Because I'm happy

   Happy is what you make it, always has been always will be. You and I can sit around discussing and deciding on all the reasons to be unhappy, it's easy to do, they're abundant. You will find strife and hardship are plentiful in this life. But, don't you love the but, this is not our only life. We as Christians are just traveling through this world. We have a promise of a greater much more rewarding life beyond anything we can imagine. I always tell my patients when we are working out, can you do five more minutes? C'mon, we can do anything for five minutes. And most of the time they can. Because they have hope that this is temporary. Friends, this is temporary. This is preparation for the big game. For an eternity spent in the arms of the lover of our souls! That's good y'all!
   So now, I know what you're saying, sounds great but we're not there, we're here. True. Now what will you do with here? Will you focus on you? Take a million selfies and wait for the compliments to roll in. Say I want a better house, a nicer car, a better class of friends. I'll be happy when I get all these things! Or will you take some time right now right in this moment to say I believe I'll be happy right where God has me. Yep it's as easy and as hard as a decision to say I'm here May as well be joyful and do something good. Because guess what? The compliments, the house, the better car, and the so called better class of people may never come, and..... Then..... What? You missed your shot at being happy right where you are. Boo, that makes me sad even to write it. How bad would that be to get to the end of all this amazing life and say I missed the joy looking for the more?
   So today, ask God to open your eyes and heart to all the joy around you. All the blessings he's already given you. I don't know what all your blessings are, but I know you are blessed. You may have to stop complaining, or God forbid lay down an old hurt, so that you can move to better place to get a better view of all the funny happy silly things our Father has for you! Go out and find your happy. It's there! Our God ensures blessings on those he loves, but if you're looking down at all Satan has for you instead of up at all God is and does you'll miss it!
  May God bless and keep you, Ms. Jill

The Lord's lavish love

   Yesterday my husband and I went to Lubbock to meet my niece and the sweet family she's staying with to look for her first car.  We went to lunch first, and our spoken prayer was that God would open hearts and doors to us that shouldn't be open to us, just because we're His, just because He loves us. We went to the first couple of lots where my nephew Matt met us  We  looked at a few and then she fell for a Pontiac. She drove it out and was pleased, we went in and filled out paperwork only to find the lot's interest rate was 17%. Umm, no. We said we would like to talk with our credit union Monday and would get back to them. This car was a Pontiac , and would have been $10,000. This was above what we had originally asked for, our range was $6000-$9000. We moved on to the lot my friends father had so graciously sent us to and told us who to talk to.  We worked with Daniel, he is an amazing man of God. He sent us to the trade in lot. And, there we found several cute little cars.  Daniel went to the main office to ask prices. One we had looked at was a 2008 Nissan Altima. We figured it would be out of our price range but thought that we would ask. When Daniel returned he said it was $6000! What?! So the guys look it over and say it looks really good. The guys and Sara drive it out and are very pleased with how well it drives.  We then went inside and Daniel said let's do the paperwork. Rick said we would like to go through our credit union that we've never paid more than 4%. He asked us to go through them and said he bet he could do around 4%.  In his absence the guys were trying to figure out why it was so inexpensive? What could be wrong with it? The blue book was saying $9000 at the lowest. Well, it took a while but then Daniel returned and said he got us 4% and her payments would be $149. We didn't even need to ask why? He said "Sara, you are getting an amazing deal on that car. It was listed for $8900 and Max Mcgavock says he doesn't even know why he said $6000, but he is honoring it!" Wow! God went ahead of us, and he set up this meeting! He shut the door at the first car lot because he had better at the next. He knew exactly what we could do, and he not only met us there, he made the price the lowest we asked! God is so good and he seeks to do abundantly more for His beloved than we could ever dream! He loves Sara! And He sought to give her the desires of her heart! Now she will have a safe and  dependable car for college. Thanks to the God of mercy and lavish love!

OUTCAST

   Probably twice a year I clean out closets and dressers of my family of four. I get rid of things that are too small too worn out and just never really used them. We bag them up in the garage till I can take them to goodwill or the clothes closet. But, it gets me to thinking, what makes something an outcast?
   I know this boy from church. He has struggled his whole life to make friends, to be loved and involved. He has a neurobiological issue that makes him, to say the least, quirky. He is too loud when he should have been quieter. He says things that, though truthful can be hurtful. He never  learned how to read facial or social clues. So when someone is checking their watch, or looking anywhere but at him he continues to talk about the subject he was on, because he doesn't realize they are bored. This disorder makes him unable to see the forest for the trees.
   Now through the years he has had a friend or two here and there. Never very close, and never very reliable. See outcast status is a funny thing, it can rub off on an otherwise reasonably popular kid. And in today's society there is a lot of emphasis on being part of the acceptable, the keepers. When these relationships fall apart, well here's the sad part. He doesn't realize much less understand it. So, these kids have at times used cruelty and embarrassment to run him off and help him understand. The other day at church, As I watched from the balcony a group of youth sat 9 people on one row so there would be no room for this boy. He still didn't understand and continued to try to talk to them, they laughed and made faces, he never knew. He had a group of a few boys. He called them his brothers. They came often for a while and then kind of faded away. But, then they returned and he was thrilled! He took them out to eat and to drag around town. He even took them to others friends houses, he was not invited to stay. Then they simply came to the boy's house to raid the fridge, or make a call, or just needed his mom to take care of an injury. Then they stopped calling him at all. They still continued to get together one block from his home. The boy still didn't understand. He continues to call them brothers. He does not realize he has been cast out.
   Now all this is said, just to remind myself and maybe others, that Jesus came to love the popular, the charming, the pretty kids. He came to love the ones who are easy to love. Who deserve it.
   Wait. That's not right! Jesus came to love the unloved, right? The losers? The ones who get mad? The ones who are awkward? The outcast?