Trending

By Janet Morris Grimes –

I wonder sometimes how I have gotten to be so predictable.

My Gmail account suggests addresses of people, based on past emails I have sent, who might be interested in the note I am writing and usually Gmail is correct.

Facebook recommends friends based on other people I know and love. More often than not, I am thankful for the new connections.

My phone lists my favorite numbers to call. Correctly.

Even my iPod knows which songs I will play to the end. It’s not unusual to hear a pick from that same artist within the next three or four songs.

My dog gets excited when I pull out my tennis shoes. He tracks down his own leash to make sure I remember that he is supposed to go with me.

My past behavior indicates what I will do in the future.

In the electronic world, this phenomenon is known as ‘trending,’ which means ‘to show a tendency toward something.’

I suppose my tendencies are obvious. My trends are often used against me—even when I invest effort into changing them.

Unfortunately, no one knows my past trends better than Satan. He remembers the last time I was lonely, confused, or doubting. He remembers what triggered my last argument. He reminds me of the failures I have tried to forget. He plasters my mistakes all over the walls to keep them in view.

He would love nothing more than to box me into a rut, and surround me with memories of past misery to keep me there as long as possible.

That is just his way. His tendency, if you will. He, like me, has a few trends, and has gotten quite predictable.

But I refuse to participate. To be predictable. Not with him, anyway.

He hates it when I feel free to move forward. He abhors it when I choose to forgive, especially when I have plenty of reasons not to. He cringes when I figure out what works. He detests it when I open my Bible to find answers that will last until eternity. He loathes it when I find ways to keep my heart from becoming bitter. He hates it when I buck the trend and do exactly the opposite of what he expects me to do.

When I resist, he flees. He has no choice. He won’t waste his time on me if I won’t play his game.

Could it be that by learning Satan’s greatest weapon against me, I have also discovered my greatest weapon against him?

I would do well to remember that the battle is over. There is no reason for me to doubt or be afraid. Victory lies with those who refuse to engage in Satan’s meager attempts to distract us.

It was Jesus who proved this to me, over and over again. How is it that I so often forget?

Wondering What Happened

By Jarrod Spencer –

Have you ever returned to a town you used to live and noticed, in your time of absence, things changed? Changes such as businesses closing, buildings torn down, and town expansion, etc. We reflect back to the days when we lived there and the way the environment used to appear.

I remember taking my wife to a town where I used to live. It was very small and it only took about 15 minutes to “tour.” I enjoyed the trip down memory lane, returning to the “Prairie Chicken Capital of the World”, with a population of 130 (in 2000), according to the Wikipedia website.

Change is happening in our world all the time. In order for change to take place, someone must be willing to work and carry out the work that creates change. For those that do not put in the work, they may wonder what happened while they were away. This brings us to a quote from a friend of mine, DudLee Brennfoerder, that challenges me as I think about change and the effort it takes to implement. “There are those that work, those who talk about those working, and those that wonder what happened.”

Which category do you generally fit into?

Usually those in the latter two categories have a difficult time seeing the purpose in a project. The more we’re a part of a project, the more we see the purpose and develop a passion in the project.

As you look around your community, workplace, or church, think about how you will be involved with a project/program. If there isn’t a work going on to be involved in, think about an area that you are passionate about and see how you can make it happen. Your passion may end up being magnetic to others, creating a desire in them to also be involved.

I am continually energized by being involved. It is very enjoyable to be involved in areas we are passionate about. It motivates us to the point that we may find it hard to quit. Get involved. Who knows what fun adventures are right around the corner that we never would have known without choosing to pursue our passions.

PRAYER: Thank You, Father, for giving me passions and open doors of which to practice those passions. I can’t wait to see what You have planned next for me to be involved in.

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.” (I Peter 4:10-11 NIV).

Stop Barking!

By Jodi Whisenhunt –

Mine is a three-dog family. The neighbors to our west are a two-dog family; to our south, one-dog; southeast, another three-dog home. Our adjoining backyards are bound by six-foot tall, wood-slat privacy fences. However, none of these nine guardians believes those fences adequate security from the mangy mongrels on the other side, so they insist on barking and snarling and gnashing their teeth at each other, unseen adversaries that they are.

Many times I have pleaded with my poochies, “Seriously, dogs! You’ve been neighbors for years. Stop trying to eat each other through the fence!” To which the two little Germans respond with a smug dachshund look and the Aussie blue heeler’s hair stands higher on her shoulders. (If you haven’t spent much time around dachshunds, just imagine a teenager being reprimanded. OK, you now know the look I’m talking about!) With a farewell gnashing of teeth, my three usually cower to my bidding and saunter back inside.

Now, you would think after many years of residing in close proximity, that these animals—a species known for its scent recognition skills—would be quite familiar with each other. But no, each encounter is a new and fresh adrenaline rush, littering the air with loud shrills. And each time, I shake my head and think my dogs are like Pooh, “a bear of very little brain.” I love my dogs, but they cannot seem to love their neighbors. They continue to consider them enemies.

As humans, we are called to love both our neighbors and our enemies. Yet sometimes we do no better than these dogs.

Matthew 5:43 says, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’” Many people stop right there and ignore verses 44-48. They find fault with their neighbor, whether the neighbor be a nearby resident or a regular acquaintance, and they camp out in resentment. They disregard the remainder of Christ’s advice, “But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Do not smile and wave if inwardly you resent. Do not feign friendship, then slander when out of earshot. “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD” (Leviticus 19:18). Stop sneering through the knot holes. “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink” (Romans 12:20). And above all, love one another.

Theme Songs

By Janet Morris Grimes –

One of my favorite songs is Through the Eyes of Love, which was the theme song to the move Ice Castles. I love the lyrics, but more than this, it takes me back to the closing scene of that movie, when an ice skater who has gone blind from a tragic accident chooses to skate again in front of a crowd that has no idea she cannot see. The song moves me to tears every time, and sums up the struggles of the movie perfectly.

Theme songs are that way. They combine the thoughts, feelings, memories, and even scents of an event and sum it up nicely into a moving piece of music; a magic carpet that can take us anywhere we long to be.

My nine-year-old nephew proved the power of theme songs to me when he recently heard Neal Diamond’s Sweet Caroline on the radio. “That’s the song they played when I went to the Atlanta Braves game, and we all sang along and ate popcorn.” The twinkle in his eye told me that it was already one of his fondest memories.

A college baseball team here in town has taken the ‘theme song’ idea a bit further. When each player gets up to the plate to bat, a line or two of his theme song plays. They introduce him by name, and then his song goes even further to explain who he is, and what he is all about.

It caused me to wonder what my theme song might be, if I could choose something for people to hear when they first meet me. Would they hear something joyful, catchy and upbeat, that would cause them to want to sing along?

I believe God is writing our movies as we go through each day. His desire is for others to be drawn to Him, through us. He is a masterful creator, and His stories should overflow in all areas of our lives.

My prayer is to live in such a way that when others cross my path, they will search until they find out the name of my theme song. I don’t know yet how the closing scene of my movie will play out. But I hope that my theme song will be something that others want to hear again and again; like a favorite song kept on repeat.

After all, my song comes from He who rejoices over me, with singing.

“The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17 NIV).

Signature Fragrance—What’s Yours?

By Robin J. Steinweg –

One of my students told me that when she catches a whiff of vanilla, she always thinks of me. Vanilla—I can’t get enough of it. I love it in hand wash, lotions and candles. I love it in cookies, ice cream and pancakes. If I could, I’d wash my hair and my clothes in it.

Ever since my student’s observation, I’ve paid more attention to others’ fragrances. Some are hard to identify, since they switch from one brand to another. Some folks wear the same perfume their whole lives. Others carry the scent of their occupation. I had a high school friend who worked on a pig farm. No matter what strong cleanser he scrubbed with, the smell of pigs would not wash off. So he covered it up with cologne. To this day I can’t smell Old Spice without thinking of how it never quite disguised the odor of pig manure. A friend’s father, a mortician, unwittingly carried a scent of embalming fluid everywhere he went.

Our sense of smell can lead us (mm, the brat stand is this way), protect us (uh-oh, I smell gas!) identify us (that’s not my mommy’s smell) and invoke memories (does that take me back…).

If it’s such an important factor in our lives, I need to ask: What fragrance do I carry spiritually? Do I overwhelm others with religious talk, or do I leave a hint of heaven that draws them in? Do I occupy myself with moral filth that I can’t wash off? When someone crushes my spirit with harsh words, do I respond in like, or do I give off the aroma of forgiveness? What scent is my trademark?

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, when You were bruised for my sins, You gave off the most appealing aroma. Let my life be a sweet-smelling offering of worship. Let me leave the trace of Your essence wherever I go. Your signature fragrance is forgiveness. I bless and thank You!

“Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing” (2 Corinthians 2:14-15 NKJV).

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