And that second thought will circulate around a song I heard this morning from Matthew West called Strong Enough.  It’s a catchy little number that reminds of us of these great word from Paul that are found in his letter to the Philippians.

The song reminds us that we don’t have to be strong enough, that our strength comes from the Christ.

Be Strong today – just remember where you power actually is coming from!

 ”Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Yep, I saw that quote Friday afternoon and thought it was perfect for the Buffet.

Make today the best day of the year!

Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. Philippians 4:4 American King James Version

what, it is.. What am I supposed to do. I don’t know.  Oh no.  I ,, I ,, I ..

What do I do?  Where am I supposed to be? This is so stressful.

I don’t have a clue what Panic Day is, but it’s seems like a good time to just remind yourself about where to deposit all of that stress and anxiety.

 ^25-26“If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.

^27-29“Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.

^30-33“If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

³⁴“Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes. Matthew 6:25-34 The Message (MSG)

and this one as well:

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Philippians 4:6

I saw this bumper sticker on a car yesterday.  I wish I was able to take a picture, but since I was following the vehicle, it was hard to get out my camera and drive at the same time.  The sticker said:

My other tractor is my neighbors.

It the end it was just an advertisement for Tractor Supply’s neighbor day, but boy, it sure made me pause for a while, trying to figure out the meaning.

And then it hit me!

Oh, I have my tractor that I take care of and then I take care of my neighbors tractor as well.  Just like it was my own.  Hm.. interesting message– one that sound’s sort of familiar.

The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  Mark 12:31 NLT

4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others Philippians 2:4 NKJ

Are you taking care of your neighbor’s tractor?

I bounced around through lots of words, and last night I debated between two.  However, after lots of thinking, and praying, I have settled on this one word:

Stretch

I think this word not only fits the “buffet your body daily” idea, but also sums up a lot of my goals this year.  It seems so obvious to the physical nature, as I continue to heal my injured knees through increased flexibility via stretching.  But this word also describes so many other things – stretching out to others, stretching my influence in my family, stretching my knowledge at work, stretching my dollars, and most importantly stretching out to my creator.

How about you, what is  your one word for 2012?

It’s just been one of those years – where the business of living life has overcome my ability to prepare for important events that lie ahead.  Or maybe I a just have procrastinated.

Anyway, I am sure you are also finding some last minutes things to scramble for, they may not be as large of scale as the scramble that lies ahead of me. And really some of that hustle is part of the fun of celebrating Christmas. I mean who doesn’t love getting in all that last-minute traffic on Christmas Eve?

But let’s not let that happen to our spirits.  Keep that in the forefront and guard that part of your life with extreme prejudice.

⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 New International Version (NIV)

 ⁹ This is my prayer for you: that your love will grow more and more; that you will have knowledge and understanding with your love;¹⁰ that you will see the difference between good and bad and will choose the good; that you will be pure and without wrong for the coming of Christ; ¹¹ that you will be filled with the good things produced in your life by Christ to bring glory and praise to God.  Philippians 1:9-11 New Century Version (NCV)

I hope that you will be filled today!

Anyway, I have still been thinking about that good old Samaritan and they way he impacted others.  That and a quote I read last week while I was busy doing nothing.

Love is the effort and desire to make someone else everything they were created to be.

To me that is a profound defintion of love, and one that you should stop and think about today.  This defintely would be on the mind of the samaritan as he addressed that dude on the road.  And more importantly can be very broadly applied to all of the relationships that you have.  Just think about that quote and the way you interact with you co workers, children, spouse and enemies!!!

Hm, seems like Philipians 2:

¹ Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, ² then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. ³ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, ⁴ not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

 ^10-14I’m glad in God, far happier than you would ever guess—happy that you’re again showing such strong concern for me. Not that you ever quit praying and thinking about me. You just had no chance to show it. Actually, I don’t have a sense of needing anything personally. I’ve learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I’m just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I’ve found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am. I don’t mean that your help didn’t mean a lot to me—it did. It was a beautiful thing that you came alongside me in my troubles. Philippians 4:10-14 The Message (MSG)

This is an excellent example of Philippians 2, and I think that it’s hard sometimes to find examples of people living that way in our society.  Last week I was teaching some high school kids about the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector from Luke 18, and during that class it was difficult for the kids to describe acts of humility.  The actions of this young man are an example of humility and selflessness in so many ways.

I applaud him and thank him for his example.  I am not so sure I would have stopped when I ran cross country.

 ^1-4If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care— then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand. Philippians 2