Everything's Possible - Day 32

Philippians 4: 8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.

This is such a great and powerful text, but it is also really great advice for us. We don’t always spend our time chasing the things that were listed above. Whether it is social media, entertainment, or just what we do when we are bored, we don’t always seek true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, and admirable things. 

In fact, do we know what those things are? Do we have a clear understanding of what it looks like to go after these things in our lives? I think we live in a world where so much is being offered up to us that is less than this list, but because we are not creating, developing, and making things that are what we have listed above. Perhaps we have lost the ability to make things that meet these standards. 

Now, I am not a maker by any means. I can’t really create things with my hands. However, as I write here, I realize that maybe this is my “making.” I have a friend who makes buttons and spoons, and they are amazing. My son is so good at making things with his 3D printer and envisioning cool things (he is in the product design program at Walla Walla University). My wife and my daughter are artists, and they make things that make the world more beautiful. My youngest son is a musician, and his music is fun and funny, creating emotions in your heart and mind. I write and create sermons and give talks that hopefully move people closer to the abovementioned things. I guess we are makers in our own right. 

What do you make or bring into the world that connects us to those things that are true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, and admirable? It can be anything. But perhaps it is time for us to stop consuming and start creating. 

1. Do you make anything? 
2. Do you make people laugh? 
3. How can you make more of what you do to make the world a better place?