What are your favorite things?  We’d really like to know, so please tell in a comment…

Article by Judy Mosley

“Today is my favorite day.  God made it a special one.  I like tomorrow and yesterday, but

today is my favorite day.”

This is the latest song that my son has brought home with him from preschool. The simplicity is genius, and it’s truth is powerful.  Is today really my favorite day?

For the last couple of days, I have been in an emotional rut. I’ve felt overwhelmed, angry, sad, and for reasons that I couldn’t even pinpoint.  I wasn’t sure how I had slipped into this place, but I knew I wanted out.

The more that my son sang this song, the more I felt the desire to really think about what my favorite things were.  So I decided that I would look for my favorite things throughout the day.  I thought that it would make me feel better, but I didn’t expect to have a complete emotional turn around …

By the end of the day, my thoughts were clearer, I was more patient, and I had even taken care of a couple tasks that had been on my mind for some time.  This is my list.  These items are not prioritized in any manner, but are written down as they came to me. Read More »

“How much energy would we save if we opened our eyes to the abundance that surrounds us?…  How much more generous would we be … ?”

Article by Mary Bea Sullivan

There is a new kid on the block.  In the past six years, Malcolm and I have never been visited by this greenish/yellowish bird with black and white wings.

Early one morning I spied him, of all places on the hummingbird feeder … Grabbing my book, I walked onto the deck for my morning reading and coffee.  This startled the new kid and he flew away.

Taking his hummingbird interpretation one step further, he mimicked their flight pattern -perching high on a tree to the left, zooming close to the feeder, and then landing high on a tree to the right.  Unlike the hummingbirds, he wouldn’t land on the feeder when I was around. Also, he sang a long, loud repetitive song.  Well … really it sounded more like, “get out of here I was enjoying the sugar buzz!”

Curious, I cruised through the bird book trying to identify him, deciding he was probably some kind of vireo.  He’s returned to visit every day since and has charmed Malcolm as well.

The hummingbirds are not nearly as entertained by the new kid as Malcolm and I are.  They buzz him and seem hesitant to land when he is on their feeder.  Hummingbirds are fascinating in their own right.  Often we will take our seats in the stadium (… Ok … the Adirondack chairs on the deck) and watch their games.  Small bodies zipping past at top speed, wings flapping at a million beats per second … finally, one will land on the feeder, only to be dive bombed by another hummingbird or two. Entangled in their mid-air battle, another small bird will light on the feeder and then foes become comrades as they band together to bully the newcomer off of the feeder.

We never tire of these games.  In fact we mourn the hummingbirds when they leave in October and anticipate their return in April.

Now … there are six perches and holes on this feeder.  If they wanted to, our little friends could ALL sit peacefully and sip their nectar.  Heck, they could hang out and tell bee jokes or something. Imagine the energy they would save NOT fighting and dive bombing and playing protector of the perch!

I can’t understand why the new kid wants to pretend he’s something he’s not, but I bet he isn’t the only one “doin’ the hummin’ bird dance.”  I think a lot of us do it.

Sometimes I wonder if God isn’t like Malcolm and me … watching the show and wondering, ‘Why do they operate from such fear? I have provided them with everything … there’s no need to worry, no need to fight … simply drink from the cup of life.’

How much energy would we save if we opened our eyes to the abundance that surrounds us? How much more generous would we be if we weren’t worried that someone else was going to get our “share”?

Is there a place in your life where you have been buzzing around in fearful flight?  If so, what would it look like if you stopped flapping your wings and simply perched, drank, and gave thanks?

Be still, and know that I am God.

-Psalm 46:10

* The photograph above was taken at Mary’s home on Smith Lake, Alabama.

Mary Bea Sullivan is the author of Dancing Naked Under the Moon - Uncovering the Wisdom Within, a compelling story about her pilgrimage toward wholeness.  She facilitates spiritual retreats and workshops for women’s groups and faith communities.  Mary Bea lives with her husband, Malcolm Marler, and their yellow (white really) lab, Daisy on Smith Lake in Alabama. For more information about Mary Bea Sullivan and her work, please visit www.MaryBeaSullivan.com.

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Article by Dr. Les Hollon, Pastor, Trinity Baptist Church

Love is credible as love is specific.  Our love needs are met as we specifically give love and receive love. And acts of loving service are a vital love language.

When we serve, we are meeting specific needs in the other person’s life.  When we ask, “may I help you”? … we are communicating our desire to make life better for the other person.  By connecting our willing service to their need, we show love as sweat.

Love shifts from being a noun and becomes a verb.  “Come hope me,” is how Ed heard it as a boy.  Men & women, boys & girls, - all working in the fields together.  When one of the big people needed help, the word came out as hope. That is just how it was said in the hills of his home country.  As a boy he saw the connection, and as a man has lived the connection.

“Come hope me,” is what any of us are saying when we are in the midst of genuine need.  As we give help, we provide hope.  As we give service, we show love in a way the person needs to receive love. As we are loved, trust is built.  Upon these three – faith (used interchangeably as trust in the New Testament), hope, and love – a worthy life is built (I Corinthians 13:13). Read More »

Article by Dr. Les Hollon, Pastor, Trinity Baptist Church

Can we spend some time together? This is one way we say to one another, “you matter to me.”  When our response is “Yes” … we express our loving openness to connect.

Our connection may be over a drink at the corner coffee café, by texting or emailing, by sitting next to each other in worship, by yelling together at a football game, by walking the land, by starting school prayerfully thinking of each other, by shopping together, by visiting in the hospital, by having an office conversation, by imagining and praying for each other when separated by miles … really our connections can be through anything that we find meaningful.  In our 21st century world there are many quality ways for us to invest time with each other.

For love to be expressed through time, we must: Read More »

Article By Kevin L. DeWitt

“…thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself…”

Leviticus 19:18

I have not been as good as I should at living the Golden Rule for most of my life.  However, this is one of the areas in my life I have been thinking a lot about lately and one I want to improve upon.  That’s partly why the title reads “Practicing” as opposed to something that may imply having mastered it … it’s always a work in progress.

While putting the Golden Rule to work in our everyday lives will help to make others happy, the simple truth is that it will make me happier as well.

Not that living the Golden Rule requires a benefit or payoff or some “angle” … but these are not small dividends.  Apply the Golden Rule in all of your interactions with others, help your neighbors, treat your family with kindness, help your co-workers, help a stranger in need.  These actions will help the people around you … and people will treat you better too.  Just as importantly, you will find a growing satisfaction in yourself, a belief in yourself, a knowledge that you are a good person.  These are large dividends.

Here are some practical ideas for putting the Golden Rule into practice in our everyday lives: Read More »