by Amber Dawn Dixon

While talking with my four year-old son recently, it occurred to me that there is one show that always makes me cry… happy tears but tears nonetheless. Extreme Makeover - Home Edition - is the name of the show and even though I know what is going to happen every time (a deserving family gets a new, unbelievably beautiful home), I never ceased to be amazed at how moved I am with each episode.

There is something so special about seeing someone’s life change and the pure gratitude and happiness in their eyes. And to see the thousands of people who come together to build these homes for each family, in addition to the whole community coming together to help those in need, is not only amazing but heartwarming for me.

So I’ve wondered what it is that makes me so emotional when I see this show? What makes my breath catch in my throat when that bus rolls out of the way? What makes the tears roll from my eyes when I see these families fall apart with such complete happiness?

It’s because we were made to give. Made to be selfless instead of selfish. Made to be like Jesus Christ, the Son of God who walked this earth and gave His life for us. But for too much of the time, we care only about ourselves. And we know this… but still we continue to do nothing about it. Maybe sometimes we feel like we couldn’t possibly do something to make a difference. But that shouldn’t stop us from trying.

It can be as simple as buying a stranger’s cup of coffee, pre-paying for someone’s gas at the station, or buying a single mom’s groceries, whatever it might be. The point is to do something for someone who has less than you - something to help change their life for the better is some small way. It may very well be just what they need at that time. It certainly doesn’t have to be a $600,000 home or a fancy car, or anything along that caliber. Most of the time it’s the little gifts in life that help change a person’s life for the better, regardless of that degree of change.

Don’t believe me? I have two words for you regarding giving back in some small way: Try it. You too may be moved to tears of happiness.

Amber Dixon has previously written for this website. For more information about her, please refer to her previous writing(s).

By King David (circa 1000 B.C.)

The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
He leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul:
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’ sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: For thou art with me;
Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies;
Thou annointest my head with oil; My cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever.

by Christopher Dixon

We all do it whether we intend to or not. We compare ourselves to those around us. For some it can become a problem, complete with extreme jealously and all that goes along with it; for others the issue is simply seeing someone who does something better than us and we have that brief moment when we feel we should try a bit harder. Such was the case for me recently.

For the last twenty years of my life, I have been an on again - off again jogger. It doesn’t come naturally to me but it’s something that, for the most part, I have been able to stay consistent with for the sake of remaining healthy. I take a small amount of pride in the fact that I can move for more than thirty minutes at a pace that is (at least) faster than a walk. It isn’t much faster, granted, but it is fast enough to help me feel good about myself.

After picking the habit back up recently after about two years of hit and miss jogging, I found myself humbled by a man who lives just down the street in our neighborhood. Here is why. Mentally, I expect men and women who are younger than me to be able to run a little easier (read: faster and longer) than I do. I also expect older people who are naturally quite slender with smaller frames to have natural inclinations that way as well. I am NOT mentally prepared for people to easily pass me when they don’t LOOK like they should be able to. On a recent jog, I noticed I was struggling to keep up with the pace of a man who is ten years my senior, taller, bigger frame, and much heavier than I am. We hadn’t planned on meeting but I recognized him from my neighborhood and we visited for the few minutes that I was able to stay at his pace. “This is terrible!” I thought to myself even though my brain told me he could have been training for years. It didn’t matter - I had already compared my jogging abilities to his.

And that was the problem. Jogging is a lot like life. The saying goes that we are here to complete, not compete. I would probably modify that saying some since competition can be a natural and healthy instinct. We are here to compete as well… but to compete on our own terms rather than someone else’s. My jogging will never be the exact same as my neighbors’ - any of them. Sometimes I’ll be slower and sometimes I’ll be faster. Either way, I don’t need to compare myself to any of them. That is a losing battle indeed.

by Colton August Ferguson Dixon

1) Don’t play with guns.

2) Don’t kill anyone.

3) Don’t kick people, even when you’re mad.

4) Pick some flowers to give to people but not enough to kill the bush.

5) Brush your teeth every day and every night.

6) Love your family - always.

7) Don’t stay mad at your family ’cause they don’t need to see you mad.

8) Ask people for help when you need it.

9) Try to always say, “Please.”

10) If you are little, ask for help reaching your drink (please).

11) Don’t fight with others - let soldiers do that.

12) Make sure to turn the TV off when you leave the house.

13) Make sure you turn all of the lights off when you leave the house.

14) Don’t waste electricity.

15) Give your friends and family lots of hugs and kisses.

16) Jesus is our Savior so you should love him.

17) Don’t eat too many treats.

18) Listen to your mommy and daddy and do what they say.

19) Don’t steal anything.

20) Keep the pets you have.

21) Eat lots of food like green beans and corn and carrots and applesauce and peas and sometimes a hot dog and sausages. And sometimes, if you don’t like it, eat something different. This will keep you healthy.

22) Pick up your messes.

23) Go to bed on time.

24) Get lots of exercise with your daddy. (If you are little, have your daddy help you.)

25) Get to the train station on time!!

Colton August Ferguson Dixon is a four-year-old who resides in Springfield, Missouri with his parents. While preparing to start his educational career in kindergarten, he is busy traveling throughout North America, motivating family, friends, and strangers alike with his outgoing personality and personal outlook on life. During his spare time he plays and travels extensively.

To get things done… Here are the words I have recited over and over in my brain since I first heard them and then my friend Jeff bought the album for me. Whether you like country music or not, the lyrics from this song by Alabama will resonate in your mind and heart… especially after hearing the song.

I’m in a hurry to get things done
Oh I rush and rush until life’s no fun
All I really gotta do is live and die
But I’m in a hurry and don’t know why

Don’t know why I have to drive so fast
My car has nothing to prove
It’s not new
But it’ll do zero to sixty in five point two

I’m in a hurry to get things done
Oh I rush and rush until life’s no fun
All I really gotta do is live and die
But I’m in a hurry and don’t know why

Can’t be late, I leave in plenty of time
Shakin’ hands with the clock
I can’t stop
I’m on a roll and I’m ready to rock

I’m in a hurry to get things done
Oh I rush and rush until life’s no fun
All I really gotta do is live and die
But I’m in a hurry and don’t know why

Oh, I hear a voice
That says I’m running behind
Better pick up my pace
It’s a race and there ain’t no room for someone in second place

I’m in a hurry to get things done
Oh I rush and rush until life’s no fun
All I really gotta do is live and die
But I’m in a hurry and don’t know why

How true. We are in a race with time and don’t even know why. How motivational is THAT to help us slow down and smell the roses?!??

by Christopher Dixon

If you are reading this… it is for a reason. To be quite frank, there are no accidents, no “oops,” or any other random types of events which happen in life. You are reading for a reason. I would be a liar if I told you I knew what the reason was, but I strongly believe you stumbled across this column for a reason.

So here goes. I was in a show choir when I was in high school. Believe it or not, many - if not most - of the cool kids were in the show choir. We had athletes, scholars, vocalists, and about everyone else you could imagine. We traveled, sang in the Orange Bowl, went to competitions and so forth. We had as members of the group the richest girl in town and the poorest boy in town; it was a talented and eclectic bunch, to say the least.

But in my four years in the singing group, there is one young lady who stands out to me. I’ll call her Suzy, for lack of a better name (not hers obviously, out of respect). Suzy was a year or so ahead of me and was confined to a wheelchair because of a terrible illness. [Sidenote: all of this is a true story. Not one bit is made up or embellished.] Suzy could not get out of her chair if her life depended on it. Furthermore, she depended on her mother to help her use the restroom, get around and perform daily functions of life. Looking back I realize that Don Sowers, our instructor, was kind and compassionate toward her as she “danced” and sang her way through her years with us in our show choir.

What is motivational is the fact that she was ALWAYS positive, even when we saw her being lifted into her mother’s van. Did I hear her complain? No. Was she a friend to me regardless of the fact that I was not in her class and did not know her well? Yes. Before she became more ill and passed, did I hear anything negative about “Suzy?” Nope. I know nothing about her personal beliefs - nothing at all. And it’s been almost twenty years since I spoke with this young woman. But I know that she inspired me and many others - to live life to the fullest, regardless of how rough it is.

I can only hope to be so brave….

By Jeff Sanders

For nearly eight years I worked as a prosecutor in a district attorney’s office in Texas, handling primarily misdemeanor and juvenile criminal cases. During that time, I came in contact with numerous individuals whose lives had fallen apart as a result of bad choices they made. On many occasions, I had the opportunity to come in direct contact with defendants who were not represented by an attorney, either at arraignment or in jail. Sadly, I saw firsthand how broken and destroyed their lives had become.

As a Christian, I would read in the Bible about how broken and sinful this world is. I don’t have to look past myself to realize that. But seeing the broken and hopeless lives with my own eyes was quite moving, especially when dealing with the juvenile cases. I prosecuted juvenile crimes that ranged from skipping school to aggravated robbery, manslaughter, and murder. It was and is heartbreaking to see these teenagers, and the families from which so many came, not have an ounce of hope that their lives will turn out better than the situations they were born into and the situations they created with their own decisions.

Fortunately, there is no life and no situation that is so broken and hopeless that God’s grace cannot fix and heal and make brand new. Sometimes–probably many times–God uses us, or at least gives us the opportunity, to be the glue that He uses to heal and repair the broken lives of others. Of course, there are just as many opportunities to be hammers which break and crush and destroy any hope that others possess. But the true blessing is with helping build-up and edify those in need.

I trust that God chose to use me and my wife and family in that way when we brought our baby girl home from the adoption agency last August. Our daughter was born into a difficult set of circumstances where there were concerns about her having a stable, safe life. The birth parents, fortunately, chose to put her up for adoption as opposed to having the state remove her from the home, as that was the likely outcome. While waiting on the finalization of the adoption in court, she has clearly been a blessing to me, my wife, and our son, with her smiles, giggles, and snuggles.

Just as God so frequently does, even when we may not always be aware, He has used this adoption to show us more of Himself and how He adopts believers into His holy family. This has helped me see more and more how, from a spiritual standpoint, I was born into a broken, fallen–humanity. And, more importantly, I have seen how God, through His death, burial, and resurrection nearly 2,000 years ago, wanted me to become a part of His family simply by accepting, by faith, His gracious gift of eternal life that only He could provide.

One difference I have noticed between us adopting our little girl and how God adopts believers into His family has to do with being blood-related. With my daughter, it is obvious that we are not related by blood. Her beautiful chocolate-brown skin is quite a contrast to my unattractive, pasty, pinkish-white skin. Once the adoption is finalized in court, I don’t anticipate that difference will change. For some reason, I don’t think the judge has the power to do that, nor would I want him to even if he could. Besides, that’s not really the type of blood relation that matters. The difference between this human adoption and God’s adoption of those who place their faith and trust in Him is that it was His literal blood that was shed for my sins and failures, allowing me to become part of His family and, thus, blood-related. Ultimately, that’s what really matters.

His grace and love has healed and fixed my broken life, making it brand new. I’m thankful that He gives us the opportunity to be instruments of His grace, working in the lives of others in need. With so many people struggling with seemingly broken and destroyed lives–both Christians and non-Christians–we have the opportunity to be glue in the lives of others, allowing God to use us in part of the process of restoring and healing broken hearts and lives. Also realizing that God is using others to help heal and repair broken parts of our own lives.

So, we have a choice. We can choose to be hammers and add to the broken, destroyed lives of others, either by intentionally causing more disappointment and destruction or by doing nothing. On the other hand, we can be glue that God uses to fix the broken lives around us, all the while He pours out His blessing, joy, grace, and love on all involved in the repair and restoration process.

Sanders received his undergraduate degree from Missouri State University and his Juris Doctorate in law from Baylor University in Waco, Texas. He lives in Texas with his wife Jamie and their two children.

(As a few others have asked, this author has asked to remain anonymous.)

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be
opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him
who knocks, the door will be opened.”
Matthew 7:7-8

Think for a few minutes on a great sorrow for the Christians of this time in America.

Many, many individual Christians and increasingly more churches, especially newer churches with a large attendance are slowly being led astray.

The idea is that I (or my church leaders) pick and choose very subtly from from the old and new testament and focus primarily on certain passages while almost ignoring other scripture that would provide them a more complete understanding.

This is very common in many so-called new testament churches today.
Do we not know that the entire Bible is necessary to get complete understanding.

If I have an incomplete understanding of scripture then I have an incomplete
understanding of how I am to live and I remain incomplete in my fellowship with
God.

Am I willing to do the hard work of searching the scriptures concerning something
that my pastor or Sunday School teacher said that I’m not sure I agree with?
Am I willing (and it is will power and hard work) to spend time in the scripture and time in prayer asking the Lord to help me understand about an issue?
There are so many that are following the Lord in several areas of their lives but
blind to other things because they don’t do the work of searching and praying for understanding.

Do I worship God in the assembly but find myself talking too much at home or
at work when the Lord would have me be quiet ? When what seems a severe
problem comes up do I panic and become frantic for all to see? Are there areas of my life
that are orderly but in some areas I live in chaos?

The Lord is a God of order, not confusion. He wants us to be complete in him just
as he is complete.

“Oh, I don’t have the time it takes to do all that. You don’t understand how much
I have to do every day just to earn a living and I am so tired.
Besides, I’m saved, I can trust the leadership in my church.”

Am I willing to ask the Lord to help me to seek him and give me the
strength and understanding to do his perfect will in my life?

If not, Join the great congregation that is being slowly led astray
because they do not seek the Lord and his will.

by Christopher Dixon

To say I hated her might be a bit strong and certainly not something I would want to believe about myself. To say, however, that she was and is a negative person is certainly an understatement, and I have known my fair share of miserable people. The person I am referring to is a lady who I worked for, albeit indirectly.

I’ll back up. In all fairness, this person’s reputation proceeds her. Anyone who takes a position working for or with her has already heard the horror stories. They know, prior to going in, that she will reduce you to tears, play dirty, and go out of her way to belittle you. She is merciless. (And by the way, this person is real; this isn’t a hypothetical story simply to make a point.) I mention this because I thought I knew what I was getting into prior to accepting the position. I was wrong. She is even worse than her reputation, and we all know that’s tough to do.

So, for over a year I lived and breathed a daily nightmare. It wasn’t just me; my colleagues suffered as well. For most of us, our personal lives suffered greatly because of this lady who made it her personal mission to make sure others suffered. My anger toward her grew, and grew, and grew some more. Most of us were guilty of calling her every name in the book… behind her back. And although she knew she was hated, and she hated herself, her rampage continued and likely continues to this day.

I no longer work in that particular environment. And having been able to take a few steps back, I realize that I am almost as guilty is she is/was. Why? Because my anger toward her didn’t damage anyone but me. Being angry with her certainly didn’t hurt her feelings - that was the reaction she wanted and expected. Being angry didn’t hurt my colleagues - they were already angry as well. Being angry hurt me and my personal relationships. So what was a guy like me to do??? Let it go. Permanently.

Believe it or not, praying for her should be my first goal after letting go of the anger. Secondly, the realization that the anger isn’t worth it ever again would be another goal and/or life lesson. And lastly, remembering that no one is worth that much anger and energy might come in helpful later in life when I meet the next miserable person. Because when we each Let Go of The Anger, the person we are best serving is ourself.

by Doris Schworer

When I was a little girl and wanted to do something that was beyond me I would say, “I can’t.” To which my mother would respond, “Don’t say you can’t. You just haven’t learned how yet. Or, “You’re not quite big enough yet, but you will do it some day.” Or her favorite as I grew older, “You’re as smart as the rest and a little smarter than most, so if it can be done I’m sure you can do it.”

When I was four my mother and sister would often read to me, but I was distressed because I couldn’t read it myself. “But you will someday. You’ll go to school and learn to read and learn a lot of other wonderful things.” I can’t recall that I was that eager to go to school, but if that’s what it took to learn to read so be it.

Needless to say I went and I learned just as she said I would.

The point to all of this is that we can’t let negativity enter our thoughts or our vocabulary. We’ll not do some things as skillfully as others, but we can learn to do them at least as adequately. We’ll not learn these skills overnight, so patience is required often with trial and error. But we have to keep our eyes on the end result.

Quoting Rick Devos, “The only thing that stands between a person and what they want in life is the will to try it and the faith that it is possible.”

Quoting Mary Ann Radmacher, “Courage does not always roar; sometimes it is a quiet voice at the end of the day that says, ‘I’ll try again tomorrow.’”

Let us always speak positive words to our children, family and friends. It can make a big difference.

Doris Schworer lives in Las Vegas, Nevada, and for decades has been instrumental in changing the lives of the less fortunate. In addition to being involved in the homeless ministry with her church, she has provided shelter for dozens of men and women over the years in her home. She has traveled throughout North America and ministers heavily to the Hispanic community throughout Nevada. She and her late husband Vince are the parents of three grown children and have two grown grandchildren.