​                  Joy in the Morning
 
 
Hello Friend,
            Are you a person on-the-go, all-the-time, seven days a week?  Aren’t you getting tired of the rat race?  Well, God has just the remedy for you.  A Sabbath rest.  I can hear your refuting the idea.  I have to catch up on my laundry.  I have grocery shopping to do.  I have to finish this project.  I have a deadline to meet. And the list goes on and on.  Reasons why you can’t rest.  The truth is, if you don’t take the time to rest and reflect, your body will wear out. Your energy will deplete.  Depression or anxiety will rear its ugly head.  And you will be forced into the pit for needed repairs.  Your racing engine has burned out.   You have lost the race.
            What have you lost?  Much needed time with your spouse.  Quality time with the kids.  Time for journal keeping and reflection.  Time to contemplate the real goal you are trying to achieve.  Time to have a little talk with Jesus.  There is a desperate need within each of us to hit the pause button, sit with God, and find rest for our weary soul.  Even God after he had created the universe, rested. 
            Need a conversation starter for your time with God?  Why not ask him:

1. What 3 things am I doing well?
2. What area of my life is not pleasing to you?
3. Lord, help me sort my priorities according to your standards?
4. Lord, teach me to rest.
5. Fill my cup, Lord, my soul thirsts.

            God loves you so much and longs to spend time with you.  Won’t you observe a Sabbath rest and find balance in your life.  No more racing.  No more crazies.  Just blessed peace.  BTW, Sabbath rest can happen any time you slow down and turn your eyes upon Jesus.  Why not now?
                                                                           Linda                  

Joy in the Morning
​

​As I have loved you, so you must love one another.                                          John 13:34    
 Hello Friend, 
           
                It is almost Valentine’s Day. A time when our thoughts turn to love and those ooey-gooey, mushy feelings.  Or lack thereof!  Jim and I will celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary in June, and I believe we have learned much over the years about how to keep a marriage alive and enriching.  Those romantic feelings come and go, but true love is a decision.  It is a daily affirmation you make when you wake each morning that for better or worse, richer or poorer—you know the rest of the jargon—I am committed to staying in this relationship.  That doesn’t mean stuffing emotions in the name of peacekeeping.  Rather, it is a decision to process feelings in a proactive way before they are blown all out of proportion.
Here are some questions to consider to improve your marriage, or any relationship for that matter:

1. Will you help me understand why you feel that way?(focus on the other’s feelings and not just your own)
2. Can we both agree to stick to the issue at hand?(not the time to bring up past grievances)
3. What is a good desired outcome in this situation?(the goal of the conversation)
4. How can we meet in the middle and not feel like we have lost the battle? (compromise)
5. What can we learn to do differently in the future to strengthen (not injure) our relationship?

            Stuffing your feelings till you get ulcers, or ignoring problems till you explode into a rage, are non-productive alternatives to honest communication. Dear ones, I wish you love, true acceptance, and deeply-entrenched joy in your heart.                                                             Linda