Day 63: Counting Blessings

atholton christmas program 2019 (1 of 1)-3
Self portrait to remind myself I can still smile and have so much to be grateful for

Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.2Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits–3who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,4who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,5who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.6The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.7He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel:8The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.9He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever;10he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.11For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;12as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.13As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;14for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.

Psalm 103:1-14

Day 63: Counting Blessings

When I look at my problems I become overwhelmed.  When I look at ways that I am fortunate then gratitude starts to well up inside.  I may have had some hard problems to deal with but I am here to deal with them.  God has kept me.  I may struggle to make ends meet but I have a job, a roof over my head, and a way to get to and from work and the store.  I may not be my ideal weight but I am able to walk and do push ups.  I am able to go to different locations and take pictures.  I may have had things stolen from me but I have been able to give so much more than others tried to take away.

Counting my blessings helps me to heal.  It lets me know I have so much to give.

Today I am counting what I have and feeling more and more blessed by the minute!


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Day 62: Connection

IMG_0841Day 62: Connection

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

I Corinthians 12:27

My son, mother and I went to a concert yesterday evening.  It was a wonderful time of beautiful music.  However, what was most wonderful for my mom was the moments of connection.  Seeing members of her church family she hadn’t seen for a while was priceless.  I could see how happy she was.

For me it was a moment to reflect.  It is so important to have a place where you feel connected.  My connections were many as well.  I teach at Washington Adventist University.  I saw six of my students performing.  A featured soloist was a young lady I met outside the voice studio who I had heard and invited to sing on a concert I produced a year ago.  Her voice was beautiful then but it has grown so much!

One of the conductors, Brian Liu told me the other day we had performed together many years ago when I was a guest soloist for a performance of Handel’s Messiah at his alma mater Southern Adventist University.  Moments of the past and hopes for the future came together to make the musical performance have a greater impact than just the dynamics of the chorus or the swiftness of the strings.

I am grateful for the connections my church experience has brought over the years.  It can bring mental healing and in seasons of hardship.  It’s my hope that my son will see how much joy his grandma and father get from our moments of connectedness and seek to foster the same for himself and his children should he choose to have them.

We are the body of Christ.  Today I honor and cherish the body I belong to.

 

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Day 61: Animals

bear at zoo (1 of 1)
A bear I met one day at the Zoo

Day 61: Animals

19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.

Genesis 2:19-20

God created animals for man to watch over and enjoy.  And as we look for ways to become physically and mentally healthy we should make sure we spend time with the animals.  According to the CDC there are many benefits to having pets:

“Studies have shown that the bond between people and their pets can increase fitness, lower stress, and bring happiness to their owners. Some of the health benefits of having a pet include:

  • Decreased blood pressure
  • Decreased cholesterol levels
  • Decreased triglyceride levels
  • Decreased feelings of loneliness
  • Increased opportunities for exercise and outdoor activities
  • Increased opportunities for socialization”

If God designed me to have regular interaction with the animals he created then today I will consider ways I can spend more time with them.  Why don’t you take a trip to the zoo?  Maybe a pet should be in your future.


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Day 60: Gifts

Jamaica Shirt (1 of 1)

Day 60: Gifts

I don’t know which feels better: getting or giving a gift.  What do you think?  My mother recently returned from a trip to Jamaica.  She thought of me and purchased a shirt (I am wearing it in the photo above).  It made me really happy.  When my father was living he travelled a lot as part of his job.  He would always bring me t-shirts from the different places he visited.  It made me feel part of what he was doing.  And even now that he is gone I still remember this act of giving and it makes me smile, confident that my father loved me.

On the other hand, I have so many memories of the joy of giving.  Often in recent years that gift has been the gift of song.  I have a good friend who is from Korea.  A few years ago I wrote a musical inspired by my time in Korea and presented it at The Nineteenth Street Baptist Church in Washington DC.  I invited him to attend because he loves music (He is the founder of a Korean choir that performs on many prestigious occasions) and I thought he would enjoy a musical that seeks to share Korean culture.

I wasn’t prepared for how much he loved the experience.  He ended up writing an editorial about it and how it moved him deeply.

While I may have thought of composing a musical as a gift to my community I didn’t realize it could have such a powerful effect.  Successful marketing expert, author, teacher and businessman Seth Godin talks about how giving a gift creates an imbalance.  If we exchange a product for money we are even.  But the giving of a gift creates a shift that warrants a response.  That response might be strong words of gratitude or tears.  It maybe another gift.  One time my glasses broke and my good friend who had come to my musical fixed them for free.  I now was the one overwhelmed by his gift of generosity.

Jesus spoke of the power of giving without hope of recognition.

“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Matthew 6:1-4

Jesus said that when we give a gift in secret we will receive a reward from our Father in Heaven.  I want to be rewarded by gifts from my Father in Heaven.  I want Him to be pleased with me.  I want his favor.

When we live a life of service to others, not looking for recognition from man, but looking to make our Heavenly Father proud we receive a sense of joy and peace.  This may be what we have been missing that has kept us from feeling our best.

Today I will focus on giving gifts in the way that pleases my Father.

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Best

divine servant (1 of 1)-2
Sculpture located in front of Living Well Store in Colesville, Maryland

Day 59: Best

so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

“No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”

Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”

“Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”

10 Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.

12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

John 13:4-17 NIV

Jesus gave us an example of what being the best is all about.  As I took the picture of the sculpture I didn’t at first realize it was Jesus.  Because we know Jesus as the Son of God and King of Kings we often forget how he demonstrated His greatness while living here on earth.  He served best.

His service included teaching about our Father in heaven.  It included teaching us how we can show love best one to another.  And he demonstrated His love by healing many.  He lived His life serving well.

Today we see personified a very selfish vision of success.  If the God of the universe were following the popular pattern of success we see glamorized today there would be no you or me.  God bent over backwards to save sinful mankind.  He didn’t have to do it.  It was a perfect revelation of His supernatural nature.  He loves to love.

Today, I will focus on how I can serve better.

Happy Thanksgiving!


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Day 58: Trustworthy People

Hai (1 of 1)
My Trusted Mechanic

Day 58: Trustworthy People

9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices

Colossians 3:9 NIV

Have you ever had a problem and you wanted to get advice from someone you knew you could trust?  A few days ago my van broke down.  It wouldn’t start.  I prayed and asked others to pray.  I called for help.  Tried but it still wouldn’t start.  When I was about to give up I tried one last time and it started.  PRAISE GOD!!!  But I knew I needed to have someone figure out what was going on.

Often our health is tied to our mental peace of mind.  When we feel anxious our immune system is weakened and we get sick more easily.  The bible encourages us to be honest one with another.  This way we can have a community where our anxiety is lessened because we can trust each other.

It came to me that I should take my van to my trusted mechanic, Hai.  I hadn’t seen him for a few years but when I went he gave me excellent wisdom and fixed things and had me on my way quickly.

Today, I recommit myself to being someone others can rely on.  Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

 

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Meaningless

JTWCC4-1-of-1Day 57: Meaningless

The words of the Teacher,a]”>[a] son of David, king in Jerusalem:

“Meaningless! Meaningless!”
    says the Teacher.
“Utterly meaningless!
    Everything is meaningless.”

What do people gain from all their labors
at which they toil under the sun?
Generations come and generations go,
but the earth remains forever.
The sun rises and the sun sets,
and hurries back to where it rises.
The wind blows to the south
and turns to the north;
round and round it goes,
ever returning on its course.
All streams flow into the sea,
yet the sea is never full.
To the place the streams come from,
there they return again.
All things are wearisome,
more than one can say.
The eye never has enough of seeing,
nor the ear its fill of hearing.
What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there anything of which one can say,
“Look! This is something new”?
It was here already, long ago;
it was here before our time.
11 No one remembers the former generations,
and even those yet to come
will not be remembered
by those who follow them.

Ecclesiastes 1:1-11

Have you ever paused to ask yourself why you do what you do?  Do you do it because you hope to please others?  Maybe make your parents happy?

Have you ever asked yourself why you want what you want?  If you want to be a famous singer or actor do you want it for the money?  Or do you want it for the way people look at you and admire you?  It’s important to understand why we want what we want.  But it’s also important to realize that a lot of what we say we want isn’t going to make us happy once we get it.

When Solomon reflects in the book of Ecclesiastes about the meaninglessness of life he is getting to the truth I’m hoping we’ll see in this post.  When you work to get rich but realize you can’t take it with you then what is the purpose of your pursuit?  Solomon points out that the eye never has enough of seeing.  Will another suit make you happy?  Will a bigger house make you satisfied?  Many movies and tales illustrate how the greed to have more can destroy us.  Perhaps what will help us to live a balanced, healthy life is understanding that we find meaning in pursuit.

When we have a goal that isn’t easy to achieve but meaningful to us we garner a sense of purpose.  And while we have this goal we can motivate ourselves because we have committed ourselves and we want to be true to ourselves.  When we get the goal we initially rejoice but then need a new goal or we will fall into a sense of despair.

If we no longer think we can reach our goal or that it is important we can also become depressed and uninspired.  It seems that we were created with a design that requires a worthwhile focus to keep us happy.

So my take away from Solomon’s wisdom is that a lot of what I’ve been stressing about will be gone soon so I shouldn’t worry and kill myself over attain it.  And a lot of the fame I seek will not be remembered by the next generation.  So it would be better for me to focus on making meaningful relationships with those in my community.

Today, I realize that I’ve been distracted by things that won’t matter very long.  I choose rather to see things from Our Father’s perspective and pursue what is important to Him and a blessing to those He has allowed me to interface with.

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Day 56: Begin Again

begin again (1 of 1)Begin Again

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

2 Corinthians 5:17

It’s alright to change your mind.  What you believed when you were 14 doesn’t have to be the same when you are 40 or 50.  Perhaps some of what you thought was golden really wasn’t.  It’s OK to admit that you don’t understand everything.

One of the key ingrediants on the road to healing is being able to forgive yourself for past mistakes and begin again.  If God tells us we can confess our sins and that he will be faithful to forgive them shouldn’t we do the same?  Begin again.

So your first job didn’t work out.  Find another one.  So you thought he was the man of your dreams but he left you and hurt you.  You can heal and begin again.  Find some of that love that your Creator has bestowed upon you and see if you can imitate it.  Love yourself.

Today I will begin again.  I will forgive myself and set myself free to love and serve again.

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The Road You Choose

Burden walkingbwDay 55: The Road You Choose

15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Joshua 24:15

It would be nice if everyone had a happy ending in life.  But life is filled with the consequences of the choices we make.  Even if we have good reasons for the poor choices we make they still yield negative results.  So I know when I make excuses for myself saying that I deserve to choose what makes me feel good even if it is bad for me that I will reap what I sow.  The bible says clearly:

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

Galatians 6:7

Today I choose to make decisions that are wise even when I don’t like how they feel.  I forgive myself for past decisions that were based more on feeling than on wisdom, and commit to improving future decisions.

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Pain

Life Happens (1 of 1)Day 54: Pain

The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

Psalm 34:18

Sometime we want to avoid the pain necessary for our transformation.  I don’t want to wake up earlier to get that walk in.  I know that if I do those push ups and planks that I’ll start to see a change in my body.  I know that if I stop eating foods that are fat and sugary I’ll start to lose weight.  But if I deny myself something I want it hurts.

So we read more and more about health.  We watch documentaries about the dangers of processed foods.  We watch youtube videos about the latest dietary trends that have helped others lose weight.  But learning more doesn’t change us.  Taking action changes us.  But the action may hurt.

God does not promise us a life without pain.  But he does promise that he will be with us in our pain.  Today I want you to realize that God had to endure pain in order to save us.  If God doesn’t get to avoid pain in order to bring about positive and heroic change then why should we think we get to?

Today I will accept the pain involved in taking the actions that will improve my health.


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