A Valentine’s Day memory reminds me to embrace and share God’s gift of love. A Special Memory My favorite Valentine’s Day gift is the one my daughter gave to me when she was seven. While we were shopping, I spied a black sweater vest with embroidered hearts of various colors. I noticed it because we elementary teachers enjoyed wearing cheery shirts and sweaters on special days. After I tried on the vest, I checked the price tag and returned the garment to the rack. My daughter responded, “Mommy, why did you put it back? It looks beautiful on you.” “Honey,…
Tag: jeannie waters
Plan Your Weeks with God
Are you a planner or a wisher? Eleanor Roosevelt said, “It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan.” 1 I’m of the planner variety. I make lists beside my lists and, as my raised-on-the- farm husband says, “I grin like a mule eating briers” when I check off completed tasks. I enjoy the results for two reasons: There’s one less item on the to-do list. I see progress toward a goal. Some people prefer detailed planning systems. Others jot an informal to-do list for the next day or refer to a mental list as…
Three Ways to Meet God-Given Goals
The first time I heard the following quote by Zig Ziglar, it caused deep thought, although the concept is simple. “If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.” We don’t take a trip—even to the grocery store—without considering our destination and the purpose for going. If we drove around in circles without a specific destination and purpose for our errand, we’d waste valuable time and fuel. (And we’d be hungry later.) During the first month of a new year, we often set new goals as we aim for success. Perhaps recently you’ve considered the process…
365 New Year’s Gifts for You
When we exchange the sweaters that don’t fit and donate duplicate items we received for Christmas, we still have more gifts to open. Yes, after the fireworks fizzle, we will awaken to God’s gift of a new year, a set of 365 days (Lord willing). Like a holiday jigsaw puzzle, the days will fit together nicely with the last piece inserted next New Year’s Eve. How shall we begin our conversation about the new year? (If you don’t mind, let’s postpone a discussion of New Year’s resolutions like losing weight and exercising, although they’re worthy goals.) Let’s begin with…
Let His Light Shine This Christmas
God used a decades-old decoration to shine His light into my heart and into our Christmas celebration. After my husband affixed our lighted three-feet-tall Christmas star to the front of the house, he said, “Instead of adding white lights all the way across the shrubbery this year, I think I’ll only put them on the corner bushes. The star shines brighter when it’s the only light at the center of the house.” His observation led my thoughts to the star over the manger and a question. Am I allowing the light of Christ Jesus to shine brightly as I celebrate…