A Time for Beauty

2220) There are some things that start out plain or even ugly but contain moments of beauty. These can include flowering plants or horrific circumstances.   Those of us who have lived several decades have a better understanding that some of the most heartbreaking times have their moments of beauty.   The writer of Ecclesiastes
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Effort

2219) Anyone who has had pneumonia and the flu knows how much energy has drained out of their body. I can remember how much effort it took to walk from the house to the mailbox.   Putting these thoughts together with Matthew 11:28 helps me to remember not to waste my waning energy on things
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Banners

2218) It’s interesting for me to notice how people “advertise” their values and personalities in specific ways on different banners.   It might be words on a t-shirt. A car or truck may have a clever bumper sticker. It might even be a flag flown from your personal flagpole.   Whether we have literal messages
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Have not Will

2217) As a writer and experienced teacher, I have grown to acknowledge that words and how they are used are important.   When words like always or never are used, it paints a picture of the outcome you might expect when proceeding a verb. You always do that. You never clean up.   There is
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Getting Even

2216) From time to time, I see my young scholars standing back-to-back trying to figure out who is taller.   It’s amusing to me because I frequently see one of the two standing a little on their toes to make themselves taller.   Though the kids want to seem taller, in the social world, I
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Barking

2215) We recently went on a trip to a beautiful place on a lake near the border of Canada. We took our little dog Cayce with us.   We spent a few days doing quiet things like going for walks, reading on the porch and going for a boat ride. Cayce went with us in
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What Looks Versus What Is

2214) The older I get, the more I understand that what I see isn’t always what reality is.   We all see the world through the lenses of our experiences, and yet, good and evil exist regardless of how we see them.   Seeing this world in its spiritually fallen state can be hard to
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It’s Contagious

2213) In many ways, we’re living in an angry world. Go on the interstate highway and you’ll see plenty of road rage.   Watch people shopping on Black Friday and you’ll see some tempers fly.   Because of these things, Proverbs 22:24 is important. It says, and I paraphrase it, don’t make friends, or even
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We Are Family

2212) Family is a word that holds meaning for most people. It can be a good thing or a cumbersome thing.   Whatever the word family conjures up in your head, it’s meant to label you have a special relationship with someone.   You do things because they’re family. You are loyal because they are
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On Purpose

2211) It’s always been important to me to know specifically what my purpose is. I realize all of God’s children have a similar purpose: to know God and make him known. (The motto of the Bible college I attended,) but I have always sought to know specific things I can do for God.   What
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