Psalm 19

The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament shows His handiwork.

Day unto day utters speech,
And night unto night reveals knowledge.

There is no speech nor language
Where their voice is not heard.
Their line has gone out through all the earth,
And their words to the end of the world.

…The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;

The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;

The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.

More to be desired are they than gold,
Yea, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

Moreover by them Your servant is warned,
And in keeping them there is great reward.

Plains Milky Way from Randy Halverson on Vimeo.

One of these days, I’m going to be on the other side, looking down. ;)

My beloved spoke, and said to me:

“Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.
For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come,
And the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.

“The fig tree puts forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grapes give a good smell.
Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away!
O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the cliff,
Let me see your face, let me hear your voice;
For your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.”

Song of Solomon 2:10-14

I love that section of the Bible.

This morning, I noticed tiny tree leaves budding on the trees!

I’m going to join the club and apologize for my lack of posts these days. Spring has finally hit the northeast, and cleanup from winter commences. I’m also in the thick of moving my domains to another registrar, a complicated and technical business (I have 9 of them to move).

I have been so busy for such a long time that I think I may take a few days and sloooow things down a bit. I don’t have any vacation from work in my future right now, but my gardens are beckoning me, and so is my Lord.

Have a wonderful day!

“He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming quickly.’ Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” Revelation 22:20

And he spoke to them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near. So you, likewise, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near.” Luke 21: 29-31

Not everyone who calls Me, “Lord! Lord!” shall enter the kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in Heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, “Lord! Lord! Did we not prophesy in Your name, and through Your name throw out demons, and through Your name do many wonderful works?”

And then I will say to them, “I never knew you! Depart from Me, those working lawlessness.”

What does God want?

Religious devotion?
Good works? Charitable giving?
Prayers for the sick?
Great faith to move mountains? To cast out devils and heal the sick?
A seeing eye to know the future?

Apparently not. Not that those things are bad unto themselves– but God wants first things first. Then, comes the other stuff.

According to what Jesus said, He wants people to do “the Father’s will.” So… what is the Father’s will? Well, according to what Jesus said, it is “knowing” God. Knowing God is very different from knowing about God. God doesn’t want mere happy thoughts, a cheerful smile, a kind gesture because we are “good people.” He wants our hearts. And, according to what Jesus said, if we do not know God, we are “lawless.” In other words, not knowing him implies separation from God (aka, “punishment” and “darkness”).

This makes sense.

You have a home, a really nice home that is beautiful and a real pleasure to live in. You also have certain rules within your home. Some rules are more complicated than other rules. For example, one simple rule may be that all family members must take off muddy boots before walking through the house. That’s not too difficult; it’s a “negative” command — it’s something you DON’T DO and it doesn’t take too much effort to NOT do something. A more complex rule may be that all children must work hard in school to get good grades. Perhaps this task is easier for some children than others– one sibling may find study easy, while another may need to put more effort into it. Still, a law is a law. Both must work to get good grades.

But let’s say someone else comes into the house. You are happy to have them live with you, but they need to stick to the rules of the house. They find that the muddy boots rule is easy enough, and do that. But they find that the rule about working to get good grades is “not for them.” They don’t see the need to do it, they don’t understand why you are asking such a thing, and refuse. This person becomes a lawbreaker– someone who does not abide by the rules– and even worse, the other children begin to slack off. What do you do?

Well, any good parent would “lay down the law.” You’d make sure that this wayward person has every opportunity to be able to study, that he has every tool to help him achieve your rule. But still, he resists. You realize that he is not studying because he can’t– he is not studying because he won’t. After a period of time, his rebellion gets out of hand. It bleeds into other things, and affects the other members of the family; this person begins to harass the other children, causing great discord in the home. You have no choice but to ask the lawbreaker to leave. This is the “separation.”

If that rebellious person really knew the parents, he would care for them and consider their decisions, correct? He would realize that they do not make the family members study because the parents love being taskmasters, but because study is necessary for the person to function when he becomes older. The rules not only maintain harmony in the home, but they are established for the good of the members.

God wants us to know Him. He has established this as the foundation for everything we do in this life.

2 Timothy 2:19 Nevertheless the foundation of God stands sure, having this seal: “The Lord knew those who are His.” And, “Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity!”

Some people accuse God of being “mean” because He doesn’t “out of loooove” include everyone into His house, no matter how destructive people are. But I think God is being perfectly just, like any good parent would be. I would never invite nasty, rebellious, wicked thieves and murderers into my home to mingle among my precious children, would you?? Why do we get angry at God for doing the same? And God can see right through fake religious devotion. He doesn’t want religious hoops and hurdles. He doesn’t want people climbing stairs sprinkled with shards of glass, He doesn’t want people going to church every Sunday only to act like a pagan Monday through Saturday!

He wants the heart. He demands the heart. He wants to know you and He wants you to know Him. Having peace between God and man was impossible. Man was wholly unable to come to the table with anything but failure. So God sent His Son, as a man, and made a covenant with Himself. And in so doing, all of mankind is included in this pact. The door to the home is wide open. But of course, you have to go through the door. And, of course, you have to abide by the rules. He hasn’t made the rules very difficult– no climbing stairs on the knees, no casting out devils, no jumping to the moon and back. And no Good-O-Meter. LOL, found this video on Renee’s blog. It’s great!

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 5:1

Just know Him. Seek Him. Have the innermost thoughts of your heart talking to Him. Refuse to do the things you know He hates. Throw yourself into doing the things that He loves.

Like any good parent, He wants His child to love Him.

Some of the teachers of the Law of Moses were Pharisees, and they saw that Jesus was eating with sinners and tax collectors. So they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

Jesus heard them and answered, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor, but sick people do. I didn’t come to invite good people to be my followers. I came to invite sinners.” -Mark 2:16

“Blessed are the beggars in spirit! For the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.” -Matthew 5:3

“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners–of whom I am the worst.” Paul the Apostle, former “good person” and Pharisee. -1 Timothy 1:15

“God isn’t looking for golden vessels. He isn’t looking for silver vessels. He’s looking for yielded vessels.” -Kathryn Kuhlman

In the Beatitudes (Matthew 5), verse 3 is commonly read as “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” The word “poor” here literally means “beggar.” The Greek word paints a picture of a beggar crouched over in distress, pleading for help. Jesus says these people are blessed. Why is that? Who wants to be a beggar? Who wants to be in need, hunched over in distress?

Jesus was speaking about the spirit of a person, not about the financial situations of people. It is true that riches can be a snare, but they can also be a great blessing as the Bible shows. But Jesus wasn’t talking about money here. He was referring to the person inside, in the spirit. Only beggars need God. “Good people” are full of themselves, they are already righteous. They have no need of God in this life, and are too full of themselves to think about needing anything in the next life. Just like Jesus said, “They have their reward.” And it’s a very shallow reward.

Paul was a “good person.” He said so himself— he was religious fanatic– zealous, fervently serving his God, devoting his entire life to study of the scriptures and doing good works. He was so zealous for good works that he was willing to punish and persecute anyone who didn’t follow his zealous religion. But then Jesus got a hold of Paul, gave him a good shot of reality. And Paul realized how very, very poor before God he was indeed. God does not need “good” people who have good hygiene, are nice to other people, donate money to charities, and who go to church. God does not want the empty shell of servitude. God wants the heart. And deep down inside, stripped of wealth and health, man knows that he is a terribly needy person. It is so easy to be arrogant when you have riches to buffer the reality of life. This was Paul. He was so arrogant and insolent that he was serving a godless religion– a religion of good works but no heart, no God. He was full, of himself and his own zeal, with no room for God.

I’ve been a Christian a long, long time now. I know that some people seek God because they have financial problems, or family problems, or problems with addictions. And God loves all people and will help them all. But so many times, once people get the money or get their family problems fixed or conquer their addictions, they forget God. They were beggars for temporal things, not beggars in spirit, not beggars for God.

Jesus was saying: Being a beggar does not necessarily mean that you must be poor or destitute. It means that you realize how much you do need God, how very much you need him for your life, because you know that your own heart has been tried and been found wanting. You know that you hurt people, you blow it, you get bitter and unforgiving and are selfish, and people turn around and hurt you, too. Being a beggar means that you realize that the world does not revolve around you, and that your little environment that you have created could go up in smoke. God is bigger than anything you are and have made for yourself. A beggar, finding riches, throws himself into his treasure, and he changes his lifestyle to reflect his new success. A sinner, seeing his great lack, finding Christ, throws himself into this treasure, and he changes his lifestyle to reflect his new life. This is the kingdom of heaven, or, as we sometimes call it, mere Christianity.

Matthew 15:32 Jesus called his disciples together and told them, “I feel compassion for these people. They have been with me for three days, and they don’t have anything to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry. They might faint on their way home.”

Jesus is the epitome of compassion. He was compassionate when He didn’t have to be, when He had nothing to gain from it, even when He had everything to lose by it. And in that story where He feeds the people– He KNEW that many of those people were there just to hear the show. These are some of the same people who would later holler “Crucify Him!” when He was on trial. Yet, He took care of them at His own expense. WHAT human does that? You go to a music concert– you PAY big bucks for the honor. And they don’t feed you, YOU have to pay even more to get your own snacks!

So anyway, what is compassion? Webster’s Dictionary says:

COMPASSIONATE: Having a temper or disposition to pity; inclined to show mercy; merciful; having a heart that is tender, and easily moved by the distresses, sufferings, wants and infirmities of others.

Think about how humans are. We humans can have compassion, a LOT of compassion sometimes. But what about when a fellow human is being really, really stupid. They’ve dug their own hole, right? Maybe the rich neighbor down the street goes bankrupt and loses his house, do we have compassion? Or maybe a woman gets drunk to try to escape from her problems, and beats her child? Or maybe a young man robs a convenience store at gunpoint, do we have compassion? Or— worse of all!— maybe someone does something to us personally, like gossips behind our back, or cuts us off on the highway or in the checkout lane, or bumps us as we walk and causes us to fall? Do we have compassion? Do we have compassion on people who make stupid or evil decisions?

Sometimes, sometimes not. But the amazing thing is that Jesus always has compassion. God is always stretching out His hand, offering help and mercy no matter what the condition of the person is. That TOTALLY. BLOWS. MY. MIND.

James 1:5 If any of you need wisdom, you should ask God, and it will be given to you. God is gracious and generous, and He won’t scold you or condemn you for asking.

That means– when I’ve been a stupid idiot, messed up my life or someone else’s, am totally lost and don’t know where to go– I can ask God and He will just GIVE ME HELP, without scolding me or making me feel guilty like I am a wicked sinner. What human being does that?!

Dr. D. James Kennedy said in his book, Why I Believe:

Through studying many biographies, I have found something that all historians have discovered– the more you look at any human being, the more the luster grows dim. No matter how great the hero may have been, if you examine him closely, you see his feet of clay; you see all his frailties and foibles. …all human greatness diminishes on closer inspection; but Christ’s character grows more pure, sacred, and lovely the better we know Him.

The most compassionate thing Jesus could ever do was appeal for our lives, Just like in a court of law, when the verdict on us should be guilty, He intervened and took the blows. This does not mean that the judge “lets us off.” If we are truly grateful for our freedom, we will clean up our lives in honor of the One who freed us. If we don’t, well, we will face a strict judgment at the end, when everything is brought to an account.

Romans 5:6-11 Christ died for us at a time when we were helpless and sinful.

…God showed how much he loved us by having Christ die for us, even though we were utterly sinful and hateful and lawbreakers.

But there is more! Now that God has accepted us because Christ sacrificed his life’s blood, we will also be kept safe from God’s retribution because we broke the laws and commandments.

This is amazing– even when we were God’s enemies, he made peace with us, because it was his Son who died for us. Yet something even greater than a peaceful friendship is ours. Now that we are at peace with God, we will be saved and set free from sin by his Son’s life, and can walk in the freedom that his life has given us.

And in addition to everything else, we are SO happy because God sent our Lord Jesus Christ to make peace with us.

That’s compassion. Someone who not only fixes our stupid problems, but fixes the very root of the matter– having peace with God— and He did it all at His own expense.

Glory to God.

I highly recommend Dr. D. James Kennedy’s book, Why I Believe. I LOVE this book, and it is full of factual, convincing evidence about Jesus and Christianity. It’s very readable, too.

You can watch The Jesus Film online, too! It’s been translated into 1,000 languages and shown around the world. It’s a powerful movie, and The Jesus Film website is loaded with testimonies and resources.

The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Manhattan.

While my other acting school peers were staying in really seedy hostels (like the west side YMCA, which housed junkies and students alike) or spending scads of money on apartments, I had a nice, affordable room in the residence. I was the youngest woman there, and the only acting student– the place was filled with older women who were too healthy for a nursing home but too troublesome to live with their adult children in their homes. I made friends with two ladies– one, a wonderful young woman named Debbie who worked for Christie’s Auction and also worked part-time as a PR agent for the Russian Ballet Company (she knew Russian), and Mabel, a doughy, 70-year old woman who dressed like Edith Bunker (saggy support hose and all). Mabel used to tell me the craziest stories! She grew up in the Bronx (if I recall correctly– all the boroughs sounded the same to a newbie like me); her mother rented rooms, and her most famous boarder was Barbra Streisand and her husband Elliot Gould. Mabel said that Barbra had weird habits– she had a freezer placed under her bed so that she could snack on ice cream in the middle of the night without getting up. lol

Looking east outside my Lexington St apartment window.

The Salvation Army residence held “vespers” which were church services, I guess. I only attended one. They also had “entertainment night” for the ladies, which usually involved one of the staff or ladies playing an instrument. A popular pastime for the older ladies was watching TV on a huge screen in the large sitting room. How those geriatrics endured sitting on those rickety metal chairs for hours baffled me. But I guess they’d do anything to watch Knight Rider and Dallas.

Anyway, I comfortably lived in that place for a year, safe and sound. The residence had a security guard, and NO men were allowed beyond the lobby. I appreciate the generosity of the SA for helping me while I stayed in Manhattan. That year was not wasted, either, even though I never followed through with the thespian life– I eventually entered radio (and loved it!) and after becoming a mom, have become a professional blogger — delving into social media, communications, freelance writing and seo services. I have drawn from my early years, learning to speak well and communicate well, for the life career I have now. God is good.

The SA has also helped us when we were in need, too. My husband has been through a lot of job changes, and seen some companies fold up their tents and move out of the state (we live in New York State). There were times when we had no food– the SA helped fill our pantry again. I will always be grateful for them for helping us out in time of need. They even got Christmas presents for the kids a few times. God bless them.

As a young Christian, I donated my time as a bell ringer one season. Back then, we did it in pairs, and boy was it fun! It was so cold, but fun. People were pretty generous, too. Today, people are feeling the economic pinch, and I can’t say I blame them. But please consider giving something to those in need. The Salvation Army has a history of helping people around the world. It doesn’t take much, either. Maybe you can skip that bottle of wine for Christmas, or wear an old pair of shoes to the New Year’s party, or skip that seo subscription for a month or something. Even an amount as small as $10 is a lot to a hungry family. Believe me, I know.

My friend Rena has created a virtual online kettle fund for her local area. I’m going to join it, too! Please consider donating to our little kettle. Even ONE DOLLAR is good. Your transactions are secure, through the Salvation Army site (we do not see any of your transaction at all).

Our desire is not that others might be [financially] relieved while you are hard-pressed and in need, but that there might be equality. When you have plenty and can give, your plenty will supply what they need, and when they are experiencing times of plenty, they will give to you when you are in need. The purpose is to make sure everyone’s needs are met, as it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.” 2 Corinthians 8:13-15

Paul decided to go into the local synagogue to preach the news that only one god had risen from the dead: Jesus the Christ. He reasoned with the Jews and Gentiles in the synagogue, explaining the Old Testament prophecies about Jesus and his life.

Some of the Grecian philosophers heard Paul, and asked him questions about what he was saying. They brought him to the Aeropagus (Mars Hill, which stands to this day) to explain further to all the people. The Aeropagus was like a town hall (like Drudge Report or Twitter) where people gathered to hear and report the latest news and gossip. Paul stood up among them, and said to them:

“Men, Athenians… listen: God, the One who created the world and everything in it, is Lord of heaven and of earth, and He doesn’t live in temples and altars made with human hands, nor is He served by the hands of people, as if he needs something. On the contrary, God made everything and needs nothing… so we should not be thinking that God is similar to gold or silver or stone, crafted by mankind’s imagination and skill. These times of such ignorance God overlooked– because God is now giving strict orders to all people everywhere to be repenting, because He set a day in which He is about to judge the world… giving us positive proof of this by raising Jesus from the dead.” Acts 17: 30

Some Athenians listened and believed, while others scorned what he said. Apparently, some were happy to honor all gods except the ones they didn’t create from their own imaginations…

Question: What does it means to “be repenting.” Repent of what? To repent just means “to change your mind and go in a different direction.” But change the mind about what, and go in what direction??

Apparently, some of the Athenians liked any kind of god (that is, all concepts of gods) that didn’t require any change of behavior. It’s pretty easy to pinch some incense or drop a few coins and then go along your merry way. Yet to the true and living God, that stuff is meaningless. What good is it if you eat a wafer or donate some old clothes yet still lash out in vicious anger, tell lies, or selfishly slander someone behind their back; what good is your religion?? How does one change??

Well, the New Testament has the answers. In a very, very basic nutshell:

Permanently stop doing wrong things, things like telling lies, pilfering (stealing, even the smallest things), lusting after the opposite sex, using people for your own pleasures, being greedy for stuff especially when others are in need, showing partiality and lavishing your attentions on people who are pretty or rich, stop using people for gain, stop being so selfish and nasty, stop the outbursts of wrath and the lies and dirty language…. Colossians 3: 5-10

This is called “putting to death the deeds of the body.” The New Testament is full of what this is and how to do it.

It doesn’t take long before you realize that… well, being perfect is IMPOSSIBLE. I mean, who is perfect???

I think everyone universally agrees that Love Your Neighbor As Yourself is a good rule (especially when you are “the neighbor”). But… who keeps it? Who possibly CAN keep it?

This is the basis of what Jesus did. HE did it, He kept that precept. Yep, He did it, without fault. How do we know? Well, not only is His life recorded by at least 4 guys, and was foretold in detail thousands of years before He was here, but He also happened to die and then rise from the dead. Hello, that would get my attention. Moreover, God says that WE are justified with Jesus. Justified, as in “just if I’d” never sinned. God forgave us all the nasty stuff of our past when Jesus made the decision to sacrifice Himself as payment for our failures. That’s KIND OF a big deal.

And not only that, but He gives us the means to CONTINUE doing it for the future– the proof of this is that He raised Christ from the dead. That’s a pretty monumental feat, and I haven’t seen or heard of it happening to anyone else. Yah, as great as Ghandi, Mary, Buddha, Mother Teresa, Mohammed, and all those guys were, none of them rose from the dead. They couldn’t do it even if they wanted to. And even if they could, they sure wouldn’t do it for me, or you, or Hitler or Stalin or Idi Amin. Only God is that forgiving.

But going back to HOW do you stop doing nasty things, and HOW do you go about repenting… Paul in the book of Romans called it “putting to death the deeds of the body.”

For if you live according to the flesh, you are about to die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. Romans 8: 13-14

…if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, this one is not His. Romans 8:9

What that means is that you need to be born again, you need to live a totally new life. It’s not magic. It is something that God does deep in our hearts when we realize all that He did for us, and what we now need to do for Him. It’s a decision, a determination that you keep continually. In our own efforts, it’s impossible to do. But that’s where the Holy Spirit comes in– God is Spirit. He Himself is with us to help us refuse to do the nasty works and gives us energy to live a life of love.

If a person truly realizes the incredible thing that God did for us, and is truly grateful for it, repenting isn’t very difficult. Resisting temptation isn’t too difficult. It’s not like God is requiring us to bleed to death to prove anything (Hebrews 13: 3-4). Trials come, yes they can be so hard… but they do not have the power to overcome us.

So the idea that Paul was presenting is still being presented to us today: God isn’t something that humans created. On the contrary, He created everything, and, moreover, requires something of us– faith. Do we believe that He sent His Son so that we could have peace with God? If so, we prove it by changing the way we think and the way we live. He’ll give us what we need to do it. And we’ll be so happy, and be such a blessing to others, because we really will love others as we love yourselves. And best of all, after we die we will continue to live on in God’s love.

If you’re still wondering about some of the stuff I’ve mentioned here, feel free to leave a comment, and I’ll get back to you.

When you mention the word “fasting,” most people think of abstaining from food, which is understandable. But fasting is, essentially, simple abstention. It can be abstaining from eating types of foods, or from watching television, or from magazines, or whatever. Those things all have their place, but what does God say about fasting?

From Isaiah 58:

5 Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,
only a day for a man to humble himself?
Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed
and for lying on sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast,
a day acceptable to the LORD ?

6 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?

7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness [a] will go before you,
and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.

9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,

10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.

11 The LORD will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.

OK, so, if you breezed through all of that and are wondering what all that flowery writing has to say, it basically means:

So you abstain from food for a while, big deal! How about changing your attitude? How about changing the way you treat God and the way you treat other people? Why don’t you stop trying to be such a “good person,” meeting endless failures and hurting people? Start living your life God’s way! He wants only good for you. Ask for God to save you. Ask Him to help you live your life. You will be so very happy.

So what does all this have to do with fasting, with me? Well, I am on a diet, you see. Not a diet of food (although that wouldn’t hurt!), but a diet of THOUGHTS and a diet of WORDS. Sometimes I go through these phases of being really negative, being really cranky. They are usually times of stress, but it isn’t the stress that causes it– it’s the lack of God’s words in my heart; times of stress usually cause me to neglect to maintain His word in my thoughts and heart. After all, what comes out of the mouth starts with what’s in the heart, right?

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Philippians 4:8

Fasting of food can be a good thing, sure. But it’s no good at all if we just turn back to our own selfish, nasty ways, and are filled with thoughts of worry and stress and bitterness. And try as we may, we are ALL selfish and nasty and we worry and stress out. Some days may be really good, but others… well… So, really, who can be a saint???? Well, if you turn your heart to God, He will fix that heart. I don’t know how it happens, but it happens. So for me, I’m on a thought-fast and a word-fast. I’m judiciously watching my thoughts and words, rooting out the selfish and negative stuff, and filling my head with God and His words to me. It’s a challenge, but the reward is great. And it is gratifying to know that not only will I be happier, I will make everyone else around me happy, too.