The Time to Pray is Before the Shooting Starts

Greetings All,

     Today's "thought" comes from the Blog of Melissa Edgington entitled: yourmomhasablog.com  In light of a month that has seen so many needless shooting deaths and injuries, this post caught my attention. I know I sent out a thought on prayer last week, but I would like to follow it up this week with another -- dealing with the rush to pray (or at least promises to pray) AFTER heartbreaking situations occur.  I read Melissa's post and felt it was worth sharing.  I trust you will find it true and challenging. Enjoy.

The Time to Pray is Before the Shooting Starts

  I’ve noticed a disturbing trend among Christians. We are not a praying people.  Oh, we love the idea of prayer.  We love sharing memes about it and ranting on social media about prayer in schools. We love organizing prayer vigils after some awful tragedy has struck.  We follow the same predictable patterns of making prayer a low priority until we have absolutely no other recourse but to turn to the God of the Universe.

     As His children, we must start examining what it is that keeps us from prayer. Is it that we really don’t believe that God is in control? Or do we just not care what He does until He does something that negatively affects us? Do we really think that the best time to pray is after the mass shooting?

     At most prayer meetings, only a fraction of the church takes time to attend. It isn’t a time issue. Parents and grandparents alike can make it to every little league game, anytime, anywhere, with three or four kids in tow. In most cases it isn’t a matter of limited mobility or poor health. The majority of us are perfectly able to meet together to pray. We just don’t want to.

     Imagine how our communities and churches and schools might change if we approached the throne of God with an expectation that He will hear our prayers. With an excitement about what He will do with the pleas of His people.  Consider how things might be different if we had eyes to see how He uses our prayers to accomplish His will, if we had the faith to believe that prayer really matters.

     Imagine if we weren’t afraid to humble ourselves before our God, before our family and friends and fellow believers, if we marked prayer meetings on our calendars in ink, making it clear to our children that we make prayer with fellow believers a priority in our homes. Instead, most of us hear the words “prayer meeting” and tune out. Not for us. Not important. Not worth our time.

     We spend so much time worrying about the world our kids and grand-kids are growing up in, so many hours scheming and planning ways to shelter them, and so little time talking to the One who can actually change things. If you want to know the truth, it isn’t the youth of today or the evil governments or the wicked schemes of man that make me fear for the future. It’s the empty prayer meetings.

     “The Cinderella of the Church today is the prayer meeting. This handmaid of the Lord is unloved and unwooed because she is not dripping with pearls of intellectualism, nor glamorous with the silks of philosophy, neither is she enchanting with the tiara of psychology. She wears the homespuns of sincerity and humility and so is not afraid to kneel.” – Leonard Ravenhill

     After learning of the latest statistics on how few Christians there are that regularly share the gospel, or spend any significant time in prayer, a friend of mine once said (somewhat tongue-in-cheek, of course, regarding what motivates people): "The only mistake God made was that he didn't offer to give us five dollars for every person we share the Gospel with, or contract to pay us an hourly wage for time spent praying. Or better still, that He didn't make our salvation dependent on doing both."   I do often wonder how many more people would do those two things if they were financially reimbursed for the time and efforts. 

     Those are some pretty encouraging promises to be given from the One who has all power in heaven and earth!  Yet, given the commitment to prayer on the part of many Christians, you would never know Jesus had spoken such words!  Yet He did, not only because He intends to make good on them, but also to encourage and move us to pray.  One must ask: What will it take to get us to do so?  Could the carnage be stopped if God's people would flood the throne of grace with petitions for His intervention to prevent them, instead of prayers of comfort for those who have lost loved ones after the fact?  Because I believe Melissa is spot-on - The Time to Pray is Before the Shooting Starts.

     "Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, FOR THIS IS GOD'S WILL FOR YOU in Christ Jesus." (I Thessalonians 5:16-18)

Pastor Jeff

Thoughts on Leadership

Greetings All!

     This week's post is a collection of 25 quotes relating to leadership.  I post them for three reasons.  First, because it is my conviction that no matter who we are, someone is looking up to us as an example, or for guidance of one sort of another, which makes us a leader of sorts even when we don't have the title and didn't ask for the responsibility.  One does not have to be delegated the authority to carry out the role, and we can inadvertently carry out the role without even knowing we are!  The person simply trying to be an example to others is being a leader in their own right.

     The second reason I post them is because we can all gain insight and wisdom from leaders of the past who have shared what guided their leadership -- even if we don't consider ourselves to be one.  And last, I share it because as I looked hem over I was amazed how much current thought of leadership is little more than a confirmation (plagiarization of sorts) of the teaching of Jesus on the topic, or practical insights gained from His words and example, even when those giving the advice are not themselves Christians. I had many more than listed. I paired them down to 25. I offer them as the best of what I found.  If you have a favorite (or favorites) and have a chance, let me know which ones.  Enjoy.

Thoughts on Leadership

1. "The true test of a leader is this: A respect for that person that is so deep that people will continue following their lead even when the official title and delegated authority have been taken away."

2. “I start with the premise that the function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.”  Ralph Nader

3. “Leaders must possess courage.  Yet do not be mistaken: Courage is not the absence of fear; courage is the determination not to let our very real fears paralyze us, hold us back, or scare us into silence and inactivity when words and actions are what is needed.”

4. “You aren’t fit to lead until you know how to follow.  If you want to become a remarkable leader, follow a leader of character, conviction, and vision. Don’t ask people to follow you until you’ve humbly followed someone else. Following is perhaps the most neglected development principle of remarkable leadership… Follow advice from those more knowledgeable.  Follow a vision bigger than yourself.  Follow someone you respect.  Follow the most noble person available.  Follow someone who is going somewhere.  Remarkable leaders are remarkable followers. Admiration of big-egoed-leaders degrades us all.  Worry less about becoming a remarkable leader and more about becoming a remarkable follower.”   Dan Rockwell

5. “The chief characteristic of Christian leaders, Jesus insisted, is humility not authority, and gentleness not power… The authority by which the Christian leader leads is not power but love, not force but example, not coercion but reasoned persuasion. Leaders have power, but power is safe only in the hands of those who humble themselves to serve.”  John Stott

6. “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.”   John C. Maxwell

7. “Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence.”    Vince Lombardi

8. “When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it...  I never failed, I just learned 10,000 ways that won't work.”   Henry Ford

9. “According to Scripture, virtually everything that truly qualifies a person for leadership is directly related to character.  It’s not about style, status, personal charisma, clout, or worldly measurements of success. Integrity is the main issue that makes the difference between a good leader and a bad one.”   John MacArthur

10. “Be strong enough to stand alone, smart enough to know when you need help, and brave enough to ask for it.”   Unknown

11. “True greatness, true leadership, is found in giving yourself in service to others, not in coaxing or inducing others to serve you.”   J. Oswald Sanders

12. "My research debunks the myth that many people seem to have… that you become a leader by fighting your way to the top. Rather, you become a leader by helping others to the top.  Helping your employees is as important as, and many times more so than, trying to get the most work out of them."   William Cohen

13. "The first and most important choice a leader makes is the choice to serve, without which one's capacity to lead is severely limited."    Robert Greenleaf

14. “The ability to learn is the most important quality a leader can have.”   Sheryl Sandberg

15. "We must be silent before we can listen.  We must listen before we can learn.  We must learn before we can prepare.  We must prepare before we can serve.  We must serve before we can lead."   William Arthur Ward

16. “To change your life, you have to admit what’s not working. You have to humble yourself. You have to ask for help. You have to learn... Your ego will defend your current circumstances, but you cannot allow a fleeting feeling of shame to eclipse reason. You cannot live the rest of your life as you are just because you are too prideful to admit something isn’t right.”   Brianna Wiest

17. “If your objective is to be as good as you can be, then you’re going to want criticism.”  Ray Dalio

18. "If leadership serves only the leader, it will fail.  Ego satisfaction, financial gain, and status can all be valuable tools for a leader, but if they become the only motivations, they will eventually destroy a leader. Only when service for a common good is the primary purpose are you truly leading."   Sheila Murray Bethel

19. “A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go but ought to be.”   Rosalynn Carter

20. "People do not care how much you know until they know how much you care."   John C. Maxwell

21. "When you get to be the president, there are the honors, the 21-gun salutes, all those things.  You have to remember it’s not for you.  It’s for the presidency…  It's amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.”    President Harry S. Truman

22. "Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are."    John Wooden

23. “A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd.”   Max Lucado

24. "Do the thing you fear, and the death of fear is certain."   Ralph Waldo Emerson

25. "Servant leadership is all about making the goals clear and then rolling your sleeves up and doing whatever it takes to help people win.  In that situation, they don't work for you; you work for them."   Ken Blanchard

     So, what are the key characteristics of good leadership?  Humility, learning to be a follower, the heart of a servant, integrity, character, love, determination, a desire to see others excel, pushing beyond our fears, and many more. They are all virtues that anyone can apply to their lives.  And when we do, we may in some cases find people following our lead -- even when that wasn't our objective.

Living in His Grace, Pastor Jeff

Why does the celebration of Easter vary so much?

Greetings All!

When people discover I am a pastor it often leads to questions they have about God or the church. This was the case the other day when at the YMCA an older gentleman asked me: "Why is Easter so late this year?"  As I always try to find the answer when asked, I collected the following data to share with him.  Yet its not the first time I've been asked that question. So I offer this to you in case you wondered or have been asked the same.  Why does the celebration of Easter vary so much?  The answer lies below!  Enjoy!

Why Does the Day to Celebrate Easter Vary So Much from Year to Year?

     This year most Christians in the Western hemisphere will celebrate Easter on Sunday, April 21, which is much later than last year’s April 1, or 2008’s Easter, which fell on March 23. This may make it “seem” like Easter is late this year, but according to the lunar calendar, it's right on time!  Easter Sunday is known as a "movable feast" because unlike Christmas (which always falls on Dec. 25), the celebration of Easter within the church does not adhere to a single date.  Rather, it always falls within a certain time period – on a specific Sunday between March 22 and April 25. This is because – NOTE:  Easter is always celebrated on the first Sunday after the full moon that occurs on, or after, the Northern Hemisphere’s vernal equinox (spring equinox).

     Scripture puts Jesus’ death following the Jewish Passover, celebrated on a full moon in Spring. So, early Christians decided to commemorate Jesus’ resurrection according to that Jewish calendar tradition. In an effort to standardize this, in 325 A.D. at the Council of Nicaea, the Western Church compiled information about lunar cycles into an ecclesiastical full moon table and made March 21 the standard date of the vernal equinox.

     One of the more noteworthy contradictions of this dating will be Easter in the year 2038. Astronomically, Easter should fall on March 28 that year, but because the equinox falls on Saturday, March 20 in that year, and the full moon occurs the next day, Easter will be observed on April 25 – its latest possible date given the lunar cycle's length of about a month. So, while Easter may feel "late" this year, the 2038 celebration will take place even later.

     Same Easter, Different Day

     At the Council in Nicaea (called for the purpose of seeking to create greater unity in a Church encompassing many peoples and cultures), the council thought they had finalized a universal date for Easter. However, what they didn't count on was a later split in the church which occurred in 1054. The “Great Schism” of 1054 became the dividing point for the church.

     The Roman Empire had already divided itself into the Eastern (Byzantine) and Western (Roman) Empires, and even though the church tried to maintain a semblance of universal unity, it soon divided as well. Not only did the Eastern and Western halves form their own separate empires, they also chose their own spiritual heads for each church (Pope Leo the IX for the Western church, and the Patriarch of Constantinople, Michael Cerularius for the Eastern or Orthodox church). They split over doctrinal an “head of the church” issues, but when it came to Easter, both still believed Easter should be celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon to follow the Spring equinox.

     Yet in 1582 (528 years later) the Catholic Church switched over from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar.  The Julian Calendar proposed by Julius Caesar in 46 B.C. took the place of the old Roman calendar on 1 January 45 BC, by royal edict. This was the predominant calendar of the Roman world and most of Europe until it was replaced by the Gregorian Calendar put forth in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII.

     The Julian calendar has two types of years: "normal" years of 365 days and “leap” years of 366 days. There is a simple cycle of three "normal" years followed by a “leap” year, and this pattern repeats forever without exception. The Julian year is, therefore, on average 365.25 days long. Consequently, the Julian year drifts over time with respect to the solar year which is 365.24217 days. The Julian calendar did not compensate for this difference and as a result, even with “leap” years, the calendar year gains about three days every four centuries. This discrepancy was largely corrected by the Gregorian calendar reform of 1582.

     The Orthodox Church still holds to the original Nicaean Council's formula for Easter, but by using a different calendar system, the vernal equinox (which now falls on March 21 under the Gregorian calendar), is on April 3 under the Julian calendar.  Therefore, the Eastern Orthodox Easter this year is April 28. The two churches celebrate the same Easter holiday, but on two different days. Whereas the “Catholic” Easter falls anywhere between March 22 and April 25, the “Orthodox” Easter now falls anywhere between April 4 and May 8.

     In rare instances the dates align and Easter is celebrated simultaneously. For example, both the Orthodox and Catholic Easter fell on the same day in 2010, 2011, 2014 and in 2017. However, with the way the two calendars work, they will not fall on the same day again until 2034.

     I know some people will not care about such things, but some will.       For those who did, today was your day!  Yet, regardless of the day Easter is celebrated on, the more important fact is what we celebrate -- the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead!  For as the apostle Paul tells us, it was Jesus' resurrection that "declared" (proved) Him to be the Son of God.  As Romans 1:1-4 states: "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle and set apart for the Gospel of God -- the Gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God through his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord."

     Though the disciples confessed Jesus to be the "Son of God" right up until He went to the cross, when He died from the suffering inflicted by crucifixion, it left them all disillusioned, questioning everything, and hiding in fear and despair from the authorities. That is, until they saw, encountered and touched His resurrected body! Then all doubt was erased! For through that miracle He was, "declared with power (God put a divine exclamation point on it!) to be the Son of God... Jesus Christ our Lord."  So, regardless of the day we celebrate it (I prefer it later in the Spring!) it is that event we look forward to, honor, and rejoice in in our hearts. To Him be glory in the Church, now and forever more. Amen.

Living in the Hope of Jesus' Resurrection, Pastor Jeff

Two Thoughts to Ponder

Greetings All!

     Today I send to two short and totally unrelated "thoughts" for you to ponder.  The first is "Doubt as the Doorway to Truth" by Madeleine L'Engle.  I have found this to be true in my own experience.  In fact, about three years after I came to Christ, I prayed for greater faith. The result (quite to my surprise) was to be assaulted by many doubts that seemed to come out of nowhere!  It confused me entirely. I asked for faith and I received doubts It wasn't until later that I realized that it was in seeking answers to those doubts that faith came.  God's ways are not our own! 

     
     The second "thought" is a true story passed on to me by a friend who leads short term mission trips overseas -- Paul Hatmacher of "Churches in Missions.'  It's a story that displays the providential intervention of God in the life of one very unsuspecting man.  Enjoy!

Doubt as the Doorway to Truth 

     "We are often taught that it is unfaithful to question traditional beliefs, but I believe that we must question them continually -- not God, not Christ, who are at the center of our lives... but what human beings say about God and about Christ. Otherwise, like the church establishment of Galileo's day, we truly become frozen people. Galileo's discoveries did nothing whatsoever to change the nature of God; they threatened only man's rigid ideas of the nature of God....

     The great metaphysical poet, John Donne, writes: 'To come to a doubt, and a debatement of any religious duty, is the voice of God in our conscience: Would you know the truth? Doubt, and then you will inquire." If my religion is true, it will stand up to all my questioning. There is no need to fear. But if it is not true, if it is man imposing strictures on God (as men of the religious establishment did in the days of Galileo) then I want to be open to God, not what men say about God. I want to be open to revelation, to new life, to new birth, to new light. Revelation. Listening. Humility. Remember -- the root word of humble and human is the same: Humus. Earth.  We are dust. We are created. It is God who made us and not we ourselves."

An Incredible Story 

     "Joseph Stalin ordered the purge of all Bible's and believers in Russia.  Millions of Bibles were confiscated and multitudes of believers were sent to die in prison camps.  Recently, COMission Ministry, sent a team to Stravopol (east of the Black Sea in Russia) and had literally thousands trust in Christ. They needed Bibles and heard from a local that there was a warehouse outside of town where Stalin had the Bibles stored.  Wondrously, the officials gave them permission to check it out and they found thousands of Bibles that had been taken from believers.  So the team hired students from a local college to clean out the warehouse. 

     One young man they hired was a skeptic, but he accepted the job for the money.  As the day wore on they noticed the young man had disappeared. They eventually found him in the corner of the warehouse weeping. He had slipped away having taken a Bible.  What he found shook him to the core.  Out of the thousands of Bibles, he had found one belonging to his grandmother... a woman persecuted all her life, who had died in prison.  No wonder he was weeping.  God had just dramatically revealed Himself to this young man.  His grandmother had no doubt prayed for him and for that city. Her prayers had followed him. And now this young man's life has been transformed by the very Bible that his grandmother found so dear." 

     God's ways truly are mysterious - beyond searching out (Romans 11:33).  He moves and guides in ways we least expect. "The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps" (Prov. 16:9). Little did that skeptic know at the beginning of the day (following his hearts desire for a little extra money) that his life would be blessed in an infinitely greater way by the time he headed home that evening.  God's ways are so much higher than ours -- and always better!

Living in the Grace of Jesus, Pastor Jeff

Little Faith

Greetings Everyone!

     Today's "thought" addresses the question: "How much faith is necessary?" 
     On two occasions I have heard preachers speak on Jesus' words that, "faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains."  And in each case both of those preachers went on to speak of wanting to exercise a far greater quantity of faith than Jesus said is necessary.  One of the preachers even said, "some people are content with a thimble full of faith, I want a swimming pool full of faith -- faith I can swim in!"

     Yet, I believe both of them missed Jesus point.  For Jesus tells us that faith the size of a mustard seed is far more than anyone will ever need!   With that much, says Jesus, "Nothing will be impossible for you."  In other words, we don't need tons of faith to see impossibilities become possible, we simply need that small amount and we will see miracles happen.  As R.T. France says in his commentary on Jesus words: "It is not the 'amount' of faith which brings the impossible within reach, but the power of God, which is available to even the 'smallest faith.' " 

     That's what today's thought is about: "Little Faith."   It comes to us from a book entitled, "Day by Day with the English Puritans" by Randall J. Pederson.  This particular entry was written by John Rogers, a Puritan pastor from Essex, England, back in the 1620's.  I trust you will find it helpful and encouraging. Enjoy.

Little Faith

"If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say unto this mountain,

'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."

Matthew 17:20b

     "Little faith is true faith, as well as great faith.  A little man is just as much a man as a large man; a little water is just as truly water as the ocean seas. The disciples had true faith, yet very weak faith, weak in knowledge. Though they believed that Jesus was the Messiah come to save the world, yet they did not know how.  They were ignorant of His death, for when He told them of His coming sufferings, it is said that they did not understand what He was saying (Luke 18:31-34). Peter took Jesus aside and counseled Him not to go to Jerusalem to die (Matthew 16:22). They were ignorant also of His resurrection also, for when Mary told them of it, they did not believe her (Luke 24:11).  And of His ascension, when He spoke of going away, they understood it not, neither did they know where He was going, or the way to get there (John 14:1-31).  Their knowledge was very weak to be ignorant of such important things...

     But weak faith may prove strong in time. The most learned clerk was once in school studying his grammar book. The greatest giant was once in swaddling clothes. The tallest oak was at one time a twig. And faith grows from a grain of mustard seed to produce a tall tree.  As from a child to a man, so corn grows from a weak blade, to a stalk, to an ear with ripe corn therein. The disciples who were so weak before, afterwards, when the Holy Spirit was sent among them, were exceedingly strong and feared not in the face of tyrants."

     It was not unusual for Puritan pastors to affirm the words of Jesus that even little faith (faith as small as a mustard seed) was sufficient faith.   Thomas Watson, also a Puritan pastor, once said: "Though your faith is weak, do not be discouraged -- a weak faith may receive a strong Christ."   And Richard Sibbes, yet another Puritan pastor, once said: "A spark of fire is fire, as well as the whole element. Therefore we must look to grace in the spark as well as in the flame. All do not have the same strong faith, though they have the same precious faith (2 Pet. 1:1), whereby they lay hold of, and put on, the perfect righteousness of Christ. A weak hand may receive a rich jewel.  A few grapes will show that the plant is a vine, and not a thorn.  It is one thing to be deficient in grace, and another thing to lack grace altogether.”

     So, we are, as Peter says, to, "make every effort to add to our faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge, and to knowledge, self-control...." (II Peter 1:5-9).  We are called to exercise and add to our faith. Yet, we must also remember that a mustard seed sized degree of faith is more than sufficient to "move mountains" and make "nothing impossible for (us)."   No one needs a swimming pool sized degree of faith!  Who needs more than a faith that is able to do all things?!

     In fact, if Jesus rebuked the disciples for not being able to cast out evil spirits, "because they had so little faith," and then went on to say "faith the size of a mustard seed" was enough to do anything that needed to be done, one must question how much the disciples could have had?  Maybe the tiniest speck of a mustard seed that had been ground to powder?  I suppose it really doesn't matter. Little faith in the infinite God is enough! The aim, after all, is not to focus on our faith, but the immutable, great, loving, and all-powerful object of our faith.  For faith grows as we look away from it, and seek to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus.  The greater we understand Him to be, the greater our faith will become -- and that without even needing to focus on faith.

Living in the Grace of Jesus, Pastor Jeff

Joyful Blessings Journal

Greetings All!

    
     I came back from my trip to India only to move into a new office down the hall.  As a result over a hundred boxes of books needed to be transported and re-shelved in the new office!  And in that process I came across things that I had not seen for many years! One in particular was a journal I picked up somewhere along the line because of the quotes on each page. That's what I will share today - twenty various quotes from the "Joyful Blessings Journal" that were gathered or selected by Marla Tipton.  I trust that some of them might offer helpful insights and encourage your heart.  Enjoy



"It is pleasing to God whenever you rejoice or laugh from the bottom of your heart."

Martin Luther

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bow lines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

Mark Twain

"Worrying is like a rocking chair; it gives you something to do but it doesn't get you anywhere."

Unknown

"You pay God a compliment every time you ask great things of Him." 

Teresa of Avila 

"The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved -- loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves."

Victor Hugo

"Our Lord has written the promise of the resurrection, not in books alone, but in every budding leaf in springtime."

Martin Luther

"Our life if full of brokenness -- broken relationships, broken promises, broken expectations. How can we live with that brokenness without becoming bitter and resentful, except by returning again and again to God's faithful presence in our lives."

Henri Nouwen

"God often comforts us, not by changing the circumstances of our lives, but by changing our attitude toward them."

S. H. B. Masterman

"If the Lord be with us, we have no cause of fear.  His eye is upon us, His arm is over us, His ear open to our prayer. His grace is sufficient and His promise unchangeable."

John Newton

"A true friend (shares) freely, advises justly, assists readily, adventures boldly, takes all patiently, defends courageously, and continues a friend unchangeably." 

William Penn

"Every now and then it is delightful to have the kind of laugh that makes your stomach jiggle... that sends tears down your face and causes your eyes to squint so it's impossible to see!"

Unknown

"When I think upon my God, my heart is so full of joy that the notes dance and leap from my pen."

Composer Joseph Haydn

"I value the friend who for me finds time on his calendar; but I cherish the friend who for me does not even consult his calendar."

Robert Brault

"The thought of You stirs us so deeply that we cannot be content unless we praise You, because You have made us for Yourself, and our hearts find no peace until they rest in You."

St. Augustine

"Consider the postage stamp; its usefulness consists in the ability to stick to one thing until it gets there." 

Josh Billings

"Gratefulness is the key to a happy life which we hold in our hands, because if we are not grateful, then no matter how much we have we will not be happy, because we will always want to have something else or something more."

Brother David Steindl-Rast

"God cannot give us happiness apart from Himself, because it is not there, There is no such thing."

C. S. Lewis

"How often we look upon God as our last and feeblest resource!  We go to Him because we have nowhere else to go.  And then we learn that the storms of life have driven us, not upon the rocks, but into the desired haven."

George MacDonald

"Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God's grace. And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God's grace."

Jerry Bridges

"Happy is the one who has learned to hold the things of this world with a loose grip. Of all classes and descriptions of people on this earth, they are the happiest of whom it may be said that the things most hoped for by them are the things not seen."

Mennonite Writings

With Prayers for the Abundance of God's Grace to You, Pastor Jeff