January 26, 2025
Today’s a great day! Not just because it’s finally above freezing. This is one amazing day! We get to gather together and worship God! We know where two or more are here, God is in our midst! This is the best day! It’s remarkable!
I hope you’re feeling joy at God’s goodness during this moment. Because sometimes this thing happens, where sometimes we notice the goodness of the day that God has given us, because the sun comes out, or we’re glad to see a friend. The good feeling lasts a little while. Then our brain leaves the building. It goes somewhere else, to the past. We dwell on negative emotions: we remember that person we’re so mad at. Or we start worrying about the future, maybe there’s something we need to do but we have no idea how we’ll get it done. Or we think about a mistake we made, and it plays over and over in our head. We just can’t forgive ourselves!
I want you to bring your brain back here a moment. Because if you’re not living in this moment that you are presently in, you are missing the best day!
You may say, well this is an ok day. But it’s not the best day! Well, this may not be the best day, but there is some goodness to this day. And if your brain leaves the building, because it’s occupied with the past or the future, you’ll miss the goodness of this day and every day!
Even the hard moments can be something you want to experience. You can be glad on a tough day that you were there.
Last year, in April, was our dog, Odie’s, last day. That’s a bad day for me, right? Well, I took him out for a walk. He hadn’t been for a walk in a while. Odie was 15 years old, he couldn’t see well, he couldn’t hear well. He was tired, his mouth hurt, and he wasn’t eating. I took him out, and he was really into this walk! I thought he wouldn’t stay out long. But he sniffed everything! We went to the park, and he was sniffing all over. I thought, ok, he must be cold, we’re going home, he wasn’t ready to stop. He sniffed the curb and the street. We went up and down the street over and over. A little boy rode his bike for the first time! His mom shouted out the window to him, “Way to go Jaxon! So proud of you, buddy!” The boy petted Odie. Odie seemed to have forgotten his pain, he really enjoyed sniffing the world. He loved that walk! He was into it. To him at that moment, it was the best day!
That evening Kevin and I took Odie to the vet. They put us in a little room with Odie, with a couch. It seemed like the vet forgot us. It was at least an hour that we waited there. Kevin and I were holding and talking to him. We remembered the good times with Odie, Kevin played the Mr. Softie ice cream truck song that Odie always got excited to hear. Our kids used to be really excited to hear that song, so Odie knew the song! Because the vet still didn’t come, I thought, what do we do? Ok, we do this: I asked Odie for forgiveness for the times we weren’t the best doggie parents. We forgave Odie for peeing in the house and biting us. I was glad the vet forgot us! There were a lot of tears, it was rough, but a good farewell.
Was it a good day or a bad day? It wasn’t all bad. I’d call it a meaningful day, a day that sticks in my memory. It was a day really spent paying attention to what’s most important in life. I give thanks to God for that day.
When you lose someone close to you, you feel grief. I’m glad for grief, glad I feel something, and remember that pet or person and how wonderful they are. It’s good to have some grief. There’s good in the bad.
Today we’re talking about your best days are now, with ideas from the book, “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry.” So please tell somebody near you, “Your best days are now!”
Our sermon series is, A Better Way. As Christians we are followers of Jesus and followers of his way. We are to do things the way Jesus did. Jesus gave a sermon, Luke 6:20-26. Jesus’ way was to talk about good things we experience like they’re hard to tell from the bad things we experience. Jesus said, Happy are you when you’re poor! Why? Happy are you when you’re grieving, you’ll be comforted! Happy are you when you’re persecuted, because the people who stand for God get persecuted, and you’ll have a reward in heaven! Jesus is saying, happy are you when things are bad. Jesus wasn’t so concerned that you have a good day, that many good things happen to you.
Rather than saying, “Have a good day,” I think Jesus’ teaching would be, I hope the day has a good you! I hope what-ifs aren’t ruling your mind. I hope you’re not holding a grudge. I hope the day has a good you! You’re in the moment, paying attention and ready for whatever and whoever crosses your path. You will never have this day again, so make it count!
There are certain practices Jesus was faithful to, in order to help him unhurry and live in the moment he found himself, and to see the goodness in front of him.
One of Jesus’ practices was to seek silence and solitude in order to spend time with God. We’ll talk about that more next week.
Today we’re talking about three other practices of Jesus: sabbath, simplicity and sharing. If even Jesus needed to have practices to help him live in the moment and do his work, how much more do we need these practices!
These are practices to help us. Because I have a question for you. Are you here? If you’re here, say “I’m here!” Good! I’m glad you’re here because minds wander. If your whole life is lived, not where you are, but somewhere else, you miss the good!
We all need some margin! You can’t go at 100% capacity every day. You need some free time, a slower pace, and to downsize life, so you can breathe, take in the people around you, and experience God’s love each day.
These are Jesus’ practices to help you live in the moment and bring a good you to the day!
First, there’s sabbath. Of the 10 commandments, this is probably the one most ignored. Which is our loss, because God offers us rest and joy! John Mark Comer, the author, is a pastor, so his Sabbath is on Saturday. On Friday at sunset, he and his wife and kids take their phones and electronic devices and put them in a box in the closet where they will stay for 24 hours. During their Sabbath they eat, laugh, play, and walk to the park. They have a great time! It’s a day of rest. John Mark says halfway through the day he starts to really relax and feel peaceful since he doesn’t have his phone!
I haven’t tried that. But we had the internet off for 24 hours at my house this week. At one point I realized that Ian and I were sitting, drinking tea and just having a conversation at the kitchen table. That was different, but it was awesome! I really missed the internet, but I realized the internet is making me miss important interactions! Digital/electronic stuff is huge in stealing our peace! Americans spend 2700 hours a year watching TV, an average of 4 and half hours on their phone a day, 29% of people in their 20s, spend 1-5 hours a week on video games. The idea of this kind of sabbath might be scary, but if you try it, you might decide you want that break!
Second, there’s simplicity: The world tells us, “Get more stuff and you’ll be happier.” But Jesus said, “Life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” How did he live? He didn’t live a fancy life! His flashiest ride was a donkey. And you don’t speed down the interstate on a donkey! People back then were happy to have a second outfit, just one change of clothes! They didn’t have closets! We can’t live like Jesus, because times have changed! But the question is, how would Jesus live if he were me today? Advertisers try to get us to buy, buy, buy and tell us we’ll miss out if we don’t. But it steals our peace to always want more things and never feel like we’re where we want to be. Advertisers try to make us always want more. But most of us have too much stuff already.
Carefully consider how much you really need! You know sometimes people fast from food as a spiritual practice. I have heard of people who fast from buying clothes; maybe try not to buy something all year. I don’t know how to do that! I try to put buying something off. I want to take time to think about it and make sure it is a need. Maybe I have something in the closet already that is good enough. Because sometimes I buy something, then realize it wasn’t all that great, I didn’t need it. John Mark Comer suggests you start the practice of simplicity by going through your closet. When you pare down the things you have, it makes your life easier with less stuff to manage. With less stuff to deal with, you have more time for other people and God. It helps you bring a good you to the day.
The third practice we’re talking about today is slowing. I hurry too much! Slowing is about slowing down your body, in order to slow down your life. Pastor John Mark offers ideas to move slower: walk slower. Drive slower: drive the speed limit! He says you don’t have to do all these ideas. Maybe find one or two things you can do to slow down. One that’s really hard for me is to get in the longest checkout line at the store! He offers some ideas to deal with screentime: don’t sleep with your phone or do devotions first thing in morning, before you look at your phone. Here’s one that sounds a little violent: kill your TV! He suggests you take a long vacation, not just a weekend. A weekend doesn’t give you enough time to relax before you have to come back home. One thing I do slowly is cooking. You can cook your own food and eat in. I cook from scratch. I can spend two hours cooking dinner! I spend time on it because I want it to be healthy.
Slowing helps you build patience, and you start to see and talk to the people around you. Slowing helps you notice the good in every day.
My challenge for you this week is each day to ask God, “Help me see the goodness of this day.”
Your best days are now! You don’t have to be on a dream vacation or buy the home of your dreams to have a best day. Today is one of your best days. But only if you’re here, present, and bringing a good you to the day. Is your life full of distractions, especially screen time? Are you in a hurry? Did you forget that God offers you a whole day of Sabbath rest? Even a bad day, can be a meaningful day, when you move slowly, simply and restfully in the way of Jesus. Amen.
Maureen Duffy-Guy's blog 