Diane Mickler's Blog

In Christ, we though many, form one body. Romans 12:5

This past week, I got a call from my back door neighbor saying that there was deer in her back yard who seemed to be unable to walk. Deer pass through our yards frequently because the yards are wooded and the foliage is tempting. They feast on our plants, sleep in our leaves, and seem comfortable to share the yards with us. This time was different. The doe seemed to have a broken leg, and we were concerned that she would die unless she got assistance.

My neighbor called the Office of the Game Warden and was put on “the list” (evidently there are many animals needing assistance especially in the winter). In the meantime, my neighbor tried to get food to the doe, and when I offered to bring a blanket, we suddenly realized that we were pretty unskilled in this area.

When the Game Warden arrived and approached the doe, she got up and limped away. The good news is that her leg wasn’t broken, but rather the injury was probably from a wire fence. There was no evidence of other deer near the area, so we reasoned that because of the injury, she had gone AWOL from her herd.

The term AWOL is an acronym of the miitary phrase “Absent WithOut Leave”, and it is used commonplace to refer to someone when we don’t know where they are. I wonder if our doe went AWOL because she couldn’t keep up with the rest of the herd?

The encounter with the doe brought a touch of reality to me as I thought of all the many homeless people who are AWOL and struggling to live in this world of today. There was a time when we, as Christians and churches, made it a priority to care for them. We picked them up in buses and brought them to our facility where we fed them, offered them a safe place to spend the night, and ministered to their needs while they were with us. We cared for them. At some point, that ministry went AWOL, and people chose to move on to something else.

The Bible describes the Christian life in war terms such as: fight, conquer, strive, battle, overcome, victory. When we become a Christian, we become a member of God’s army, and we are thrust into a spiritual battle whether we realize it or not. What would happen if service men and women went to the recruiting office to join the military with the following attitude. The recruiter says, “Wonderful, now sign here.” The applicant says, “Wait a minute, I have a stipulation. I don’t want to be committed to any particular platoon, no certain group of soldiers, and if I’m unhappy, I want to be able to go AWOL, and join a platoon of my choosing.” Would anyone want to fight next to this kind of soldier?”

This past week, we have all been shocked at the devastation of the fires in Los Angeles and the Pacific Palisades. The fires have burned thousands of acres of land containing thousands of homes. Lives have been lost, and people who lived in beautiful homes suddenly find themselves homeless. Many of these people lost homes that have been in their family for hundreds of years. and they don’t have the insurance to rebuild. At some point, the county government seems to have gone AWOL allowing incompetence to take over where common sense should prevail.

There are groups of people who make little or no committment to their Christian faith, their church, or their God. While the battle in this world is being fought, they are AWOL. There is no such thing as a believer who can float from one belief to another in the Bible. We, as Christians, sign on to be committed to one another and fight the war together no matter the circumstances. We don’t go AWOL.

Christians go AWOL for many reasons. It can be because we didn’t learn the basics of the faith. It can be because we forget the things we learned in the training manual, better known as the Bible, which gives us the information we need to keep from being defeated. It can be because we forget to stay in touch with the commander and chief who gives us courage for each day. We could have put off staying in shape by exercising the laws of the scripture that will keep us attuned to His love. We forget that God has provided us with spiritual weapons and we need to use them. We forget to work with our fellow soldiers. Teamwork makes dreams come true. Finally, we neglect devotion to our Commander. When we love Him, He will never forsake us.

What responsibilities does God place on us as Christians in His army? First, we must allow ourselves to feel concern and compassion. Second, we must get out of our comfort zone and do something about it!

Jesus said, By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, If you love one another. (John 13:35) We can’t love in absentia. The Book of James says the idea of faith without works is dead. God’s army needs people in His army who form one body, and don’t go AWOl!!

For Whoever would love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit, let him turn away from evil and do good, let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous. 1 Peter 3: 10-11

A boy asked his father, “Dad, if three frogs were sitting on a limb hanging over a pool, and one frog decided to jump off into the pool, how many frogs would be left on the limb?” His dad replied, “Two.” “No,” the son replied. “There are three frogs and one decides to jump. How many are left?” “Oh,” the dad replied, “I get it. If one decides to jump, the others would, too, so there are none left.” The boy said, “No, Dad, the frog only decided to jump, so there are three left.”

If that story sounds familiar, it’s probably because many times we decide to do important things in our lives or in the lives of others, but months after the decision, we are still “hanging out on the limb”. We are just like Charlie Brown when he said to Lucy, “You are going to be so proud of me because I have decided that next year is going to be my year of decision.”

It is said that to reach an important decision, we need to figure out what’s the most important goal or idea and push everything else aside. Then, after the decision is made, write it down, and check it off when it’s accomplished. If we constantly wait to act on decisions we have made, we could actually miss the most important changes in life.

This past week has brought much pain to our country, and it has devastated many who lost a loved one and whose lives are changed forever. We woke up on January 2 to the news of yet another act of violence, this time in New Orleans, where at least 14 people were killed and many more injured. What makes a person commit such an act? What happened along his life’s path to bring him to this point? After identifing the assailant, the people close to him told the press, “This is not the man we knew.”

At some point, this man who was born in Texas, a US Army veteran, and a professional made an important decision in his life. He reacted to things which were going wrong for him, maybe he chose to listen to bad advice, and instead of figuring out what was the most important thing, he acted on his hatred, dissatisfaction, or whatever else it might be. He chose to take the lives of innocent people as a way of showing his discontent.

Contrast this event with a different person and a different life. On Sunday of last week, we lost former President Jimmy Carter, a man of great integrity, a peacemaker, a great humanitarin, and a Christian. President Carter was someone who showed consistency in character in all circumstances, someone who always played by the rules, someone who could be relied upon, someone who always offered credit where credit was due, someone who lived by his faith, and someone who trusted God to enable him to accomplish all that he was called upon to do. No matter the different political thoughts about him, President Carter made important decisions early in his life which enabled him to be a man of great character. I am certain he wasn’t always treated fairly, but his Christian background enabled him to make the right decisions along the way.

A decision is defined as a conclusion or resolution reached after consideration. The contrast between the men who made these important decisions is astounding. One made the decision to act selfishly and with malice toward innocent people; the other made the decision to live a life helping and serving others. The difference is a life lived with and for Christ.

We probably all have important decisions that are waiting to be made in our lives. If the Lord were to ask each of us, “What important decisions have been made in the last year to love life and see good days? How have we decided to spread good instead of evil? How have we helped ourselves and others to seek peace and pursue it?” How would we answer?

The most important decision we can make is to know Jesus Christ and to have a reationship with him that brings glory to Him. When we make that decision, then we will want to do as much good as we can for Him and for others.

This new year presents an unwritten page in our book of time. We can fill the page with unfulfilled decisions, or we can fill it with important decisions made and fulfilled. The decision to seize the opportunity to practice all the good we can for all the people we can for as long as we can is the most important decision.

You have taken off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self which is being renewed in knowledge and in the image of its Creator. Colossians 3:9-10

It’s that time of year again where we think about making our New Year’s resolutions! In many cases, we look back on past resolutions we’ve made and broken, and we think there’s no reason to try again. However, we need to realize that, in many cases, we have outgrown many of the resolutions we made in earlier years, and it’s time for us to pick up and move on. What’s new in this New Year?

If we are feeling like there is nothing new in life, and the same old, same old is the norm, then maybe it’s a great year to evaluate the things in our lives that need some attention. We need to consider three questions in this new year of “what’s new?” First, is it time for us to move on in this new year? Next, if we move on, where are we going? Finally, if we have a time to move on and a destination, what is our vision for our new year?

Is it time to move on this year? We can take a lesson from the hermit crab in making that decision. The hermit crab is constantly outgrowing his shell throughout his life. He looks for a shell that fits him, lives there until he outgrows it, and then he scurries along the ocean floor until he finds a new one that fits him better. He repeats this process throughout his entire life.

If we are clinging to things that no longer “fit us” just because they are comfortable and familiar, then the time has come to move out of our comfort zone and endure a little distress in order to grow. Patience and persistence are admirable qualities, but they don’t work in situations we’ve outgrown. We need to ask ourselves, “Is this good for me?” Ask God to let us know. When God says it’s time to move on, it’s because there’s another shell out there designed to fit us even better.

Once we move on, where are we going? One day Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes lost his train ticket. As he searched for it, obviously irritated, the conductor said, “It’s okay, Your Honor, just mail it in. We all know and trust you.” Holmes replied, “I’m not concerned about finding my ticket, I just want to know where I’m going!” Fifty per cent of people around us have no idea where they are going, forty percent will go in any direction they are led, and the remaining ten percent know where they’d like to go, but fewer than half of them are prepared to pay the price to get there.

We need to begin with a vision. If we set visions in this new year that are clear enough to write down, short enough to fit in a paragraph, strong enough to help us persevere, and valuable enough to make us pay the price to see them fulfilled then we know where we are going. Jesus endured the cross because of his vision of the resurrection and a church that would one day change the world.

Regardless of our age or gender, God has a vision for us to fulfill, and sometimes it won’t make sense because we don’t feel qualified. In the musical, Man of La Mancha, there is a scene where Don Quixote and his servant stand gazing at a dilapidated inn. When Quixote describes his vision of turrets and magnificent gates, his servant tries hard to see the same picture, but all he can see are ruins. When he attempts to describe them, Quixote says, “Stop! I will not allow your facts to interfere with my vision!”

The good news for this new year is that God will take care of us. Just like a good father taking care of a child he loves, God will watch over us from the beinning of the year until the very end. If we walk with God and honor Him in all we do, this year can be one of the most blessed years of our lives.

What’s new this year? We are moving on to new and better things. We know where we are going, and we have a vision to take us to our destination.

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old has gone. The new has come. 2 Corinthians 5:17

Happy New Year!

I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born! Luke 2:10-11

The story is told of a prince who went in search of a maid suitable enough to be his queen. One day as his carriage was passing through a poor section of town, his eyes fell upon a beautiful peasant maiden. In the days that followed, he often passed by the maiden, and he soon realized he was in love with her. However, the prince had a problem. How could he court her? He could order her to marry him, but then he would never know if she loved him or just felt coerced into marriage. He could put on his most splendid uniform and drive up to her home in his carriage drawn by six horses, but he would never know if she loved him or was just overwhelmed by the splendor.

The prince came up with another solution. He would give up his kingly robe, and move into the village, not with a crown, but in the garb of a peasant. So, he did. He lived among the people, shared their interest and concerns, and spoke their language. In time, the maiden grew to love him because of who he was and because he first loved her. Love came down.

The Love that came down at Christmas came much like the prince in the childlike story. God sent Jesus to be born, live, and die among us so that He could reveal Himself to us in an understandable way. Jesus became flesh just like you and me so that He could be understandable to us, and we would know of His amazing love for us.

God came down that Christmas, and He was wrapped in swaddling clothes and and laid in a stone feeding trough. He was welcomed and worshipped by two groups of people outside of his family – the Shepherds and the Wise Men. These two groups of people were poles apart socially, economically, ethically, and in every other way except spiritually. When the Shepherds and the Wise Men met at the feet of Jesus, they worshipped on common ground.

Just like the Shepherds and the Wise Men, we are all on common ground this Christmas as we come to worship and celebrate the birth of our Lord. The Bible doesn’t record any physical gifts brought by the shepherds, but they gave Him their devotion and worshipped Him. We all know the Wise Men brought gifts of gold, franckincense, and myrrh which were symbolic gifts of kingship, divinity, and a foreshadowing of things to come.

We all come to Him this Christmas with different gifts that we can offer to show our love. This Christmas, we can give him our time and let Him fill it. We can give Him our hands and let Him guide and use them. We can give Him our treasures and let Him store and invest them in safe places that bring everlasting rewards. We can give Him our future and let Him plan and direct our life. We can experience love coming down this Christmas.

There is a famous painting by the artist Holman Hunt showing how Jesus came into the world to die. In this painting called “Jesus at the door of the Carpenter’s Shop in Nazareth,” Jesus is depicted as a boy. He is coming out of his Dad’s shop. and he goes to the door to stretch because his limbs had grown cramped working over the carpenter’s bench. He stands there in the door with his arms outstretched, and behind him on the wall, the setting sun throws his shadow. The shadow is one of the cross. In the background stands Mary, and as she sees the shadow, there is the fear of the coming tragedy in her eyes.

Jesus came into the world to live for us, and in the end, to die for us. He came to give us His life and His death for us. Gold for a King, Frankincense for a priest, and Myrrh for the One who was to die – these were the gifts of the Wise Men. Even at the cradle of Christ, they foretold that He was to be the true King, the Perfect High priest, and in the end, the only Savior of mankind.

This is the Christmas message of Love coming down. The message of hope, the message of peace, of joy, but most importantly, the message of love.

Merry Christmas!

And the angel said unto them, “Do not be afraid, I bring you good news which will bring great joy to all people.” Luke 2:10

There are only eight days left before Christmas, and as we frantically rush around in an effort to buy the perfect gift, set the perfect table, or host the greatest party, my prayer is that we all take a little time to experience the joy of Christmas.

Joy is defined as a feeling of great pleasure and/or happiness, and it is a lasting emotion that comes from trusting God. Joy is found not in completing a project, but in actually doing it. It is the simplest form of gratitude. This year when I think of situations of joy, I have to go back to the end of September when Hurrican Herlene hit several states on the east coast. The storm actually devastated parts of Georgia and North Carolina. It doesn’t sound like a joyful sitution, but there was joy involved.

We have friends and relatives in both places who lost power, water, gas service, internet, phone, and there are some who have only recently gotten everything restored. The comforts of life were gone and in many cases, it took the joy out of everything for them. Our dear neighbors and friends have a daughter whose family was hit hard by the storm. She took a few days to come here, not so much for herself and her son, but to organize trucks to return to Asheville with food, clothing, water, and toys for those she knew while her husband stayed to help others. When I asked her how she was doing she said, “I was made for times like this. I get such joy out of organizing things and helping others.” That’s Christmas joy.

Things aren’t always easy in this life, but they weren’t easy for the Holy Family, the shepherds, or the wise men either. The Holy Family endured a dirty stable, swaddling clothes for the Christ child, and a feeding trough for His bed. The shepherds left their fields at night and followed a star. The Wise Men traveled hundreds of miles to worship the Christ child. I have to believe that the journey exhausted their joy, yet they came and worshipped Him. One would think that only the Kings, pious Priests, and high members of society would be invited to the birth of a King, but God chose the lowly to be part of the birth of His Son. What a joy to be there to worship the Christ child!

Life is full of difficulties over which we have no control, and we all face them in this life. We have stress, problems, disappointments, and sometimes things that happen can put us out of our comfort zone. If we aren’t careful, it’s easy to become negative, depressed, and dispiritied. In other words, we lose our joy.

We can’t control what happens on the outside, but we can control what happens on the inside. The joy that comes from Christ coming into this world doesn’t come and go from what happens around us. The joy comes from what is going on deep inside us.

In the book How the Grinch Stole Christmas, by Dr. Seuss, the small hearted Grinch tries to take the joy out of Whoville. He comes down the chimney and takes food and toys away from all the Who’s of Whosville in an effort to steal their Christmas joy. Yet on Christmas morning, the tall and the small sang without any presents at all. And the Grinch with his Grinch feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes, or bags. And he puzzled three hours until his puzzler was sore. Then he thought of something he hadn’t before. “Maybe Christmas,” he thought, “doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas.. perhaps.. means a little bit more.” And what happend then? Well, in Whoville they say, The Grinch’s small heart grew three sizes that day. He hadn’t stopped Christmas from coming. It came.

Christmas Day is a remembrance of a promise of joy to be fulfilled by the coming of the Messiah. There is joy in celebrating His birth, but that joy is made complete in celebrating His life, His death and His resurrection.

Jesus is our Christmas Joy.

In the wilderness, prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Isaiah 40:3

The time for our preparation for Christmas this year is shorter, and it has really had an impact on the usual routine for the way I like to prepare. Instead of being able to enjoy the process, it has become a bit of an obsession. The stress of preparation has taken away much of my peace, and to top it all off, some of my favorite pieces are either lost or misplaced. All I can think about is where did I put them? Are they lost forever?

It made me think of one of our favorite Christmas movies, A Christmas Story. In the movie, Ralphie is obsessed with getting a Red Ryder BB gun from Santa. His imagination takes him to all the ways he could use it, from shooting bad guys and rescuing his family to other heroic acts. His mother bursts his bubble when she says, “You’ll shoot your eye out!”, but the gun is all Ralphie can think about.

Preparation is all I’ve dwelled on lately, but I think God has taught me a valuable lesson. The other day as I stressed over decorating, I had hurriedly placed my nativity sets in different places, but one of them I just put down without any order thinking I would get to it. When I walked by it, the message was clear. Joseph had his back turned to Mary and Jesus, Baby Jesus was turned upside down, and Mary was on her knees looking away from everything! Even the angel looked preplexed! Preparation without peace was robbing me of the joy of the season. I’ve been thinking about the wrong things, and I’ve learned that it takes more than a tree and decorations to find the peace and joy of Christmas.

What should we think about when we think of Christmas? Of course we all think of Christmas trees and beautiful decorations and there’s nothing wrong with that. We think of what we can give our family and friends, and that’s good too. We even think of what we want for Christmas, but the problem comes when we dwell more on the materialistic things of Christmas rather than the Christ of Christmas.

The Christ of Christmas would have us tell others that the baby born in Bethlehem came to change our lives. He came to give us peace with God and peace with one another. He came to give us purpose in life and hope after death. Our job is to help others see past the materialistic world and lead them to the Light of the World. We have to show others the peace in preparation for his coming rather than the hustle and bustle of our busy lives.

The story is told of two ten year old girls who were walking in the snow one day discussing what each was getting for Christmas. They stopped to talk to an old man named Harry who was on his knees in the snow weeding around a large oak tree. Harry’s jacket was frayed and his fingers were blue from digging in the snow. He told the girls that his mother was all he had in this world, and because she loved the trees and her yard so much, he cleans the yard as his gift to her. The girls were so touched that they began to help Harry, and the three of them spent the rest of the day weeding. When they finished, Harry pressed a quarter into each of their hands with the words, “I wish I could pay you more, but this is all I have right now.”

The girls remembered that they had passed this house before. It was the shabby one with no wreath, no Christmas tree or other decorations just the figure of Harry sitting by the window. The next day, the girls talked and agreed to put their quarters into a jar marked “Harry’s Christmas Present.” They sought out odd jobs in the neighborhood, and every nickel, dime, and quarter went into that jar.

Two days before Christmas, the girls had enough to buy Harry a pair of gloves and a Christmas card. On Christmas Eve, the girls went to Harry’s door and began to sing Christmas carols. When he opened the door, they presented him with the gloves wrapped in pretty paper, the card, and a pumpkin pie straight from the oven. Harry tore open the gift, and to their astonishment, he held the gloves to his eyes as he cried.

This Christmas we can just survive the season, gripe and complain about the inconveniences of it, yawn when we hear the Christmas story, and be glad when it’s over, or we can prepare for Christmas just like these girls. Peace this Christmas comes not in the material things like the pieces which I found lost or misplaced and let that control my emotions, but rather by rediscovering the blessings of Christmas in those all around us.

My prayer is that we can all celebrate the peace that comes in the preparation for the birth of our Savior.

Now hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Romans 5:5

It is hard to believe it, but the family and friends have gathered, the Thanksgiving turkey and fixings have been consumned, the pumpkins are history, and it’s time to turn our attention to Christmas and the hope of the Advent season. Advent is defined as the arrival of a notable thing, event, or person. For Christians, we celebrate all three. The thing is the joyous adventure of this season. The event is Christmas Day and the birthday of Jesus. The person we celebrate is Jesus Christ.

Hopefully in this season our hearts will be a little lighter, and we will be just more joyous, but we have to guard against the hustle and bustle of the world’s race to find the perfect gift. If we step back and remember the reason for the season our hearts will be happier, we will smile more, and hopefully, we will get a little bit closer to those we love.

Hope is defined as a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen. It is both an emotion and a way of thinking, and it is crucial for us to possess in times of uncertainty or adversity. The world in which we live today and the world as it was when Jesus was born can best described n the words of Charles Dickins. In A Tale of Two Cities, he wrote, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; it was the season of Light, it was the season of darkness; it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.” There are many situations that we face each day that can cause us to lose hope.

God sent Jesus to be our Christmas Hope, but He didn’t have the luxury of sending his only Son to be born in a hospital, a palace, or somewhere an author might have placed the birth. The Hope of Christmas was born in a smelly, dirty stable where animals were witnesses to His birth. This mere fact should remind us all that there is no place too common for Jesus, and there is no circumstance beneath Him.

Our goal during this Advent season should be to keep hope alive. In order to make it easier to start each day with hope, try using each letter of hope as an acroymn.

“H” is for humbling yourself. We often lose hope because we put faith in ourselves rather than the Christmas Hope. Hope in Jesus always results in renewed faith.

“O” is for opening our hearts to the hope Jesus’ birth can bring. Jesus says he stands at the door and knocks, and He is waiting for us to open it to him.

“P” is for the purpose that directs each of our lives. Our purpose is to spread the news of the birth of Jesus so that others will learn of Him.

“E” is for embracing the future God has for us. Jesus came to give us life and give it more abundantly.

God sent Jesus in human form with no guarantee that others would put their hope in Him. Yet, He came and lived among us, He laughed, He cried, He lived in towns, He listened to stories, He ate with others, He got to know the people, He discovered their fear of death, He cried with others as they buried their loved ones, He felt pain, and He experienced suffering. In the end, people did put their hope in Him.

The kind of Christmas we need this year is one filled with hope. Into this world full of hopelessness and despair, God sent a baby. When God really wants to get a message through, a message that will penetrate the hopelessness and gloom of humanity, He wraps it up in a person. That person is Jesus, and he is our Christmas Hope.

Jesus asked, “Were there not ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give thanks to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go, your faith has made you well. Luke 17:17-19

The great American humorist, novelist, and travel writer, Mark Twain, once told a story about a note he had received. The note said, “Dear Mr. Twain, please send me your “best” word. Thank you. A $5.00 bill is enclosed.” Mark Twain sent back a one word response, “Thanks!”

This week as we celebrate Thanksgiving, that simple word, Thanks, will be the focus of the day, but isn’t it sad that it isn’t the focus of each day? There are so many things for which to give thanks, but three things stand out this year for me. First, we should give thanks because God is at work in our lives whether we realize it or not. Things happen which we can’t explain at the time, but later the reason is made clear, and we realize how thankful we are!

We are all familiar with the Pilgrims, the Mayflower, Plymouth Rock, and the Indians; however, few of us know the history of a young Indian boy named Squanto and the way God used him to help the Englishmen.

In 1608, a group of Indian traders took the young Squanto and other Indians from the Wampangoag tribe prisioners, transported them to Spain, and sold them into slavery. Squanto was bought by a well meaning monk who treated him well and taught him the Christian faith. Ten years later, Squanto made his way back to Massachusetts only to find that an epidemic had wiped out his entire village. He couldn’t understand why God had allowed him to come home only to find his loved ones dead. A year later, he got his answer. A shipload of Englishmen arrived and settled on the very land where Squanto’s people had once lived!

The young man taught them how to fish, how to plant corn, how to trade for things they needed, and how to exist in this foreign land. The Pilgrims referred to him as a “special instrument sent from God for our good.” He stayed with them until he died. God’s work in Squanto’s life is remarkable and desrves thanks.

Next, we should give thanks for where we have been. Our past holds both good and bad, but every part of it deserves our thanks. During World War II, American soldiers consumned over 150 million pounds of Spam. They ate it for three meals a day, and began calling it “Ham that didn’t pass its physical.” I am sure, it was hard to say thanks for the Spam every day, but most chose to be grateful for something to eat. We can choose to look back on hard and bitter times with hard and bitter words, or we can choose to give thanks.

In our scripture, Jesus was walking on his way to Jerusalem when ten men who had leprosy met him. They called out for Him to have pity on them. Jesus did and cleansed them. Only one of them came back, threw himself at Jesus’ feet and gave Him thanks. Where were the other nine? Jesus could have been tempted to use hard or bitter words to describe them, but he avoided that temptaion, forgave them, and chose to bless the one who gave thanks.

Finally, we should give thanks for the battles along life’s way. Each of us fight battles whether it be physical, emotional, psychological, or so many others. I never will forget a young lady who battled cancer. When her hair began to fall out, she confessed that she could identify with the lepers in the Bible. After she went into remission and was healed, she said that she had begun to identify more with the leper who returned to offer his thanks to Jesus.

This Thanksgiving never forget to offer thanks to Jesus in all circumstances, and never lose sight of the gift Jesus gives us every day. Offer thanks to God for working in our lives, thanks for where we have been, and thanks for the battles along the way. The language of faith is thanks.

How can I say thanks for all the thiings You have done for me? Things so undeserved, yet You gave to prove Your love for me! The voices of a million angels could not express my gratitude. All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe it all to Thee. My Tribute by Andrae Crouch

Have a blessed and happy Thanks giving!

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1 Romans 5:5

In 1959, Frank Sinatra made the song High Hopes written by Sammy Cahn and James Van Heusen a big success. The song became popular because it had such a catchy tune and encouraging words. It was first seen and heard in the movie, A Hole In The Head with the child actor, Eddie Rodgers. The song illustrated the idea that with high hopes anything can be done. The first verse (and most of us know it) of the song goes like this: Next time you are found with your chin on the ground, There’s a lot to be learned, so look around. Just what makes that little old ant, think he can move a rubber tree plant; Anyone knows an ant, can’t, Move a rubber tree plant. But he had high hopes, he had high hopes, he had high apple pie in the sky hopes. So anytime you’re feelin’ low, stead of letting go, just remember that ant. Oops there goes another rubber tree plant.

Webster defines high hopes as a strong feeling that something good is going to happen or be true. Many of us know what it’s like to start out with high hopes in our lives. High Hopes for things such as our years in college, our quest for a successful career, our choice of a life mate, and the list goes on. Sometimes life, however; has other plans and we can be faced with discouragement, disappointment, frustration, and failure. This is the time when we need to focus on the possibilities rather than the problems.

I read a sad story lately about a honeymoon disaster. The newly weds arrived at the hotel in the wee hours of the morning with high hopes. They had reserved a large room with romantic amenities, but that is not what they found. Instead of a large room with a beautiful view and appointments, they found a tiny room with no view, no flowers, no champagne. The bathroom was tiny and cramped, and worst of all, there was no bed! The couple ended up opening up the sofa bed and sleeping on the lumpy mattress for sagging bed springs. It was not what they had hoped for.

The next morning a sore necked groom stormed downstairs and into the manager’s office where he vented his anger. After listening patiently for a few minutes, the clerk asked, “Did you open the door inside your room?” The groom admitted that he had not because he thought that door was a closet. He returned to their room, and opened the door. Inside was a huge room with a huge bed, a beautiful view, chocolates, champagne, fruit baskets, and amenitities which far exceeded his high hopes. He had overlooked the obvious, given up his high hopes, and missed the blessings.

The question must be asked, “Why did he give up on his high hopes? Why didn’t he try to find some good by opening all the doors and checking all the possibiities?” Sometimes this life is not what we had hoped, but instead of looking at the possibilities before us, we miss the great things because we give up on our high hopes.

Many of us have high hopes now that the election is over. We want to see all the things we have been promised brought to fruition, but we may or may not have all our hopes realized. Hebrews 11:1 tells us that faith is being sure of what we hope for because faith is the foundation that keeps our hope alive, and without it, our hope can not stand. Our problem as humans is not the absence or lack of hope, it is what we chose to put our hope in. Our hope to have the promises of the election or other things in life does not lie solely in people, but rather in our faith in God.

There is good news for Christians in that hope is not “high apple pie in the sky” because it is based not on fantasty, but on the Bible whose hope is based on reality and possibility. Real hope is what gives us the strength to persevere, to hang on, to keep moving forward even when people tell us that something can’t be done because we have the truth and the hope that Jesus offers.

Just like that little old ant, we as Christians have high hopes because Christ has never failed to keep His promises to anyone who trusts in Him.

When I am afraid, I put my trust in You. In God whose name I praise, in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? Psalm 56:3-4

There are very few times in my life where something happened that was so gut wrenching that I literally thought, “You could hear a pin drop.” The first remembrance of an event of this nature was the day John Kenedy was shot in Dallas on November 22, 1963. I was sitting in 4th period English class when our principal came over the PA system in our school and announced the news. The usually talkative class became deathly silent as we tried to process the assasination. One could hear a pin drop.

The next remembrance was in the fall of 1968. I was working with my Grandmother at her shop in downtown Donalsonville when a black car pulled up outside. Two soldiers emerged and solemnly walked to the business next to ours. When they emerged they were supporting a friend of mine who was weeping uncontrollably. They had come to tell her that her young husband had been killed in Viet Nam. All activity ceased as we all bowed our heads in prayer. One could hear a pin drop.

On September 11, as I was walking the hall of Tritt Elementary to gather my class from lunch, a crowd was gathered around a television watching as a plane flew into the World Trade Center tower. Absolute horror was on everyone’s face. One could hear a pin drop.

Probably the most surreal pin drop moment was on December 1,1969 when college friends at UGA gathered together in front of the television to nervously listen as the draft lottery numbers were called by birth dates. The reactions when the numbers were called went from relief to absolute disbelief, fear, and horror. These guys were about to enter a war for their country for which they had no part in starting, yet they felt the allegiance to their country. Many of our friends went, and many of them gave their lives for this country. You could hear a pin drop that evening.

Today we honor our veterans of all wars. These men and women deserve not only honor and recognition, but also our heartfelt appreciation and thanks for the sacrifices that they made for this country and its people. Randy and I have been honored to know veterans of many of the wars, and it is always an honor to listen to their testament of the bravery and sacrifice of their respective units and friends. One could hear a pin drop as they speak.

It’s sad that many today probably have little or no idea of the courage and dedication that the veterans of these wars have displayed. We don’t know the trauma they endured and perhaps still do. We forget to thank them on a daily basis, and many of the younger generation is oblivious to what their service to this country cost them personally. We forget to remember. One can hear a pin drop.

The following story illustrates this lapse of thankfulness. Robert Whiting, an elderly gentleman of 83, arrived in Paris by plane. At French cusoms, he took a few minutes to locate his passport in his carry on luggage. “You have been to France before, monsieur?” the customs officer asked sarcastically. Mr. Whiting admitted that he had been to France previously. “Then you should know enough to have your passport ready.” The American said,, “The last time I was here, I didn’t have to show it.” “Impossible…Americans always have to show their passports on arrival in France!” the customs officer replied. The American senior gave the Frenchman a hard look. Then, he quietly explained, “Well, when I came ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day in 1944 to help liberate this country, I couldn’t find a single Frenchman to show a passport to.” I can only imagine that you could have heard a pin drop.

Today we thank God for all of our veterans, and thank you for your service to this United States of America. As I think of our veterans, I recall the many military functions where Taps was played. Brigadere General David Alan Butterfield is credited for creating the melody for Taps in 1862. Butterfield then asked his brigade bugler, Oliver W. Norton to play the notes. It became a custom for the lone bugler to play Taps at the end of the military day to signal “lights out,” during patriotic memorial services, and for military funerals. The words are a fitting tribute for this Veteran’s Day.

Day is done. Gone the sun. From the hillls, From the lake, From the skies. All is well, Safely rest, God is nigh. Go to sleep, Peaceful sleep. May the soldier Or sailor, God keep. On the land, Or the deep, Safe in sleep. Love, good night, Must thou go, When the day and the night, Need you so? All is well. Speedeth all to their rest. Fades the light; And from afar; Goeth day, And the stars Shineth bright. Fare Thee well, Day is gone, Night is on. Thanks and praise, For our days. ‘Neath the sun, Neath the stars, Neath the sky. As we go, This we know, God is nigh.

God bless our veterans!