A Continual Feast

Happy Sunday. This has been a big week in the life of my family. My wife Jeanie retired on Friday. She's taught school for over 30 years.

She's made a big difference in the lives of so many kids in the states of Mississippi, Indiana, and Georgia. She's worked hard and helped so many learn how to read and I'm very proud of her and beyond blessed that she's my bride now of well this month over 43 years. Last week I told a story about my family inheritance from oil money in the amount of $6344. Crazy friends of mine David and Janie sent a donation to David Shivers Ministries in that exact amount.

They matched my inheritance. It made me smile. I do want to thank all of you who have donated to D over the years to David Shivers Ministries. It's a 501c3 and all gifts are taxdeductible and I may mention that about twice a year.

So that's over with. Today's verse from Proverbs is spoton for today's world. In chapter 15, we find this teaching from verse 15. For the despondent, every day brings trouble.

For the happy heart, life is a continual fest. Let me do it again. For the despondent, every day brings trouble. For the happy heart, life is a continual feast.

This verse is all about attitude. All about the attitude of the heart. And depending on your attitude, you can see trouble every day or you can have a continual feast. It's up to you.

I suppose this describes the glass half empty crowd versus the glass half full. It's amazing to me that two people can have the same event happen in their lives and one complains how bad it was and the other's happy that it happened. Attitude is the key. Some people say they are naturally born pessimist.

They're prone to complain negativity is their default setting. I tend to avoid people like that. Eeyore seems to be their spirit animal from Winnie the Pooh days. If you were bapti if they were baptized, it seems that lemon juice was substituted for the water.

I once knew a man that if you ask him how you do, how are you? He would respond, I'm going to die someday. Not the best response, is it? For the despondent, every day brings trouble.

In Atlanta, every morning, thousands of commuters, tens of thousands of commuters are stuck in traffic. Some honk and develop ulcers and even embrace road rage in the moment. Others listen to music, talked on the phone, learned from a podcast. Same situation, totally different results.

There's an old story of a set of young twin boys. One wired negatively, the other positive. On their 10th birthday, their parents uh gave the complaining son a new bicycle, a game system, a BB gun, and season tickets to Disneyland. He looked at the bike and said it was the wrong color and he'd rather have a scooter.

He looked at the game system and said it was not as nice as the neighbor kids. He said the BB gun was dangerous and he couldn't believe that they would give him such a toy. And finally, for the season passed to Disneyland, he said, "Well, you know, the lines are long and sometimes it's just too hot to go and sometimes it rains." That's how he responded to his wonderful gifts.

for the positive son. They gave the boy a box of horse manure. When he opened it, he was so excited. And they asked him why.

And he said, "Either y'all bought me a horse for my birthday or I could use this in the garden to grow better plants." For the despondent, every day brings trouble. For the happy heart, life is a continual feast. I love the last part of the verse.

A beautiful picture. For the happy heart, life is a continual feast. Ain't that perfect? I love people like this.

My father-in-law has been in heaven for almost 10 years now. When you would ask him, "How are you?" he would respond, "Super good, but I'm getting better." I heard him say that for years.

It didn't matter what was going on around him. He chose that attitude. Now, we cannot always choose what happens to us, but we can choose our attitude towards the situation, and we can choose how we respond. The secret to a happy heart and a happy life is rooted deeply in our faith.

Philippians 4:8 tells us this. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there's any excellence, and if there's anything worthy of praise, think about these things. I pray that today and every day, it is a continual feast for you. No matter what the circumstance, be careful with your attitude.

Pray with me. God, thank you for this day, the day the Lord has made. You've told us to rejoice and be glad in it. You didn't tell us that there were exceptions to that rule.

You didn't tell us to stop if things are tough. You told us to rejoice and be glad in it. Help us to have a continual feast in our life, to look for the good things, to look for the best things. Forgive us when we fail at that.

Help us to uh be the men and women of God you would have us to be. In Jesus name I pray. Amen. God bless.

Have a great day.