Vol. 16 No. 47 | November 25, 2013

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. (1 Chronicles 16:34)

I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness; I will sing the praises of the name of the Lord Most High. (Psalm 7:17)

I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. (Psalm 9:1)

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. (Psalm 100:4)

Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. (Psalm 106:1)

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. (Psalm 107:1)

Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind. (Psalm 107:8)

Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind. (Psalm 107:15)

Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind. (Psalm 107:21)

Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind. (Psalm 107:31)

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. (Psalm 118:1)

At midnight I rise to give you thanks for your righteous laws. (Psalm 119:62)

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever. (Psalm 136:1,2,3,26)

We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign. (Revelation 11:17)

Can you catch the theme? Give thanks. Give thanks this week. Give thanks next week. Give thanks every week. It is always a good time to give thanks.

As you give thanks this week know that I give thanks for you. In fact, to borrow Paul’s words…

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1:3-11)

Let’s give thanks.

Tom

© Copyright 2013 Tom Norvell. All rights reserved.

Vol. 16 No. 46 | November 18, 2013

Came across this quote while pondering the events of the day and checking how life is being lived on Facebook (thanks, David Lewis…I think), “Our anxiety does not come from thinking about the future, but from wanting to control it.” (Kahlil Gibran) Ouch!

Jesus said, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6) Ouch! Ouch!

I began writing this while visiting my daughter and son-in-law. Part of our visit was spent purchasing and assembling a crib, a dresser/changing table, and rocking chair (and a really cool ottoman) in preparation for the February arrival of their baby girl. It was a great blessing to share these days. As they, and we, await the birth we could all wear ourselves out trying to control everything that may or may not happen before this little girl makes her entrance into our world. Or, we could realize that we have little to no control over any of the events leading up to her birth. We could all worry and fret, or we can trust God who controls the births of all babies. We will think about the baby on the way. We will think about the joy we will share. We will dream endless possibilities. But, we do not want or need to be in control. We choose to trust Him.

As I wait for my flight I have seen weather forecasts that say there are storms in Nashville. We have an engagement later tonight that we would prefer to make on time. If the flight is delayed, we may be late, or not make it at all. I have done everything I can to get there on time. However, I am not flying the plane, I do not control the wind, and have no desire to do either. I will think about what I’ll do if the ride gets bumpy. I will consider my options if I am delayed. I will also think about what we will do when I arrive safely and on time. But, I do not want or need to be in control. So, I trust that this plane will leave the ground on schedule, and that it will safely arrive fairly close to the scheduled time, and if it does not I trust that we will be okay.

Like many Americans we are investigating options for health insurance. Most options are less than what we prefer. The very concept of insurance implies that we are preparing for something that may or may not happen. One of us may get sick. One of us may need surgery. One of us may get cancer. One of us may have a serious health issue. We may not. So we continue our search for affordable and adequate health insurance. We could wring our hands, lose sleep, and go into a panic over what will happen if we do not. We could trust God to lead us to adequate insurance at an affordable price. We do not run the federal government, determine the cost of insurance, and we do not have control over unexpected health issues. My wife and I will talk to insurance agents. We will talk about our needs and the best way to have those needs met. But, we do not want or need to be in control. So we trust that God will help us find what we need at an affordable price.

Every morning we wake up with an abundance of options and opportunities laid out in front of us. We have a choice about how we will approach the day. We can spend our hours trying to control and manipulate everything that happens and all the people with whom we will have interaction. If that is our choice we would do well to be certain that we are indeed in control of the universe, or else we are in for a day — a life — of frustration, disappointment, anxiety and stress. Although we may think we do, we really do not want or need to be in control. God is better at running the world than we are.

Why not, instead, trust the One who gave you breath to handle what happens? He knows your needs. He knows the needs of those with whom you will have interactions. He knows the things that need to happen during the day. He is already prepared for the things that “might” go wrong and are beyond your control, and He knows the things that will go right. Trust Him. Surrender to Him. Let Him have control. He knows what He is doing.

He is in charge. You can relax.

Tom

© Copyright 2013 Tom Norvell. All rights reserved.

Vol. 16 No. 45 | November 11, 2013

She was born into the family of friends from our early days of marriage on November 10. Although it was from a distance we celebrated her birth. Who could have imagined the blessing she would be thirty years later as we, through the creativity and craftiness of our son, celebrated her 30th birthday?

Only the irresistible God who loves to surprise and amaze us could have devised such a beautiful and elaborate plan.

Only God could bring a little blond curly-haired girl into my world and let us find a connection at a very young age. Only God could know that those hugs we shared all those years ago would continue throughout our lives. He must have been smiling as He saw those smiles on our faces back then and as the smiles continue today.

Only God could orchestrate a plan that would allow our families to stay in touch through the years even though we have lived many miles apart. Through the occasional short visits and photos on our refrigerator we watched her grow. Only God could have built a childhood friendship between her and our son that would later blossom into a beautiful love story and lead to marriage.

Only God could put our family in a situation where we would become friends with some of her relatives that would bring her into our city and at our football game. Only God could prompt her to leave her seat with her family and join our family in the bleachers. Only God could prompt me to ask her, “What are your plans for next summer?” Only God could open the doors for her to come to work as a youth intern with our teens (including my daughter) and live in our house…for two summers. Only God could know that a sister-like relationship would develop between the two of them and we would feel like we had gained another daughter. Only God could use that convenient time to reignite conversations between Bethany and our son. Conversations that would eventually lead to deeper romance, dating, an engagement, and to date a five-year-plus marriage. Only God could know how much she would come to mean to our family.

Only God could know that this little curly-haired girl and this little boy of mine would one day bring a beautiful little curly-haired granddaughter into our lives who would bless us with more smiles, laughter, and an innocent sweetness that only God can plant in a human heart. That same innocent sweetness that was earlier planted in the hearts of her parents.

Only God could know know that thirty years after she was born her family and many of her friends would gather in Brooklyn, New York to help celebrate her 30th birthday.

Only God could know all these things long before any of us ever dreamed they could of our family together into such an amazing mosaic.

Only God. Only because that is the kind of God He is.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)

Happy Birthday Bethany! Only God could know how much we love you.

Tom

© Copyright 2013 Tom Norvell. All rights reserved.

Vol. 16 No. 44 | November 04, 2013

If he was still alive my Dad would be 104 years old today(October 30, 2013). What would that be like? What would he think about the world? Would his thinking (opinions, prejudices, ideas) have changed from what they were in the last forty-one years?

I often wonder what he would think about the world I live in. What would he think about me? What would he think about my family? What would he think about church? What would he think about his grandchildren? What would he think about these Notes and this one in particular? What would he think about the government and the political climate? Maybe I really don’t want to know what he would think about that? Maybe I already have a good idea of what he would think about that. I wonder what he would think about paying $2 for a cup of coffee (he mostly drank Maxwell House instant coffee), $3 for a gallon of gas, or not being able to smoke in a restaurant after a meal. I wonder what my Dad would think about a lot of things.

Sometimes I wish I could sit with him and have a conversation with him and ask him about his life, mistakes he made and things he did right, and if he had any advice for me as a husband, a dad, or a grandfather. I can only speculate about what he would think and imagine what my earthly father would say or think.

I can, however, talk with my heavenly Father, and I can know what He thinks.

I know how He feels about me. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13)

I know how He wants me to treat other people. “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. (John 13:34)

I know how He wants us to be known. “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:35)

I know what He wants me to do when I am tired. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”(Matthew 11:28-30)

I know how He wants me to deal with the material things and the future. “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:25-34)

I know what He wants us to do about the Kingdom. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

I know what He wants me to do. “Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, ‘Lord, who is going to betray you?’) When Peter saw him, he asked, ‘Lord, what about him?’

Jesus answered, ‘If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.’” (John 21:20-22)

Because I am his son I can be pretty sure about how my dad would think and feel about some things. Because I am His child my Father has made it very clear how He feels about me and how I can live to please Him. I do not need to wonder.

Tom

© Copyright 2013 Tom Norvell. All rights reserved.