Seasonal Affective Disorder

I've heard of seasonal disorders.  Actually I thought it was Seasonal "Distress" Disorder, but I guess not. Here's the definition for the disorder: Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a form of depression that occurs in relation to the seasons, most commonly beginning in winter.  It's kind of interesting to me that the initials spell SAD, because the disorder seems to make people sad.  People with SAD become "sad" because they can't see the sun.  We all need the sun to get adequate amounts of vitamin D.  In fact, we couldn't survive without the sun.

This disorder came to mind because it's been many days since we've seen the sun here in southwest Oklahoma.  I believe on Friday the sky was brighter but still the sun wasn't actually seen.  We have had a lot of rain, which is always needed and for that, I'm extremely thankful.  I can usually tell when my children are ready to see the sun (it was a few days ago, in case you're wondering!).  My husband is in Nashville/Franklin, Tennessee, so he's missed out on the no-sun days.  Even though he misses being with his family, I'm pretty sure he's glad he missed out on the gloomy days!  I kind of like the kind of days we've been having, but even I get to missing the sun after a while.

We, as humans, miss the SUN after a few days, but what about THE SON? God's Son Jesus?  Do we "miss" Jesus if we are away from Him for a day or do the days go on and on before we realize He's not been in our life? Just as we could not survive very long without the sun, we can't survive without the SON (Jesus).  But, with Him in our lives, we will be able to live with He and God in Heaven for eternity! 

 No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

1 John 2:23

Thank you, God, for the sun and your Son...both are gifts to us from You.

The Chronicles of Biscuit - "No, I Just Play for Them"

Biscuit is a huge OU (University of Oklahoma) fan.  In fact, he has several OU shirts and even a jersey which he wears at least two or three times a week.  However, last night I noticed Biscuit had on an OSU (Oklahoma State University) jersey and also had his face painted with letters (notice in the picture that his forehead says "USO" because he did it in the mirror and so it was backwards...but he didn't know it! Also notice the dangling upper tooth that is just barely hanging on!).  The OSU jersey was a Christmas present from three years ago when he was an OSU fan.

Anyway, I said, "Biscuit, are you an OSU fan now, since you're all dressed up as an OSU foot ball player?"  He replied, "No, I just play for them."  In the make-believe football game he was getting ready to play, he was an OSU football player, but at heart he was still an OU fan.

It makes me wonder:  Does God look at us and say, "Are you really a fan of mine or do you just play like you are one?"  And how do we answer, "No, I just play like I am one." or "Yes, I am a fan of God!"?  What impression do we leave on our family?  What impression do we leave on our friends? As Christians, we must be totally devoted to God - not just "playing like" or "pretending".

I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.  Revelation 3:15-16

How to Give Advice

I mentioned recently that I subscribe to Alan Smith's Thought for the Day (TFTD).  I thought you would enjoy the post I received today.  It's funny but teaches a good lesson, too.  Enjoy!

The wife was busy frying eggs, when her husband came home. He walked into the kitchen and immediately started yelling. "CAREFUL!!! CAREFUL! MORE OIL! TURN THEM! TURN THEM NOW! WE NEED MORE OIL! THEY ARE GOING TO STICK! CAREFUL! CAREFUL! TURN THEM! TURN THEM!!! HURRY UP! ARE YOU CRAZY! THE OIL IS GOING TO SPILL! USE MORE SALT! THE SALT!!"

The wife was very upset, "What is wrong with you? Why are you yelling like this? Do you think I don't know how to fry an egg?"

The husband calmly replied, "I just wanted you to know what it's like for me when I am driving the car and you're sitting next to me."

Without making specific judgments about wives giving advice to their husbands while driving (or about husbands giving advice to their wives while cooking!), let me simply say that we all need to be conscious of how we give advice to others. The author of the book of Proverbs has much to say on the subject. In fact, the words “tongue”, “mouth”, “lips” and “words” are mentioned in Proverbs almost 150 times!

Consider these words of advice about giving advice:

Know all the facts before you give advice – “He who answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and shame to him.” (Prov. 18:13)

Give advice in a calm manner – “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” (Prov. 15:1)

Be careful about giving unsolicited advice – “In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is wise.” (Prov. 10:19)

But when advice is needed, be prepared to give godly advice – “The heart of the righteous studies how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours forth evil.” (Prov. 15:28)

Above all, give advice out of a sincere love for your friend – “Open rebuke is better than love carefully concealed. Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.” (Prov. 27:5-6)

When you give advice, may it be "a word fitly spoken" (Prov. 25:11) because "a word spoken in due season, how good it is!" (Prov. 15:23)

Have a great day!

Alan Smith
Helen Street Church of Christ
Fayetteville, North Carolina

Some Things You Just Can't Share!

I just sat down to write a blog post, not really knowing what I was going to write about tonight.  Then my daughter came in to tell me good night.  She sat down close by and said, "Mom, I've got a situation.  Every night after I brush my teeth, I put my toothbrush up in the cabinet in a certain container by my contact stuff.  But, every morning when I go to brush my teeth, it's in the drawer and I don't know why." 

At this point I was thinking, "Who would move her toothbrush?" But then Lauren continued,  "Well, just now I went to brush my teeth and it was wet!"  All of the sudden, I knew what was happening.  One of her brothers was "sharing" her toothbrush!  They are all three asleep, but we're pretty sure Jacob is the one who is using the toothbrush.  Why?  Because he's the one who never can find his toothbrush.  He's the one who never remembers to pack a toothbrush on a trip.  And, (unfortunately) he's the one the dentist recently said needs to brush better!

Lauren wrote Jacob a note to leave in the bathroom for Jacob to see in the morning (she's already convicted him!).  It was a nice note...much nicer than I would have been if I found out someone was sharing my toothbrush (YUCK!)

We talked about this situation and agreed:  There are just some things you can't share.  A toothbrush is at the top of our list!  Now, Jacob MAY have a rebutal.  He may use the scripture: "Share with God's people who are in need." Romans 12:13.  But, although he is, indeed, one of God's people and he may be "needy" in the sense that he "needs" a toothbrush, I'm pretty sure that would be taking that scripture completely out of context....don't you??

There's another thing we can't share.  While we can share our faith and tell others about God, and about Jesus, and what Jesus has done in our lives, we can't share our salvation.  My salvation won't save my husband.  My salvation won't save any of my children.  My salvation (a gift from God through the death, burial, and resurrection of His Son, Jesus) is mine alone. We each are accountable for ourselves as to our relationship with God.  "So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God." Romans 14:12

My husband is in Nashville, TN, on a business trip, so I just called him and told him this story.  He responded, "Well, on the bright side - at least he's brushing!"  Very true!

God's Promises

"Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The LORD is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made."

Psalm 145:13

I've already shared with you a little bit about the ladies retreat from this past weekend, but I wanted to share one more post about "Promises of God".

During each retreat four different ladies speak to the group (actually this time one session was a mother-daughter team, so there were five).  Two ladies do longer lessons and two do shorter devotionals.  It is always so interesting and inspiring to see how the four ladies choose to present their lesson.  Each lady is given the theme title, but then they come up with their own lesson and they don't communicate with each other about the direction they are going in their lesson.  Each lady has their own style of teaching, just like each of the ladies in the audience have a different style of listening and learning.  I'm always amazed at how God works and uses each of the speakers as a vessel to pour out His Word to all of us in a different way.

This year one of the speakers talked about something not-so-good in her life - an illness.  She talked about how God turned the illness, which she has lived with for 10 years,  into something good - revealing His promises throughout the illness.  She shared with us the following poem:

GOD HATH NOT PROMISED

God hath not promised

skies always blue,

Flower-strewn pathways

all our lives through.

God hath not promised

sun without rain,

Joy without sorrow,

peace without pain.

But God hath promised

strength for the day,

Rest for the labor,

Light for the way

Grace for the trials

Help from above,

Unfailing sympathy,

Undying love.

Written by Annie J. Flint

God promises to be with His children (Christians - called according to HIS purpose...see verse below).  Not that everything is good or is what we might want, but that He will be with us, even through the bad.  He promises that He will work it out for the good, even though we may not completely understand.

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God,  to them that are the called according to his purpose."

Romans 8:28 

Thank you, God, for always keeping your promises!