Classmates.com is a huge website that lets long-lost friends find each other. I guess before you sign up you should decide if you really want to find each other. After all, you don’t look like you used to.

 The other day I read the story of a lady who was going to a new dentist. While waiting for her first appointment in the reception room, she noticed his certificate, which had his full name. Suddenly, she remembered that a tall, handsome boy with the same name had been in her high school class some 30 years earlier. As soon as she saw him she knew it was not him.  She was sure that the balding, grey-haired dentist with the deeply lined face was way too old to have been her classmate. After he had examined her teeth, she asked him if he had attended the local high school. 

“Yes,” he replied. 

“When did you graduate?” she asked. 

He replied, “In 1971. Why?” 

“You were in my class!” she said. 

He looked at her closely and then asked, “What did you teach?”

Ouch!

There is a part of this story that I love. I love people who can enjoy life enough that they don’t feel as old as they really are. If we were more like these two, we would do better in life. There are three qualities about these two old friends that I would like to have:

1. They did not focus on what they didn’t have.
2. They did not focus on the negatives.
3. They did not see obstacles to a good life.

Okay, so they didn’t have youth. So what? They had the wisdom that comes with a lifetime of living. Maybe one of them didn’t have hair, but he had an education that caused others to call him Doctor. One of them was at a dentist, but at least she had teeth that the dentist could work on.

So many times when God closes one door for us, we stare at it and grieve so long that we never see the two doors that God has opened. I love God’s promise in Jeremiah 29:11. “ ‘I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” 

You must believe that God has good plans for you. Your joy depends on it!

Lonnie Davis

I was playing golf with two of my elders when about 30 minutes into the round a twosome of a middle-aged man and his twelve-year-old nephew walked up and joined our group. We didn’t know them, but it did not take long to learn about the man. After a few bad shots, he began to curse at his game. Though he didn’t know me, he learned that I was a minister. He acted embarrassed and said to me, “I’m sorry that I talked like that in front of you.”

I was bothered, but it was not his foul language that troubled me. I was bothered because 1) He was sorry about cursing in front of a grown man, but had no concern for how he behaved in front of his young nephew. 2) More than that, he gave no thought to the presence of the Lord. Perhaps he didn’t know the Lord was with us.

It was not the first time someone has apologized to me for cursing in my presence. Being a preacher does that to some folks. 

Some are careful to behave as a Christians while around other Christians, but are embarrassed when another Christ follower “catches them” acting or speaking in an unbecoming way.

Sadly, too many forget that even when they are alone, the Lord is always present. The Psalmist said, “Where can I go from You presence?” (Ps 139). Faithful Christians know there is no place where God is not. 

I wish that he had not apologized to me, but to his 12-year-old nephew. This is a good rule for life – whatever you do, remember that young eyes may be watching you. And, God’s eyes are always watching.

~Lonnie Davis

The Power of Pennies, or how small things turn into big things.

You’ve heard the old adage, “A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned?”

One penny? Really?  Yes!

Remember the question of Zechariah 4:10, “Who dares despise the day of small things?”

Some years ago I was counseling a family, who despite their good income, was always broke. I asked the father, “Can you save a dime out of every dollar?” Without hesitating, he responded with a firm “No.”

He was right! If a person is always broke, they are not saving a dime out of every dollar. The question did not ask if a dime can be saved, but rather “Can YOU save a dime?” He knew his story.

I changed the question and asked again. “Can you save one penny out of every dollar?” He quickly affirmed that he could.

The problem with that answer is that I knew the truth, but he did not. The correct answer is that he could NOT save a penny. If he could save even a penny, then he would not be in debt. If you take all you can earn and all you can borrow on credit cards and spend it, then you are broke. If you never learn to save a penny then you will live hand to mouth and die penniless.

Yes, a penny saved is a penny earned, because you will always start the next day of your life with one more penny that you didn’t have last yesterday.

This story works much better if you save a dime.

A man or woman who earns $40,000 dollars a year and saves a dime a dollar, will have $4,000 to start off the next year.

Many folks can’t do that. According to a 2021 survey, 58% of American families do not have $1,000 saved. Resolve to be better than that. Save a dime. If you can’t, then start with a penny.

Lonnie Davis

Somewhere I read, “If you would be successful, do the things that are hard and lonely.” Everyone can do fun things, social things, or easy things. Anyone can watch a football game with a friend or go to a movie with a special person. These things are fun and social for most of us. Doing them will bring us no lasting success. 

Few people are willing to do the hard things, the lonely things. Few people are willing to spend time alone memorizing math formulas so those who do are thought of as smart. Few people are willing to set up at night with the television off and memorize passages from God’s word. To get ahead in your job or any part of your life, be willing to do the hard and lonely things. The fact that they are hard will mean you will be lonely in doing them, but doing those things will set you apart from the crowd. Do not curse the hard circumstances, but rather relish them as opportunities for victory.

Abraham Lincoln was reared in poverty. It was hard, but he was willing to overcome it. Franklin D Roosevelt was a victim of polio. Beethoven, one of the true musical geniuses of the world, was completely deaf. Their problems, their almost impossible circumstances simply meant they must work harder. They did the work, the hard and lonely work. We will always remember them. Never give up just because something is hard. The fact that circumstances are hard is what allows your victory to be great.

In the 17th century Anne Bradstreet put it beautifully, “If we had no winter; the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.”

There is a blessing to be gained from overcoming hard days.

Lonnie Davis

The title of this article ought to capture your attention. We all carry stress. We hate stress. Even folks who claim they work better under stress, don’t wake up on vacation and say, “How can I build stress today? 

Stress is not the standard setting for a healthy life. It gives us high blood pressure. It causes us to fret.  It even causes comfort eating, which causes weight gain. Maybe America is fat because we carry so much stress.

So what is this “great stress reliever?” Is if the faithful following of Ecclesiastes 9:10

“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.”

This is not a text that simply exhorts us to be a diligent worker at our job. It is also about doing what needs to be done when it needs to be done. It is about fixing the broken places when you first find they are broken.

Sometimes we only fix urgent things. We treat things like a slow leak on a car tire. If we just put air in that slow-leaking tire, we won’t need to worry about it for another week or two. So – we air up the tire and kick the problem down the road. Then one day what could have been fixed at our own timing becomes an emergency on the side of the road while traffic is busy and people somewhere are waiting on us. This is a stress-inducing situation. It could have been avoided if only you had done “whatever your hand finds to do” with your might and good timing.

I am saying this, not just to you, but also to me.

Lonnie Davis

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