Hearts and Banjos - by Dennis Fisher

We're just a couple of days away a brand, spankin' new year, so read and give some consideration....

("Will You not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You?" - Psalm 85:6)

Hearts and Banjos

by Dennis Fisher, Managing Editor, ChristianCourses.com, DeWitt, Michigan

While working my way through graduate school, I taught five-string bano in a music store.  The job provided me with the opportunity to buy a brand new, professional -quality instrument for nearly half-price.

That was over 30 years ago, and that banjo has accompanied me on ministry efforts around the world.  But, despite its excellent craftsmanship, eventually it needed to be refurbished.  A master repairman pointed out how imperfections had worn into the banjo.  He was confident that his repairs would result in the instrument sounding better than new.

I wasn't disappointed.  The action on the strings and the clarity of the sound are astonishingly superior to its original condition when I purchased the instrument.

In a way, our lives are like musical instruments intended fo "the praise of the glory of [God's} grace" (Ephesians 1:6).  But over time, life wears us down.  Our hearts cry out for renewal.  The psalmist prayed: "Will You not revive us again?"  (Psalm 85:6).

The Hebrew word for revive means not only "to restore and refresh" but also "to repair."

It's vital that we submit our souls to the Master's restorative touch.  Why not set aside some time for spiritual retreat and ask the Lord to repair your heart?

Look, There’s A Squirrel!

Reaching retirement age has a number of benefits, one of which is that there isn’t anything left to be learned the hard way.  Almost anything that comes up, we’ve been there, done that, got the t-shirt.  One of the things I’ve had time to practice is my  ability to focus on one thing at a time.  Being a creative type, trained as a photojournalist, my mind is usually tracking three or four things at a time.  My equally creative wife, the artist, calls that the “squirrel reflex”.

That’s where the fellow is talking along and suddenly stops to blurt out, “Look, there’s a squirrel!”  And everything else is forgotten.

Now one way to improve both one’s concentration and effectiveness, the experts tell us, is by using lists to sort out and prioritize what lies before us.  If you’ve never operated that way, you should try it.  You sit down and list all the things you need to do, need to buy, need to accomplish, all the people you need to speak with and why.  The you pick out the top five and number them one to five in accordance with which are most important. 

Then you have before you all that is important to you, for that day, and the sequence in which they should be accomplished.  That’s how things get done and not forgotten or lost in the shuffle of the day.

This year 2016 is a sparkly, brand new year, not at all like last year.  We’re not even completely aware of the opportunities and challenges waiting for us there, yet.  But we each have a few things we would like to accomplish before this year is out, meetings and conventions we would like to attend -- like what is promising to be an exciting one in Pigeon Forge this year -- and a few triumphs we would like to be in on.  That’s where your list comes in.  Set priorities.

Now, if we could just get our legislators to make a few lists in our favor, that might work to our benefit.  Seems like in the middle of doing the people’s business, somebody’s always yelling out, “Look, there’s a squirrel!”