If you’re too busy and preoccupied to be courteous today, you might be too busy and pre-occupied.
“Be courteous.” 1 Peter 3:8
“The nearer you come into relation with a person, the more necessary do tact and courtesy become.” Oliver Wendell Holmes
one thought at a time
Imagine today filled with things like poor-me, no-fair, if-only, I-deserve and after-all-I’ve-done-for-you. Now imagine today without them.
Father, please teach me to practice contentment today, one thought at a time.
“I have learned the habit of being content. . . .” Philippians 4:11
father and mother
In the evenings, his parents both put him to bed. First, they give him a bath. They know every inch of him – the curves of his little bottom and the roundness of his big belly. They know every small bump and scratch. They say things like, “Look. That scratch on his face hasn’t gone away yet.” They enjoy him enjoying the water. Sometimes his dad makes a category-five storm, and they laugh. They laugh whenever he laughs. In the end, one lifts him up and out and into the other’s toweled arms. They wrap him and pat him dry and put him in a fresh diaper and warm PJs. His dad carefully combs his hair. Then they hold him and read him his bedtime books. He lies limp and warm and satisfied. They sing the same soft songs that they sing to him every night, and they put his name in the songs the way they always do. Slowly, he drifts off to sleep, delighted in again. Before dawn, he will wake and find them both still with him.
“God is not only fatherly. God is also mother. . . .” Mechthild of Magdeburg (1210-1294)
“You know everything about me, Lord. . . . You are familiar with all my ways. . . . When I awake, I am still with You.” Psalm 139:1, 3, 18
smiling and clapping
I know a little boy who is learning to walk. He takes a few steps and falls down, smiling and clapping for himself. Just imagine feeling that lovable, especially when you fall down.
“It is difficult . . . to assimilate the notion that God finds us lovable. . . .” Patrick Henry Reardon
“Make yourselves at home in My love.” John 15:9
out loud
When you notice (even a little) something good about somebody today, why not notice it out loud?
Please help me to give words that give life today.
“Words can kill, and words can give life. . . .” Proverbs 18:21
a little bit more
Think of somebody you know who is bitter. Then think of somebody you know who is grateful. By tonight, you’ll be a little bit more like one of them.
“We make the choices that turn us into bitter or grateful people.” Adele Calhoun
“(Choose to) be grateful.” Colossians 3:15 (parenthetical added)