Real joy is not found in having the best of everything but in trusting that God is making the best of everything.

Holy joy lies in the habit of murmuring thanks to God for the smallest of graces.

At the last, this is what will determine a fulfilling, meaningful life, a life that, behind all the facades, every one of us longs to live: gratitude for the blessings that expresses itself by becoming the blessing.

We can worship Christ in our sanctuaries and we can pray to God on our knees, but how we treat - or neglect - the person next door, the poor, every human being, this is how we truly speak to Christ and this is how we really treat Jesus.

How long does it take your soul to realize that your life is full? The slower the living, the greater the sense of fullness and satisfaction.

Expose your life to real need. Visit a developing a country. Take a short term mission trip. Write an inmate, send a letter to a sponsored child, serve in the inner city, at a food bank, with a crisis pregnancy center. Make time for shut-ins, the elderly, the sick, the single-parents, the new believers. Just find one way you can make your awareness of your gift-graced life intersect with a real place of need - and Christ in us will do the rest.

Parenting is about preparing children to get along with each other, to get along with you and without you, and that it's impossible to get along without God.