You know, I dislike election years. It is so discouraging seeing politicians going after each other. It is like watching a really bad reality TV show. There is so much unwholesome talk that is meant to bring others down that it just annoys me, and I realize it is annoying because it is unloving and unrighteous. 

We as Christians should strive to be different than the rest of the world, and one characteristic that can set us apart, is becoming an encourager to others.

My last blog was about serving, and I realized one way to serve others is to be hospitable. Hospitable people are open to receiving people into their homes and lives. I think of them as the people that everyone likes to go and visit. They make you feel welcome and special. You feel at “home” in their homes. It is a beautiful talent to have, and I believe that we all should make an effort to learn how to be hospitable instead of relying on a few to do it for us. In fact, Paul makes hospitality a job requirement for overseers in the Ecclesia (1 Tim 3:2). He also tells all of us to “practice hospitality” (Rom 12:13b).

As many of us know, 43 years ago, here in the United States, abortion became nationally legal in January of 1973 by the ruling of the United States Supreme Court, regardless of no legislation sponsored by the people via Congress. Underscoring this ruling was Justice Blackmun's claim, "…we cannot determine when life begins." Since this ruling was legalized over 53 million babies have been “extracted” and/or "vacuumed"  from the wombs of women in the USA, of which 86% have it done for convenience (birth control) and 45% of these women are repeated clients.

We live in a selfish world. It is not a new thing, for Christ warned His disciples of it when ten of them became jealous and angry over James and John asking to sit beside Him in the Kingdom. Jesus warns them “that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant…For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others…” (Matt 20:25-26, 28, NLT, emphasis mine).

There is so much controversy today in the US about healthcare.  We hear so many arguments on the subject.  Should there be healthcare as we now know it?   How can we improve the medical insurance programs that we have?  Is there any way we can make this situation better?  Medical insurance in this country basically started in the 1930s when labor unions were demanding things such as child labor laws, five day workweeks, and eight hour days.  It was after WWII that medical insurance for employees sky rocketed.   Today, the healthcare situation in this country seems to be in trouble.  People on all sides have suggestions on how we can improve the situation.

As a parent, I try hard to train my children to be good people. I want them to know the difference between right and wrong and love and hate. I also want them to know how to forgive others and themselves to the point that they let it go, so the root of bitterness and resentment can’t grow inside them. Yet, I realize in order for them to do that, I must practice what I preach. I must stop rehashing forgiven mistakes.

Does your congregation stay in touch with each other outside of church? Do you call people during the week to see how they are doing? When was the last time you had someone from your fellowship over for dinner? How many of us know each other’s phone numbers, let alone where each of us live? Do you bother to call a member if you haven’t seen them at church in a while to make sure they are okay?

If you do all the above things, that is awesome. Please teach others to do it, also, because this is what families do for each other. We are supposed to be the family of God, but in my experience, we really don’t act like it. Families get together when they can.

How do you treat yourself? When you “look” at yourself, do you like what you see? Do you struggle with self-condemnation? Is this how we are supposed to be?

It is easy for me to treat others with love and compassion. It is easy for me to try to give people the benefit of the doubt when they are not nice, but it is not easy for me to treat myself with the same affection. I am really hard on myself. I think that I am my worse judge. I also have a bad habit of self-comparison.

“Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His loving-kindness is everlasting” (Psa 118:1).

This past Thursday was America’s day of Thanksgiving, and the fact that not everyone celebrates it doesn’t mean that we as Christians can’t use it as a reminder of what we should be doing every day—giving God thanks. I know I need to practice giving God thanks for everything, and I mean everything. The good, the bad, the beautiful, the ugly, because giving thanks “in all circumstances” is God’s will for us in Christ Jesus (1 Thess 5:18).

A few weeks ago, I was watching my children play, and it hit me how much I hope and pray that I can watch them grow up and start their own families. Yet, I realized there are no guarantees in life except death, and I have no idea how much longer I have. I know that sounds really depressing, but while I was watching them play, I realized, I can’t dwell on what I can’t control. However, I can give thanks for every single day I have to spend with them.

Life is short. Our lives are just a “mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes” (James 4:14). We see this reality every day in the news. We are here one second and gone in the next. Therefore, we have to stop taking life for granted. Be thankful for today.

I am grateful for music. Not only because I love to sing, but because I love how powerful music is. Music can bring back memories long forgotten. It can make us feel energized. It can also give us goose bumps or make us cry. It is emotional, and I love how music can bring glory to our Father and our Messiah.

Music is so neat considering the fact that even deaf people can feel music. In fact, the “perception of the musical vibrations by the deaf is likely every bit as real as the equivalent sounds, since they are ultimately processed in the same part of the brain” (WebMD). How cool is that?

I am so thankful that my God is not confined to human boxes. I am thankful that He isn’t limited to our abilities. I am thankful that no matter what I am going through, my God is bigger. Now, all I have to do is remember this when trials seem to want to make me forget.

It is so easy to let trials decrease our faith. When we are facing an obstacle that we alone cannot fix, we need to not make the mistake of forgetting that a lot of times it isn’t our job to fix it. It is God’s job. He doesn’t need our help to set things right. 

Okay, I have a confession, this week’s blog is a lesson that I am trying to learn.  I really need to work on keeping my mouth shut even if I know I’m right.  Nothing major happened this week.  It is just that I’m raising a teenage daughter who is very strong-willed, and we tend to not always see “eye to eye.”  I love my daughter and she loves me, but we both have a tendency on trying to have the last word.  My problem is I have yet to master the skill of letting my daughter figure out that she is wrong on her own.  I tend to just keep trying to force her to realize it by continuing the argument.  Yet, the truth is, regardless if I am right, when I act in a quarrelsome way, I am wrong.

Last week, I wrote about how we need to stop thinking that the “world revolves around us,” and how this thought causes us to be selfish and discontent. Well, this week, I want to look at another problem that causes discontent, envy/covetousness. You know the old saying, “Trying to keep up with the Joneses”? I honestly don’t know why the name Jones was picked, but it is a saying to describe people who strive to have what those around them have. This desire can cause all heaps of trouble, like extreme debt, depression, and especially discontentment. Why do we fall into the trap of envying each other? Why is it so easy to look at others and wish we had what they have?

Have you ever watched a group of toddlers play with toys? Many go for the best toys in the pile. Snatching it away and staring down the other kids as if to say, “I dare you to try to take this away from me.” I believe they are still in the “the world revolves around me” stage of life. Which, we understand that children don’t quite grasp sharing, being nice, knowing how to put others first, because they are little, and they have yet to learn how to treat others. What is our excuse, though, when we act the same way?