Recently, I’ve read three historical novels that took place during very difficult times in history. One was the tragic story of a French Jewish girl who narrowly escaped being sent to Auschwitz…but whose entire family died there. Another was the story of an American Japanese girl whose family was unfairly interned in a camp, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. And the other was a heart-wrenching story about how the racial tensions in Mississippi, during the 1960’s, affected the lives of so many people. I read each book with a heart that was aching…aching for what had happened…wishing that I had been able to be there to stand up for what was right…wishing that these sad and disturbing times in history had never happened or could somehow be rewritten.

But history can’t be rewritten…it’s past. And so we’re left with today and tomorrow…and all the tomorrows that come after that. Tomorrows that are yet to be written in the pages of history. Now, maybe our individual lives will never be written about in a history book, but each day of our life is another page in a chapter of our own history. And the question is…what will be written on those pages? If you were to go back and read it later, would your heart ache for what had happened? Would you wish that you could somehow rewrite your story? It gives one pause for thought…and for prayer that God will help us to live our lives well…day by day. So that the only ache someone would feel if they read our story, would be an ache to know the loving, faithful God of grace who makes our life worth reading!

II Thessalonians 1:11 NLT ~ So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do.

I enjoy a social networking tool on the internet called Facebook. It allows people to share snapshots of their life, through the photos and comments they post. And it allows people to reconnect with long lost friends…and to stay connected with family and friends who may live even halfway around the world. And what I especially love about it? It allows me to “friend” people who don’t know the Lord…who may have colorful language and colorful lives, if you catch my drift.

But I’ve noticed that makes some Christians uncomfortable…it makes them want to “unfriend” those people. I initially had that same temptation…to avoid being “exposed” to the lifestyle they’re living...especially since it was the same kind of lifestyle I was grateful to have left behind years ago. But what we don’t take enough time to consider is that these are the very people Jesus wants us to reach out to. It’s that kind of person who Jesus ate dinner with…who He listened to…whose lives were changed because He loved them BEFORE their lives changed. I was once that kind of person…were you? Did someone love you and “friend” you, when you were less than loveable? It’s that kind of love that changed my life! And I’m trusting that His love in me will change their life too!

Mark 2:15-17 MSG ~ Later Jesus and his disciples were at home having supper with a collection of disreputable guests. Unlikely as it seems, more than a few of them had become followers. The religion scholars and Pharisees saw him keeping this kind of company and lit into his disciples: "What kind of example is this, acting cozy with the riffraff?" Jesus, overhearing, shot back, "Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? I'm here inviting the sin-sick, not the spiritually-fit."

When I was little, I found comfort in sucking my thumb and twisting my hair into little knots. The problem was I wound up with a significant overbite…thus earning me the nickname of “Bucky Beaver.” I also lost significant chunks of my hair, when my finger would get stuck in the knot of hair and start turning purple. My older sister, Sharon, loved cutting hair, so thankfully, she was always willing to cut the knot off and set my finger free. And my mom tried to help it not look too noticeable by getting my hair cut in a short pixie cut, but there were holes where there wasn’t any hair! I have pictures of myself at this age, and suffice it to say, I don’t have a single one in a picture frame!

Thankfully, I outgrew these childish tendencies that were affecting my appearance. But how about those childish tendencies that no one can see? Those are the ones we so often never deal with…and they turn into adult-sized tendencies that don’t just affect us, but those around us. What kind of tendencies am I talking about? Maybe it’s the tendency to sulk or give someone the silent treatment when you get mad…or to get angry when you don’t get your way…or to talk behind other people’s back…or to want to “get back” at someone who has done you wrong! And those things have got you tied up in knots and are cutting off the love of God that He wants flowing out from you towards other people. So do you need some help to cut that knotty tendency out of your life? God is more than willing to help you. And when these things get cut out, it won’t leave holes…but instead, the “picture” of your life will be looking better all the time!

I Peter 2:1-3 MSG ~ So clean house! Make a clean sweep of malice and pretense, envy and hurtful talk. You've had a taste of God. Now, like infants at the breast, drink deep of God's pure kindness. Then you'll grow up mature and whole in God.

This morning, I’ve been sitting in front of a fire at a cabin up north. I’m especially enjoying it, because I built it…and it took no small amount of work! So I’ve been relaxing for awhile and just watching the beauty of it burning. But I’m noticing that the flames are starting to get smaller, and it’ll take some stirring up and stoking of the fire pretty soon…that is, if I want the fire to keep on burning. And I’ve been reflecting on how much this reminds me of my spiritual life with the Lord.

He is the one who built a fire in me to love and serve Him…and it certainly took no small amount of work for Him to kindle that flame in me. But once it got going, it became red hot...just like the fire I built this morning. But over the years, I’ve realized that even a red hot fire for God can grow cold, if that “fire” within us isn’t stoked and stirred up. And the way that happens? When we ask Him to speak to our hearts as we read His Word…as we pray…as we serve Him…as we reach out to others with His love. So I’ve got some stoking to do this morning…of the fire in the fireplace, and of the “fire” in me. I’m feeling cozier already…enjoying the warmth of both!

II Timothy 1:6 AMP ~ That is why I would remind you to stir up (rekindle the embers of, fan the flame of, and keep burning) the [gracious] gift of God, [the inner fire] that is in you…

Right now, it’s noon…I’m up north in a cabin with some friends…and I’m still in a pair of fleece pajamas. I didn’t even get out of bed until 8 a.m., which for me is an event close in kind to the parting of the Red Sea (well, maybe that’s an exaggeration, but only slightly). And my morning accomplishments only include making the bed, drinking several cups of coffee, and carrying a couple of loads of firewood in from the garage. I am succeeding quite well at making my body stop and slow down…but my mind is another matter. You see, I have one of those overly-active kinds of brains. And if “thinking” was a hobby, it would probably be at the top of my list.

But I know that one of the reasons the Lord has given me this opportunity to get away from work for a few days isn’t so I have more time to “think!” It’s so I can learn to be quiet in my thoughts…to listen…to simply be still, not just physically, but mentally. But even knowing that, my thoughts this morning said, “But how can you accomplish anything, if you’re not thinking and just being quiet? Don’t waste this time!” So I went to the Word and through today’s verse, He spoke to my heart like only He can. He got my attention…my thoughts are now closer to where they should be…I’m determining to listen more…to think less…and not just when I’m here once a year, but especially when I go home. So what am I thinking right now? I’m thinking it’s time to be quiet…

Psalm 119:114 MSG ~ You're my place of quiet retreat; I wait for your Word to renew me.

Maybe it’s just me…but I don’t think so. I think that I, along with a whole lot of people, oftentimes struggle with feeling like no matter what I got done that day, maybe I could have done it a little bit better. That happened yesterday when I finally buckled down to write some after-Christmas thank you’s. The thought of trying to handwrite each note felt exhausting to me, so I decided to zip them off in emails (of course, asking the readers to pretend the note was on beautiful paper). I was amazed at how quickly I wrote them, and how much more I enjoyed writing my thoughts using my computer keyboard.

But afterwards, I second guessed myself…even though I truly believed the sentiments I had written were more from my heart than if I had grudgingly handwritten them out. I wondered if getting an email thank you would make any of the people I’d written to feel less appreciated or loved. But then I remembered that my favorite love notes to read every day aren’t handwritten…they’re from God and I read them on the printed pages of the Bible! And the fact that they’re not handwritten doesn’t diminish their value to me one iota…because they’re written from the very heart of God to me, personally! So could I have done it better? Depends on who you ask…but God once again assured me that at the end of the day, we can trust Him with whatever we’ve done…knowing we gave it our best, and He’ll do the rest!

Psalm 37:5 NLT ~ Commit everything you do to the LORD. Trust him, and he will help you.