FAMILY FOCUS... (Psalm 118:24)

MAX LUCADO ~ EVERY DAY DESERVES A CHANCE…

Doesn’t every day deserve a chance – a shot, a tryout, an audition, a swing at the plate…an opportunity – to be a good day? Okay. But we all know that into every day shadow cans come too. There are days when traffic snarls, airports close, friends forget, and spouses complain. Days full of deadlines, long lines, receding hairlines, luggage-losing airlines, nauseating pickup lines, and those ever-elusive bottom lines. And let’s not forget divorce days, final exam days, surgery days, tax days, and days when the cemetery dirt is still fresh. The type of DAYS that affect your ‘General Skills’ on how to be or act like a believer.

Suppose, neck deep in your tough day, you resolve to…GIVE IT A CHANCE! You choose not to drink, work, or worry it away. Instead, you decide to give it a fair shake. You trust more. Stress less. Amplify gratitude. Mute complaints. And suddenly… ‘giving a day a chance’ works! You do the same the next day, and the next. Days become a week. Weeks become months. Months become years of good days! In such a fashion good lives are built. One good day at a time!

Psalm 118:24 (NLT) THIS IS THE DAY THE LORD HAS MADE! WE WILL REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT!

“THIS is the day…” includes EVERY DAY – RIGHT? (Divorce days…Surgery Days…Tax Days…Bill-Paying Days...Job Loss Days…Foreclosure Days…911 Days…Children heading to College Days…Cancer Days…Funeral Days?)

According to what is written here… God made THIS DAY - ordained THIS HOUR - designed the details of THIS MOMENT! (Each DAY emerges from God’s drawing room!)

So… what must we do with this day? Rejoice and be Glad - IN it!

I guess here is where I wouldn’t mind editing another word… “IN”

-Maybe I could swap if for “AFTER” - “I’ll be glad AFTER the day!”

-Or maybe… “THROUGH” - “I’ll be glad to just get THROUGH the day!”

-Or maybe… “OVER” - “I’ll be glad when the day is OVER!”

How do we “REJOICE” or “BE GLAD”… “IN it"? (Is it even possible?)

-Paul rejoiced IN Prison!

-David wrote psalms IN the wilderness!

-Jonah prayed IN the fish’s belly!

-Paul and Silas sang IN Jail!

-Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego remained steadfast IN the furnace!


-John saw heaven IN his exile!


-Jesus prayed IN the garden!

Do you think it’s possible that we could REJOICE smack-dab IN the midst of the day? (Imagine – just imagine… if we could?)

Will you or Won't You? (That’s the question!)

Here's what I know... GRATITUDE IS AN OPTION!

(Need some SPICE in your DAY?) Trying THANKING GOD for every problem that comes your way IN each & every DAY! James 1:2 (NLT) Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for JOY!

TODAY (Tuesday, April 13^th ~ 2010) is the DAY the LORD HAS MADE! I WILL REJOICE & BE GLAD IN IT!

These are always a GREAT REMINDER for me to REJOICE & BE GLAD – IN – EACH DAY – the LORD HAS MADE…