My wife & I woke up at a godless, early hour this morning to my daughters, who not only decided the world needed to start well before the sun but, were completely wired like they had been eating cinnabons all night long.
As one of my girls crawled into our bed to lay there the other sat at the end of the bed reading (by that I mean she has completely memorized most pages -- it's a short book) a book, and she was reading it so loud she might have woke the neighbors too...
Blue bird blue bird what do you see, I see a purple cat looking at me. Purple cat purple cat...
And on and on and on she went from blue birds, to white dogs & black sheep -- clearly the author of this book is no animal expert because I think the sheep should be white & the dog should be black.
The whole event made me think of verse in the book of Psalms chapter 30, verse 5;
The whole event made me think of verse in the book of Psalms chapter 30, verse 5;
Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.
Last night our staff had their weekly meeting & there is a lot going on in the lives of the people at Paradox and in the lives of the people around us. I think we all left the meeting last night having accomplished less agenda than we expected and, left more depressed than when we had arrived.
I told my wife when I got home that I realize more & more that there is so much , loss, pain & tragedy going on around us all the time that every single day there is reason to live horribly depressed. If you're looking for a reason to be depressed then just wake up every morning.
Combine that with the fact that as human beings, we are naturally inclined to gravitate towards bad, depressing & sad news WAY MORE than we are inclined to gravitate towards good news. We are more interested in hearing bad news. That's why local news only ever seems to have bad stuff to tell -- it sells -- no one would watch otherwise. There was actually a news channel some time ago that tried to have a nightly news show about the good stuff going on in the city --- fewer & fewer people tuned in, and it eventually shut down - no one was interested.
But, our God, whose name is Jesus tells us that joy comes in the morning, and in a book in the bible called Lamentations (3:22-23) we read...
Today, even though I'm waking up with plenty of reasons to stay in bed, covers pulled over my head, and listening to the cure (pretty much every song they sing is depressing) I was given the gift to see joy & mercy in the form of my three year old daughter reading to us at the foot of my bed.
I'm not trying to overplay that moment, trust me, I am inclined as much as anyone else to bad & tragic news, and this particular morning there is more of it that I am aware of than I know what to do with.
BUT -- Our God is named Jesus, He is not dead, He sits on His throne in heaven as much as He sits in our inner being. He has plan & purpose in ALL THINGS, and this world is not forever, it will end & the next chapter beyond it is the world we were made for; a world where there is no more suffering, or tears. Between now & then, living in our sobering world, there are certainly things to be depressed about, but there is JOY, & there is BEAUTY, and there is reason to wake & rise & sing, and this morning God reminded me of that in the form of my precious little girl telling us about purple cats & black sheep.
May you take time today to look for the joy & mercies of Jesus -- they are there.
I told my wife when I got home that I realize more & more that there is so much , loss, pain & tragedy going on around us all the time that every single day there is reason to live horribly depressed. If you're looking for a reason to be depressed then just wake up every morning.
Combine that with the fact that as human beings, we are naturally inclined to gravitate towards bad, depressing & sad news WAY MORE than we are inclined to gravitate towards good news. We are more interested in hearing bad news. That's why local news only ever seems to have bad stuff to tell -- it sells -- no one would watch otherwise. There was actually a news channel some time ago that tried to have a nightly news show about the good stuff going on in the city --- fewer & fewer people tuned in, and it eventually shut down - no one was interested.
But, our God, whose name is Jesus tells us that joy comes in the morning, and in a book in the bible called Lamentations (3:22-23) we read...
22 The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
His mercies never cease.
23 Great is his faithfulness;
his mercies begin afresh each morning.
Today, even though I'm waking up with plenty of reasons to stay in bed, covers pulled over my head, and listening to the cure (pretty much every song they sing is depressing) I was given the gift to see joy & mercy in the form of my three year old daughter reading to us at the foot of my bed.
I'm not trying to overplay that moment, trust me, I am inclined as much as anyone else to bad & tragic news, and this particular morning there is more of it that I am aware of than I know what to do with.
BUT -- Our God is named Jesus, He is not dead, He sits on His throne in heaven as much as He sits in our inner being. He has plan & purpose in ALL THINGS, and this world is not forever, it will end & the next chapter beyond it is the world we were made for; a world where there is no more suffering, or tears. Between now & then, living in our sobering world, there are certainly things to be depressed about, but there is JOY, & there is BEAUTY, and there is reason to wake & rise & sing, and this morning God reminded me of that in the form of my precious little girl telling us about purple cats & black sheep.
May you take time today to look for the joy & mercies of Jesus -- they are there.
