I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!                                                                                                                                                                                                    Philippians 4:13
Hi friend, 
          I hope that you woke this morning with joy in your heart and are  eager to greet this new week.  Maybe you are celebrating a birthday or planning to meet friends for dinner.  Perhaps, you are starting a new job or purchasing your first home.  Wowwie!  Great!!!  
          However, I want to ask you a serious question.  Can you greet this new week with peace if you are short of cash; no money for groceries or the electric bill?  If your spouse asked for a divorce?  If your friend has betrayed you?  You mights be manifesting fear, anger, sadness, and so much anxiety your hands are shaking.  I get it!  Life can really throw some tough punches.  But, my friend, you can still walk in peace.  Whatever you might be facing, you can do it through Christ.  He is the answer.  He has the answer.  Your self talk is important.  Read my little insert.  Read it again.  And again.  This affirmation is your new mantra.  Like the little engine, start with “I think I can.  I think I can.” Say, I can lose weight.  I can forgive.  I can let go.  I can lose weight.”   Say:     
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​This God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches.  Phil. 4:19
Good morning, precious one,
I pray that you woke with a smile on your face.  As Paul writes, “Not that I say this out of need, for I have learned to be content whatever circumstances I find myself in.  I don’t know your situation.  Perhaps this is a mountaintop season in your life, then I say, enjoy it, savor it, thank God for it.  Or, you may be in a season of discontent, wishing you were prettier, richer, smarter, or whatever “er” you are wishing, striving, or competing for.  Solomon observed “that most people are motivated to success because they envy their neighbors. This, too, is meaningless—like chasing the wind.  Better to have one handful of serenity than two handfuls with hard work and chasing the wind.”
 Solomon is not condemning hard work; he is searching for the reason you find work hard.  If you are living your purpose, then work becomes pleasure.  Seeking the land of “er” is like chasing the wind.  Enough is never enough.  Contentment and one handful of serenity provide us with inner joy and discontentment destroys it.  There will always be someone with more ‘er” or even “est.” 
Paul learned the secret of living a life of serenity regardless of circumstances.  He said, “I can get through all things through Christ who strengthens me.” And so can we, my friend.  God will supply all our needs and trusting God for provision and strength makes us the wisest.                                                                                                                                                                                          Linda

     Jesus said, “I am the way.” John 14:6       
                         
Good morning my dear friend,

          I love writing to you and sharing my heart thoughts.  I try my best to be a Jesus follower.  He shows us the way to be a disciple and I love reading stories of his interactions with people. He was always so kind, gentle, and understanding of their needs. He gave us a single command: to love other people as I love you.  And recently, I have been laser focused on the account in John 14 of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet, even removing his outer garment and putting a towel around him, the look of a slave.  And the disciples are aghast and fall silent as they watch Jesus move from disciple to disciple and wash their feet and dry them with a towel.  What is beautiful to me is that he also washed the feet of Judas, the disciple who was about to betray him.  What was going through Jesus’ mind as he bent over the dirty feet of Judas Iscariot.  He was washing the feet of one whom he had chosen, taught, and ministered to, and also knew that soon would betray him.   He could have removed Judas from the Passover meal if he had wanted.  Instead, he washed Judas’s feet as if to say, “You are still mine and I still love you.”
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          So, my challenge to you this week is:  Whose feet would it be difficult for you to wash?  Trump?  Biden?  Your annoying neighbor?  Your estranged brother? The Way is fueled by a single command, to love other people as I have loved you.  James, the brother of Jesus, stresses that actions speak louder than words.  He attacks the notion that becoming a Christian is simply a matter of assenting to a few spiritual truths without experiencing any real change in behavior or thought.  Are you changed?  Do you freely love?  Could you wash the feet of your enemy?  Take your faith seriously.  Follow “The Way.”                                                                                                                                                 Linda

Count your blessings, name them one by one. Count your many blessings see what God hath done.

Good morning my sweet friend,

     I am counting you, dear one, as one of my blessings.  Throughout the many seasons of my life, you have been there through transitions and losses, diagnoses and dilemmas.  This past month I have been blanketed by your prayers and well-wishes.  My surgery was a success, the cancer was removed, and now I am entering a season of healing with the help of chemo and radiation.  I am blessed by great doctors and nurses, support from my family, and by my relationship with God.  I was blessed to know just where to turn in scripture to find comforting words, encouraging messages, and stories of hope and miracle healings.
     When I left the hospital, I was given a booklet entitled “POWER” Program of Wellness, Empowerment and Recovery.  Included are suggestions for power living which you and I tend to overlook or consider unnecessary, say we’ll do them later when we have time, or in another less-busy season.  According to POWER, OUR FEELINGS ENHANCE OR WEAKEN OUR IMMUNE SYSTEM.  There is a link between the mind and the body.  Energy goes where you focus your attention.  Positive thinking stimulates the release of chemicals from the brain that boosts the immune system.  Practical things to do:  Keep a gratitude journal.  Take only three minutes a day to write down five things you are grateful for.  This can reduce stress and improve your health.  Laughter will also reduce stress and we are encouraged to watch comedies or read funny books.  Interestingly, Proverbs 17:22 says “A joyful heart is good medicine.” Also suggested is yoga, meditation, and listening to relaxing music.  Romans 12:2 tells us to “Be ye transformed by the renewal of your mind.”  Renewing the mind means letting go of grudges, past hurts, and instead focus on what the Bible reminds us to focus on, “Whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable or anything excellent or praiseworthy—think on these things” (Phil 4:8).  Medicine is now reinforcing Biblical principles. 
     I am grateful for the Word of God which heals my mind, body, and spirit.  What is on your gratitude list today?  Linda