Author: Shari Baar (Page 2 of 22)

Trust Me

September 29, 2025 / Shari Baar / 0 Comments

For six years Larry and I lived with my parents as they approached the last years of their lives. Moving in with my parents when I was 60 had never remotely existed on my 5- or 10-year plan, yet it became an unexpected blessing. We traveled from Michigan to Idaho to live with them and throughout those years I was continually amazed at how much I learned from my mom as she suffered from dementia. Here are a few important life lessons she taught me,

Laugh at the repetitive humor – as a little child would

Almost every night after we had cleared the dishes Mom asked, “What do I do next?” And almost every night Larry’s response would be “Dance with me.”

He would put his arm around her shoulder and start doing the quasi-Rockettes kick while she stared at him in disbelief. Mom would look over at me and say “You live with this guy? I think I’ll send you a sympathy card.”

The same after-dinner conversation happened often, but of course it was new every day for Mom. I learned to find delight in the repetition.

Many times during the day Mom would ask,

What do I do, what do I do?

She simply needed direction and instruction about what comes next in her day since she would wander if left on her own. So I gave her jobs she loved and had done for decades yet couldn’t remember what they were – like watering the hanging flowers on the deck, emptying the dishwasher or help with making applesauce.

Sometimes we’d take a walk down the lane and talk about the crops growing nearby. We would exclaim in amazement when the corn next to the lane grew taller than us. Mom was a fair-weather walker, if there was a whisper of wind or if the weather was over 80 degrees, a walk would not happen.

My favorite time of the day was 10:00 because it became music time. Mom had played piano for over seven decades so she had most hymns and popular songs memorized. I could keep her busy by naming songs – anything from You Are My Sunshine to Amazing Grace – and she would play them beautifully by memory, complete with modulations and improvisation. Although she didn’t ever know who I was (are you the lady that lives at the end of the hall?) she remembered the notes to every song I ever named.

One day I came into the den when she was waking from her nap. She was in tears, crying out,

Lord, what do I do, what do I do?

Confusion reigned in her mind as it had become tangled and disobedient to her commands and desires.

What a beautiful picture of what we should be doing every minute of every day. I need to stay connected with Jesus and seek His guidance to live my life well. He has promised to give wisdom to those who ask. Sometimes He simply says,

Trust Me. Give thanks because I am working for your good, even when there is confusion and darkness all around.

Whenever I instructed Mom to do work like snapping beans, she is usually eager, although not without a few moans and groans now and then. But if there is no direction from me, she would have no idea where to go or what to do. If I am out of sight for more than a few minutes I would hear her calling,

Help! Help!

I would quickly come to comfort Mom and steer her back again to set the table and fill the glasses with water…

My mom taught me so much during those days. Even though her mind was foggy and forgetful, Jesus often spoke through her life into mine.

Look to the weak people of the world, there is wisdom to be found.

Do You Have a Choice?

August 26, 2025 / Shari Baar / 0 Comments

Do you know you can choose to be unoffended? In his book, Unoffendable, Brant Hansen challenges us to believe that we do have a choice. Although being offended is what comes naturally, it doesn’t mean we have to fall into that trap.

Today’s cancel culture teaches us – If you aren’t like me, if you disagree with me – I may cancel you out of my life and never speak to you again.

When I study the life of Jesus, I am amazed. He never cancelled anyone. Nor was He ever shocked or surprised at human behavior. He knew we were all basically selfish, He knew the fallen human heart was just that – fallen. So maybe, just maybe we would do well to live the same way. We all know what’s in our own heart so we can imagine every other person struggles with the same exact stuff.

Different details

different day

different people,

but basically, we all skirmish with the same emotions as every other human on the planet.

Because I battle bitterness toward people who have hurt me, I know others do as well. I struggle with forgiveness, so I know others also struggle when I hurt them. When we can accept it as a fact – that people in general are self-centered, untrustworthy, unfaithful and prone to egocentricity – we need not be shocked any longer and can learn to adjust our expectations accordingly.

This might seem pessimistic, but human behavior is no longer surprising. If we simply remember that people will react in ways we don’t like, we can plan for it and choose a better way. We can replace the shock and anger with gratitude.

We see anger in the grocery store and at the bank, rage on the roads and annoyance at home. Offense seems to be the fashion, outrage the popular trend. But to be perpetually shocked and offended at others is exhausting. Brant suggests that we might start living with realistic expectations and choose to be the beautiful exception – to be those who are not offended.

Imagine the results of speaking kindness after being insulted instead of shooting back words of the same.

Imagine the reaction if we spoke of the good people do instead of highlighting the evil.

Imagine trusting God to take care of the people who have hurt you, to let Him do the work and mete out the justice you are incapable of giving.

Imagine if someone cuts you off in traffic and you choose to replace that shock and horror with gratitude, because it gives you an opportunity to forgive and pray for them.

And then when a person generously lets you merge – give thanks.

Imagine your life becoming less stressful because you give up your right to anger and offense.

We need to remember when Jesus was reviled, spat upon and mocked, he never came back with similar words, but instead as he was hanging from the cross, prayed for his enemies,

Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.

If Jesus lives in us, we have the power to forgive, to give thanks during difficult times and trust our Father to do what we cannot.

One thing about anger and gratitude, they can’t coexist. It’s one or the other. Being angry and offended drains the very life from you. The other fills your life with beauty.

Choose wisely.

Let’s be the Beautiful Exception.

Mundane Sunsets

July 17, 2025 / Shari Baar / 0 Comments

Tonight we had a mundane sunset. Every night I glance out the window to see the palette of the evening. Sometimes it’s simply blue and grey, other times there are combinations of orange, yellow, blue, maroon, red, purple, orange and countless other colors of the rainbow. But tonight it was just hues of the blue sky, rather dull colors when contrasted with the other flaming, glorious, golden and sometimes stormy sunsets of previous evenings.

That got me thinking about what makes a gorgeous sunset. The more clouds – the positioning, depth, and different layering of clouds – the more beautiful sunset. The less clouds, the more boring.

When my dad and I used to sit out in the garage he gave me brief lessons about cloud types. The cirrus clouds deliver a thin web-like texture, the cumulus give a bit more depth and color, whereas the stratus are the most foreboding of all. Yet, when all three are combined in different parts of the sky, the results can be stunning as the sun shines through them.

Of course that got me thinking about what makes our lives beautiful. If I equate clouds with trials and hardships – all those things we try to run away from in life – then the more and various clouds equal the more beauty. Now I imagine that’s not what you wanted to hear today. Nobody I know is asking for difficulties to come so they can become more beautiful, but we all know that hard times do have a way of finding their way into our lives.

If you’re old enough to remember the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip, you’ll know that whenever Calvin’s dad gave him chores to do he would sulk. Inevitably Calvin’s dad would say something to the effect that hard things are what build character – at which Calvin would roll his eyes and under his breath say “Yeah, ok Dad.”

Of course, what Calvin’s dad said is true. Hard stuff in life does lead to the refining and building of our character. Troubles bringing us to our knees, help to ground off the rough edges of our personality, and if we allow it, trials cause us to become more patient, kind and caring.

I remember being decades younger and not having a lot of tolerance for other people’s weaknesses, grief or pain. But after I experienced the deaths of those I love, I remember feeling a broken heart – for the first time in my life. I had heard other people talk about having broken hearts, but when I experienced it myself, I grew in compassion for others’ grief.

I used to be afraid to talk to someone who had lost a loved one to suicide or suffered a betrayal of a close friend. But it was only then, when I unwillingly belonged to the same club as they, that I learned to talk about those emotions of grief, depression and anger because my only other choice was to stuff them down, allowing them to consume me from the inside out.

Recently I read a story illustrating this principle:

The Cloak

One night a heartbroken friend had a dream that she was standing in front of Jesus. He handed her a cloak. As she looked at the cloak, she realized it was alive. She could see that its threads were strands of specific events from her life, some bright and beautiful, others wormy and grotesque. She looked at the ugly strands–abuse, betrayal, divorce, illness, grief–each reminding her of seasons of excruciating pain. Just as she tried to pull out the threads, she glanced at Jesus. He took the cloak, wrapped her in it, and looked at her with an expression of deep pleasure and delight, as if the cloak were the most beautiful tapestry ever woven. At that moment she realized that if she attempted to pluck out the ugly bits, the entire garment would unravel.

We have all suffered innumerable hurts, heartaches and devastating events, for no one is immune. At times we may feel like we live in a never-ending dark tunnel. We have a choice, however – a choice to allow Jesus to fight for us against the hard stuff or succumb to their power and live in fear and despair.

It’s often tempting to curse the clouds when they cover the sun. I find myself thinking thoughts like:

This was not in my plans.

Why me?

I don’t deserve this.

I feel like God doesn’t even care, He’s just abandoned and forgotten me.

This happens to others, not to me…

Yet, one thing we know for sure is that Jesus is walking with us in the trouble, deep in the clouds, through every storm. Trust Him with your darkness.

Hope reminds us that our best days are ahead, not behind us.

Surrender tomorrow to God – He’s already been there.

Caleb Kaltenbach

God Box

June 26, 2025 / Shari Baar / 0 Comments

Do you know that on average you make 35,000 choices every day? I had no idea, but that’s what the research says. You can choose to get out of bed in the morning, choose to smile, choose to be kind to your husband and choose to say “thank you” to the people around you.

You can also choose to worry – about what your friend thinks of you, worry about wearing the right clothes, about what your children are doing… the possibilities are endless.

Every day we are faced with two basic choices.

We have a choice to worry about tomorrow

– or –

we can choose to trust God and cast those worries on Jesus.

Craig Groeschel recently wrote a book Winning the War in Your Mind, teaching about those very things. One specific example he gives is an incredibly easy and tangible way to be thinking about what you are thinking. Craig suggests making a God Box. It can be a shoebox, an Amazon box, or any other little box you may have lying around. On the outside of the box write the word God. Any time you have a runaway thought, a worry or a temptation, write it down on a piece of paper and throw it in the God Box.

You might write something like:

I’m afraid there won’t be enough money to cover the bills

I’m worried about my 17 year-old

What if our business fails?

I’m afraid of what may happen to my children when I am not around

I’m worried about my health, what if I never get better?

Will there be enough food for all?

Will my friend ever forgive me?

When you write each of these worries on a piece of paper and put it in the God Box, you could say:

God, I know you’re bigger than all these problems and I will trust you with them. I can do nothing to fix anything, and so I give them all to you. I don’t want to expend my mental real estate focusing on all these issues I cannot change, so I give them to you.

Once you pray and give it to God, go on with your life.

But if you decide you want to worry about something you’ve already put in the God box, open it up take out that slip of paper and say to God,

I don’t trust you any more with this item so I’m going to worry some more about it.

You may think that sounds like a rude thing to say to God, but in effect that’s what we’re saying when we fill our mind with worry. The apostle Peter tells us to cast all our cares upon God for He cares for you. Our thoughts seek to betray us, and doubts pop into our mind, but we have a choice whether we will worry about stuff, or live a life of trust and dependence on God.

Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we will receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:16

Sunflowers and Sagebrush

May 3, 2025 / Shari Baar / 0 Comments

A few years ago, Larry and I drove through the Camas Prairie, a wilderness where there are lots more cattle and acreage than people. It was a typical dusty dirt road in Idaho – of which there are many. We drove for miles with only sagebrush, dirt and stones as our scenery.

Suddenly we came upon the prettiest little sunflowers lining that dry simple road. I was shocked, wondering how there was enough moisture for them to grow in this parched, deserted country.

As we continued to drive I got thinking about the culture we are now living in daily. It’s a culture of outrage and harsh judgments, where everyone wants their opinion heard, leading to cancel culture, not unlike the stones and sagebrush.

If you don’t agree with me, I will cancel you as a person, I will cut you out of my life and count you as non-human with no value whatsoever.

Once we start thinking of people in this manner, we are simply throwing verbal rocks and dirt at each other. It’s unpleasant, ugly, dangerous and divisive. Whenever a person is labeled only as part of an ethnic people group, a religious ideology or a certain political leaning, we have certifiably canceled them as a human being.

Every society creates dividing lines among people groups, categorizing them into hierarchies of importance according to the powers that be. We have all created caste systems in our own minds toward those we deem worthy or not worthy.

In his book, A Gentle Answer, Scott Sauls gives us a different way to live. He reminds us that Jesus loved us at our worst and if we are followers of Him, we are commanded to love others at their worst. He says,

Jesus has been gentle toward us, so we have good reason to become gentle toward others, including those who treat us like enemies. “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of Your Father who is in heaven.” Matt. 5:43-45. Because Jesus has covered all of our offenses, we can be among the least offensive and the least offended people in the world. This is the way of the gentle answer.

Having a gentle answer has nothing to do with being weak. Weakness is often shown in destruction and harm to other people’s bodies and physical property. Weakness is shown by intimidating others, belittling those who disagree. Anyone can let anger overtake their emotions and act in violence, destroying with rage anything in their path. It’s easy to criticize and tear down.

Speaking a gentle answer, especially toward those you disagree with, takes an incredible amount of restraint, a strength that requires the deepest and most courageous kind of faith. A faith that ultimately believes in the justice of God, that He will work good out of evil – but in His time, not ours.

Seeing those delicate beautiful sunflowers among all the dry and brittle sage brush is a reminder of what kind words and a gentle answer look like in our culture of shouting judgments on others. We have no power to change anyone’s opinion or ideology, especially not by belittling and mocking, but we can answer gently.

Lord, give us strength to give a gentle answer and become sunflowers in a desert wasteland of sagebrush and stones.

Ultra Marathon

March 31, 2025 / Shari Baar / 0 Comments

Have you ever heard of the Ultra Marathon? It’s a 544-mile race in Australia – typically 18 hours of running, 6 hours of sleeping – on repeat for 7 days. Typically dominated by fit 20-somethings sponsored by Nike or Adidas, in 1983 a new competitor emerged. Cliff Young, a 61-year-old in his Osh-Gosh overalls and rubber work boots with galoshes – in case it rained – showed up.

Cliff was a potato farmer with 2,000 head of sheep on the side. He would run up and down the hills in his pasture for days and nights at a time, so he figured this race would just be a few more days beyond that.

All the younger folks in the race blazed away from the finish line while Cliff started shuffling. He was left in the dust as he shuffled along. But at night when all the others were laying down to sleep for 6 hours, Cliff kept on shuffling,

All through the black nights, Cliff never stopped. He had not heard about the conventional wisdom of running hard for 18 hours and sleeping 6. The dark never slowed him down because he didn’t know he was supposed to stop, so he just kept on shuffling and gradually overcame the below 30 crowd in their $400 Nikes.

At the end of the race, Cliff Young came in first – a full 9 hours before the second-place runner crossed the finish line. He was handed the prize, $10,000 but said he didn’t know there was a prize. So as each runner after him crossed the line, he handed them some money because “they worked hard too.” Cliff walked away with no money at all because he ran for the pure joy of running.

It’s less about speed and more about endurance.

I wonder if we could live like Cliff Young Shuffled – and I don’t mean shuffling for 6 days without sleep. But perhaps adapting some everyday shuffling, slow but steady – for the pure joy of it.

The same sure and steady rhythms, day in and day out – the making of the bed, followed by the opening of the Word, followed by the journaling of the heart, followed by the moving of the body – just this enduring shuffle of doing the next hard and holy small thing – will win everything in the end. Ann Voskamp

We can always rely on our Friend, the Holy Spirit, for the strength we need to keep on living through the light and the dark, through the gray days and the sunny – to persevere instead of giving up.

On my own, I would have given up years ago. Life is hard and it’s not going to get any easier, but with promises of God,

I will never leave you or forsake you

Lo, I am with you always

I have loved you with an everlasting love

We need not ever give up. If we have a pulse, we have a purpose.

It’s not our strength God’s looking for, but our weakness, as we surrender and trust Him to provide the strength for our struggles which will never end until we take our last breath.

Hold on, press on, surrender your will to His, and shuffle your race well so you will hear those precious words,

Well done, good and faithful servant

Are You a Disciple of the Internet?

February 27, 2025 / Shari Baar / 0 Comments

Disciple of the Internet – have you ever thought of yourself by this title? I recently listened to a John Eldredge podcast by that name and was a bit offended by the phrase. I thought to myself,

I’m not a disciple of the Internet, I’m a disciple of Jesus.

But after listening to John’s podcast, I agree with his observation of our culture. We live in a time when we have access to all the information known to mankind with a single click. Whenever we speak or type a question into Google, we typically get over 2 million answers in less than a second. No waiting, no wondering, only immediate responses intended to satisfy our every whim.

Because we live with such overwhelming immediate answers to our questions, we tend to expect God to become speedy as well.

Most of us use the internet every day, perhaps hours every day, and because of this, our mindset has become different than it was decades ago. Back in the 1900’s, we didn’t expect anything to move too quickly. Sure, we could drive a car, fly around the world in a jet, watch a spaceship go to the moon, but beyond that our lives were lived relatively slow. We would linger with people, work and play outside, stroll down the street looking around and observing the beauty.

Today, it is quite rare to see anyone walk with no device, simply enjoying their surroundings. We have sadly become quite oblivious to anything happening around us, immersed in our own virtual worlds.

As John Eldredge says,

You are a disciple of the system that tutors you.

The internet is amazing if you want to fix your washing machine, build a retaining wall, or learn how to prune a tree. I am a big fan of YouTube; I love to watch music videos and podcasts. But if I am looking for direction and wisdom from God I need to slow down, listen and wait. Wait, you say? Now that is tough for us in the 21^st century.

Our faith is powerful, yet fragile – kind of like coral reefs. It needs protection from distractions if we want to hear from our Heavenly Father. Even though our technology has been continually speeding up, now travelling two thirds the speed of light, Jesus does not see that as a threat – something He needs to keep up with when communicating with us.

As He said himself,

I am the same yesterday, today and forever.

If He is the same yesterday, today and forever, then I believe he requires us to slow down, wait and listen – without distraction.

I just Googled “how many times is the word ‘wait’ found in the Bible?” And the answer is, depending on the translation you use, over 120 times. Here’s one:

Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the Lord.

Psalm 27:14

Sitting still and waiting is not part of our culture’s mantra, but if we ask the Holy Spirit to teach us that valuable discipline, I believe we’ll hear from God. He is patiently waiting for us to talk to Him, so tell Him your troubles and frustrations, share your joys and pleasures. Ask Him a question and He will answer you, probably not as quickly as you would like but He will answer. He is a good, good Father and His love for you endures forever.

We live in a culture addicted to quick, but Jesus is waiting for you to come away from distractions, slow down and listen to Him and His Word.

My Day With Mary

January 2, 2025 / Shari Baar / 0 Comments

A few weeks ago my friend, Jan, called and asked if I would help her with a Christmas luncheon for the twelve widows in the church. I thought it was a beautiful idea so I said Yes. Jan had already taken care of most of the food details, so I volunteered to bring some dessert.

The night before the big day I got a call from Jan asking if I would be willing to pick up Mary – one of the widows who lives in Lamont, a 25-minute drive. I said sure, so the next morning I drove to the assisted care facility where Mary was ready and eagerly waiting my arrival. I introduced myself to her and off we went. We had a lovely conversation as we drove to the church, where the luncheon had been prepared. Mary has macular degeneration so is unable to see well, one eye is totally blind, the other is quite foggy. She mentioned that if her eyesight was good, she would still be living in her own home because her mind is still sharp.

We had a pleasant conversation as we drove, Mary telling me about her four daughters and some history about each one. In a short time, we made it to church and enjoyed a lovely lunch and conversation. After several hours the luncheon was over and it was time to take Mary back to her home, so again we chatted as we traveled, covering the same topics as the previous drive.

A day later, Brent – a friend of Mary’s – called Mary and asked how the luncheon was. “I didn’t go to a luncheon,” said Mary, “I’ve been at the home all week.” So Brent called Jan and asked why Mary hadn’t attended the luncheon. Jan replied, “Mary was here, Shari went to pick her up and took her home again.”

As I heard this interesting story, I became a bit peeved. I had driven almost two hours with Mary in the car and she hadn’t remembered anything about it?!? (This conversation was going on in my mind). Immediately I felt as if I had wasted my time, doing things for someone who didn’t even remember…

And then I had the sudden thought,

And how many times has God done things for me of which I have

completely forgotten or rarely noticed?

The sun comes up every morning

I have breath in my lungs

He provides oxygen for me to take a breath

He gave me a family to love

He was with me through all 15 times I have moved in my married life

He comforts me when I mourn

He’s given me a heart to celebrate joy

He’s given me friends in whom I can confide

He’s given me Himself to live everyday in joy and gratitude

Is there anything God has done for you lately? Maybe make a list?

Silent Night, Painful Night

December 12, 2024 / Shari Baar / 0 Comments

When our family was younger – about three decades ago – we and our four daughters would light the advent candles every night and sing Christmas Carols together. Even though there may have been misunderstandings, faulty communication and hurts during the day, the singing would somehow make things better, peaceful and good. Those memories are precious, when life was simpler….

Fast forward to years later when our family was growing – boyfriends, husbands and babies. One memorable Christmas Eve as we were all together, hurtful words were spoken, tears streamed down, brokenness and pain shattered the evening. This night before Christmas was not what any of us had hoped for or could have predicted. The next morning, Christmas Day, our four daughters were scheduled to sing during the worship service. As the evening wore on and we were working toward understanding and forgiveness, one of the sons-in-law asked what song we were planning to sing. All Is Well was my reply. He said “I think The Old Rugged Cross would be more appropriate at this point.” Personally, I was ready to cancel Christmas altogether.

After all the careful planning, meal preparation and hopes of a Silent Night, Holy Night, it had turned into a Painful Night, Tearful Night. I was in no mood to sing, and especially not All Is Well because all was certainly not well in our home that dark night. But in the midst of the sadness and heartache that came with our brokenness, God was with us, Immanuel.

It was almost midnight when the four girls and I walked over to the empty church building and practiced All Is Well. Our daughters sang, I accompanied on the piano and as we practiced, somewhat mechanically, I felt the Spirit of God hovering among us, silently, gently, almost imperceptibly. Hope grew in my heart – that relationships would be restored and love would continue. Exhausted, yet at peace, we went home to sleep. The next morning dawned and we quietly gathered ourselves together. We worshiped in faith, still bruised and weary, but we sang All Is Well.

Since that time I have pondered many times the fact that All is Well, always, whether life is peaceful or whether there is strain. The fact is, Immanuel, God is with us – here in our hard times and our joyful times. He never leaves or forsakes us. He’s working to continually restore relationships and bring reconciliation to those who are willing to forgive.

A Hallmark Christmas was not ours that year, but we learned once again that Jesus came for families like ours who battle, disagree and hurt each other. He came so we could be made new, so we could learn to love faithfulness, to humble ourselves and forgive.

Many Christmas Eves later Larry and I were in Idaho, living with and caring for my parents, and still we sang. On those dark and cold advent nights we practiced the same tradition with my parents as we did so long ago with our children. We lit the candles and sang carols, a new tradition for them. Their voices quavered and were not quite as in tune as they used to be. When we went down the scale on Away in A Manger my dad went up and we met somewhere in the middle, but it was still peaceful and good.

All Is Well.

And all shall be well.

The Gift of Simple

November 5, 2024 / Shari Baar / 0 Comments

I have been reading the fascinating biography of Moses lately and it is quite amazing. At the end of his life, as he is handing the mantle to Joshua, Moses gives some simple, concise commands. Joshua has been Moses’ right-hand man for decades, so Joshua wasn’t completely unaware of the challenges before him, but let’s face it – it’s a huge job to take over the leadership of more than a million people in the middle of a desert.

What I found amazing was the simplicity of the instructions Moses gave to Joshua as he was getting ready to become the leader of the Israeli people.

Be strong and courageous

God goes with you

God will never leave or forsake you

There were many unknowns for Joshua, just like there are many unknowns in our futures, yet these are the only instructions Moses gave him. Later, after Moses died, God Himself gave Joshua some commands

Be strong and very courageous

I will never leave you nor forsake you

Be careful to obey me

Do not be afraid or discouraged

They look quite similar to the instructions from Moses to Joshua, don’t they? After reading and comparing the lists I got wondering if these would be good instructions for us as we live thousands of years later in a world full of uncertainty.

They are simple and concise, easy to remember when the day is light and all is well, but it may be a bit more difficult when darkness and distractions come into focus. One of my friends has the simplest of all instructions when crushing anxiety shows up:

Trust God and breathe.

There is much in our world to become stressed about, but one thing is sure – worrying about it won’t change a thing. We certainly can complain, grumble and be troubled about many details of life, but what will change? Absolutely nothing.

Have you ever heard the acronym ROI? Yeah, me neither, but I recently learned it means: Return on your investments. If you invest minutes, hours and days worrying about everything in your life, you will certainly receive a return on that – mainly anxiety, panic attacks and perhaps ulcers.

But if you invest minutes, hours and days meditating on the goodness of God and His direction to….

Be strong and courageous

Not be afraid

Meditate on His love for you

Remember that God is for you and will take care of you,

Give thanks in all things, for this is God’s will for you

…then the (ROI) return on your investment will be peace, love and joy, all which come from Holy Spirit.

I’d much rather have peace than anxiety, how about you?

You may want to start with this simple statement:

Jesus, I give everyone and everything to You

No matter what news I hear, no matter how disturbing the election results are,

I will not be afraid

Author: Shari Baar (Page 2 of 22)

Trust Me

Do You Have a Choice?

Mundane Sunsets

God Box

Sunflowers and Sagebrush

Ultra Marathon

Are You a Disciple of the Internet?

My Day With Mary

Silent Night, Painful Night

The Gift of Simple

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