The Secret to a Happy New Year…

Just about everyone starts off the New Year by making a few, well-thought out New Year’s resolutions. In fact, I would venture to guess that most of us reason that if we will remain true to our vision of a better “you” and will commit ourselves to the fulfillment of our resolutions…we will enjoy a truly HAPPY New Year…..

The sad fact of the matter is that RARELY EVER HAPPENS.

So, in order to insure that you and my other faithful reader enjoy a blissful and extremely HAPPY New Year, I have decided to share my secret with you; although in truth, it really belongs to the apostle Paul. He wrote in Philippians 4:11-12 the following, “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low and I know how to abound. In any and EVERY circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.”

And there it is, my friend….in a few simple sentences, the great apostle Paul tells us the secret to happiness….for life, health, wealth and everything else. We need to learn contentment….whether in good times or bad, whether happy or sad, in plenty or want or abundance or need…..LEARN TO BE CONTENT AND YOU WILL BE HAPPY!

Now, I know that sounds almost too simplistic and as you stand there scratching your head, think on this….We learn contentment when we abandon comparison….It is the constant use of comparison that leads to discontentment. If we buy a new car that meets our needs, we have reason to be happy…. until we compare our ride to that of our boss or neighbor or anyone else who has a newer, sleeker model. The bloom of comparison leads to the seeds of discontent and there goes the joy and happiness that was once ours.

Time after time after time, when we compare what others have with what we don’t have, we tear down our foundation to happiness. We need to see what we have as sufficient for our needs…as God’s measured blessing to insure our happiness and to keep us focused on doing His will.

Whenever you trade your contentment for discontentment, you become myopic in your vision for the Lord’s work and in His will for your life. You become so self-centered in looking at what you don’t have that you are rarely thankful for what God has given….this is more than just seeing the glass as half-empty or half-full….it is a greater truth that speaks to the heart of who you are and who you want to be in Jesus Christ.

Contentment is a learned response to the actions of a loving God….you can choose to be happy with little or with much…with great wealth or abject poverty….with exceptional wellness or poor health….the list is inexhaustible ….but the choice is always yours ….and the correct choice will lead to contentment and happiness that is often inexplicable to those who view your life from outside the faith.

So, learn this invaluable lesson that Paul sought to teach each of us….in EVERY SITUATION, in EVERY CIRCUMSTANCE….don’t look around to see if others have more or less than you…learn to be content in your situation….then you will be able to live in the fullness of verse 13 in Philippians 4 that says, “I can do all things through Him that gives me strength.”

Choose today to be a person that lives with a flexible cup that is always ready to expand or contract  based on the Lord’s provisions…it is a mindset that will lead to contentment and one step closer to living a life that will honor your Heavenly Father….get started today; and oh, by the way, this is a secret that is okay to share with those you love….I know that’s what I intend to do.

Go On…..Make it a happy New Year,

WPQ

This is a reprint of a former post...May You Be Richly Blessed in 2017.

GPS for the New Year…

It was Christmas a year ago that my wife gave me a Garmin GPS system. Now, as any red-blooded American male would do, I thanked her profusely for her unselfish gift and thought to myself, “I don’t need some computer gizmo giving me directions…I can find where I need to go and how to get there ON MY OWN!”

Well! Here it is a year later and boy, was I ever wrong….this thing has been great. Over the first three months of 2009, I had a new job calling on businesses in the greater Greenville, SC area …going, or trying to go, to places I had never been before; some, in fact, probably did not even show up on a map. I was intrigued that every time I typed an address into the GPS, it gave me turn by turn directions to that specific location. This was nirvana for a manly man such as me….getting directions without having to ask someone.

You know, a lot of us treat God like that….we want to go where He wants us to go; we just don’t want to ask for His directions. Scripture says, “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes (directs) his steps.” Proverbs 16:9  We say that we want to be “in the Father’s will,” but then we set out to follow the desires of our hearts and hope that at some junction along our journey, our will and God’s direction will mesh in perfect harmony. Unfortunately, it hardly ever works out that way.

We become lost in life’s journey to serve a risen Lord when we fail to consult His GPS….God’s Placement System…..His Holy Word. God is ready, willing and totally able to direct and establish the roads that He wants us to take if we will only consult Him and read His word. The more we read, the more He directs, the more He establishes the way that is right ….the more we enjoy the journey. Proverbs 3: 5-6, a favorite verse that was given to me as a young man from one of my spiritual mentors says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path (steps).”

So don’t try to make it along life’s highway with just your understanding….tap into God’s GPS and acknowledge that He and He alone knows best. Read, study and ingest His Holy Word … let Him guide you and follow the path that He has set before you. And if, at some point, the directions seem fuzzy or you have gotten off course, do what my GPS does for me each time I make a wrong turn, miss an exit or travel too far down the road past my desired destination…..it screams at me, RECALCULATING, RECALCULATING!!!!

The start of this New Year is a great time to recalculate where God is directing you in service for Him…or to confirm that you are firmly implanted on the path that He has directed you to travel. Either way, it’s a great time to get into His Word and become a better you. Yes, God’s Holy word is your GPS and it will direct you to where He wants you to go. The question is simple ….Are you too manly (or womanly) to ask the God of Creation for directions?

I pray that 2017 will be the best year of your life thus far as God directs your steps and you follow His heavenly directions…..and if you have a moment; from time to time, drop me a line and let me know how goes the journey…..

Traveling Life’s Highway ….Following His Directions,

WPQ

Each Christmas season, I write a Christmas poem that I hope has the potential to become a Christmas carol or song for the season. If you happen to be one with musical talent, here are the words, the melody is up to you and our Heavenly Father...MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Christ Come to Earth

Traveling down a dusty road

Bearing Life's heavy load

Headed for a stable bare

Son of God will be born there

Angels sing peace on earth

Heralding the Savior's birth

Dirty shepherds gathered 'round

See the Son of God come down.

Chorus

Heavenly hosts sing alleluia

Christ come to earth for me, for you.

Crowded town of Bethlehem

Was no room found in the inn

Oxen, lamb within the stall

Tiny Baby, King of All

Placed in a manger filled with hay

Our Lord and Savior born that day

Wise men came, lead by the star

From distant lands, they traveled far

Bringing gifts to give this King

Their most precious offerings.

Chorus

Heavenly hosts sing alleluia

This child has come for me, for you.

Christmas time has come at least

Bringing memories of the past

What will you now give to Him...

This Savior born in Bethlehem?

The greatest gift that you can give

A surrendered life you choose to live.

Given freely on your own

To the King of kings upon His throne.

Chorus:

Heavenly hosts sing alleluia

Christ now lives in me and you.

WPQ 

Copyright @December 2011

The Tradition Continues as we celebrate His birth....

           A Christmas poem from years ago

The Perfect Tree

High upon a lonely hill, above the town below

Wintry winds begin to swirl...the snow began to blow.

Trudging through the wintry mix, each step measured like the other;

Walking with my Mom and Dad, my two sisters and my brother.

Off on our yearly conquest to find the perfect tree,

To decorate for Christmas...in one week, it would be

A time of great excitement, of laughter and jubilation;

A special time that fills each heart with joyous celebration.

'Twas there upon that precipice, there stood a tree so small

That everyone overlooked it because it was not tall.

Its branches looked like matchsticks; its tiny, barren limbs

Barely felt the winter's cold that encircled them.

Standing like a sentry, in silence, he would guard;

 There alone to keep his watch upon this vacant yard.

My family, they marched onward; but I...I stopped to see

This tiny wisp of God’s creation…...this sparse, unproven tree.

I pleaded with my Mom and Dad, '"Let's take this little tree!

I know it doesn't look like much, but imagine the possibilities..."

A row of lights, some shiny balls; the tinsel placed just right.

It would command attention on that very special night.

For I'm sure that the shepherds and probably the Wiseman, too

Wondered about a tiny child and what he would someday do;

For He would set God's people free and fill those He met with grace...

And those who gazed on the manger's babe had seen the Father's face.

So, in each Christmas season, remember that the perfect tree

Is the one that became the Cross of Christ….

The one He bore to Calvary.

For the real story of each Christmas Season

Has special meaning for you and me….

As we celebrate God‘s unspeakable gift and remember

The Perfect Tree!

W. Patrick Queen @  Christmas 2011

A HEAVENLY PERSPECTIVE FOR CHRISTMAS...

If you are like a lot of folks this time of year, you begin to look at what you have and what you can give to those you love. After all, it is the Christmas season and that is the reason for the season ...to give to those we love and show them how much. But I would beg to differ and ask that we approach this season of gift giving from a different perspective ...to see Christmas from the one who gave and held nothing back.

I know that when man sinned and we fell from grace, God put into motion His plan of redemption ....and that plan called for justice and for the shedding of blood so that sins might not just be covered over, but might be forever removed.

Yes at Christmas, it is easy to get caught up in all the tinsel, lights, decorations and presents...and for those of us that believe in the birth of the Christ-child, we so love the compassion of a mighty God that sent His Son to be born as a babe and dwell among us...Emmanuel, God with us.

But the Christmas story is not about the child born to us....it is about the cross borne for us by a Savior, Jesus Christ the Lord. When God's plan went into effect that day in the Garden of Eden, God prepared all of Heaven for the sacrifice that was to come and though it began with the lowly birth of the King of the Universe, wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a lowly cattle stall...the true gift of Christmas was the sacrifice that Jesus made for us at the cross.

Jesus could have held His position in Heaven and told His Heavenly Father to come up with a new plan to save mankind; but He did not! He forsook all and stepped out of Heaven's glory to become the substitute for you and me. The cross and all its pain and suffering belonged to you and me...it was for our sins that we should have been nailed there; however, God would not let that happen because of His great love for His creation ...so He gave up His most precious Son and send Him to stand in your place and mine.

Yes, the story of Christmas centers around the CHILD; but, it is really about the CROSS and the love of the Father for His lost children, the joy of His creation. So, this Christmas, see the gift of Christmas in a new and heavenly perspective as you see what Jesus sacrificed for you in Heaven so that He could become the sacrifice for you on the cross.

I promise if you do, Christmas will mean so much more than presents you give or receive. Besides, if we know Christ as our Savior, we are already blessed beyond measure...what else could we possible need?

Merry Christmas through Heaven's Eyes,

WPQ

Poem of the day:

If you just celebrate Christmas

With lights and gifts and such...

You may miss God's greatest gift

And the joy of Heaven's touch.

For on that night so long ago,

When angels came from glory;

And heralded the baby's birth

To begin the Christmas story.

The night was filled with joyous song

As Heaven's light show filled the skies

And we now we come to celebrate

To see Christmas through Heavenly eyes.

wpq@2016

The following is a reprint from November 2009....

Come Home for Christmas

For many years, probably dating back to my late twenties, I have tried each year to write a Christmas poem that embraces the reason for the season. The poems have been short, long, epic, comical, serious, whimsical but most of all, celebratory in nature. After all, the Christmas season is about celebrating the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I have written about this holy season from almost every vantage point…from the donkey that Mary rode upon to the little angel in charge of the Heavenly Host, announcing to the shepherds the birth of Jesus….but this year, in light of all that is taking place in our country and around the world, my vantage point is a little different.

So many of our families have their loved ones spread across the globe, standing in harm’s way as they defend the sacred values and ideals that we as Americans hold so dear. It is to these brave, courageous men (and women) that I would like to dedicate the following poem …it is my prayer that God will watch over, protect and defend and under His great mercy, provide safe passage home to many of our military men and women this Christmas season. I ask that each of us do something measured and on purpose that will signify to our armed forces the value and dignity we bestow upon them….MAY THE GOD OF AMERICA PROTECT EACH OF YOU AND ANSWER THE PRAYER OF YOUR HEART ….TO BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS WITH THE ONES YOU LOVE,

Amen.

Come Home for Christmas

It seems like many years ago that you went away

I was just a tiny tot that loved to run and play

But, Mom says that it was only about a year ago

When you were called to go to war…my, but time is slow.

I can’t believe that its time for Christmas once again

And you’re not here to celebrate with our family and friends;

To lift me on your shoulders; to place the star upon the tree;

To bounce me up and down on a bronco-buckin’ knee.

Today, we climbed into the attic with all the spiders, bugs and such

And Mom said I was really brave for helping out so much.

We gathered all the boxes of lights and Christmas stuff …

And that floppy-eared old hound dog that you and I named, “Ruff.”

Grandpop carried down the tree in that dusty old trash bag

And Mom started cleaning with her trusty dusting rag…

But, I was very quiet as I fought back all my tears

‘Cause Mom said you’re not coming home for Christmas this year.

Now, I know that you told me that I must try hard to be brave

‘Cause there were other kids just like me you had to go and save;

You had to go and fight in a war where valiant men would die

You told me to be “a brave soldier” and do my best not to cry.

Daddy, I’ve been trying to do just as you ask;

So I could kneel at my bedside with one simple task.

To pray that Jesus would keep you out of harm’s way

So He could send you home to us before Christmas Day.

Yes, I made this promise that I’m trying to keep;

That’s to pray for you every night until I fall asleep.

So I’ll obey all the grownups and do just what they say,

If Jesus will bring you back to us before Christmas Day.

I promise that I will be brave and not cry at all

If God will help my daddy and his men to stand tall;

To fight for all our freedoms and our American way

And let Daddy come home and celebrate this Christmas day.

I won’t ask Santa for anything even though I’ve been great,

If you’ll bring Daddy home to us not one minute late…

And so, dear God, if it’s okay to make one more request of you

Could you let all the other daddies come home for Christmas, too?

W. Patrick Queen

 November 2009

Please feel free to share this with others you know….especially if they have a loved one in the military this Christmas season…May God Bless each of you as you reach out for Him….

           

WPQ

The Man and the Birds...A Christmas Story

Each year at Christmas, I eagerly search across my radio dial trying to find the story of the Man and the Birds, as told my Paul Harvey. I find that in listening to that story, I am so wonderfully reminded of the love of God for each of us. On many occasions, I have been forced to pull off on the side of the road to listen to the conclusion of the story…it’s so hard to drive when your eyes are water-logged and leaking.

I hope and pray that during this Christmas season, you will have the wonderful opportunity to hear Mr. Harvey’s captivating telling of this timeless story…of Emmanuel, God with us. If not, then please read on and be forever blessed to know that the love of God was expressed…in human form…in a manager in Bethlehem…in a baby named JESUS.

The Man and the Birds by Paul Harvey:
The man to whom I'm going to introduce you was not a scrooge; he was a kind decent, mostly good man. He was generous to his family and always upright in his dealings with other men. But he just didn't believe all that incarnation stuff which the churches proclaim at Christmas Time. It just didn't make sense and he was too honest to pretend otherwise. He just couldn't swallow the Jesus Story, about God coming to Earth as a man. 

"I'm truly sorry to distress you," he told his wife, "but I'm not going with you to church this Christmas Eve." He said he'd feel like a hypocrite. That he'd much rather just stay at home, but that he would wait up for them. And so he stayed and they went to the midnight service.

Shortly after the family drove away in the car, snow began to fall. He went to the window to watch the flurries getting heavier and heavier and then went back to his fireside chair and began to read his newspaper. Minutes later he was startled by a thudding sound...Then another, and then another. Sort of a thump or a thud...At first he thought someone must be throwing snowballs against his living room window. But when he went to the front door to investigate, he found a flock of birds huddled miserably in the snow. They'd been caught in the storm and, in a desperate search for shelter, had tried to fly through his large landscape window.

Well, he couldn't let the poor creatures lie there and freeze, so he remembered the barn where his children stabled their pony. That would provide a warm shelter, if he could direct the birds to it. Quickly he put on a coat, galoshes, tramped through the deepening snow to the barn. He opened the doors wide and turned on a light, but the birds did not come in. He figured food would entice them in. So he hurried back to the house, fetched bread crumbs, sprinkled them on the snow, making a trail to the yellow-lighted wide open doorway of the stable. But to his dismay, the birds ignored the bread crumbs, and continued to flap around helplessly in the snow. He tried catching them...He tried shooing them into the barn by walking around them waving his arms...Instead, they scattered in every direction, except into the warm, lighted barn.

And then, he realized that they were afraid of him. To them, he reasoned, I am a strange and terrifying creature. If only I could think of some way to let them know that they can trust me...That I am not trying to hurt them, but to help them… But how?....since any move he made tended to frighten them, confuse them. They just would not follow. They would not be led or shooed because they feared him.

"If only I could be a bird," he thought to himself, "and mingle with them and speak their language. Then I could tell them not to be afraid. Then I could show them the way to the safe, warm barn. But I would have to be one of them so they could see and hear and understand." At that moment the church bells began to ring. The sound reached his ears above the sounds of the wind. As he stood there listening to the bells ….listening to the bells pealing forth the glad tidings of Christmas, he understood …. And he sank to his knees in the snow.

I trust that this Christmas, when you hear those church bells ring or the sounds of carolers lifting their voices in praise to the newborn babe, you too, will understand the message of Christmas….Jesus Christ is born and God is forever with us!

Merry Christmas….Happy Birthday, Jesus!

WPQ