Christmas is a time of "miracles". There are innumerable accounts of amazing things happening at this time of the year. I'm not going to mock God by saying that he "turns up the power" during the holiday season. As the Bible says God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
The reason His blessings are noted more at Christmas is because people are paying more attention to Him. It's a more "spiritual" time of the year. People are more romantic at Christmas. That's when God and His blessings suddenly become visible and are romanticized for human purposes. Ironically the acknowledgement of God at this time of year is really sin of denial of his ultimate and constant power.
I want to relate to you the story of a small but genuine blessing God bestowed upon my sister, Shari, and my niece, Teejai, while shopping this holiday weekend. The details may not be completely accurate (I'm telling this second hand as it was told to me) but they are relative to the story's wonderful ending.
Teejai is 12 years old and a middle school student. This past weekend Shari took her shopping for a dress to wear to an upcoming school dance called "The Snow Ball."Anyone who has ever had a preteen or teenage daughter can probably identify with this situation. This expense is not one a parent normally anticipates at this time of the year.
Shari wanted the experience to be a pleasant one. But a limited budget and potential differing opinion's of the "right dress" threatened to make it otherwise. With only $30 to spend my sister feared the task would be a down right disaster. She cast her worries up to God in the form of a small prayer as they went into the first of ,potentially, many stores.
The mother-daughter team searched for a dress they both liked and found one rather quickly. It was $34. A little over budget but Shari had a 15% off coupon. That would make a difference.
However the style of the dress required an over-the-shoulder shrug. They found one for $12. If necessary, Shari could spend a little more than she initially wanted to. In addition to the dress, shoes were needed. A $19 pair was found on sale for $14.99. The ensemble needed an accent necklace which was $6. It was the perfect accessory.
As they headed to the checkout counter Shari did some calculations in her head. Their purchase would add up to more than double the original budget. Despite the hope of the 15% off coupon Shari would be spending more than she had anticipated. She didn't mind. She wanted Teejai look nice to go to the dance; but wasn't sure where the extra money to cover the cost was going to come from. We've all been there.
As the store clerk scanned their items, Shari again said a little prayer to The Lord as she gave the girl the coupon. The cashier spent, what seemed to be, an eternity looking over the coupon carefully. A fear of being told she couldn't use the coupon gripped Shari's mind. She just knew she was going to have to pay full price for everything; more than double her budget.
When the register total button was pushed the clerk announced that their total was $29 and some change. It was UNDER $30. How could that be? My sister questioned the total and the clerk told her that in addition to the 15% off with the coupon all items in the store were on sale; 40% off. That was an additional 40% off.
"Mom are you all right?" Teejai asked as she saw Shari's eyes well up with tears. Shari paid the bill realizing that God had given her her first blessing of the Christmas season. Worried about it from the start, for my sister, it turned out to be a shopping trip she will never forget.
I called my sister and asked her if I could post this shopping trip story and she told me "Yes". She said it was an awesome experience and "shows that God is involved every detail of our lives; even the small things.".
Jesus said in Matthew chapter 10 that God know the details of our lives down to the number of hairs on our heads. In Psalms 139:3 David directs his writings toward God: "You scrutinize my path and my lying down, and are intimately acquainted with all my ways." God knows us and loves us so much that he pays attention to our every detail of our lives.
This shopping story is typical of the way God blesses His children in everyday life. As Romans 8:28 assures us: And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. That's a frequently quoted verse but its familiarity doesn't effect it's degree of truth.
The shopping trip may not have been a life changing event but it did reflect and help make God's love real in the lives of my sister and my niece.
I pray that you will begin to pay more attention to and give thanks with a grateful heart the everyday blessing God brings to your life no matter the size. My goal is to do this a lot more myself; not only during the Christmas season but every day of the up coming year.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
A Productive Friday
With today being "Black Friday" I was one of those who chose not to fight the crowds in search of a bargin. I didn't even get up early. For the first time since I can remember I slept past 7AM this morning.
At 11 o'clock I put on my sneakers and walked my dog, Angel, to her appointment at the vet's office. She wasn't sick just had to get a check up and get her nails cut.
It was the first time since I've been walking the dogs that it was just her and me. It was a fun time.
The main thing I wanted to find out at the vet was how much Angel weighs now. I got her to sit on the scale and was very happy with the results. She now weights 54 pounds. She's lost 3 pounds since her last visit in September. She's lost a total of 13 pounds since I started taking her to the vet here in town.
That means she's lost 19.4% of her body weight over the last 18 months. That's equal to me losing 45 pounds. Dr. Thomas told me that when he first came into the examination room he wasn't sure she was the same dog because she looked so different. He gave both Angel and me "a gold star" .
When got back home from the vet I saw my wife outside cleaning out the flowerbeds. She wants them to be clean and looking nice so we can put up our outside Christmas decorations and lights in a couple of days. She worked off and on from noon until about 4:30 when it got dark. She got most of the job done. She put in a great day's work filling almost half a dozen large trash bags with weeds, trimmings and leaves.
We then went out to our storage barn and got some of the outside Christmas decorations. Paula wants to put them up tomorrow while I'm at work. She's really in the decorating spirit.
I spent the rest of the afternoon working on my CD copying project (more about that in a future post), paying the last of the bills for November, and cleaning out and organizing the closet where I keep all my vent stuff.
We also rearranged our temporary television set up. We have our bedroom TV in the living room because the big screen Samsung needs repairs. A repairman isn't coming until next Thursday. We moved the temp TV from the back left corner of the living room so we can put up the Christmas tree. We also moved the bedroom DVD to the living room so we can begin the 2009 Ron Havens' Holiday Film Festival. I'll explain that in tomorrow's post. We spent the rest of the evening watching Christmas specials on DVD
Today was the last day of my end-of-the-year vacation from work. Over the last 9 days I've only had to work one. Tomorrow I start back to my regular schedule with Thursday & Fridays off. That won't too bad because of how the holidays fall.
I also have 5 more vacation days to take in the month of December. I have 2 of them approved and have requested the other 3. If I don't use them I'll lose them. That's not going to happen if I can help it.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Unique Thanks
Today is the day the United States celebrates a day of Thanksgiving. Most Americans celebrate by eating a tremendous amount of food and spending time with family. A lot watch football. At one point or another voluntarily, or under the "we're not going to eat until everyone says what they're thankful for" pressure at the dinner table, today a major portion of Americans will express that for which they give thanks.
There is the usual list of things most commonly mentioned such as: family, friends, living in a country where we have so much freedom, having a job, ect.
While all of these things are important and are not diminished at all by the fact that they are most commonly mentioned when giving thanks. This year is different for me. In addition to the "common" list, I'm thankful for a few things that most people wouldn't mention.
I'm thankful for God's conviction through His word. Over the past year, through reading scripture and listening to bible based expository preaching, God has worked in my life and my heart has been changed. I have grown to where I can see God's perspective. I have learned that, as His child, it is my responsibility to obey what God tells me to do. I have learned that changing from my ways to God's ways is both an evidence of true faith in Christ and a process at the same time. The process which at most times is not easy or comfortable. But that's okay. I've come to a place in my life where being uncomfortable isn't necessarily a synonymous with being discontent.
I understand that if I am in a place where I'm not content its because The Holy Spirit is trying to move me to a place where I need to be. He is working on me; moving away me from sin and closer to God and His Holiness. My response to the Spirit's work in my life usually requires work on my part as well as a focused effort to change. That's not a problem for me any more though. I don't mind being on the spiritual "hot seat." As a matter of fact it's the only place I want to be. It means God and I are working together on my life. That's the part about which I am really thankful.
I am thankful that Love isn't always easy or convenient. It's a matter of self denial for the sake of taking on the attributes of God. When people in our lives who are not very easy to love that's when you have to look at them through the eyes of Loving God.
1st Corinthians 14, the "Love Chapter" of the Bible states that Love never seeks its own way. That's God's kind of love. As a man with a natural sinful nature the kind of love I am capable of on my own is a selfish kind of love. When people in our lives require more than that convenient commitment is when we either reject them or start loving them the way God does.
Of course, there are times when it is difficult and inconvenient for people in my life to show me love as well. At those times they don't have to show me the kind of unconditional love that God shows me. But I am thankful when they do.
I'm thankful for work and discipline. I've come to realize that as evidenced in His Word, God has ordained work as a good thing. There are several places in the Bible where God chastises the lazy man or a "man of sloth". Doing something is so much better than nothing. That's just the opposite of the attitude in today's world.
I have recently gained the perspective that my life is about accomplishing the work God wants me to do. Life is not about striving to be able to sit around and watch TV or otherwise be entertained. It's about doing what's important according to God's will for your life. That's where the blessing and sense of accomplishment is. I'm not saying that leisure time is not allowed. Just that it shouldn't be a goal obtained at the expense of neglecting the responsibility of work that is given to everyone by God. This is especially true for a Christian.
It's very easy to lend yourself to an attitude of "I deserve to do nothing". To keep yourself aimed toward accomplishing the work God commands us to do takes discipline. The daily practice of doing what "should" be done verses what we want to do it a difficult one to establish in one's life. It takes a consistent mindset of seeing the "big picture"; knowing what is your life is about and pushing yourself to do it; especially when you'd rather do something else. Again it comes from being able to see God's perspective and not just yours.
I've learned to do that to a degree. I'm not perfectly disciplined in my life; not by a long shot. But I am thankful that God has given me His perspective in a lot of areas of my life. He has shown me that doing the "work" reaps the "harvest". That's a lesson that hasn't been easy to teach me. But I am thankful He has at least put me on the path to that realization.
So those are the things I am thankful to God for on this national day of Thanksgiving. My prayer is that you and your family have a wonderful and blessed holiday as you gather together today. I look forward to the next 4 weeks as I once again get the opportunity to celebrate the birth of my savior, Jesus Christ, and enjoy the most wonderful time of the year, Christmas.
There is the usual list of things most commonly mentioned such as: family, friends, living in a country where we have so much freedom, having a job, ect.
While all of these things are important and are not diminished at all by the fact that they are most commonly mentioned when giving thanks. This year is different for me. In addition to the "common" list, I'm thankful for a few things that most people wouldn't mention.
I'm thankful for God's conviction through His word. Over the past year, through reading scripture and listening to bible based expository preaching, God has worked in my life and my heart has been changed. I have grown to where I can see God's perspective. I have learned that, as His child, it is my responsibility to obey what God tells me to do. I have learned that changing from my ways to God's ways is both an evidence of true faith in Christ and a process at the same time. The process which at most times is not easy or comfortable. But that's okay. I've come to a place in my life where being uncomfortable isn't necessarily a synonymous with being discontent.
I understand that if I am in a place where I'm not content its because The Holy Spirit is trying to move me to a place where I need to be. He is working on me; moving away me from sin and closer to God and His Holiness. My response to the Spirit's work in my life usually requires work on my part as well as a focused effort to change. That's not a problem for me any more though. I don't mind being on the spiritual "hot seat." As a matter of fact it's the only place I want to be. It means God and I are working together on my life. That's the part about which I am really thankful.
I am thankful that Love isn't always easy or convenient. It's a matter of self denial for the sake of taking on the attributes of God. When people in our lives who are not very easy to love that's when you have to look at them through the eyes of Loving God.
1st Corinthians 14, the "Love Chapter" of the Bible states that Love never seeks its own way. That's God's kind of love. As a man with a natural sinful nature the kind of love I am capable of on my own is a selfish kind of love. When people in our lives require more than that convenient commitment is when we either reject them or start loving them the way God does.
Of course, there are times when it is difficult and inconvenient for people in my life to show me love as well. At those times they don't have to show me the kind of unconditional love that God shows me. But I am thankful when they do.
I'm thankful for work and discipline. I've come to realize that as evidenced in His Word, God has ordained work as a good thing. There are several places in the Bible where God chastises the lazy man or a "man of sloth". Doing something is so much better than nothing. That's just the opposite of the attitude in today's world.
I have recently gained the perspective that my life is about accomplishing the work God wants me to do. Life is not about striving to be able to sit around and watch TV or otherwise be entertained. It's about doing what's important according to God's will for your life. That's where the blessing and sense of accomplishment is. I'm not saying that leisure time is not allowed. Just that it shouldn't be a goal obtained at the expense of neglecting the responsibility of work that is given to everyone by God. This is especially true for a Christian.
It's very easy to lend yourself to an attitude of "I deserve to do nothing". To keep yourself aimed toward accomplishing the work God commands us to do takes discipline. The daily practice of doing what "should" be done verses what we want to do it a difficult one to establish in one's life. It takes a consistent mindset of seeing the "big picture"; knowing what is your life is about and pushing yourself to do it; especially when you'd rather do something else. Again it comes from being able to see God's perspective and not just yours.
I've learned to do that to a degree. I'm not perfectly disciplined in my life; not by a long shot. But I am thankful that God has given me His perspective in a lot of areas of my life. He has shown me that doing the "work" reaps the "harvest". That's a lesson that hasn't been easy to teach me. But I am thankful He has at least put me on the path to that realization.
So those are the things I am thankful to God for on this national day of Thanksgiving. My prayer is that you and your family have a wonderful and blessed holiday as you gather together today. I look forward to the next 4 weeks as I once again get the opportunity to celebrate the birth of my savior, Jesus Christ, and enjoy the most wonderful time of the year, Christmas.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Proud Of Paula
I'm writing this post as a standing ovation for my wife, Paula. She's reached her own personal weight loss milestone. She is now past the halfway point to her goal weight. It's been less than 6 months since her surgery and she's more than halfway.
What's more impressive is that she has gotten to this point at the time of the year when the demands of her job are at their peak. Her free time to take care of herself is very limited yet she still finds a way. She has worked hard to keep on the right path. Now her efforts have paid off with results. She's turned the corner and is heading home.
But not only does she deserve kudos for her effort to lose weight she's had a indescribable effect on mine as well. I couldn't even begin to start telling you how much she has helped me; especially right after my surgery and when I first began exercising. She's given me all the love, patience and help I've needed to succeed as much as I have. She's the "little" woman behind this "much smaller" man.
So once again a big "way to go" to my wonderful wife Paula. I look forward to reaching my halfway point shortly. Then it's the two of us heading to the finish line together. That's when the real celebration will start.
What's more impressive is that she has gotten to this point at the time of the year when the demands of her job are at their peak. Her free time to take care of herself is very limited yet she still finds a way. She has worked hard to keep on the right path. Now her efforts have paid off with results. She's turned the corner and is heading home.
But not only does she deserve kudos for her effort to lose weight she's had a indescribable effect on mine as well. I couldn't even begin to start telling you how much she has helped me; especially right after my surgery and when I first began exercising. She's given me all the love, patience and help I've needed to succeed as much as I have. She's the "little" woman behind this "much smaller" man.
So once again a big "way to go" to my wonderful wife Paula. I look forward to reaching my halfway point shortly. Then it's the two of us heading to the finish line together. That's when the real celebration will start.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
BREAKING NEWS: Mystery Solved
This is Ron Havens in the RH Factors blog news room with a breaking story. The Samsung cell phone earphone adapter missing since last week has been found. Repeat the adapter has been found.
It has been confirmed that while leaving for church this morning I found the adapter in the flower bed just in front of my house where it has been hidden for these last few days.
In preliminary tests on the adapter using both the wireless FM transmitter and commercially purchased ear buds the adapter showed no lasting effects from its outdoor exposure and works perfectly.
This has been Breaking News from the RH Factors news room. I'm a very happy Ron Havens reporting. Comeback tomorrow for another regularly scheduled RH Factor blog post. For now, good night.
It has been confirmed that while leaving for church this morning I found the adapter in the flower bed just in front of my house where it has been hidden for these last few days.
In preliminary tests on the adapter using both the wireless FM transmitter and commercially purchased ear buds the adapter showed no lasting effects from its outdoor exposure and works perfectly.
This has been Breaking News from the RH Factors news room. I'm a very happy Ron Havens reporting. Comeback tomorrow for another regularly scheduled RH Factor blog post. For now, good night.
Class Ring Reunion
A couple of days ago I wrote about getting an Ernie puppet as a Christmas gift in 1970. Today I'm reminiscing again about another Christmas gift. This one I got for Christmas my sophomore year in high school. It's my Phillipsburg High School Class of 1978 school ring.
Until yesterday I hadn't seen it in about 10 years. Back in 1998 I was still living in Pennsylvania but I wanted to move to Kentucky. Situations and finances dictated that I stay in the Lehigh Valley. To show Paula that I wanted to be and would soon be closer to her I sent her my ring. She kept it on a chain draped over the side of her bedroom mirror until I moved to Kentucky in March of 1999. Our son James used to take it down and wear it all the time. The size 11 class ring was way too big for him but he wore it nonetheless.
Once I was in Kentucky and as other rings (engagement and wedding) became the emblems of our Love the class ring made it's way from the mirror to Paula's jewelry box for safe keeping.
As the years went by and my weight increased I discovered I couldn't wear my class ring any longer. Like the Grinch's heart it was 2 sizes too small.
Yesterday, my wife was doing some pre-holidays house cleaning and discovered my class ring in her jewelry box. She brought it to me and I tried it on. It fit again.
I was so proud that I've lost enough weight and my fingers were small enough to fit the ring that I kept it on. I plan on wearing it for at least a week or two. Wearing it is like looking back in time and toward the future at the same time.
Each year on Thanksgiving day Phillipsburg high school's football team plays it's rival, Easton Area high school, in a "Turkey Day" football game. I always miss being at that game every year. Looking down at my right ring finger and seeing the blue sapphire birthstone and the name of my high school will help me feel closer to home this year.
In addition, while the ring still fits it is just a little snug. That's a reminder to me that I still need to continue to work at losing enough weight so that one day the ring will actually be too big for me.
I'm very happy that I can once again wear my high school class ring. It may seem strange to start wearing it again at age 49 but it makes me smile.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Moving "The Big Weight"
I reached another weight loss milestone on the way to my goal. Today I got to "move the big weight." Let me explain what I mean.
When you go to the doctor or hospital most of the time you are asked to step on a scale. These days most scales are digital but some are still the old fashioned balance scales that's pictured here.
I'm sure you're all familiar with this type of scale.
On the scale there's a little weight at the top. It weights 0 -50 pounds. At the bottom is a bigger, heavier weight. It weighs in 50 pound increments going from 0-300. That's the big weight I'm referring to.
This morning when I stood on my talking digital scale (thankfully it only tells you what you weigh and doesn't comment saying things like "Ouch", "What have you been eating?" or "One at a time, please") and it told me that I weighed under 300 pounds.
For the first time in over 9 years I can say I weigh less than 300 pounds. This means several significant things to me. First, next time I get on a balance scale, probably the next time I go to the gym to swim, I'll be able to get on it and move "the big weight" down a notch.
Second, the weight I've lost after surgery is the most I've ever lost on any single diet.
The third, I'm now at a lower weight than I was at the peak of success of my last weight loss effort with LA Weight Loss. I fell just short of being able to "move the big weight" with that program but that's no longer a problem.
I'm humbled and blessed by the success I've had so far in losing weight. I have now lost a total of 105 pounds since March 20th of this year. That's a significant success but only to a certain degree.
My next milestone is going to be getting to the halfway point of my weight loss goal. I've got about 8 pounds to get there. I'd like to do that before I go back to my surgeon for my 5 month visit. That's on December 10th. If I don't make it then I pray that, with God's help, I'll make it by the Christmas or at the latest by the end of the year.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)