Now set your heart and your soul to seek the LORD your God. 1 Chronicles 22:19

At my neighbors’ annual Christmas party, one of the traditions is to look for the pickle hidden in their Christmas tree. Although the “weihnachtsgurke” is said to be a German tradition, there’s some controversy around the legend and where it originated.

The version I like the most is about a German-American soldier who was imprisoned during the Civil War. At the point of starvation, he begged the guard for a pickle before he died. Apparently, that pickle gave him the physical and mental strength to live on.

After searching and searching for that darned pickle at Mike and Ruth’s house, we finally had to give up and move on. The funny thing is, Ruth just texted. When they took their tree down, lo and behold, they found the pickle! It was tucked in the way back, up against the window. It only became visible when they took all the other decorations off and pulled the tree out.

As we start 2024, that story can be a great template for how to approach the new year. 

Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the foremost. 1 Timothy 1:15

My kids pushed me over the edge last week by being completely selfish, self-absorbed and inconsiderate. They took more and more from me with no sign of gratitude or acknowledgement. It made me feel insignificant, disrespected and taken advantage of.

As the cracks broke deeper into my heart, my hurt turned into anger. I lashed out, laid down new ground rules and tried to demand they be the kindhearted and considerate people I know they can be.

When the issues persisted, I gave up and withdrew, no longer willing to go the distance for them – wanting them to reap the negative results of their bad behavior.

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Then Jesus entered the temple area and proceeded to drive out those who were selling things… Luke 19:45

It’s fascinating to me that I can read the same scripture verse tens of times and view it the same exact way each time. Then, one day, a whole new layer is revealed. That’s what happened to me with today’s scripture verse.

Knowing today is Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year, I read Luke 19 through that lens. I suddenly realized it wasn’t just the sellers in the temple courts who were at fault; it was the buyers too. It takes two to tango. The sellers never would have bothered to set up their tables if they thought no one would come with money to buy.

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“If this day you only knew what makes for peace – but now it is hidden from your eyes.”
Luke 9:9

All across the nation, people will gather today and gives thanks for good health, a loving family, great friends, and a warm home. All of these are tremendous blessings from God, and we should give thanks for them every day.

But they’re the same answers people tend to give each year – like a knee-jerk response, without much thought, without deeper awareness. What about all the small ways we’ve been blessed, each and every day, proving that God cherishes us so much that He cares about our minutiae?

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When my daughter, Jocelyn, was little, she was into everything princess. She had all the dresses, shoes, plastic jewels and, thanks to a hand-me-down from a friend, even a princess make-up table. It didn’t stop there. Her passion was so intense, ordinary things became royal to her through her imagination.

I remember opening the treasure chest in her room one day and finding clothes inside. They weren’t frilly or princess-like to my eyes, but apparently there were to hers. In fact, upon closer inspection, they were from her dirty laundry pile. Yet, she saw treasure.

“A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” Luke 6:45

It’s estimated that the average person has anywhere from 12,000 to 60,000 thoughts per day. Imagine! Although Luke 6 talks about things being stored up in the heart, be them good or evil, I believe each one begins as a thought in the head.

Some people would argue that they don’t have control over what they think about. I agree that thoughts do sometimes enter our minds unbidden. However, we get to choose which thoughts we accept, and which thoughts we reject.

Whatever thoughts we accept we tend to dwell on. That’s how they move from our head to our heart, getting stored there and becoming the well we draw from when we speak. I, for one, want to make a concerted effort to only accept and dwell on thoughts rooted in truth.

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In the fall of the first year we owned our home, I planted more than 200 tulip bulbs. The following spring, my yard looked glorious! The blooms added grace and color to our property, making me smile every time I looked at them.

However, when they began to wilt on their stems, they looked unsightly. In my desperation to get rid of that messy look, I cut them all off at the soil line, leaves and all, and tossed them into the woods. I did leave the bulbs in the ground so they’d bloom the following year.

If I’d only known how detrimental my rash reaction was.

“Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king.” Nehemiah 2:4

I’ve always been impulsive; whatever thought I have usually spills out of my mouth before I even think to filter it.

Once, when I was lamenting to my spiritual director about the mess I’d made by speaking up to quickly about something, she said, “Patience is the partner of wisdom.” I’ve always yearned for wisdom. But I am in deep trouble if I have to master patience in order to achieve it.

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“Who then is this about whom I hear such things?” And he kept trying to see him. Luke 9:9

Not only did I get COVID-19, but I found my COVID-19. I gained exactly 19 pounds during quarantine by anxiety-eating my way through the uncertainty of it all. I’ve been trying to lose weight ever since.

“Trying” is actually too active of a word. I’ve been THINKING about trying to lose weight, and have pursued all different avenues in the process.

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Seventy-two percent of Americans feel they don’t have enough money to survive. Each month, when the bills roll in, their anxiety spikes and consumes their thoughts. Yet, one of God’s names is Jehovah Jireh, “The Lord Our Provider,” reminding us that when we turn to Him, He will always meet our needs, always.

Dallas Jenkins was a struggling Christian filmmaker until he got financial backing and a ten-year contract from Hollywood with his first full-length film. He was on top of the world the day it hit the box office. Two hours later, the ratings came in. The film was deemed a flop. His funding was pulled and his contract was broken. He was at an all-time low until his wife, Amanda, heard God say two things in her prayer time: “The miracle of feeding the 5,000” and “I do impossible math.”