A man works from sun to sun but a woman's work is never done. Proverb - Author Unknown
Cooking, cleaning, taking care of a house and kids. These are tasks that normally fall to a woman although there are exceptions. Truthfully, although I might be classified as a traitor, these are things that most men take for granted. I must admit that I am one of those men who don't usually stop to appreciate what all my wife does for me.
Over the past several years my wife has suffered from sever arthritis that eventually caused her to need both knees replaced and has left her with a badly misaligned left elbow. The doctors have been amazed at what all she has continued to do despite her pain. There are times when a good dose of hardheadedness is wonderful. She had refused to let her condition keep her from doing everything she physically could do even as her condition deteriorated.
Thankfully she just had her second knee replaced and we are trusting God that it will be the last. As I have washed clothes, cooked, cleaned house, and shopped for groceries over the last couple of days I have found myself asking God to forgive me. For what? For taking my wife for granted. She is certainly the stabilizing force in my life. She helps keep me balanced in so many ways. It makes me feel ridiculous to realize I don't know what bill is due when because she keeps everything organized.
Forgive my rambling, but I just wanted to take a moment to thank God for the wonderful woman he put in my life. For the men who read this, take more time to help your wife with the things that need doing around the house. For the women who read this, show this to your husband and let him be mad at me.
God Bless,
Sullivan Jones
6/15/13
6/10/13
The Rainbow - God's Promise
This morning right before I awoke I was dreaming about a rainbow. It was a great big double rainbow with vibrant, brilliant colors. Now I don't know what caused me to dream about a rainbow. It might have been something I had seen or read. But when I awoke I was thinking about the promises of God.
The rainbow represents God's grace to humanity. We are all familiar with the story of Noah; God told him to build a big boat and then he sent a flood and destroyed everyone on the earth except Noah and his family. After the flood God gave Noah a rainbow as a promise that he would never again destroy the earth in a flood. Every time we see a rainbow after a storm it is God's way of telling us how much he loves us. He is telling us that there is always grace and strength for tomorrow. I like to think of it as God's way of reminding me that he hasn't forgotten about me. He knows where I am and what I need.
Are you in need of God's grace today? Are there struggles in your life that threaten to overwhelm you? Don't know how you are going to make it? Has God made some promises to you that you haven't seen the fulfillment of yet? Don't be discouraged! Just look at a rainbow and remember, God hasn't forgotten. He knows exactly where you are. He is as close as the mention of his name. As the song says, "Just whisper his name, Jesus, and he will run to you.
Thankfully,
Sullivan Jones
The rainbow represents God's grace to humanity. We are all familiar with the story of Noah; God told him to build a big boat and then he sent a flood and destroyed everyone on the earth except Noah and his family. After the flood God gave Noah a rainbow as a promise that he would never again destroy the earth in a flood. Every time we see a rainbow after a storm it is God's way of telling us how much he loves us. He is telling us that there is always grace and strength for tomorrow. I like to think of it as God's way of reminding me that he hasn't forgotten about me. He knows where I am and what I need.
Are you in need of God's grace today? Are there struggles in your life that threaten to overwhelm you? Don't know how you are going to make it? Has God made some promises to you that you haven't seen the fulfillment of yet? Don't be discouraged! Just look at a rainbow and remember, God hasn't forgotten. He knows exactly where you are. He is as close as the mention of his name. As the song says, "Just whisper his name, Jesus, and he will run to you.
Thankfully,
Sullivan Jones
6/6/13
Don't worry, be happy!
The scripture tells us in Matthew 6:34, "Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." One modern translation put it like this: "Why don't you let today's own trouble be enough for today?"
Worrying is one of the worst things we can do for our health. Worry can cause loss of sleep, weight loss, weight gain, overeating, heart attack, stroke, stomach ulcers, and just about every other physical ailment known to man. It is just not good for our health to worry. On the other hand, optimism can truly be the key to a healthy life. Those who spend less time worrying and more time enjoying life have much less stress and accomplish much more on a daily and long term basis.
I was discussing physical therapy recently with a registered nurse. She told me that medicine is 10% what the doctor says and 90% what the patient does. Time and time again doctors have been amazed at the incredible odds their patients have overcome. It seems that some people, when faced with a life-threatening or debilitating illness, will simply give up while others will be determined to defy the odds. It all has to do with attitude.
In the study of psychology I learned about different personality types. I have learned to recognize (if you put stock in such things) that I am a melancholy personality. Simply put, that means I am more inclined to see the glass half empty than half full. Melancholies are known to be dramatic, woeful, and consumed with their thoughts; we are also know to be easily depressed. We are also know to be creative, musically and artistically inclined, etc. We love deep and have fierce loyalty to something we deem to be a just cause.
Now I could dwell on the negative aspects of my personality if I wanted to but I am determined to prove the statistics wrong. I am determined to be all the good things that a melancholy is, and leave all the bad things for someone else to be. I can be thoughtful without being moody and temperamental. I can be loyal without being argumentative. I can be expressive without filling my life with drama. You get the picture; it all has to do with my attitude.
And if I don't succeed today, I'll just try again tomorrow. After all, there are a thousand tomorrows. I'll take them one day at a time and let God give me grace for each day as it comes. It's a great way to live - without all the ulcers, heart attacks and stress.
Don't worry, be happy.
Yours Truly,
Sullivan Jones
Worrying is one of the worst things we can do for our health. Worry can cause loss of sleep, weight loss, weight gain, overeating, heart attack, stroke, stomach ulcers, and just about every other physical ailment known to man. It is just not good for our health to worry. On the other hand, optimism can truly be the key to a healthy life. Those who spend less time worrying and more time enjoying life have much less stress and accomplish much more on a daily and long term basis.
I was discussing physical therapy recently with a registered nurse. She told me that medicine is 10% what the doctor says and 90% what the patient does. Time and time again doctors have been amazed at the incredible odds their patients have overcome. It seems that some people, when faced with a life-threatening or debilitating illness, will simply give up while others will be determined to defy the odds. It all has to do with attitude.
In the study of psychology I learned about different personality types. I have learned to recognize (if you put stock in such things) that I am a melancholy personality. Simply put, that means I am more inclined to see the glass half empty than half full. Melancholies are known to be dramatic, woeful, and consumed with their thoughts; we are also know to be easily depressed. We are also know to be creative, musically and artistically inclined, etc. We love deep and have fierce loyalty to something we deem to be a just cause.
Now I could dwell on the negative aspects of my personality if I wanted to but I am determined to prove the statistics wrong. I am determined to be all the good things that a melancholy is, and leave all the bad things for someone else to be. I can be thoughtful without being moody and temperamental. I can be loyal without being argumentative. I can be expressive without filling my life with drama. You get the picture; it all has to do with my attitude.
And if I don't succeed today, I'll just try again tomorrow. After all, there are a thousand tomorrows. I'll take them one day at a time and let God give me grace for each day as it comes. It's a great way to live - without all the ulcers, heart attacks and stress.
Don't worry, be happy.
Yours Truly,
Sullivan Jones
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