Last week I was speaking with a pediatrician and she was telling me about the #1 reason children go to the ER. Can you guess the reason?
The #1 reason is constipation. Who would have thought? The pain of constipation is so intense many parents think their child’s appendix has ruptured. She said kids are just not getting enough fruits and vegetables in their diets. Admittedly it’s not an easy task, and she acknowledged her own kids take daily fiber gummies.
Everyone who loves Jesus recognizes they should read the Bible…more than they do. We know it’s the primary way God speaks to us. I mean it is called the “Word.” And what do you use in a conversation? Words.
Most followers of Jesus would also admit to feeling guilty for not reading more than they do. It doesn’t help that Apple just rolled out Screen Time which shows you in brilliant color just how little you use the Bible app compared to other apps on your phone. In full transparency, my results showed I read the news way more than I do the Bible app.
Have you ever felt like God has forgotten about you?
Maybe you’ve been praying and asking God to change a situation but nothing has changed…for years. Maybe there is a dream you feel like God has placed in your heart but it is gathering dust.
Has this ever happened to you? You wake up a little later than normal so you’re rushing to get off to work. The morning is filled with back-to-back meetings. You look up and it’s lunch time so you take a moment to grab a cup of coffee and realized you haven’t checked social media today.
While you’re drinking a cup of coffee you scroll through your feed and see what your “friends” have posted. The more you scroll the more you start to feel a general sense of unhappiness.
What wrecks your mornings getting your kids off to school? What causes most of the fights between you and your significant other? What always gets in the way between you and your boss? What keeps you from eating right or exercising? What causes your friendships to drift?
What do these seemingly different scenarios have in common?
Who are your best friends? Who are the people you’re not related to that you love to spend time with?
When was the last time you saw them? I’m serious. See if you can identify how many weeks or months have passed since you’ve last hung out in person.
Have you ever slept in a tent before? If you haven’t slept in a tent before you owe it to yourself and your kids to try it.
Growing up, most of our vacations centered around camping, and in my youngest memories, tent camping. Eventually our family migrated towards a camper. Vacation camping wasn’t a foreign concept to me…but it was to my wife.
Summer is coming to an end. To say such a thing in New York is guaranteed to get more gasps than swearing in public. We spend all year looking forward to summer and now it’s ending.
It’s almost enough to send a person into depression. Summer is absolutely perfect in New York!
On a scale of 1 to 10 how happy are you? What would it take for you to say 10?
Most of us, including myself, have a list. We believe if this was true or that was true then I would be happier…finally.
Do you consider yourself a positive or a negative person? I know, you consider yourself a “realist.” I get it.
But if your spouse or best friend was forced to pick between the two options, which would they choose?
