APRIL 9 – Reflections

“And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates” - Deuteronomy 6:6-9

A few weeks ago I heard a commotion going on outside in the street. It was early morning and parents were taking their children to school. To say one mother was irate is an under-statement. It wasn't just the level of anger aimed at the child who was lagging behind and crying that troubled me, but the choice of language the mother was using. It was obvious to all that that was one unhappy home, and what a terrible example to a child; how could that child be expected to grow and respect her mother?

This all came back to mind yesterday as I was reading a book and came across the following:-

Today is here. I will start with a smile and resolve to be agreeable. I will not criticize. I refuse to waste valuable time.

Today has one thing in which I know how I am equal with others – time. All of us draw the same salary in seconds, minutes, hours.

Today I will not waste my time, because the minutes I wasted yesterday are as lost as a vanished thought.

Today I refuse to spend time worrying about what might happen. I am going to spend my time making things happen....

Today I am determined to do things I should do. I firmly determine to stop doing the things I should not do.

Today I begin by doing, and not wasting my time. In one week I will be miles beyond the person I am today.

Today I will not imagine what I would do if things were different. They are not different – I will make success with what material I have.

Today I will stop saying “If I had the time,” for I never will “find time” for anything – if I want it I must make it.

Today I will act toward other people as though this might be my last day on earth. I will not wait for tomorrow. Tomorrow never comes.

Unknown author.

There is one more “Today” I would add to this....

Today I will show my child, in words and actions, the love that God has for them. My example will let them know they are a precious, special gift from God. Nothing will escape my lips that will hurt or demean them, and affect their walk with Jesus.

“But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea” - Matthew 18:6

Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward” -.
Psalm127:3

Today's song is food for thought - “Do They See Jesus in Me?” - sung by Joy Williams.