I Choose Today to Endure… Author Brian Dickinson [Blind Descent] states, “Life’s journey is marked by both triumphs and falls, yet the righteous are characterized by their resilience.” We are going to fall. We are going to have setbacks. We are going to face adversity. We are going to have doubts. But God… Jesus told us in Matt 6 how to handle adversity while setting ourselves apart from unbelievers by saying, “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭31‬-‭33‬ ‭NLT‬‬ One of the reasons we go through adversity and setbacks is to show the world how God enables us to navigate them; by seeking God first because He is the one who gives us what we need to help us up, propel us forward, and enables us to succeed at overcoming setbacks. When the world sees this played out in our lives, why wouldn’t they want that kind of Father? So, don’t

Habakkuk lived in a time with a lot of challenges where it seemed like God was either not present or not loving. But yet, he chose to rejoice as he sang, “Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will REJOICE in the LORD! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!” Hab. 3:17-18 Even when the circumstances of God’s people seemed dire (and it was), Habakkuk chose to rejoice in the Lord. This takes me to a time when my 5-1/2 month old son died of SIDS. No explanation, no signs, no perceivable reason. Did I ask God why He took my son from our family? Yes! But honestly, if God Himself came down to tell me all the good things He was going to do because of Bobby’s death, it wouldn’t have made sense to me or been a good enough reason in my mind’s eye, my fiercely protective mother’s reasoning. I had to choose, like Habakkuk, to rejoice.

Joyce and I took a trip by train to Washington, D.C. recently. I knew the trip by car would be faster, but since my surgery, we decided to look at alternatives – an airplane, a train or bus. Our grandson, Preston, has used the train and so we thought even though it might be a little longer, we had the time and could be fun. All the reviews were good, but from everything we saw on TV it looked like DC was all protests and fighting. But the TV paints a different picture.  So, on Friday morning we got up early and went to the train station,  showed our tickets, waited in a very nice depot and then got onto a beautiful, clean train. Everyone was so nice. When we arrived at our destination, our niece, Molinda Hern, picked us up at the train station. From there we went our her home in the country and settled in. That evening her husband, Rick, came home from work and we ate dinner together.  On Saturday Rick and Molinda took us into Washington, DC to a couple of museums. We had a great time and after a wonderful  weekend, we took the

…..so that no one can criticize you.” Philippians 3:14-15a Wow! What a challenge. Every day I try to start with the goal of not complaining. But, if I’m not careful, as soon as I get my first cup of coffee, I start in. But Paul says to do everything without complaining and arguing. Why? “So that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.” How can I live like that today? By holding firm to the Word of God, the Bible. So, today is a new day and I choose to do everything without complaining and arguing. Smile, God loves you and so do I! — Larry George