Have you ever noticed that the healthy foods are more expensive than the not-so-healthy choices? You can buy a bag of cheese curls, full of sodium and fat for .88, but a bag of baked Cheetos are $3.00! A few pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables will cost you all the donuts in the store! Try to buy sugar alternatives for baking and you’ll almost need a loan from the bank. Why is it that if a company takes something bad for you out of their product the price goes up? The truth is, they’re marketing to those that want to eat healthy and are wise enough to make a profit while doing so. The fact is – it will cost you something to do right!

One of my favorite things to think about is heaven. I wonder at its beauty. With the wonders that surround us here in East Tennessee with the majesty of the mountains, even with the curse of sin on them, I think, “How gorgeous heaven must be!”

I also wonder what it will be like to be in the presence of God, and to meet our Savior and worship in His very presence. Will we ever get over that? No! But we won’t have to, for we will be there for eternity.

I think about sharing that span of time with fellow-believers. No one will be flicking the lights at us indicating that they’re ready to go home. We will fellowship and praise our God together endlessly.

I rejoice when I think that there will be so more separations. This morning we learned of the home going of a Christian woman who had suffered with cancer for quite some time. We saw her husband in town last week and he knew her days on this earth were short. His heart was anchored in Christ, but the hurt was there in his eyes; the kind of emptiness that comes with letting go of one you have shared your life and ministry with. Hang on, brother, there will be a grand reunion some day! I’m looking forward to that family reunion too…no wonder the Lord will wipe the tears from our eyes.

Because I get migraines I also am reminded each time I have one that there will be no suffering in heaven. No need for dim lights, hushed voices and medications. We’ll have new bodies that won’t be sick. Those new bodies will be a blessing won’t they? I heard a woman say she’s asking the Lord for a size six! I doubt we’ll be obsessed with all that like we are now, but I know that whatever size we are, it will be perfect! That new body won’t have a sinful nature either – that’s the most difficult “illness” we all deal with! There won’t be the struggle to do right, praise His name.

This life here and now is not all there is and we need to remind ourselves of that. Eternity needs to be kept in view. Heaven will be wonderful. Meet me there!

With each new day comes decisions that need to be made. They might be significant, they may be small, but how do we choose? From how we should spend our time today or how to train the children to making a big purchase like a car or house, we need wisdom to make the right choice.

Let’s turn to our Savior to see how He made choices. In Luke 6:12 we read that Jesus went out into a mountain to pray, and continued there all night in prayer to God. The next verse says, “When it was day, he called unto him his disciples; and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles.” Do you suppose that He sought God’s will in the choosing of these men? Were their names mentioned as Jesus prayed all through the night? I firmly believe so. Jesus prayed all night, and I feel good about spending 30 minutes in prayer!

Abraham Lincoln said, “I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom, and that of all about me seemed insufficient for the day.” As women it would behoove us to seek more earnestly the Lord’s face throughout the day for the decisions that lie before us. Just as Christ sought God’s will in the choosing of the twelve and Abraham Lincoln needed God’s wisdom to run this country – we surely need the Lord’s wisdom to run our home, do our job, or make a right decision. John Bunyon said, “He who runs from God in the morning will scarcely find Him the rest of the day.” Prayer is the best way to start the day. If you didn’t begin that way today, stop now and give Him your hours and the decisions that are before you. Watch then what He can do, rather than what you cannot do.

Today is my parents’ 54th wedding anniversary! I honor them and pray my marriage will follow the longevity theirs has. How I thank the Lord for a happy home to grow up in; a home where I knew my parents loved eachother, and where divorce was never considered an option. Every marriage has its trials and struggles, and I know my parents’ marriage is no different, but they were committed to eachother and to the vow they made on their wedding day.

I remember when their home became the empty nest. All in one weekend my twin sister got married, and I moved to South Carolina to work in a Christian school. For the first couple of days after our departures my mom tells of being sad, and then she looked around her and said, “Hey, you know, this is kind of nice!” She didn’t have the responsibilities she’d had, she had more free time and also time with our dad. Her advice to us over the years has been to enjoy each stage of life. She’s always found something special about that particular time that she could revel in. My parents have made many special memories taking day trips, having special meals prepared and served by the fire or out in their sunroom, enjoying doing little things together – yard work, quilting (Dad does the engineer work, Mom sews!), or taking a drive.

There’s something to be said for just learning to enjoy the journey of marriage; enjoying each day together. When someone recently commented to my husband about our upcoming “empty nest” another man piped up and said, “My wife and I chose to call it “The Love Nest.” Hmmmm, sounds pretty good! You know how it gets that way? A couple has to feather that nest all through the years. While their children are growing up they have to make deposits into the marriage by spending time together, talking, sharing, dreaming, and then one day you wake up and it’s nesting time!

Whether you’ve been married two years or fifty-four, keep feathering that love nest. Make it so comfortable that you and your spouse will treasure every minute together!

I woke up this morning feeling much a part of the DCC (Discouraged Christian’s Club). In truth I wanted to pull the covers over my head when the alarm went off and let the day go on without me. I’d gone to sleep with discouragement as my stony pillow. I did shrug off the desire to stay in bed and got up to ready myself for the day.

As I worked through the morning the Lord has also allowed me to work through the discouragement. I thought about my God. I am reminded that He cares for me. (I Peter 5:7) I remember that “Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.” (Psalm 60:12) I already have victory because of the cross of my Savior. It is God that worketh in me both to will and to do of His good pleasure. (Phil. 2:13) He can give me new strength today to live for Him and to stand for what is right. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds. (II Corinthians 10:4)

I have also given some consideration to my enemy and what he is like. He hates me and doesn’t want me to succeed in my Christian life. His tools are deceit, lies, hatred, and death in relationships, fruitfulness and spiritual growth. Satan would love it if I would do what my flesh wants to do this morning – hang it up! Quit! He uses the things that are closest to my heart to move me to a place where I would be useless to the Lord today.

However, by God’s grace I am not quitting. I stand with Joshua and Caleb facing the giants of the land armed with the promises of God’s Word. I’m smart enough to see that during a week of revival meetings the devil would love to cause trouble, and what a good place to start – in the pastor’s home! At a time when some good decisions have been made in the hearts of our family I realize that my enemy is lurking, prowling, and hungry being the roaring lion that he is likened to in Scripture. I’ve found myself singing the song I taught my girls when they were little:

That old devil is a sly old fox,
If I could catch him I’d put him in a box,
Lock the lid and throw away the key,
For all those tricks he’s played on me!

Thank the Lord for the victory we have in Christ. If discouragement is breathing down your neck or lurking in the back door of your house today, be encouraged – Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world. (I John 4:4)