June 2. Why Did Charlie Brown Kick The Football?

Stress! Ugh. Ever heard of Charles Schultz and the comic strip Snoopy? Do you remember how Charlie Brown used to attempt to kick the football and Lucy would always pull the ball away? Charlie Brown would land flat on his back again, again and again.

Where is something not working again and again and again in your business? You might have a situation where a system or person is constantly pulling the ball away. Can you change the system? Can you change the person and give them something else to do? Why are we kicking the ball at all?

 Maybe we can be playing a more productive game. What is the again and again and again you can recognize from the last six months? What is the first thing you can do about it in the next seven days?

In the book of Acts 1:3, we read about Christ being with the Apostles for forty days, forty! Do you recognize that number from the other lessons of the Bible? It is a significant number. There were forty days and nights of flooding for Noah, forty days in the wilderness for Christ, forty days of lent and so on.

So where might we be struggling and failing again and again and again, maybe even forty times in the last forty days? Where do you want to make a clear and clean break with an old way that does not bring joy to your life?

Where and what is bringing on stress? How about for the next forty days we do something about it? Just do it for forty days. Do not think beyond that time frame. All we need to do is think about changing the system, the person or play a different game.

Let us see what would happen if we did that in our own worlds. I can only imagine how my relationship with Christ might be improved. How about you? What is the first thing you can do about it in the next seven days? I cannot wait to hear from you about your successes.

Let us pray, Heavenly Father, when the season of summer arrives in the northern hemisphere, It is a time that brings thoughts of swimming pools for some, harvest in the plains states and school being out for others. But this summer, we pray that you comfort us as we look to change the complex to the simple.

Guide us in our journey to change the again and again and again so that we might glorify you. Changes us so that we forgive and love each other more. Change so that our relationships with Jesus become stronger. Come, again, again, and again. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen,