Reader,

I noticed recently that I’ve become more unsettled agitated. All the violence we’re seeing here in the US is getting to me. People stabbed on light rail trains. Speakers shot dead on college campuses. Children gunned down at school. So much evil. Is this getting to you, too?

I realized I need to spend less attention to the news these days. So I’ve withdrawn from it a bit, and am looking to fill my mind with something more positive. In doing so, I’m drawn to Philippians 4:8 in the Bible, where the apostle Paul says:

“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”

So I tried to think of things that are honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable, along with things that are excellent and worthy of praise. I wanted to come up with a list to focus on.

But all I could come up with were generalities. The same things you would probably put on your list. Generalities weren’t going to cut it for me, I needed something specific and concrete to focus on so all the evil going on in the world wouldn’t weigh me down. After sometime thinking about this, two things emerged that settled me down. and they both had to do with gratitude.

The first happened last Saturday morning when Janet and I took our 23-year-old twin grandsons out for breakfast. They live busy lives and the fact they even want to spend time with us is remarkable. For me, it certainly is a concrete example of what Philippians 4:8 is all about. I tend to forget what a blessing our time with these guys has become. I need to remind myself of this when I’m agitated about other things.

The second example of Philippians 4:8 in action is something grandson Grant told us at our breakfast. He works at a regional medical facility in our area as a pediatric psychometrist. He told us of a new initiative at the hospital for developmentally disabled young adults that he is excited about.

They’ve a developed a program to teach these special-needs men and women basic life skills, and then provide them jobs they can handle at the medical facility. All to give them as normal a life as possible.

What a great idea. Not only individuals, but institutions can do what what is honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. They can do things that are excellent and worthy of praise. It warms my heart to think about this.

What about you? What examples of Philippians 4:8 can you think of that go beyond generalities. I’d love to her about them.

Until next time, I wish you all the joy that you can wish.*

John Certalic

*The Merchant of Venice, Act III, scene 2

P.S. Season 10 of the podcast starts October 1st. Here are the latest two episodes from season nine in case you missed them.

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​226: End-of-Summer Conversations​
​225: A Joy to Be Around​

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