I have long believed that when someone does something positive, whether it benefits me or not, to say thank you. It used to be one of the first phrases that adults taught those who were beginning to speak. What do you say, “Thank you.”

So, if the turkey is too dry, the cranberry sauce is whole berries instead of jellied, you don’t like peas, the potato pie is too sweet, or the tea is not as sweet as you are used too, and your favorite dish is not on the menu, try to remember those who are less fortunate.

Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God. The fact that it is God’s wilI for us to be thankful, empowers us to be able to do so (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

My Pastor, The Rev. Dr. William E. Flippin Sr., of The Greater Piney Grove Baptist Church, Atlanta, GA, often says that your circle of friends and acquaintances are not complete if you do not have a mentor, or some grey-haired persons as a part of it. I am paraphrasing.

On the other hand, I say, if your circle of friends and acquaintances are composed of nothing but grey-haired souls, you could be missing out on the rich exchange that can take place in an interrelated relationship with young souls. Some of my greatest lessons learned have been from those much younger than myself. Especially sixth grade, exceptional, students.

As a wise judge, Solomon remarks on the importance of “due diligence.” A person needs to hear both sides of a case before rendering a decision. Many claims and accusations seem plausible until scrutinized.  The Book of Proverbs tells us that “The first person to present his case seems right, until another comes and examines him.”

Daily life is full of examples proving the wisdom of this proverb. Friends, neighbors, or co-workers might make accusations against each other, telling only one side of the story. But a person needs to hear from others involved, or at least learn all the relevant facts, before attempting to declare who is telling the truth.

As an Exceptional Education Teacher, I often had a different opinion than my students. Sometimes it over flowed to the parents. I learned from an experienced Science teacher, when that happened it behooved me to tell my side first. It may have temporarily stopped the teaching process for a few moments but the results were almost, always positive.

Solomon demonstrated a creative method of seeking more information. He showed strange judgement in the case of two women, each claiming to be the mother of the same child. Solomon suggested the baby be cut in half, with half given to each woman. The real mother strongly objected, while the other was willing to make the sacrifice.

Females are noted for making incredible sacrifices that others might not understand or agree with. I am a living witness.

We may not bow to some of the gods that the Apostle Paul talked about in the New Testament, but everyone worships something or someone. Greed and power seems to have the largest following. Novelist David Foster Wallace goes on to say that society is no less religious. “Everybody worships”.

He warns that, “If you worship money and things…then you will never have enough…worship your body and beauty…and you will feel ugly…worship your intellect …[and} you will end up feeling stupid. Our secular age has its own gods, and they are not benign.” This brings us to the question, whether prayer should be allowed in schools.

Fifty years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court removed government-endorsed prayer from public schools, ruling the practice unconstitutional. The decision remains at the center of debate over the separation of church and state, and altered the way classrooms approached faith and religion.

In the 1963 Murray v. Curlett case, the Supreme Court expanded on their 1962 decision to ban mandatory Bible readings in schools, thus finishing the government’s drive to remove the Christian faith from the nation’s education system. What if you were not a Christian. What about unbelievers?

No doubt it was a hot topic during the time and still is. Those who say that prayer should be allowed are thinking that they can some how taylor it to there liking. It is difficult for members of one faith to decide how it should be taught.  

The bible even speaks about this over 2,000 years ago. Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious.

For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So, you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.

In Matthew 6:5-7, Jesus taught, “When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others…but when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your father who is unseen.

Then your father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

Many of us are carrying invisible scars that others can’t see or understand. We are not deliberatly hiding them, we are unaware. Many laymen and experts say that children are the most resilient. Perhaps they are to a certain degree. More and more we are finding that it is not true. They do not stay children. Coping is not the same as healing.

Coping mechanisms may work temporarily, but coping is not a long-term solution. Healing on the other hand, means making long-term changes that allow us to thrive, rather than just barely survive. Unhealthy coping mechanisms involve behaviors that provide short-term relief but may exacerbate distress in the long run.

Examples of coping strategies are avoidance, seeking social support, drug and alcohol abuse, journaling, making to-do-list, procrastination, meditation, taking a break, and self-isolation. Substance abuse, avoidance, self-harm, and negative self-talk are among the most common examples of unhelpful coping strategies (Klonsky, 2007; Skinner et al. 2003).

In Psalm 6, David wrote of his own deep struggle. While the bible does not share the cause of his suffering, many of us can relate to his pain.  More importantly he admits that we cannot solve all of our problems ourselves and we need to reach out to an expert. In David’s case, he reached out to God.

David was in agony and deep anguish. He was worn out from groaning, and his bed was drenched with tears. In the midst of his overwhelming suffering, he cried out to God. Honestly pouring out his heart, he prayed for healing, rescue, and mercy.

He was even bold enough to ask how long. Perhaps he remembered that God said that he would never leave us or forsake us. But he also remembered in God’s timing, not David’s. Even devoted Christians get angry with God’s timing and make the mistake of walking away.

In Psalms 23 David praises God and extols His nurturing care in the midst of trials: “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me.”  

Sometimes what we see is not necessarily what happened. What do you mean? You are in a hurry, not paying attention and you do not hold the door open for the person behind. You realize what happened, you stop, go back and apologize. The person calls you a name and says you should have been paying attention, with no give.

When we learn better, we are expected to do better. Many times I have heard the saying, “You know my heart” used just before we give our unabridged opinion to someone. This is used as a “get out of jail” ploy if you will. Rarely are we aware of another’s heart. We do not have the capacity to do so. After 52 years of marriage, we still miss read each other’s intentions.

It is hurtful because you tried to make it right. It does not feel good to be misunderstood or misjudged. And the closer we are to those we offend or those who offend us, the more painful it is. You might expect them to know your heart, but it was not captured.

We as humans will always make mistakes no matter how hard we try to do otherwise. Our “get out of jail card” has to always be in how we give others the benefit of the doubt. Tempering our words with kindness, thinking before we speak, and not being so ridged in our determinations to keep count.

The Bible agrees that God knows your heart. God said to Samuel that He sees not as man sees: “Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).

“He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteous he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.

Jeremiah said this of the human heart:” The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jer.17:9).

Jesus said, “But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person” (Matt, 15:18-20).

That said, are we to give up on humankind? No, because he has not, and will not give up on us.

Have you ever made a decision that you regretted almost immediately after you had done it? In 2002 I purchased a new red Ford Ranger (I wanted black), it had two doors (I wanted four), it had a single cd player (I wanted a combination cassette/cd player), and it had clear back door windows (I wanted tinted ones).

In the interim I had transportation to independently attend classes without inconveniencing my wife, but that was the only caveat. It was more than I could afford at the time and the feeling that I desired for a new vehicle was not there.

One evening as I was sitting on the ramp to the road that I had to get onto, I was hit from behind and pushed into a 22-wheel dump truck. The truck I did not like was totaled. It had less than 3,000 miles on it, and my wife had never ridden in it. No one was injured.

It was a blessing in disguise. Luckily, I had gap insurance that paid it off. I could have been saddled with the rest of the $22,000. Two weeks later I was blessed to find a three-year-old Black Ranger with 40,000 miles, all of the amenities that I wanted, and it was only $7,000 dollars. I was given an extra $400 to replace the missing tailgate.  

Moses made a reckless decision that cost him greatly. His poor choice, however, involved a lack of water. The Israelites were without water in the Desert of Zen, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses” (Numbers 20:2).

God told Moses to speak to a rock and it would “pour out its water” (v8) Instead he “struck the rock twice” (v11). God said, “Because you did not trust in me…, you will not [enter the promised land]: (v12).  

When we make reckless decisions, we pay the price. “Desire without knowledge is not good—how many more will hasty feet miss the way!” (Proverbs 19.2).  

Some Experts say the human brain spends much of its time wandering, whether it be while working or performing routine tasks like running errands. Mind wandering occurs when a person is thinking about something other than the task, such as past events or things in the future. Printed on August 27, 2022 Mental Health.

The Cambridge Dictionary defines Wandering as walking around slowly in a relaxed way or without any clear purpose or direction. Mind wandering can be filled with negative thoughts, worry and rumination, or it can be filled with positive thoughts. Positive mind-wandering associated with imagination and fantasy are essential elements of a healthy, satisfying mental life.

The thought of not having to go to work anymore might be tempting but boredom can often follow close behind. Some retirees feel lost, unsure of who they are or what they should be spending their time on. These feelings can lead to inactivity, increased alcohol consumption and depression. Aim to see retirement not as the end of something, but as the start of something new.   

When I was a youth, the elders made sure you stayed busy. Had they said that it came from the Bible, it might have had more validity. “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop; idle lips are his mouthpiece. An evil man/woman sow’s strife; gossip separates the best of friends. Wickedness loves. (Proverbs 16:27-29)

This should be the antidote to hopeless wandering, “Because our hearts, our minds, guide and direct everything we do, and if we do, and if we do not guard and protect them from the ungodly ideas, beliefs, and entertainments, they can cause our spiritual downfall” (Proverbs 4:23-27).    

Experts say follower’s motivations fall into two categories—rational and irrational. The rational ones are conscious and therefore well-known. They have to do with our hopes of gaining money, status, power, or some other intrinsic desires. Many would call this the norm.

Many times, it is the irrational motivations that lie outside the realm of our awareness and, therefore, beyond our ability to control them are what we are seeing now.  For the most part, these motivations arise from the powerful images and emotions in our unconscious that we project onto our relationships with leaders.

After practicing psychoanalysis for a number of years, Freud was puzzled to find that his patients—who were, in a sense, his followers—kept falling in love with him. Although most of his patients were women, the same thing happened with his male patients.

Freud finally realized that his patients’ idealization of him couldn’t be traced to his own personal qualities. Instead, he concluded, people were relating to him as if he were some important persons from their past—sometimes a parent.

Freud called it the dynamic “transference.” Even today, identifying and dissolving transferences are the principal goals of psychoanalysis. But as important as it is, the concept remains little understood outside clinical psychoanalysis.

Jesus says “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny him/her self and follow Me” (Luke 9:23).” His path was one of self-denial and suffering. But to be His effective disciples, we too are invited to put aside selfish desires and pick up spiritual burdens daily serving others first instead of ourselves.

The phrase comes from a phenomenon that became fairly common during the First World War. Soldiers sometimes shot themselves in the foot in order to be sent to the hospital tent rather than being sent into battle. I even heard of people doing other self-harming things to avoid going into the military.

To do something without intending to which spoils a situation for yourself. To hurt inadvertently oneself or one’s interests or chances for success. This colloquial term alludes to an accidental shooting as opposed to a deliberate one.

Dr. Steven Stosny, Ph.D. says we shoot ourselves in the foot again and again. If it feels like you make the same mistakes over and over, you are not alone. Everyone on Earth is capable of repeating the same mistakes again and again.

We can repeatedly shoot ourselves in the foot for one simple reason. Under stress we tend to retreat to habits of emotion regulation formed as far back as toddlerhood. Our thought processes become self-obsessed and our feelings veer toward the volatile, if not a full-blown rollercoaster. Let it go.

Sometimes we can figuratively shoot ourselves in the foot with misguided ambition. We speak too quickly when we should be listening. Or we take on a cause that is not necessarily our own but we are trying to help someone we view as an “underdog”. A simple fix, stop talking, close your mouth.

” James and John, two of Jesus’s disciples, knew what it meant to ambitiously seek something great, but for the wrong reasons. They replied, “let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory” (Mark 10:37). Jesus replied, “Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 19:28), so it is easy to see why they made this request.

The problem, they were selfishly seeking their own lofty position and power in Jesus’ glory. Jesus told them, you do not know what you are asking. Jesus said, “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?” They could not.

When you know better, do better. The Apostle Paul said, “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you” (Romans 12:3). Be blessed.