Just Continue That Thought...

A thought by Max Lucado from his book, Every Day Deserves a Chance: Wake Up to the Gift of 24 Hours (p. 29). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Yes, it is, it always is. Max says, “Matthew Henry made it his. When the famous scholar was accosted by thieves and robbed of his purse, he wrote this in his diary: ‘Let me be thankful first, because I was never robbed before; second, because, although they took my purse, they did not take my life; third, although they took my all, it was not much; and, fourthly, because it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed.’” Max goes on, “Make gratitude your default emotion, and you’ll find yourself giving thanks for the problems of life.” He says, “Need spice in your day? Thank God for every problem that comes down the pike. Is any situation so dire that gratitude is eliminated? Some of the ladies at the Women of Faith Conference thought it was. This great organization fills a

A thought by Max Lucado from his book, Every Day Deserves a Chance: Wake Up to the Gift of 24 Hours (p. 27). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Max goes on, “Nothing blows the winter out of the day like the Caribbean breeze of thankfulness. Need some trade winds?” He says, “When Paul sent Timothy off to spiritual university, he told him to major in the grace of God: ‘You, therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus’ (2 Timothy 2:1 nkjv, emphasis mine). Do the same. Focus on the cross of Christ. Grow fluent in the language of redemption. Linger long at the foot of the cross. Immerse yourself in the curriculum of grace. It’s so easy to be distracted. So easy to be ungrateful, to make the mistake of Scott Simpson’s caddie. “Scott is a professional golfer who plays often at the Masters Golf Tournament, hosted by the Augusta National Golf Club. Augusta National is to golfers what the Smithsonian

A thought by Max Lucado from his book, Every Day Deserves a Chance: Wake Up to the Gift of 24 Hours (p. 14). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Yes, you did, you messed up. Max says, “You messed up yesterday. You said the wrong words, took the wrong turn, loved the wrong person, reacted the wrong way. You spoke when you should have listened, walked when you should have waited, judged when you should have trusted, indulged when you should have resisted.” He then says, “But you’ll mess up more if you let yesterday’s mistakes sabotage today’s attitude. God’s mercies are new every morning. Receive them. Learn a lesson from the Cascade forests of Washington State. Some of its trees are hundreds of years old, far surpassing the typical lifespan of fifty to sixty years. One leaf-laden patriarch dates back seven centuries! What makes the difference? Daily drenching rains. Deluges keep the ground moist, the trees wet, a