"Trey Tuesday" - January 29, 2019

Money, Time, and Energy (Part 3 of 3)

Energy - the ever elusive commodity in today's fast culture!  How do you find more energy?  Sleep?  Vitamins?  Energy drinks?  Coffee?  Sheer willpower and survival tactics?

Maybe...just maybe God has something else in mind.  As this winter weather closes in around us this week, maybe we can take the opportunity to consider it a blessing and use it for a lesson!  I know, I know - the cold and the wind and the snow and the ice are a HUGE inconvenience, but trust me!  Try this:  Step outside for 1 minute. Right now. That's all, just 1 minute.  Breathe in the cold air.  Listen to the absolute quietness. Capture the unique conditions.  Notice the stillness.  (well, you have to get out there before the whipping winds start!)  :) When you come back inside you will be grateful for your warm home, your comfy carpet - even your crazy, noisy family!

Trey reserved his special, "Taggie" cuddle blanket for when it is was time to rest.  After a brief cuddle on the couch he would quickly be restored to full power!

Give yourself a Time Out this week and reap God's dividend of renewed energy!  :)

"Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him"  Psalm 37:7

"Trey Tuesday" - January 22, 2019

Money, Time, and Energy (part 2 of 3)

How long does good training take?  Depends on the task, right?

Let's put it in perspective this way:

It takes decades to train a child to become a mature adult.....it takes a few years for you to train for your career.  Hey, it even took a few weeks or months (or years!) for you to learn how to use a spoon! :)

Did you realize that Jesus spent less than 2 years training His disciples!?  Everything that they saw and did with Jesus was accomplished in such a short time.  Wow!  What an impact!

We had 6 short years with Trey.  He trained us well in that time!  Actually, even in Trey's death the lessons have continued.  I vividly remember a lesson I learned from watching Bella processing everything in her own special way.  In the immediate days of shock and processing, we had been ushering Joe and Bella along, "protecting/shielding" them from the pain and sadness.  Joe was OK - he needed to process quietly.  We assumed Bella was the same...until one day, she unexpectedly blurted out the news to a family friend.  Bella needed to say the words that her brother had died.  She needed to tell her story herself.

Just yesterday I had the opportunity to share Bella's story with parents of confused, scared, grieving children.  Because of my training with Trey, God can use me in new places!

How has His training prepared you?

“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”  Hebrews 12:11

"Trey Tuesday" - January 15, 2019

Money, Time, and Energy (part 1 of 3)

I'm sure you have realized how expensive everything is these days!  

Let's put it in perspective: (estimated price per gallon)

Energy drink = $30.00/gallon

Brand name shampoo = $35.00/gallon

Cough medicine = $75.00/gallon

Nail polish = $400.00/gallon

Home printer ink = $2,000.00/gallon

In the first of our 3 part lesson, I am in awe of the woman in the Bible story in Mark 14 who spared no expense when it came to her worship of Jesus!  Money was no object of distraction or excuse.  She gave her all!  Even accused of being wasteful, and then enduring shame and ridicule, she loved and honored deeply, richly.  The oil/perfume/ointment the woman poured on Jesus was worth about $50,000.00/gallon, but her devotion to Jesus was priceless!

How can you worship Jesus with your all this week?

"She has done a beautiful thing to me..She has done what she could;" 

Mark 14:6,8 

"Trey Tuesday" - January 8, 2019

Re-Gifting

'Tis the season of clearing out all the gifts bought in error or gifts received but not quite what you expected.  Clearance racks, return lines, store credit...but maybe, juuuuuuust maybe, you even stash those gifts away for another recipient.  wink wink!  :)

Trey was the KING of Re-Gifting!  He gave gifts, ones he had chosen from the hospital treasure chest, to his 21 year old cousins on their birthdays....only to strip the gifts right out of their hands after they opened them - to keep as his own!  (It was OK - Joe and Mike didn't want the Mickey Mouse and Barbie toys anyway!)  LOL!

God is in the business of re-gifting!   He gives His best to us so we can give to others!  How are you doing with that kind of gift recycling?

"And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work."  2 Corinthians 9:8

"Trey Tuesday" - January 1, 2019!

New House?  New Baby?

New job?  New car?  Can you feeeeeel the excitement (and apprehension) of new things?  "Anticipation, I suppose, sometimes exceeds realization."  (New Year trivia: credit for that quote goes to Amelia Earhart....LOTS to ponder there....)

We are celebrating Happy New Year!  The whole year is new!  But really, God makes each day new!  Every day!  Do you anticipate the newness of each day with the same zeal as the new year?

Trey had zeal.  A LOT of zeal.  A new toy.  A new box of waffles or berries.  An old box of waffles or berries!  :)  Each one held excitement and joy in Trey's eyes!

Tomorrow we all return to our typical daily school and work routines.  How can you choose to face this new day in this new year with excitement and anticipation?

"See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland." Isaiah 43:19

"Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."  Revelation 21:5

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" 2 Corinthians 5:17