Please pray for the people of Puerto Rico… A magnitude 5.9 earthquake shook Puerto Rico on Saturday morning, causing a landslide in the southern municipality of Peñuelas. Story from USA Today.
By Doug Creamer
It’s not a very exciting day at my house today. I am busy doing the ordinary things of life. I am washing clothes, changing the sheets on the bed, getting them washed, and doing some other cleaning tasks. It has to get done sometime.
The sun is shining and it feels nice. I think a walk will be in order today. I have been going for walks lately, even if it is a little chilly. Something about walking clears my head. I can think about things, or if my wife comes along, we can talk about things.
As I look around, there are a few other things that are calling for my attention. My old car inspection is due and I have to get a new battery for that car. I have pushed that off as long as possible.
I just looked out the window and noticed that I probably need to run the lawn mower one last time to get up the last of the stray leaves. With the Christmas decorations out of the way, I ought to get out there and take care of that and maybe the gutters, too.
There are always things that we have to do. There are always things that are vying for our attention. We have a choice. We can allow those things to distract us, to keep us away from the Lord. The other choice is to invite God to join us in our everyday activities.
Here is what I mean. When I cut the grass, I have a pair of ear protectors to help block out the sound of the lawn mower. They will help me to block out the roar of the motor so I can hear the voice of my Father.
I have to admit it is pretty mundane to make the bed. But that can change if I invite God to join me in that task. It is a perfect opportunity to pray for God to give us peaceful sleep. I can also pray for the love of my life. I admit it is easy to miss the opportunity, and I have on far too many occasions. It is easy to focus on completing the task and allowing our minds to wander.
I am convinced that God wants to spend more time with us. I keep looking for chances and have discovered that I get distracted from golden opportunities. He is waiting and ready, but I am thinking about something else. But if I stop and think about Him, He is right there even when I am doing the dishes.
I know all of us are concerned with what is going on in the world. We watch our military men and women being sent overseas and we naturally want to worry. We also falsely believe that God needs to focus His attention on what is happening in other places. There are people all over the world who are facing desperate situations, how could I ask God to spend time with me while I am changing the sheets?
We need to come to a better understanding about God. He is capable of being omnipresent. This means that He can be with me while I am putting the clean sheets on the bed and He can also be with our men and women in the armed forces. He is with the people in Australia who are suffering in the fires. He is also with the homeless families in our communities, the widow who feels all alone, and you and whatever situation you are facing today.
God wants to be with us. It is up to us to open the door for Him. He cares about and knows about everything in our lives…AND most important, He loves us. He is keeping a close eye on us and all those who are in desperate need. Stop worrying about everyone else and invite Him into your heart. He has the answers you need. It doesn’t matter how bad you think you screwed everything up, He wants you, loves you, and accepts you.
I want to encourage you to open your heart to the omnipresent God. He knows all and still keeps on loving you. Stop making excuses; come Home to Him today. He’s waiting for you. You don’t have to clean yourself up. He is an expert at doing that. He has a plan for your life and I promise it will be a good trip. It requires you to activate your faith and for you to open the door for Him. Don’t worry, He’ll do the rest.
Contact Doug Creamer at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041or doug@dougcreamer.com
Dog makes fast friends with deer as they chase each other through snow. A short and fun video from USA Today.
Lauren Daigle talks about Trusting God in the Midst of Grief.
By David Freeze
How to make them work
I’m writing this on Saturday morning, January 4th. A certainty is that some resolutions have already been broken. As a fitness professional, I understand this. Resolutions can be tough to sustain. In fact, most are blown by March 1. Everybody rushes the gym just after New Year’s, then have disappeared by early spring. Why?
Thankfully, I’ve had lots of years and some reasonable success at helping folks achieve the changes they wanted. Here are some of the ways that I think you can work on a better you for 2020.
I have noticed this week that retailers, from Walmart to Aldi, have targeted fitness gear and healthy food choices for the first week in January. That’s great, but don’t take on too much at a time. When we are talking about a change in behavior, particularly long-term issues, positive resolutions that are too big or too complicated don’t work. Start small and keep yourself accountable.
How do you keep yourself accountable? See support from family, friends and even a trainer. Merely walking in the front door of a gym won’t guarantee success. Talk about your achievable resolutions so that others know what you have in mind. Telling others leads to accountability. Encourage them to check in on you. Better yet, find a partner or two for the express purpose of that magic word. Accountability is, in my opinion, the most important word as you seek workable resolutions.
I listen to the commercial for one popular gym which suggests “no commitment”. Who would expect success with long term goals with no commitment?
Try it like this. Decide what matters most to you and start small while being realistic. The two most popular resolutions are 1. ‘Exercise more’ and 2. ‘Eat healthy’. Those statements as resolutions are way to broad and are a failure waiting to happen. Be specific. In my experience, if you want to exercise more, schedule yourself, and hopefully a friend, for four planned workouts or group classes a week. Going from zero workouts to 7 days a week isn’t likely to work. And you’ll need recovery days.
Eating healthy for most of my clients begins with getting control of what they drink. Liquid calories, usually laden with excess sugar, are the biggest culprits for pursuing a proper diet. Sweet tea, sugared soft drinks and alcohol are laden with calories that don’t improve your wellness. I once had a client who chose to track her calories daily by use of a popular app, but she left off her liquid calories. Be realistic and truthful, especially to yourself.
So, two easy ways to address the two biggest and most pursued resolutions quickly come to mind. Make the small and accountable step of finding a workout that you enjoy, and this may take some experimentation. Doing workouts you don’t enjoy will not last. Maybe you and a partner find group classes that you like or begin a walking or running program. Plan it, follow through and be accountable.
On the food consumption, start with the liquid calories. Just one less soft drink a day, at about 200 calories, will net a loss of 20 pounds a year. How much simpler can that be? Same for sweet tea and alcoholic drinks.
Here’s my revelation for you to consider. Once you start seeing success, you’ll come to a great divide. Do you keep going or does the resolution go the way of so many others that didn’t work out? Decide what is important to you and buck up to get it done.
And my final suggestion. Get God involved! Ask for support and the energy to keep moving forward. I do this every evening during my prayers. God wants you to be the best you! For yourself and for those around you. And if all goes well, your health and your prayer experience will both leap forward!
Throughout most of U.S. history, American high school students were routinely taught vocational and job-ready skills along with the three Rs: reading, writing and arithmetic. Indeed readers of a certain age are likely to have fond memories of huddling over wooden workbenches learning a craft such as woodwork or maybe metal work, or any one of the hands-on projects that characterized the once-ubiquitous shop class. From Forbes.
Maxims typically date back many years, but “feed a cold, starve a fever” may beat them all. This saying has been traced to a 1574 dictionary by John Withals, which noted that “fasting is a great remedy of fever.” The belief is that eating food may help the body generate warmth during a “cold” and that avoiding food may help it cool down when overheated.
But modern medical science says the old saw is wrong. It should be “feed a cold, feed a fever.” From Scientific America
By Doug Creamer
We only have a few more days left in this year and this decade. It is hard to believe that we are going to be in the 2020’s next week. It’s always hard for me to believe that a whole year has passed. Time seems to move faster and faster as I get older.
My previous pastor always receives a poem from the Lord for the year. My current pastor always receives a single word that is our focus for the year. 2019 was “uncommon.” Well, I can tell you that 2019 was definitely an uncommon year for us. I retired, which was a very uncommon event. But the year was full of uncommon things. Some we hope continue to be uncommon, while others we invite and hope to make common in our lives.
We are looking forward to 2020. I know the Lord has good things planned. One thing I am NOT looking forward to is the election. The event itself, voting, is great. My problem is the process we have to go through from here to there. There are all the political ads. Then there are the constant phone calls. If we could get more civility in our politics it might be more enjoyable, but that isn’t how elections are won or lost.
As I reflect back on the last decade, we have experienced lots of changes, especially in technology. We went from flip phones to smart phones. Who could have imagined having the power of all that information right at your fingertips? We now have smart doorbells so we can see who is at the door and we may not even be home. My mother used to have intercoms at our doors. Times sure have changed.
You can control so much now from your phone. You can turn your thermostat up or down. You can turn lights on and off. You can probably talk to your watch which will talk to your phone which will contact your house and make necessary changes. I imagine by the time we close out this new decade we will have cars driving themselves and many people will probably not even own cars, they will just call for a driverless car to take them where they want to go. I am not sure I am ready for that.
Wherever technology takes us in the future, I am sure we will gradually all get used to doing things the new way. It might be nice to allow a vehicle to drive me someplace while I sleep, particularly if there is a zero percent chance of an accident. Personally, I prefer to put my life in God’s hands. He has a perfect record for helping people navigate life.
The future can feel mystical and scary at times. No one knows what the future holds for each of us. The only way to know the future is to know Him who holds the future. He’s seen all the good things coming your way and He is not surprised when the bad things happen. He is ready to celebrate the good and comfort through the bad. The best thing is knowing we are in God’s hands when we enter the New Year.
The secret to having peace when entering the New Year and new decade is knowing the Prince of Peace. He can help guard your mind from worry and fear as you cross into the unknown. You can know and believe that all things will work into something good for your life as long as you are trusting Him. That doesn’t mean that there won’t be sorrow or pain, it just means that He will be with you and that He can turn your sorrow into joy.
There are parts of 2019 that I would prefer to forget, but God has used those situations to draw me closer. He felt more real to me as I walked through the fire. That gives me confidence. If He did it in 2019, then I know He will do it again in 2020.
I want to encourage you to put your trust in God. 2020 is going to have some great days that we can celebrate. 2020 is also going to have some difficult days where it will be a struggle just to put one foot in front of the other. No matter what comes, I have faith in God that it will work for my good. We are entering a new decade and I believe that God is going to give us a good trip through this one, too. Happy New Year!
Contact Doug Creamer at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041or doug@dougcreamer.com
This is a look back at 2019 in pictures. From The Weather Channel
The question of how Billboard determines the most popular music in the country has gotten a lot harder in the digital age. It used to be a simple question of which album sold the most physical copies, but now Billboard needs to consider things like Spotify plays and mp3 downloads. Starting Jan. 3, it will also include YouTube streams. From All Things Considered.