Death is a certainty. We will lose loved ones, and we will die ourselves. I found this quote from Shakespear. .” It is the “undiscovered country, from whose bourn no traveler returns.” I remember my Shakespeare class from college.  At the time that quote didn’t mean as much to me as it does now that I’m older.

The greatest stories of the ages center on death—how people face it, or how they respond to loss. The fear of death is common—Most people report fearing death.

“For whoever wants to save their life will lose it,” Jesus said in Matthew.
He is saying that even though we will try to save ourselves, it is impossible.  It’s only when we are willing to save others, can we also save ourselves.

The early disciples also knew this and they had a mission.  To teach others that there is something beyond the grave.  The Master himself had risen.  He was preparing for His disciples, not to fear death but to believe that their mission was not only to teach others that He was the promised Messiah but that their life held great meaning.  They were to be disciple makers.  That all who believed in Him were also given a special place in the afterlife. 

To us moderns, this emphasis on death may seem strange. But the ancients understood that confronting mortality is essential to living a full life.

Modern life, by contrast, makes it easy to forget. Our prosperity creates longer lifespans, advanced medicine, abundant food, and material comfort has distanced us from the immediacy of death. These are real achievements to be celebrated, yet they also make it easier to hide from the reality of death.
 Acknowledging mortality doesn’t just liberate us, it shapes our values.

Being Believers gives us freedom to be what our Lord expects of us.  We will all be judged but only as” sheep among the goats.”  ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these, you did it for me.” (Matthew 25:45)
By His grace we are saved. We can approach life with the certainty that we are safe in our Father’s love.

 By recognizing death’s inevitability and learning not to fear it, we will live fuller lives.
                                         Death where is thy sting?

I enjoy poetry   So much is said in amazing ways. Robert Frost is one of my favorites.

In Robert Frost’s poem “Tuft of Flowers,” he paints a rural scene of a man setting out to complete farm duties. Another man, a co-laborer, had mowed the grass earlier in the day, but when the speaker in the poem surveys the work, he sees a butterfly drifting nearby and wonders why it is looking for flowers among freshly cut grass. That is when he notices it–tufts of flowers that were left untouched by the scythe. As Frost wrote: “I left my place to know them by their name / Finding them a butterfly weed when I came. / The mower in the dew had loved them thus, / By leaving them to flourish, not for us, / Nor yet to draw one thought of ours to him. But from sheer morning gladness at the brim” (Selected Poems of Robert Frost, Fall River Press, 2017, p. 33).  

In this patch of flowers is an unexpected beauty; milkweed plants that made the other man pause in his morning duties to admire their glory.  Even the lowly weed reminds of God’s creative power. The mower had left them to be admired even among the flowers.

Many of Frost’s poems capture this sense of hidden beauty among the wild growth of nature. Wildflowers grow unnoticed until seen by a surprised onlooker.

Jesus’ parable likewise draws upon the beauty of wildflowers. He turns the audience’s attention to the lilies of the field and how they grow without any additional striving. God, in His kindness and wisdom, has adorned the grasses of the field in this way, providing lovely clothing to nature. His words echo what He said earlier about the birds of the air, who do not store up food for the future yet are still fed.” (Matthew 6: 26,27)

Our Lord used these examples to remind us of practical spiritual truths. God clothes the fields and feeds the birds, so why do we worry incessantly about these parts of life? Our anxiety could be eased if we paused to notice the wonders around us, especially those hidden beauties of daily life that teach us valuable lessons about the Lord’s caring provision. Around us is a world of reminders of God’s love; yet, too often, we turn a blind eye to their testimony.

What might happen if we started to pause and consider the hidden wonders around us. Does this mean we will never worry about our life? Paying our bills? Keeping up with our body’s needs? No!

But we will be more focused on Jesus’s advice to notice the everyday beauties around us.  To be more aware of the many blessings He has already given to us.

All because of the testimony of a growing flower, chirping bird, or a rainy day.
                                                Our Hidden Blessings

                                                    Why the Number Eight?

            I found this article interesting and I’m passing it on to you. 

We are used to thinking in terms of completion. Seven days make a week; the seventh day, in the biblical account, is the day of rest. It is the point at which the work is done, the structure complete, the pattern fulfilled. Number Seven  has long stood as a symbol of wholeness and perfection. But what comes after perfection? This is where the number eight quietly enters the stage—and changes everything.

If seven represents completion, then eight represents something far more mysterious: the moment when completion is not the end, but the beginning of something new. It is, so to speak, the first step beyond the finished circle. Where seven closes, eight opens.

What Traditions Reveal About 8

This idea runs deeply through both myth and scripture. In Christian tradition, Christ rises on the first day of the week, which the early Believers also came to understand symbolically as the “eighth day”—the day beyond the ordinary cycle of time, marking new creation. It is not simply a continuation of the week, but a transformation of it. The resurrection is not a repetition; it is a renewal. Something entirely new has entered the world: a new creation, as it were.

We find a similar pattern in the story of the Flood. Noah and his family—eight souls in total—emerge from the ark into a cleansed creation. The old world has passed away; what stands before them is not merely a repaired version of what was, but the possibility of a different future. Once again, eight marks the crossing point between ending and beginning.

A Number for Today

We live in an age obsessed with completion—targets met, systems built, processes optimized. We measure success by what has been finished, achieved, or closed. And yet, as many are beginning to sense, completion alone is not enough. A life can be perfectly “complete” by external standards and yet feel curiously empty. What is missing is the eighth step: the movement beyond completion into renewal.

This might take many forms. It might be the decision to change direction after a career has reached its peak. It might be the recognition that a long-held belief, though once useful, now needs to be relinquished. It might even be the willingness to begin again after failure—not as a return to the past, but as an entry into something new.

In each case, the pattern is the same. There is first a kind of completion—a bringing of something to its natural end. But if we stop there, we stagnate. Only by stepping into the “eighth day” do we find renewal.

The great stories remind us of this truth because we are prone to forget it. We cling to what we have built, mistaking it for the final goal. But the deeper pattern of reality is more dynamic. Completion is not the destination; it is the threshold. Somewhere where different and unfamiliar rules apply and where, perhaps, the prophetic words of Buzz Lightyear might resonate: “To infinity and beyond!”

The number eight, quietly and persistently, points us beyond that threshold. It tells us that the end is not the end—that there is always the possibility of beginning again. And, perhaps, that is why it remains, across cultures and centuries, a symbol not just of order restored, but of hope renewed.

 I don’t know about you, but I want to be comfortable.   When I have an ache or pain, I see the Dr.  I’m thankful that he can prescribe the needed thing that makes me feel better.

 Instead of using my discomfort as a foundation to build strength, I have made comfort my goal. Perhaps that is where I have gone wrong.

However, not all discomfort is equal. There is the kind of discomfort that erodes us—disconnection, poor health, distraction, the quiet anxiety that comes from a life without purpose. Many people today are not free from discomfort; they are simply stuck in a kind of low-grade misery.

But there is also another type of discomfort: the kind that builds something within us.  Sticking with something long after it stops being easy, developing a skill, growing in faith. It’s ok to question why God allows this discomfort in our life.  God never promises us comfort. 

Being challenged is not harmful. It is how we grow. If we lose the ability to sit with discomfort, whether physical, intellectual, or emotional—we lose the ability to develop depth, conviction, and resilience. View your own life.

Our own discomfort will make us more sympathetic to the needs of others.  We all have our own anxieties. 

We now live in a world where technology can produce almost anything instantly. You can generate writing, design products, and create entire systems in minutes. But when everything becomes immediate, we risk losing the patience required to build something real…… to stay committed to something long enough to see it through.

Comfort was never meant to be the end goal. It was meant to be the starting point for something greater.

We can use our discomfort to build strength. This path leads to resilience, purpose, and growth.  We have a choice.   That choice is being made by us every day, whether we realize it or not.
                           

  Let’s use our (dis)comfort for something greater.

During the easy days, we often drift along with the current.  Life is busy.  We go to work, we keep a tidy house, mow lawns, and greet our friends. 
Life may feel smooth and comfortable and we may quietly assume that the calm will last.  We are wrapped up in the routine of work, entertainment and the accumulation of things. 

 Then the storm comes, everything changes.  It interrupts our momentum, forcing us to stop and face what we might otherwise avoid or ignore.  It strips away the ego and life’s distractions, exposing the subtle truths about ourselves that everyday life often hides.  No one escapes.  You nor I nor the movie star, the governor, the President!

Sometimes the storm comes one at a time; other times they converge, crashing down all at once, leaving us gasping for air in the deluge.  What we once took for granted suddenly becomes uncertain or disappears; the familiar no longer reassures us.  In these moments, we may feel lost, shaken to our core, unsure of what to do next or what lies ahead.

Storms reveal the impermanence we live within.  What once felt stable…… our routines, our assumptions, our sense of security, can shift in an instant.  Within this impermanence lies the opportunity, the chance to see what truly matters and to loosen our grip on what is temporary.

 The storms strengthen our resilience, courage, and adaptability.  Storms push us out of our comfort zones, forcing us to adjust, endure, and find new footing when the ground beneath us gives way. 

Storms are not God given but they are allowed. He uses these storms for our benefit. The storms teach us how to really live and who we are!

Yes, hiding within the storm is an unexpected gift. The storm slows us, stills us, and invites us to look at our true selves. In this way the storm becomes our teacher.

The storm teaches humility, the recognition of our limits and understanding that our true strength lies in responding with patience, honesty and grace.   Storms deepen our gratitude.
 After enduring hardship, periods of calm are no longer taken for granted.  We become more aware of peace when it returns and more appreciative of what truly matters; family, friends,  acts of kindness, and the everyday beauty of what at once seemed ordinary.

So, the next time the storm comes, let it slow you down. Let it humble you. Let it create the space for you to reflect and see things anew. God might be guiding you toward a wiser, truer version of yourself.

Remember, that while calm waters may allow one to drift, it is the storm that teaches one how to stand!

                                                                                                                Storms strengthen us!

Cell phones, Emails, Video Conferencing.  The World Wide Web. A couple of decades ago who could have imagined the world that we take for granted today.
Now with AI it becomes even more confusing.  With such instantaneous access to information and communication, we can do lot of things all at once.  This is supposed to give us more satisfaction and fulfillment as well as more time to enjoy life.                                                                       

    Right?

These technological miracles have made possible what was never even imaginable before.  But, at the same time, they have created an intense pressure to have more, do more and be more. We try harder, run faster and work longer.   We hope to win the race of being what God wants of us.  We believe we must try to study more; preach more; do more. Then I can be accepted. 

When Satan tempted Eve in the garden, it wasn’t just to satisfy her need for food, for enjoyment or even companionship.  She had all of that.  But she wanted something more. 
Does that sound like us?  We have it all.  Yet we feel there is still something we lack or that we imagine we need. Our lives would be complete if only________!

We believe that because we can accomplish something, we must push ourselves to perfection.  If something in my life isn’t perfect, He will not love me.   That is there some standard out there, and if you and I don’t meet it we’ve failed.  So, first we must accomplish something to be successful, and then we can relax, kick back, and start to be what God wants of us.

Is that what you believe?  That you must be and do all the good things that you read in Scripture.  Do you feel guilty because of what you aren’t doing or feel you should be doing?  Of course, we are chosen vessels to be used by Him.  To make this world a better place.  However, when we run the race of perfection, we will lose every time.

I suggest that you and I find within ourselves the talents that God has given us.  Don’t try to be the perfect disciple; the perfect wife; the perfect husband.  However, use the abilities that you are given.  Nurture those gifts and use them in the service to others, Use those gifts in your home, family and your friends.                                            

                                      That’s the race you can win!!

Anxiety is everywhere.   Are we overburdened or under powered? Perhaps a little of both.

Just watching the latest news is reason for anxiety.  People rioting in the streets; shots being fired; people ramming their cars into pedestrians! People being kidnapped.
Even though we might not be involved, we are fearful and anxious for our country and ourselves.  We lock our doors at night; we don’t take walks after dark; our credit cards were just hacked! Has the world gone mad?

Where can we get the power to cope? Worry and anxiety seem to be part of our life.  But does it help?  Perhaps the very thing we worry about didn’t happen!!  But in the meantime, you and I are miserable.                

Life is 10% what really happens and 90% of our reaction to it. 

There is a wonderful prayer which asks God for His help in choosing the best response to events and circumstance.  We know it as the Serenity Prayer. It’s worth repeating.
     “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
                          Courage to change the things I can,
                         And the wisdom to know the difference.”

There are three days in the week about which you and I can never worry.
One is yesterday.  Yesterday with all its problems was ours, now it’s Gods.
 The second day is tomorrow.  Tomorrow with all its possible blunders, dangers, and promises, is as far removed from us as yesterday.  Tomorrow is also God’s, because it is still in His keeping. There is one day left for us  in the week.  Today!
Today is what I make of it. Can you and I make this one day special by doing something worthy?  Can we make someone happy?  Can we help someone who needs us?

It might be just a phone call, writing an email, saying hello to a stranger, making small happy talk with a neighbor or just anyone. 

That’s what we can do today………. today is ours but also God’s.  He knows and He cares.  Now it’s up to us.

                                         This is our day

                                                   Today!
 

It isn’t easy to love the unlovable.  The neighbor whose dog insists on barking late at night. When you say good morning to someone and there is no response or a smile. So just how far can you go to be friendly as well as an encourager?

Many things we do in life require a combination of emotion and action. Sometimes we simply do and say things because we know that we must! Helping someone in need without sympathy on our part might even make us resentful. Praying just by mouthing the words seems like a meaningless exercise.
Feelings do not come automatically.  We cannot just turn on the happiness switch towards another person.
So, what do we do when we do not feel happiness or empathy, or when we feel totally uninspired and disinterested? 

                                                Heart follows Action.

We might gain some understanding when reading the Gospels.  When Jesus sent out his disciples to preach that he was the promised Messiah, they knew this wasn’t an easy assignment.   They might have feared for their own lives as well.  They did this because the Master told them.  But also, they were motivated because Jesus taught them love, even toward those who might have killed them.  Their heart followed their actions.   Mistrust and hatred turned to love and understanding.

If you hear of someone in need but feel apathetic, force yourself to ask how you can help.

Actions with effort create strong feelings.  Do a good act and the heart will follow.

                                    Actions speak louder than your heart!

Have you ever worked hard at something you really enjoyed doing?  It might have been difficult work, but you did it with gladness because it was what you desired to do and determined to finish it.

Psalm 100 is a psalm of thanksgiving.  It begins by telling us to “make a joyful noise unto the lord.” And then it says that we should “Serve the Lord with gladness.”
 The Hebrew word for gladness comes from a verb that means “to be glad, or cheerful or merry,” such as we experience at a banquet or party.    

The psalmist is saying that when a person is truly thankful to the Lord, there is a desire to serve Him.  It is what you really want to do, and when you get the opportunity, it makes you glad.  You have a sense of privilege and excitement.  The opportunity to serve the Lord brightens your day.

In Mark Twain’s novel, The Adventure of Tom Sawyer, Tom was whitewashing a fence. It was hard work. But he convinced old Ben that whitewashing the fence was really a privilege.  He got Ben so excited about it that Ben took up the job and did it with gladness.  Tom got to be lazy, but he gave Ben a good feeling!  Meanwhile Tom felt he did a good deed by making Ben feel good.

In like fashion, the Psalmist challenges us to “Serve the Lord with gladness.”  That is a privilege for us.

Do you consider serving the Lord a privilege? If not, what would it take to convince you that serving the Lord really is a privilege?

So how do we serve the Lord?

Be strong and of good courage! We stand in the world to make this a better place and to serve the Lord with gladness. To make our fellow humans happy to be with us.  To make their life easier and more fulfilling.  To share with them how God loves them and wants the best for them. 

It’s not easy.  Life is difficult and fragile.  But the serving others with a gladness of heart makes it all worthwhile!

                                Therefore……serve with gladness! It makes you happy. 

Your phone just rang……….Oh no, it’s her/him again.  Now what?  Always a crisis in their life.  Or perhaps to complain.

You are tempted not to answer.  But your conscience won’t let you.  It is what you need to do but you dread the same old tried complaining.

Honestly, life with other people can be messy.  People annoy us sometimes.  Many times.  We are tempted to snap back.  We might feel justified.  However, God calls us to be gracious, even when we are annoyed. Do we feel justified in our annoyance? Just think of what God puts up with us and our mistakes.  Does He get annoyed? We can’t speak for God. But we know this.  God is love and, in His love, He forgives us.

We love our kids, our family, our spouses, our friends, but they still annoy us.
Why can’t they see things our way?  Why can’t they better themselves?  Why don’t they reciprocate when I do good things for them. They never even say thank you.

Peter encourages us with these words: (1Peter 4:8) “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins” The words “covers” in this verse is an excellent way to describe how God’s grace works in these situations.  When people make annoying mistakes, they’re only human. Humanity has been making mistakes since the Adam and Eve.

  We often can justify what we do ourselves, but we can’t justify what others do. Either to us or just being themselves! .   Here are some helpful hints for those who annoy us.

1.Take a moment to offer a quick prayer for them.  Who knows what lies behind their behavior.  Are they stressed? Are they in pain? Are they simply tired? What lies behind their actions?

2. Choose what they might need from you.  The complaining friend on the phone, just might need a listening ear.  The guy who took your place in line might need to get home quickly; The man on the freeway who cut in front of you got urgent call.  There are many reasons why their actions display a real underlying problem.  Or they might be just rude!

3. They have never felt loved or wanted or needed.  They have no grace in their lives. 
It can be challenging for you to choose grace when you feel annoyed. But the more you do, the easier it becomes, because you know that God will help you and extend a more forgiving spirit through you. So be gracious.

                                                              Annoyed?         No More!