Today's Weather

As my wife and I began our second walk around 4:30 yesterday afternoon, I mentioned how the crispness that was in the air when we took our first walk that morning was no longer present.  It was a pleasant day with the temperature sitting at about 78 degrees with a gentle breeze.  Before we got too far I stopped and zipped up my wife’s hoodie so she would stay warm.  Then I asked her if she remembered the weather when we lived in Oklahoma a few years back.

The weather was the one thing that I really did not care for.  As I have mentioned before, I’m probably just spoiled after living in northern California for the majority of my life.  Oklahoma’s heat and humidity during the summer and the ice-cold temperatures with a strong cold wind that goes right through you in the winter left a lasting mark on my brain!  The worst part to me was the summer mornings.  I could never get used to going out first thing in the morning (we are talking 5:45 AM as I went to work on Saturday’s) and feel like your stepping into a hot and humid furnace!

I have always enjoyed the California summer mornings when the air is cool and crisp, invigorating the body as well as the soul!  And that is what we experienced yesterday when we walked around the lake, soaking in the fresh air that still had a hint of the morning fog cover that had recently burned off.  Our daily walks are just the thing that my wife and I need to freshen our outlook on the day and help to stimulate us to complete our regular tasks with vigor and a smile!

Philippians 2:14-15 in the Message Bible suggests that we can have the same effect on those with whom our lives touch each day.  It says: “Do everything readily and cheerfully – no bickering, no second guessing allowed!  Go out into the world uncorrupted, a breath of fresh air in this squalid and polluted society.  Provide people with a glimpse of good living and of the living God.  Carry the light-giving Message into the night…”

Paul seems to be saying that you and I can be like a cool and crisp northern California summer morning to those who are used to living an Oklahoma hot and humid type of daily existence!  Our words, our actions and our very existence can help to freshen the hopelessness and/or despair that many live with.  Does that describe you?  Are you a cool and crisp breeze in the lives of those you live, work or socialize with?  Do people smile when they see you coming or grimace in distaste? 

Now that’s definitely something to think about… and in case you need to make some personal adjustments and don’t know where to start, always default to LOVE as demonstrated through GRACE!  Have a great day.  Stay in tune to His Word, and keep asking yourself… “What am I expecting today?”