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Tomorrow is one of my favorite holidays, Valentine’s Day. Why does this day mean so much to me? Because there is nothing I enjoy more than showing my wife how much I love her. Yes, I tell Ana I love her everyday (actually several times a day), but Valentine’s Day is for big gestures, for saying “I love you” in a special way.

I start thinking about ways to make this day special weeks ahead of time, looking for that perfect gift, that thing which will make her go, “Wow!” I love to surprise her with something unexpected, something that says “I love you” in a way I’ve never said it before.

God feels the same about you. He loves to show you how much He loves you and He does, every single day. That’s what the Bible means when it says the Lord’s “compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22-24 NIV).

However, our Heavenly Father also knows the importance of big gestures, of saying “I love you” in special ways. That is why 2000 years ago He didn’t just send this world a card or a box of chocolates. No, He sent the greatest gift of all – His Son! God demonstrated “his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8).

The Cross was God’s way of saying to us, “I love you!”. It was the biggest gesture He could possibly give to let us know how important we are to Him. We didn’t deserve this amazing gift, but He gave it anyway. He gave it because He loves us with an everlasting love and He longs to be with us, not just now, but for all eternity, We are that special to Him.

Valentine’s Day is a day for big gestures, for giving special gifts in special ways. This Valentine’s why not give God the biggest gift you could possibly give, the only gift He really wants? Give Him your heart, not just for today, but for always!

God bless and have a Happy Valentine’s Day!

Looking out my front door this last Thursday morning, I was tempted to just go back to bed and wait for spring. Twenty-four inches of white stuff had fallen during the night and it was still snowing. Where our cars had been there were now just two big white mounds. We were snowbound!

I groaned when I thought about the task ahead. The snow was too deep for our small snowblower to handle, so most of it would have to be cleared by hand. Shoveling out our driveway was going to take hours! The job seemed to be more than I could handle, but there was no way around it. Bundling up against the cold, I grabbed my shovel and plunged into the snow.

My brother-in-law pitched in, but, even with his help, it was slow going. The snow was up to our waists in places, but we kept slogging forward, shoveling our way towards the road. Three hours later the driveway was finally clear. How had we done it? One shovelful at a time!

Life is a lot like that. Often God gives us tasks which seem impossible. We shrink back from what lies ahead, overwhelmed by the enormity of what God is asking us to do. We’re tempted to just give up, but instead God tells us to keep going, to take up our cross daily and follow him. (Luke 9:23). He says to keep shoveling, trusting Him to give us the strength for the task, remembering “with God everything is possible.” (Matthew 19:26 NLT)

Are the drifts piled up pretty high in your life today? Does what God is challenging you to do in this New Year seem more than you can handle? Good, because now you realize you can’t do it on your own, anymore than I could have cleared the driveway without Danny’s help.

Remember “God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.” (1 Corinthians 1:25). No matter how high the drifts, no matter how hard the way ahead, with Him by your side, you cannot fail. So grab your shovel and get to work. He will give you the strength to succeed – one shovelful at a time.

Today is one of my favorite days of the year. There’s just something about it, the idea that one year is over and a new one has begun. It feels like a fresh start, a new beginning, a chance to wipe the slate clean and begin again. As Paul said, “old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (1 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV).

No matter what mistakes I made in the last year, no matter how badly I blew it, that is all in the past. Now, “forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13, 14).

How about you? Are you ready to start again, to put the past behind you with all its mistakes and disappointments and begin again? You can, you know. As it says in the first part of 1 Corinthians 5:17, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation…”

No matter how bad we messed up in 2021 we can begin again. 1 John 1:9 promises, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

When you accept Jesus as your Savior and in repentance come to Him, God gives you a new start, a clean slate. He “blots out your transgressions” and “will not remember your sins.” (Isaiah 43:25). You get a new beginning!

The wonderful thing is He doesn’t just do this one day a year. Every day can be a new beginning, because the Lord’s “compassions fail not. They are new every morning…” (Lamentations 3:22, 23). Even if we mess up again tomorrow (or later today) we can begin again. Our Heavenly Father will never turn us away if we will just return to Him.

So, let’s start 2022 out right. Today let’s make a new beginning, make a fresh start. Let’s put the past behind us and invite Jesus into our hearts!

God bless and have a Happy New Year!

PS:

If you’d like to receive Encouraging Words for Today throughout the coming year then go to EncouragingWordsForToday.com and just hit subscribe. Come join the family! Let’s have a great 2022 together!

Last evening my mother got the one gift she wanted most of all this Christmas – to meet her new great granddaughter! It took a little while for Bexlie to get used to someone new, but before long she was laughing and giggling at everything her Great Grandma had to say. I think those two are going to get along fantastic!

Having Bexlie in our home for the first time has made this Christmas extra special. Watching her eyes light up when she saw the Christmas tree, listening to her coo and laugh, and just holding her again are the best presents we could ever ask for. The only problem for me is getting the others to let me hold her for a little while. She’s kind of popular!

I think God must feel like that sometimes. He loves us so much and spending time with us is His favorite thing to do. Unfortunately, so many other things seem to get in the way this time of year. We’re just so busy, with buying presents, stringing Christmas lights, finding that last minute gift, He kind of gets left out of the mix. That’s tragic, because spending time with Him should be the thing we look forward to most of all this time of year.

Getting time with Bexlie has been a wonderful gift, but long ago God gave us the best gift of all – His Son. So this morning, before you empty that stocking or dive into those presents under the tree, take a moment to spend with Jesus and thank your Heavenly Father for this “indescribable gift.” (2 Corinthians 9:15).

This Christmas there’s only one gift God really wants – to spend time with you! Don’t leave Him out in the cold. Open the door and invite Him into your heart. I promise it will be the best decision you’ve ever made!

Merry Christmas!

Have you ever noticed how your best laid plans can fall apart at the last moment? 

This happened to me a week ago. For a year I’d been planning to take the Lifestyle Medicine Boards on December 10. Over the last couple months I’d been studying hard and putting everything else on hold (including my weekly posts to this blog). All those hours spent studying, memorizing countless facts, were about to bear fruit. Then I got sick!

It started the week before, with upper respiratory symptoms and body aches. Thankfully COVID testing was negative, but I still was feeling wiped out. I missed a couple days of work and spent a lot of time just resting and pushing fluids. 

By last Thursday I was feeling better, but was still coughing and sneezing. I contacted the testing center and they informed me I would not be allowed to sit for the exam because of my symptoms. I would have to put it off for another year. I was so disappointed!

This kind of thing happens to all of us at one time or another. Plans fall through, people disappoint, sickness throws a wrench in our plans. It can be hard to deal with, but when we realize we serve a God who loves us with an everlasting love and who “in all things…works for the good of those who love him…” we can find peace, even in the midst of disappointment. (Romans 8:28 NIV).

I don’t know why I didn’t get to take my boards this year. Maybe I wasn’t as ready as I thought or maybe there was danger for me in traveling that day. I’ll probably never know the reason, but I do know one thing – the same God who sent His Son to be born in a manger and to die for my sins on a cross knows the end from the beginning. If I let Him, He “will instruct [me] and teach [me] in the way [I] should go…” (Psalm 32:8)

He will do the same for you. His plans for you are “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11). Your own plans may have gone awry, but rest assured, your “steps are directed by the Lord.”  (Proverbs 20:24).

Even when things don’t turn out the way you planned, remember God is in control. Today and everyday, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6). He will guide you “along the right paths for his name’s sake.” (Psalm 23:3)

God loves you, my friend. Trust Him! He’ll never let you down!

I love this time of year! The sunny autumn days and crisp, clear nights, the geese flying overhead, the pumpkins in the fields, the crunch of leaves underfoot – it’s just a wonderful time to be alive!

What I enjoy most, however, is watching the leaves change. While I love watching the tender, new leaves unfurl in the spring and I enjoy the shade offered by the leaves of summer, it’s the autumn leaves which take my breath away. Yellows, reds, oranges, green and brown! Amazing!

The thing is, that beauty has been there within the leaf all along, but it is only in it’s last few days, just before it falls to the ground, it’s true beauty is fully revealed. All which has gone before – the rains and winds of spring, the heat of summer – have all worked together to lead to this last spectacular burst of color just before winter’s blasts leave the tree branches bare and the ground covered in white.

That’s how I want my life to be. I turned 61 this year. I’m entering my autumn years. Everything that has gone before – the trials and disappointments, the challenges and small victories – have served to mold me, strengthen me, and change me into the man I am right now. Like the leaves of autumn my true colors are starting to show.

My prayer is that God has kept His promise and “made everything beautiful in its time.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV) I pray that all which has gone before has served to mold within me “the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God. ” (1 Peter 3:4 NLT). I pray that when my colors all others will see is Jesus.

You too may be in the autumn of your days or still enjoying the wonder of springtime, but whatever stage you are in, you can live for Jesus. Let Him take all your wounds and scars, trials and disappointments, victories and defeats and make “everything beautiful in its time.” No matter what season you’re in, give Jesus control and let your colors show!

I’m an early riser, but no matter how early I get up there is always someone waiting outside my door to greet me. Princess, one of our cats, is always waiting for me to open the door, asking for a tummy rub and begging to be fed. If she isn’t there I get worried and go looking for her, making sure she’s okay.

Someone else is always waiting for me to wake up each morning, but He’s not looking for attention or begging for food. No, my Heavenly Father is just glad to see me. He is waiting there to meet my every need, to be my companion throughout my day, my confidant and my best friend. He’s there to support me, comfort me, and to guide “me along the right paths for his name’s sake.” (Psalm 23:3 NIV).

God knows everything about me, yet He still loves me. He “know[s] when I sit and and when I rise…perceive[s] my thoughts from afar…discern[s] my going out and my lying down….” He is “familiar with all my ways…Before a word is on my tongue [He] know[s] it completely.” (Psalm 139:2,3, 6)

Princess, after she’s had her belly rubbed and her tummy is full, pretty much ignores me until she wants something else. God, however, promises “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5). He says, “I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20).

Even if I wanted to get away from God I couldn’t, because no matter where I run He is there. Even if I were to pull up stakes and “settle on the far side of the sea, even there [His] hand will guide me, [His] right hand will hold me fast.” (Psalm 139:9, 10).

I’m on God’s mind all the time. In fact, if I were to count His thoughts about me, “they would outnumber the grains of sand.” (v. 18). Even when I turn out the lights and go to sleep, He still is watching over me and when I awake He is still there, welcoming me to a new day.

My cat may not always be there to greet me each morning, but I know my God always will. He’s there for you too, my friend. He’s not going anywhere. Don’t keep Him waiting any longer. Open the door and welcome Him into your heart today!

God bless and have a wonderful new week!

Yesterday I did an I&D on a large cyst on a patient’s chest which had been causing him pain for several days. When I made the incision it exploded with a very satisfying “pop” (I know that’s gross, but just ask Dr. Pimple Popper – this is the fun stuff!). I placed a drain, covered the wound with a dressing and sent the patient on his way with a tiny hole in his chest and in a lot less pain than before.

Walking back to my desk I thought, “I love this job.” The thought stopped me in my tracks and I almost laughed out loud, because this is the same job I hated when I left over a year and a half ago. At that time I could hardly wait to get out of here, but now I’m back and I’m loving it!

So, why the change? The work is still just as hard, the hours just as long, and I’m still just as exhausted at the end of a 12 (or 13 or 14) hour shift as I was before, but now I’m loving every minute of it. So, what made the difference? It’s called attitude!

Last year, after struggling with God about my career for decades, moaning and groaning and begging Him to get me out, I finally gave up and gave Him control. I surrendered to Him, giving myself to Him as “a living and holy sacrifice.”

When I did this God did the most amazing thing! He transformed me “into a new person by changing the way [I] think.” In other words He gave me a new attitude!

Life is so much better now. I get up eager to get to work and I go home feeling like I made a real difference. I even enjoy my days off better, because I’m not dreading having to go back to work. I just wish I’d let him do this 30 years ago, at the beginning of my career, instead of now, towards the end. But, oh well, better late than never!

Our attitudes make all the difference in how our lives turn out. They determine whether we’re happy or miserable in our jobs, our marriages, or whatever situation we find ourselves in. They even determine how successful we will become. As Zig Ziglar said, “Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.”

Philippians 2:5 says we “must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.” This is the real secret. Jesus “took the humble position of a slave and was born a human being.” (Philippians 2:6). He did this out of His love for you and I and He wants us to do the same for each other, to not “look out only for your own interests, but take interests in others, too.” (v. 3).

Are you feeling miserable in your job like I was not so long ago? Is your marriage a mess? Are you just dragging yourself through the day? If so, then it’s time for an attitude adjustment. Give yourself to God today as “a living and holy sacrifice” and “let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes” (Ephesians 4:23), giving you “the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.” .

Haven’t you been miserable long enough? Let Jesus take control today and discover how wonderful it feels to have a new attitude – an attitude of gratitude!