Just Continue That Thought...

A thought by Max Lucado from his book, Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World (Kindle Location 1530). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) I know, I know.   I don’t like to be scolded either even as a 70-year-old adult.   But sometimes we deserve it. Max said, “Did you? Are you in a storm of anxiety because you didn’t listen to God? He told you that sex outside of marriage would result in chaos, but you didn’t listen. He told you that the borrower is a slave to the lender, but you took on the dangerous debt. He told you to cherish your spouse and nourish your kids, but you cherished your career and nourished your vices. He cautioned you about the wrong crowd and the strong drink and the long hours. But you did not listen. And now you are in a storm of your own making.” He goes on, “If this describes you, receive God’s rebuke. He corrects those he loves, and he loves you. So stand corrected. Confess your

A thought by Max Lucado from his book, Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World (Kindle Location 1422). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Here’s the problem.   Max says, “You assume, If I get a car, I’ll be happy. You get the car, but the car wears out. You look for joy elsewhere. If I get married, I’ll be happy. So you get married, but your spouse cannot deliver. If we can have a baby . . . If I get the new job . . . If I can retire . . . In each case, joy comes, then diminishes. By the time you reach old age, you have ridden a roller coaster of hope and disappointment. Life has repeatedly let you down, and you are suspicious that it will let you down again.” Have you found that so?   If you have there needs to be a change in your focus for contentment. Max later says, “Christ-based contentment turns us into strong people. Since no one can take our Christ, no one can take our joy. Can death take our joy?

A thought by Max Lucado from his book, Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World (Kindle Location 1387). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) The Lord wants to lead us.   Max says, “The anxious heart says, ‘Lord, if only I had this, that, or the other, I’d be okay.’ The grateful heart says, ‘Oh, look! You’ve already given me this, that, and the other. Thank you, God.’” He then tells this story, “My friend Jerry has taught me the value of gratitude. He is seventy-eight years old and regularly shoots his age on the golf course. (If I ever do the same, I’ll need to live to be a hundred.) His dear wife, Ginger, battles Parkinson’s disease. What should have been a wonderful season of retirement has been marred by multiple hospital stays, medication, and struggles. Many days she cannot keep her balance. Jerry has to be at her side. Yet he never complains. He always has a smile and a joke. And he relentlessly beats me