What does it take to make you happy? I think happiness depends more on what you do with what you have than it does on what you have. Let me give you an example.

Beagles are great dogs. They are bred to chase rabbits. But if there aren’t any rabbits around they will chase cats, cars, and boys. And if they are really bored Beagles have even been known to chase girls. Now the nice thing about beagles is that they are short and they stay short all their lives so they are just the right size for little boys. They are brown and black and white and they have long ears that flop when they run.

I was in the bookstore and I saw a round headed, clear-eyed little black boy about seven years old easily skipping through the isles. He was an adorable little fella’ and he appeared happy and carefree. He reminded me of an equally cute little guy in our church named Andrew.

A trail hike was the perfect order of the day. The boys were excited about the idea. It would be a good workout and it would be good to be together. We planned to leave immediately after lunch. I noticed Daniel, who will be ten in November, and Wes, who will be seven in December, scrambled for their gear. They had spent the morning pouring over outdoor outfitter catalogs looking at sophisticated equipment that would be sufficient to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail. I …

Ralph and Maxine had been married nearly fifty years. I was their pastor. One day I heard Ralph was in the hospital. I drove to town and made my way to his room. He was having a tussle with an ugly strain of the flu. It looked miserable, but it didn’t look serious. I kept my visit short, prayed with him, and said good-bye. I thought I would see him in church on Sunday, but the next day instead of being discharged to recover …

Have you ever noticed that we rarely if ever get ourselves into trouble without overriding a warning first? Sometimes we ignore a series of warnings before we plunge headlong into trouble. Even though there are evil influences all around us God influences us to do right and warns us about evil. In his infinite creativity, though a network of angels, the voice of the Spirit, the dictates of His word, or the agency of human authorities God is always faithful to warn His children when they are …