We have a new house guest who moved in with us a couple of days ago.  He just finished a rehab program that lasted 8 months.  His name is Chris.  Our preacher, Paul, had him over in his office yesterday talking to him.  

Chris was sitting there antsy and anxious, wondering what he was going to do for work.  He was worried about how he was going to get his phone turned on.  And...a million other questions were running through his mind.  Finally Paul said to him..."I know exactly what you should do!"  Chris said, "What?"  Paul said, "Unpack your bags!"

What great advice!  Chris had now been here two full days and had not unpacked his bags.  They were sitting in the middle of the bedroom where he put them when he came in.  I had empty drawers for him, but he had not unpacked!

Sometimes the most worthy goal for any of us is simply to "unpack our bags!"'  We worry and we fret about what is going to happen tomorrow or next week...or even the next hour!  Just the act of unpacking our bags can be calming.  If we do the job that is right in front of us...maybe even a job that we have been sidestepping for several days...it's amazing how quickly everything else seems to fall into place.

So, if you are concerned about tomorrow (and who of us isn't!)...just simply start with what is in front of you, and unpack your bags.

I read a story this past week about a little girl who told her Mother that she didn't like to sleep by herself because there was a dragon in her closet.  She said that every time she went to sleep the dragon came out, so she couldn't go to sleep.

The Mother told her little girl..."oh don't worry.  I have the perfect thing to give you to kill the dragon.  Every time you wake up you just point this at the closet, turn it on, and immediately the dragon will go away!"  Then, she handed the little girl a flashlight.

The next morning, the little girl was ecstatic!  She ran into the kitchen exclaiming, "It worked, it worked!  Every time that dragon woke me up, I was able to make him go away!"

Dragons will always run away from the light.

I have written about my wonderful sister, Millie, before.  Here's another delightful story about her (My younger sister, Teresa, reminded me of this the other night. ):

We were at one of the guy's shows, "A Whale of a Tale" and Tommy led the people in that old hymn..."I was sinking deep in sin, ("Love Lifted Me.")    After we sang the first line, Teresa leaned over and said,"Whee-e-e-e!"

When I was a little girl and sat beside my older sister in church and we sang that hymn, she would always sing that first line..."I was sinking deep in sin".....then she would lean over to me and go "Whee-e-e-e!"  I always felt a little wicked when she did that, but all these years later, in my mind, I always go "Whee-e-e-e!"

My sister was one of the best people I have ever known.  I love that little wicked streak in her.