Vitamins for the Heart
Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts. – Proverbs 4:23 Making a Choice The beautiful, well-versed 83-year-old lady fully dressed every morning at 8:00 a.m. sharp, with her hair done in fashion and perfectly applied makeup, is moving to a retirement home. Her husband recently died, which motivated her move. After many hours of patiently waiting in the hall of the home, she smiled sweetly when told her room was ready. As she moved in her wheelchair toward the elevator, she was given a detailed description of her small room, including the curtains hanging from her window. “I love it,” she said, with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old girl who was just handed a new pet. “Mrs. Jones, you haven’t seen the room; just wait.” “That doesn’t matter,” she replied. “Happiness is something you decide over time. Whether or not I like my room doesn’t…
W. P. Schmidt When was the last time you walked in the fields, no houses or people, no cars and streets in sight? Just walking, looking at the fields, the trees, maybe some horses, and the beautiful skies, clouds, and the sun spreading its beautiful colors. I like walking in the fields whenever I get a chance. At the end of summer, when our little family visits the grandparents in their countryside house, I like to take some bags and roam the fields, seeking fruits. When our teenage daughter saw me going out like this, she said: “Daddy is going into the fields like an 18th century man.” In the eyes of a young teen, growing up with smartphones, TikTok, Instagram, etc., seeing me, living without these gadgets, preferring to walk in nature, I look like an 18th century man! She doesn’t have to go back that far in history.…
Konrad Fernandez Most of us know of the three wise men who follow the guiding star, and visit the child Jesus with gifts. In 1895 Henry Van Dyke wrote this beautiful short novel called “The Story of the Other Wise Man.” What’s the story about? This fourth wise man also sees the same signs in the heavens and sets out to find the Child Jesus; carrying his gifts of a Sapphire, a Ruby, and a very precious Pearl. But nothing goes as planned. He misses his rendezvous with the other three wise men because he is delayed helping a dying man. Now, to cross the desert alone he needs camels and supplies and sells one of his treasures to buy them. He arrives late in Bethlehem after saving the life of a child using another of his treasures. In the meantime, the child Jesus has left Bethlehem. And after many…