May 26, 2020

Could we even ask for a better day?  And so many beautiful sunny days in the past week.  I could just sit/play outside all day long.  Today, however, I worked extra hours so I didn’t get home as early as usual.  As is often the case, I spent several hours trying to handle health care and social security issues  for mom.  Navigating the system is often confusing and frequently I just get plain lost!  But, thanks to Snoopy’s thought for the day, I persevered and was able to accomplish more than I expected.  I ate a quick mid-afternoon lunch then went outside.  I was pulling weeds around the rose bushes and have the little nicks and scratches to show for it.  Small price to pay for sunshine and fresh air.  Now it’s time for dinner and either a movie or Colonial Williamsburg TV! 

I took my tablet outside and listened to Greg’s message from Vanderbilt church, entitled BETTER.  He stressed the fact that we are in a better place than we have ever been.  Think about all the advances and improvements and accomplishments we have made as a people, a nation, and as children of God.  We even have a personal priest who saves us completely – we don’t have to keep asking over and over.  The old ways are behind us, a shadow:  The new is reality.  Old ways are law, which we were expected to live by.  The new is grace; we have a person to guide and love and direct us.  The old was flesh, the new is spirit.  We have better access to God through Jesus, who has written his love on our hearts and instilled a moral code within us.  It’s a PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP with Jesus.  It’s not religion or laws or rules.  It’s Jesus; our brother and shepherd and friend. 

On this day in 1805 Lewis and Clark first saw the Rocky Mountains, and in 1941 the American Flag House (Betsy Ross’s home) was given to Philadelphia.  In 1975 Rhinestone Cowboy was released by Glen Campbell and became the Billboard Song of the Year. John Wayne (Marion Mitchell Morrison) was born in 1907, James Arness in 1923, Hank Williams Jr. in 1949, and in 1964 Lenny Kravitz was born.  Actor Eddie Albert died in 2005.  In 1994 Michael Jackson married Lisa Marie Presley (Elvis’ daughter). 

When you are considering your direction and focus this week, be thankful for the personal, singular relationship you have with Jesus – it’s between you and Him.  What a blessing.