Just Continue That Thought...

A thought by Max Lucado from his book, How Happiness Happens (p. 31). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) I’m sure you have some things that really get to you, don’t you? Max says, “If only people would stop behaving like people. If only people would wear deodorant, use mouthwash, close their mouths when they chew, quiet their screaming babies, and clean up their trashy lawns.” He goes on, “There is a way the world should run. And when others behave in ways we don’t like, we call that a pet peeve. Not a colossal divide or hostile rivalry or legal violation. Just a pet peeve. A pet (smallish, personal, individual) peeve (quirk, peculiarity). A pet peeve.” But later he says, “Joy is such a precious commodity. Why squander it on a quibble? “The phrases we use regarding our pet peeves reveal the person who actually suffers. He ‘gets under my skin’ or ‘gets on my nerves,’ or she is such a ‘pain in my neck.’...

A thought by Max Lucado from his book, How Happiness Happens (p. 24). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) We all need to be praised, don’t we? Max says, “Biblical encouragement is no casual, kind word but rather a premeditated resolve to lift the spirit of another person. ‘Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds’ (Heb. 10:24 NIV). The verb consider means ‘to perceive clearly . . . understand fully, consider closely.’ 1 ” Max goes on, “John Trent recalls a story about a young father whose daughter was going through the ‘terrible twos.’ She was cute but strong-willed and almost more than he and his wife could handle. The father decided to take the child out for breakfast and tell her how much they valued and loved her. Over pancakes he told her, ‘Jenny, I want you to know how much I love you, and how special you are to Mom and me. We prayed for you for years, and now...

A thought by Max Lucado from his book, How Happiness Happens (p. 22). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) I did that this morning.   It messed up my routine, but I needed to stop during my walk and let a guy I wave to every morning stop and tell me his story.   And Jesus did that. Max said, “A desperate woman once came to see Jesus. She was out of doctors, money, and hope. But worst of all she was out of friends. Her sickness rendered her ceremonially unclean, cut off from her family and any house of worship. For more than a decade she’d been ostracized from people. Then Jesus came to town. He was on his way to treat the daughter of the synagogue leader. The crowd was thick, and people were pushing, but she was desperate. Threading her arm through the crowd, she reached the hem of his garment. And when she touched the hem of him, the bleeding stopped. ‘“Who touched me?’” Jesus asked’ (Luke 8:45 NIV). The wom...