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The story is told of a lady who worked as a maid for a rich family. It was Christmas time and all the rich folks got gifts. Gifts included: a new television for one, a car for another, and a Rolex watch for another. Getting such nice gifts should have made them happy, but all they did was gripe, i.e. wrong color or “not exactly what I wanted.”

The maid was troubled by this and finally spoke out. “I can’t believe you can be unhappy with those wonderful gifts.” Pausing, she finally added, “If I just had one hundred dollars, I would be the happiest person in the world.”

The rich man gave her one hundred dollars and said, “Okay, here is $100.”

Of course, the maid was happy. She took the hundred dollars, thanked them, and skipped out of the room. As she got out of sight, she put the money in her pocket and said, “I wish I had said two hundred.”

Now this is just a story, but you have probably seen or done much the same thing. Truthfully, many folks are never satisfied. If we put our house or car up for sale and it sells too quickly, we say, “I probably didn’t ask enough.” If we ask for a raise and get it, we fret that we should have asked for more.

The point of this story is to remind us not to allow ourselves to fall into this trap of thinking. It can and does bring discontentment and unhappiness. When you find yourself in this situation, check your heart. Are you just wishing you had said two hundred?

Most of all, remember Ecclesiastes 5:10. “Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless.”

Contentment is not just a word. It is a skill. Learn it.

Lonnie Davis

Choosing Your Table

Today’s thought is one that I share so that my kids and my kids’ kids might remember it. I call it “Choosing your Table.”

I read the story of one young girl who announced her lofty life ambitions to her family. One by one the family members laughed at her improbable dreams but when she told her grandfather he had true words of wisdom. 

He said, “Life is like a big casino with many different gambling tables. There are $5 tables, $50 tables, and $1,000 tables. If you choose a $5 table and win big you will not do as well as if you win big at a $1,000 table. Your success depends on the table you choose.”

One thing we should take from this is not to be envious of the one who chose a higher stake than you. It was your choice. Always set your dreams high, you cannot reach if you never try. 

As you start your day, you should pray with the Psalmist: 

“May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.” Psalms 20:4

Of course, as you set your dreams and goals you must always remember 1 Corinthians 10:31, “Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

Lonnie Davis

The story is told of one man who was called to bail his son out of jail. As he left for the jail, a nosey neighbor said, “If he were my kid, I’d leave him in jail.” The father answered, “If he were your kid, I’d leave him in jail too.”

One of the curses of being the oldest child is having kids before your siblings and listening to them tell you how to raise your child. You hear famous words like, “When I have kids, they will not…” One of the joys of being the oldest child is watching your younger siblings have children and seeing those children do exactly what their parents said they would never do. It is easier to discipline and control other people’s children better than you can your own.

To understand the principle behind this, one must read 1 Peter 4:8, “Love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins. To be able to look past others’ faults, love them deeply. ”My kid’s sins are not as bad as yours kids sins, because I love my kids and “love covers a multitude of sins.” It is the way of love to look past faults and imperfections.

Mothers and fathers succeed or fail as parents because of this principle. Without this principle, the imperfections of those with whom we live nearly 24-7 become so glaring that the faults will drown out the good.

Husbands and wives succeed or fail as life-mates because of this love principle. Without this principle of love, the wonder of marriage changes to “I wonder what went wrong.”

Look one more time at that great text, 1 Peter 4:8, “Love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins.”Now read it again and this time stop after the word “covers.” It now reads “Love each other deeply, because love covers…” Yes, it does. Love covers…whatever. That is the secret of living together in happiness. That is the principle of “love covers.”

Lonnie Davis

A father’s life is full of surprises. The other day I read the story of a father who walked up on his son and his dog. The dog, a full-grown Labrador named Kelly and the four-year-old boy named Josh had a wonderful relationship. Though the dog and the boy loved each other, the dog often had to put up with the boy. Josh loved to hug the dog. Kelly would take as much as he could, but would invariably turn around and nip at the boy to make him turn loose.

One day the father walked up just as Josh had Kelly in one of his big hugs. He had his arms around the dog and his head tucked into the dog’s body so that Kelly could not bite him so easily. As Dad walked by he noticed that Josh’s eyes were closed and heard him say a little prayer, “Dear God, please don’t let Kelly bite me.”

It was cute but the dad could not miss a chance to teach a lesson about prayer. “Josh,” the father said, “God would be more apt to answer your prayer if you would let go of the dog.”

We too are like the little boy holding on to the dog that he knows will bite him and praying that the dog won’t bite. We do things that will bite us, but don’t want to feel the bite. What do we do to stop the biting? We pray. I am all for prayer. It is the greatest thing in the world, but usually the answer is prayer plus something else. That something else is to stop doing the thing that is going to bring us pain.

We pray for a happy marriage and then neglect one another. We pray for peace and live life at a frantic pace.

On and on the list could go. Each of us should examine the things that we pray for and then decide what we can do to help make the prayers come true. Keep on praying, but do your part too.

Lonnie Davis

It was a Sunday morning. As I was getting ready for church, out of the corner of my eye I saw something red flying in my bedroom. I looked again and caught a quick glimpse of a wasp. I am a waspaphobic (I made up the word, but it is a fear of being stung by wasps). I quickly grabbed something with which to kill the wasp. Turning my head for just a minute allowing the wasp to disappear from sight. I closed the door and began my hunt. Nothing!

As it was getting time to go to church I was sure to keep the door closed when I left. Sunday afternoon was dedicated to a wasp hunt. Nothing! My wife even hunted him a time or two. Nothing! A few hours later and it was time for bed. With great trepidation I crawled into bed.

How does one sleep with a wasp in the room? The answer is “lightly.” When I did not see the wasp for two days and soon convinced myself that he went out of the house the same way he came into it. Tuesday morning at 2 AM I woke up and saw him back in my room. Just as quickly as he came, he disappeared again. I sat on the edge of the bed holding a fly swatter until 3 AM. It wasn’t until Friday that I saw and killed him. There was peace in my house again.

So, where did this wasp come from? Here is the answer: While I was gone on a vacation, the top part of my upstairs window, slide down a couple of inches. It was not noticeable, but someone pointed it out. When I saw the problem, I fixed it. In this story, I learned the three-step method for fixing problems.

1. Discover the source of the problem. You can find it yourself or get someone who sees it more clearly than you, but you have to find the source before you can fix it.

2. Fix the problem. Knowing the window was open won’t help unless I shut the window.

3. Clean out the consequences. I made sure there were no more wasps in the house.

Problem solved! Of course, it could come back, but this process works.

Discover, fix, and clean.  It is a process that works on just about any problem.

~Lonnie Davis

May 15, 2011

Years ago a farmer advertised for hired hands. 

As the farmer interviewed applicants for the job, a short, thin man, well past middle age, approached the farmer. “Are you a good farm hand?” the farmer asked him. Well, I can sleep when the wind blows,” answered the little man. Although puzzled by this answer, the farmer, desperate for help, hired him.

The little man worked well around the farm, busy from dawn to dusk, and the farmer felt satisfied with the man’s work. Then one night the wind howled loudly. Jumping out of bed, the farmer grabbed a lantern and rushed next door to the hired hand’s sleeping quarters.

He shook the little man and yelled, “Get up! A storm is coming! Tie things down before they blow away!” The little man rolled over in bed and said firmly, “No sir. I told you, I can sleep when the wind blows.”

Enraged by the response, the farmer was tempted to fire him on the spot. Instead, he hurried outside to prepare for the storm. To his amazement, he discovered that all of the haystacks had been covered. The cows were in the barn, the chickens were in the coops, and the doors were barred. The shutters were tightly secured. Everything was tied down. Nothing could blow away. 

The farmer then understood what his hired hand meant, so he returned to his bed to also sleep while the wind blew.

What is the lesson we should learn? Here it is: The storm will come!

Do your work in such a way that when the storm comes, you can still sleep. 

Everybody needs somebody. There is a great verse in Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

“Two are better than one.”

Wait! That doesn’t seem right. We live in an age that emphasizes doing things yourself and being self-sufficient. Despite this modern philosophy, it is right.

The wise man continues with this verse to explain, “If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.”

Sometimes we all need help. I read a cute story that emphasizes this.

An out-of-towner drove his car into a ditch in a desolated area. Luckily, a local farmer came to help with his big strong horse, named Buddy. He hitched Buddy up to the car and yelled, “Pull, Nellie, pull!” Buddy didn’t move. Then the farmer hollered, “Pull, Buster, pull!” Buddy didn’t respond. Once more the farmer commanded, “Pull, Coco, pull!”

Nothing.

Then the farmer nonchalantly said, “Pull, Buddy, pull!” And the horse easily dragged the car out of the ditch. The motorist was most appreciative and very curious. He asked the farmer why he called his horse by the wrong name three times.

The farmer said, “Oh, Buddy is blind and if he thought he was the only one pulling, he wouldn’t even try.”

A funny story but it really does illustrate how we all need someone. We need someone to pick us up when we fall. We need someone to help us work when we are discouraged or tired.

I believe this truth is why the Hebrew writer said, “Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together.” (Heb 10:25). We are made for family. We are made for pairing and grouping. We are strongest when we assemble together for whatever our cause is.

So, who is your somebody? Find that one and be loyal to them. Be a friend. Be a family. Be that someone that not only needs them, but the someone they need too.

Team up and then “Pull Buddy pull.”

Lonnie Davis

Have you read the book, “Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus?” That is a cute title, but the book got it wrong. It’s not that close!

Men and women are completely different species. Since we are so different, how do we learn about each other? It is complicated. Truthfully, no one really knows the person they marry. If they think they do, wait 10 years and ask them if they knew each other when they first married. The secret to a good marriage is that marriage is not about marrying the person you love, but loving the person you marry.

Along the marriage journey there are many lessons to be learned. The first lesson is this: “Your marriage is not your parent’s marriage.” I know, I know, one thing you wanted was a marriage that was different than your parents. Whatever your intentions, when you first married you probably had expectations learned from watching marriages around you. Even that of your parents.

I remember learning this in my own marriage. When I was a kid, money sometimes got tight around the house and even ten dollars could make a difference. When things got hard, my dad would go to mom and ask if she had any money hidden away. Amazingly, she often did. Mom had a practice of saving a few dollars here and there and then hoarding it away for a rainy day.

When Liz and I got married, I thought that is what wives did. We were both in college and finances were tight. The first time we ran out of money, I asked my wife and asked if she had any money hidden away. She looked at me like I was from Pluto or maybe was Pluto. In her house that is not what happened and that is not what she did.

I did not explain all this to her at the time, but I learned that she and I would have our own marriage. It turns out that it was better because it was ours. Through the years there have been many more lessons, but this was the first one. Our marriage was our own and would be what we make it.

Lonnie Davis

Sometimes I identify with Jesse James, you know the gunslinger of the old west. Let me explain.

When I lived in Virginia, every year I dreaded the first week of April. On the first day of April, I would start driving like a criminal. I don’t mean I drive fast or recklessly. I mean I would drive down the street very cautiously and look for hidden policemen around every corner. You see, my inspection sticker expired at the end of March. I had a whole month to get my car inspected, but sometimes I didn’t notice it is expired, sometimes I would forget, and sometimes I was going to do it tomorrow.

So, for several days I would drive like a criminal. Finally, several days into April, I would get a new sticker. It took all of 30 minutes and I got to sit and read while they did it. I always vowed that next year I would be better. 

There are a couple of lessons I learned from this experience:

#1. Procrastination never does any good. 

I’ve never saved a dime by having an expired sticker, but I have had to take time out of my day, drive to the courthouse, and show the lady behind the window my receipt for my new sticker. Ugh! I would not have had to do this if I had only handled things in a more timely way. Remember, that which you do immediately you actually do!

#2. There is joy in a clear conscience. 

Conscience is not our only guide, but your conscience has to be right. Solomon wrote, “The wicked man flees though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.” (Pro 28:1)  A tainted conscience will make you do things that are unhelpful and may be downright hurtful to your journey.

After getting the new inspection sticker, when you pull out of the parking lot with that new sticker all neatly installed it feels really good. It doesn’t feel good to drive like a criminal.

~Lonnie Davis

I love the fellow who told an atheist, “Sir, you are worse than a fool.” Then he explained, “The Bible says ‘The fool has said in his heart there is no God.’ You are worse than that. You have said it out loud.” 

Ruth Green is one such example of atheism. 

Ruth Green was born in 1912. In the early 1960s she was stricken by cancer and decided to read the Bible “cover to cover.” 

Ms. Green claims to have been brought up as a Christian, but after two years of reading the Bible “cover to cover,” she decided that there is no God. Shortly thereafter she wrote a book called “The Born Again Skeptic’s Guide to the Bible.” 

In the midst of her ranting about “no God” she wrote, “I am pleased as punch no longer to believe in a God…who can choose his companions in eternity and prefers Jerry Falwell and Tammy Bakker over Albert Einstein and Marie Curie.”

One obvious response to her is to note how brilliant she must be to rant against the ignorance of silly men like Sir Isaac Newton, Nicholas Copernicus, Sir Francis Bacon, Galileo, and Albert Einstein. All of these men believed in God.  Ruth Green thought she was too brilliant to believe what those men believed.

Ruth Green was not unlike many atheists today.  She learned a little and thought she learned a lot. Alexander Pope wrote, “A little learning is a dangerous thing.” It still is.

In 1981 Ruth Green committed suicide. Godlessness is hopelessness.

~Lonnie Davis