Happy, Happy Friday

It's All Good 

Read Ahead: Philippians 4:1-4

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Philippians 4:4, HCSB

Have you ever heard the words to the great old hymn "Count Your Blessings"?

When upon life's billows you are tempest tossed,

When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,

Count your many blessings, name them one by one,

And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

There's wisdom for all of us in that old song. Sometimes when we focus on our problems, we lose sight of the good things in our lives. It's as though we're under a gigantic cloud that blocks out the sun. We get irritable and depressed and, worst of all, we lose all perspective. That's when it's time to review all the reasons God has given us for rejoicing.

If you're under the cloud today, try not to grumble and complain. Count your blessings instead. Here's a list to get you started:

* God loves you.

* Jesus died for your sins.

* You'll spend eternity in heaven with Christ.

* You're part of God's family, with brothers and sisters who love you.

* God has promised never to abandon you.

Keep going--thinking of more things--and the cloud will keep lifting.

What are some unique, specific ways God has blessed your life?

Daily Smile:

Sinatra

Many people are unaware that Frank Sinatra was an ecologist. 

Once, he found out that the herds of animals in Africa were being forced off their native lands into game reserves where they were more apt to be eaten by their natural enemies due to the crowded conditions.

These animals would congregate around lakes and other bodies of water, but had nowhere to run if they were attacked by their foes. This resulted in abnormal losses in the herds.

Frank, upon finding out about this, donated a LOT of money to trying to find out where there may be some open land to put the animals so they wouldn't be so crowded. 

Frank's idea was to go to the watering holes and load the animals on large barges and take them to other lands and then set them free.

In order to accomplish this, he had to finance his work through a best-selling song about it. 

We've all heard the song before. 

It starts out, "Start spreading the Gnus..." 

The title of the song was, of course, "New Ark, New Ark."