Three Little Birds

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The sun was beginning to pull back the covers and I was happy to still be under mine.  No children were moving or calling my name.  Silence.  Enough silence so I could hear the birds singing.  Loudly.  The number of singers and their ability to belt various tunes amazed me.  Then a familiar tune began to play in my mind. 

Don’t worry 'bout a thing, 'cause every little thing gonna be all right. 

Bob Marley. Three Little Birds. 

Yes, in the stillness of early morning dawn I want to join the birds in their carefree, worry free melodies.  Then another verse plays…

Look at the birds in the air.  They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, but your heavenly father feeds them.  And you know that you are worth much more than the birds.  You can’t add any time to your life by worrying about it.

Jesus.  Matthew 6:26-27

Yes, three little birds you are welcome to sit on my doorstep and sing to me, to encourage me to not worry.  Yes, remind me every little thing is gonna be all right.  Worrying doesn’t add anything to my life.  Worry only steals time.

Birds singing, open windows, and Bob Marley evoke images of summer and for kids and teachers (me!) summer equals carefree. Oh I’m counting down the days until the last bell rings and I am free from the daily school grind. But I don’t have to wait until summer to be without cares and in reality summer brings me different concerns.  I can choose to be carefree today.  The birds, Bob Marley, and Jesus remind me of this truth as I lie still under the covers.  Before the sun fully wakes and my feet hit the floor running, running for my coffee cup, I can give all my worries and cares to God, for he cares for me (1 Peter 5:7).

May I encourage you on these rare mornings when all is silent in the house to pause and listen to the birds?  They have a message for you: don’t worry about a thing give all your cares to God and He will make every little thing all right because he cares for you and you are worth more than the birds.

John Is Faster

Sometimes the Bible makes me laugh. 

Just the other day I was reading about Mary Magdalene, the woman with so much scandal surrounding her life, and yet I find nothing scandalous about her in the Bible.   I was reading the account of when she went to Jesus’ tomb early in the morning to prepare his body for a proper burial.  How awesome that Mary and the other women would wake up before dawn to tend to Jesus.  But I wonder, how did they think they were going to move the massive stone sealing the tomb?  Had they thought about this detail before heading out?  I imagine they had since that is what women do, they think of details and what ifs and how-tos.  Well, they didn’t have to worry about rolling the big old rock out of the way when they arrived because it was already done for them.  Upon this discovery of the empty tomb, Mary ran to Peter and John to tell them of the empty tomb and Jesus’ missing body.

And then I read this:

So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. John 20:3-4

Really, John, the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, felt it was necessary to include in his account of the empty tomb that he outran Peter?  To point out he was the first to arrive at the tomb.  It makes me chuckle thinking of all the reasons why this detail was included.  Was John proud of his speed?  Were he and Peter the competitive types?  Had they raced each other before?  Or was it just a matter of fact, since John was probably younger than Peter, he would be quicker.

Then I laugh again.  Because after reading that Peter went into the tomb to find the cloths that once wrapped around Jesus body folded neatly, I see this:

Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside.  John 20: 8

He mentioned it again!  He was the first to reach the tomb.  As if this fact should be added to his title, John, the one who Jesus loved, the one who beat Peter to the empty tomb. 

In 2 Timothy 3:16 we learn, every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another—showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God’s way (The Message).  So these two verses are included in the book of John because God wanted them there for us to read thousands of years later.  Why?  I have no idea.  But they do make me smile.  These details also help me to see Peter and John as real people, like you and me, not just characters in a book.  Real people who when retelling an old story will nudge each other in the side with an elbow and John would say remember the time I beat you to the tomb.  Then Peter would nudge right back and say you may have beaten me, but who entered first. And both would laugh full of joy because their Savior, who loves them and unites them, lives.

May you find as you read God’s word a reason to smile and maybe even laugh.  

Think On The Good Stuff

While driving home from work I often think about my day.  Unfortunately, I think of all the events and moments that have irritated me or even made me angry.  By the time I arrive home I’m riled up and not in the most cheerful mood.  Jamey is the fortunate one to hear every detail of my day.  He gets to listen to all my frustrations and complaints with a light sprinkling of funny or positive anecdotes.  I doubt he looks forward to this time of day. 

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable –if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things. " Philippians 4:8

Wow, what would my drive home be like if I followed Paul’s advice?  How much more excited would Jamey be for me to arrive home and hear all the great things the Lord did that day?  Why do I replay all negative, frustrating moments of the day?  Because I forget Paul’s advice?  Because I forget the battles belong to the Lord?  Because I forget the enemy came to steal, kill and destroy and he wants to steal my joy and peace?  What if I thought on praiseworthy things?  Maybe, then I would rejoice in the Lord always (Phil 4: 4).  So, I must be disciplined; training myself to be Godly (1 Timothy 4: 8).

For today, with the Lord's help, I will continue my training to think on the good and not the bad and when there seems to be nothing positive happening in my day I will think about Jesus and the sacrifice He made so that I may have life eternal and life abundant.  I will rejoice.