they liked it.

 

That made me think about God’s promise

about God’s own word,

“So shall My word be

 that goes forth from My mouth;

 It shall not return to Me void,

 But it shall accomplish what I please,

 And it shall prosper

 in the thing for which I sent it.”

 --- Isaiah 55:11

 


And that made me think about another man

who heard God’s word

and definitely made much use of it,

Dr. Martin Luther Kind, Jr.

 

On April 3, Dr. King addressed a rally

and delivered his

"I've Been to the Mountaintop" address

at Mason Temple,

the world headquarters

of the Church of God in Christ.

In the close of this last speech of his career,

in reference to the bomb threat that had

delayed his flight to Memphis,

Dr. King said the following:

 

“Well, I don't know what will happen now.

We've got some difficult days ahead.

But it doesn't matter with me now.

Because I've been to the mountaintop.

And I don't mind.

Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place.

But I'm not concerned about that now.

I just want to do God's will.

And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain.

And I've looked over.

And I've seen the promised land.

I may not get there with you.

But I want you to know tonight,

that we, as a people,

will get to the promised land.

So I'm happy, tonight.

I'm not worried about anything.

I'm not fearing any man.

Mine eyes have seen the glory

of the coming of the Lord.”

 

Amen to that.

Definitely sounds like a man who lived out,

“This is the day the Lord has made;

 let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

 

May you also find the joy in each day

that God provides for you.

 


Have a great week.

 

grace, peace, and love to you,

dave

Tuesday, January 01, 2013

time in the car wash



 

well my dear ones,

 

 

A few days ago, I borrowed my wife's truck

in order to run a few errands

and pick up some things

that were too big to fit in my car.

 

So I figured the least I could do

was to top off her gas tank

and get her a car wash

(at combo gas station/car wash).

 

Yet when I punched in the car wash code,

as I have many times before without issue,

this time it didn't work out.

 

The car wash ran through most of the steps

and then stopped on the last one;

the lights on the computer went out

and the sprayer stopped halfway across the car

blocking my way out.

 

As I sat there sipping my coffee,

I was thinking about how

"They" always tell you never to get out

at an automatic car wash.

(like what if I moved the washer head

 and the thing started up again?)

 

I waited a few minutes,

but when my coffee ran out

I got out and moved the washer head

enough so I could drive out;

then I went back in and told the manager

that, although my car got washed,

the thing was broken.

 

She went and checked it out,

reset the computer,

and came back and gave me a new code

to get the car re-washed

just in case the previous rinse

didn't finish properly;

I thanked her and went back out.

 

I ran through the wash a second time

and all went perfectly;

I was in a rush,

so I was about to head out,

but then I thought I really ought to go back in

and thank that manager for her kindness

and also to let her know that everything

was now A OK.

 

So I went back in and told her that

and also wished her a blessed New Year;

the total time for that

was only about ten seconds,

but her face lit up and it made her so happy.

 

And that gave me the idea

for my simple New Year's resolution:

even when in a hurry, slow down,

and take the extra ten seconds

to thank people for their simple

day-to-day courtesies.

 

You may think that's the dumbest resolution

of which you've ever heard, and that's OK.

 

My second resolution is this:

to wish all y'all a blessed

and most awesome New Year!!!

 

Have a great week.

 

grace, peace, and love to you,

dave