WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.859 morning church I was very thankful that Greg 00:00:03.859 --> 00:00:07.559 asked me to speak on joy I had the privilege 00:00:07.559 --> 00:00:10.359 to speak last year and I did kind of have that 00:00:10.359 --> 00:00:13.800 feeling that I still had more to say so thank 00:00:13.800 --> 00:00:16.780 you for the opportunity once again my name is 00:00:16.780 --> 00:00:20.030 Robin if you haven't met me or don't know anything 00:00:20.030 --> 00:00:23.269 about me, just a little history. I'm a Moliner 00:00:23.269 --> 00:00:27.190 at heart. I went to Moline High School. I'm very 00:00:27.190 --> 00:00:29.750 much involved in dance and theater my whole life. 00:00:30.050 --> 00:00:32.549 I went to Black Hawk College. I married my high 00:00:32.549 --> 00:00:36.609 school sweetheart. We have two beautiful girls, 00:00:37.030 --> 00:00:39.929 Clara and Grace. You might know Grace as hope 00:00:39.929 --> 00:00:42.549 or faith or peace or something other than Grace, 00:00:42.710 --> 00:00:47.420 but yep, she's mine. I worked at Circa 21 for 00:00:47.420 --> 00:00:50.079 a handful of years. I taught dance full -time 00:00:50.079 --> 00:00:53.420 for a handful of years. Moved out to Viola about 00:00:53.420 --> 00:00:59.000 nine years ago and was fortunate enough to start 00:00:59.000 --> 00:01:01.500 a business out there, a rec center, and I work 00:01:01.500 --> 00:01:03.960 at Blackhawk Bank and Trust as well, so I keep 00:01:03.960 --> 00:01:07.180 myself nice and busy. and obviously I'm here, 00:01:07.239 --> 00:01:10.680 and this is my favorite place to be. So I've 00:01:10.680 --> 00:01:13.799 got some books. When Greg asked me to speak on 00:01:13.799 --> 00:01:16.980 joy, I was like, okay, so people like to read, 00:01:17.019 --> 00:01:19.180 and I see that there's a lot of insight that 00:01:19.180 --> 00:01:21.159 can be found from books. So I picked up this 00:01:21.159 --> 00:01:25.420 book, Lisa, I don't know, Turkhurst? You guys 00:01:25.420 --> 00:01:27.459 can tell me if it's Lisa or Liza. I'm not really 00:01:27.459 --> 00:01:30.480 sure either. But what happens when women say 00:01:30.480 --> 00:01:33.379 yes to God? So I grabbed that book and I found 00:01:33.379 --> 00:01:35.680 some really nice nuggets that I wanted to share. 00:01:35.900 --> 00:01:39.420 I always like having a devotional that is something 00:01:39.420 --> 00:01:42.079 really short that I can use to start my day that 00:01:42.079 --> 00:01:44.840 doesn't take more than a couple minutes. So currently 00:01:44.840 --> 00:01:47.379 I've been reading Jesus Listens by Sarah Young. 00:01:47.500 --> 00:01:49.260 So I'm going to be referencing that a little 00:01:49.260 --> 00:01:53.480 bit as well. And obviously the good old Bible, 00:01:53.620 --> 00:01:57.359 the B -I -B -L. We're going to be in Luke 1 and 00:01:57.359 --> 00:02:01.359 John 1 today. I'm going to start in John 1, and 00:02:01.359 --> 00:02:06.079 we'll be reading verses 1 through 14. So if you 00:02:06.079 --> 00:02:08.020 have your Bible, you can open with me, or you 00:02:08.020 --> 00:02:12.599 can simply listen along. And we do have a tradition 00:02:12.599 --> 00:02:14.919 of standing, so if you'd like to stand with me 00:02:14.919 --> 00:02:16.900 while I read, you're more than welcome. If you're 00:02:16.900 --> 00:02:19.080 comfortable sitting, you are fine there as well. 00:02:22.039 --> 00:02:26.539 John 1, verse 1. In the beginning was the Word, 00:02:26.719 --> 00:02:29.439 and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 00:02:29.620 --> 00:02:33.060 He was with God in the beginning. Through him 00:02:33.060 --> 00:02:36.099 all things were made. Without him nothing was 00:02:36.099 --> 00:02:39.439 made that has been made. In him was life, and 00:02:39.439 --> 00:02:42.300 that life was the light of men. The light shines 00:02:42.300 --> 00:02:44.800 in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood 00:02:44.800 --> 00:02:48.819 it. There came a man who was sent from God. His 00:02:48.819 --> 00:02:52.259 name was John. He came as a witness to testify 00:02:52.259 --> 00:02:55.460 concerning that light, so that through him all 00:02:55.460 --> 00:02:58.539 men might believe. He himself was not the light. 00:02:58.620 --> 00:03:01.680 He came only as a witness to the light. The true 00:03:01.680 --> 00:03:04.300 light that gives light to every man was coming 00:03:04.300 --> 00:03:07.620 into the world. He was in the world, and though 00:03:07.620 --> 00:03:10.199 the world was made through him, the world did 00:03:10.199 --> 00:03:13.340 not recognize him. He came to that which was 00:03:13.340 --> 00:03:17.370 his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet 00:03:17.370 --> 00:03:20.050 to all who did receive him, to those who believed 00:03:20.050 --> 00:03:23.150 in his name, he gave the right to become children 00:03:23.150 --> 00:03:26.150 of God, children born not of natural descent 00:03:26.150 --> 00:03:29.150 nor of human decision, nor of a husband's will, 00:03:29.270 --> 00:03:33.169 but born of God. The word became flesh and made 00:03:33.169 --> 00:03:36.330 his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, 00:03:36.530 --> 00:03:39.849 the glory of the one and only, who came from 00:03:39.849 --> 00:03:43.550 the Father, full of grace and truth. Let us pray. 00:03:45.199 --> 00:03:48.819 Dear God, we thank you for today. The chill in 00:03:48.819 --> 00:03:51.900 the air does not touch the warmth that you put 00:03:51.900 --> 00:03:55.560 in our hearts. And I thank you, God, for the 00:03:55.560 --> 00:03:59.780 day that you've created, the joy that is free 00:03:59.780 --> 00:04:02.780 to all. I pray that you would bless our time 00:04:02.780 --> 00:04:04.860 here together, that your spirit would move within 00:04:04.860 --> 00:04:07.740 us, speaking through me and touching those that 00:04:07.740 --> 00:04:09.699 need to hear your voice today. In Jesus' name, 00:04:09.740 --> 00:04:14.479 amen. All right, you may get comfy. So the word 00:04:14.479 --> 00:04:19.000 became flesh. God's people were waiting for him, 00:04:19.079 --> 00:04:22.100 and they thought he was coming with a sword in 00:04:22.100 --> 00:04:26.540 his hand, ready for war. But he came as a child. 00:04:26.740 --> 00:04:31.399 He came as a baby who needed cared for. He needed 00:04:31.399 --> 00:04:34.199 his diaper changed. He needed to learn how to 00:04:34.199 --> 00:04:39.759 walk. He needed a mother. So let us begin by 00:04:39.759 --> 00:04:43.180 considering the actions of Mary. It's recorded 00:04:43.180 --> 00:04:46.079 in Luke that the angel said to Mary, Do not be 00:04:46.079 --> 00:04:49.600 afraid. You have found favor with God. To which 00:04:49.600 --> 00:04:52.319 Mary responded, I am the Lord's servant. May 00:04:52.319 --> 00:04:55.720 it be to me as you have said. And as Mary was 00:04:55.720 --> 00:04:59.889 able to experience God as a newborn baby, Caring 00:04:59.889 --> 00:05:02.470 for him, teaching him to walk, teaching him to 00:05:02.470 --> 00:05:06.290 talk, watching him grow and learn things. It 00:05:06.290 --> 00:05:09.089 says in Luke 2 that Mary treasured up all these 00:05:09.089 --> 00:05:12.410 things and pondered them in her heart. And it 00:05:12.410 --> 00:05:14.670 reminds me of the line in the song, Mary, did 00:05:14.670 --> 00:05:16.910 you know that when you kiss your little baby, 00:05:17.029 --> 00:05:20.649 you kiss the face of God? What a beautiful picture 00:05:20.649 --> 00:05:24.209 to keep in our minds. And what a joy it is to 00:05:24.209 --> 00:05:29.000 know that God the creator speaks to me. I have 00:05:29.000 --> 00:05:33.139 never seen an angel with my eyes. My ears have 00:05:33.139 --> 00:05:36.220 never heard an audible voice that I know to be 00:05:36.220 --> 00:05:40.180 God or an angel speaking to me. But I see him, 00:05:40.279 --> 00:05:44.259 and I can hear him. Mary received a visit from 00:05:44.259 --> 00:05:47.480 the angel, and the words were encouraging and 00:05:47.480 --> 00:05:52.600 confusing. But her response is beautiful. I am 00:05:52.600 --> 00:05:55.500 the Lord's servant. May it be to me as you have 00:05:55.500 --> 00:05:59.470 said. In this book I'm reading, Women Who Say 00:05:59.470 --> 00:06:03.610 Yes to God, Lisa said, we do not fear what our 00:06:03.610 --> 00:06:07.069 obedience will cause us. Let me start over. We 00:06:07.069 --> 00:06:11.110 need not fear what our obedience will cause to 00:06:11.110 --> 00:06:14.410 happen in our life. We should only fear what 00:06:14.410 --> 00:06:18.350 our disobedience will cause us to miss. Right? 00:06:18.430 --> 00:06:20.550 Isn't that good? What would Mary have missed 00:06:20.550 --> 00:06:25.939 out if she said no? Right? Dave touched on this 00:06:25.939 --> 00:06:28.620 a little bit in his message last week, but let's 00:06:28.620 --> 00:06:32.660 go ahead and read Mary's prayer in Luke 1. And 00:06:32.660 --> 00:06:36.199 Mary said, My soul glorifies the Lord, and my 00:06:36.199 --> 00:06:39.459 spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has 00:06:39.459 --> 00:06:42.180 been mindful of the humble state of his servant. 00:06:42.740 --> 00:06:46.019 From now on all generations will call me blessed, 00:06:46.300 --> 00:06:49.120 for the Mighty One has done great things for 00:06:49.120 --> 00:06:53.649 me. Holy is his name. His mercy extends to those 00:06:53.649 --> 00:06:56.990 who fear him from generation to generation. He 00:06:56.990 --> 00:07:00.490 has performed mighty deeds with his arm. He has 00:07:00.490 --> 00:07:03.189 scattered those who are proud in their inmost 00:07:03.189 --> 00:07:06.110 thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their 00:07:06.110 --> 00:07:09.009 thrones, but have lifted up the humble. He has 00:07:09.009 --> 00:07:11.730 filled the hungry with good things, but has sent 00:07:11.730 --> 00:07:14.410 the rich away empty. He has helped his servant 00:07:14.410 --> 00:07:17.389 Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham 00:07:17.389 --> 00:07:20.879 and his descendants forever. as he has said to 00:07:20.879 --> 00:07:25.680 our fathers. So are you in a practice of saying 00:07:25.680 --> 00:07:30.360 yes to God? As a dancer, I'm fully aware of the 00:07:30.360 --> 00:07:33.839 need for practice, right? And as an instructor 00:07:33.839 --> 00:07:36.139 and a choreographer, it's something I require 00:07:36.139 --> 00:07:39.500 of my students to practice their skills. When 00:07:39.500 --> 00:07:42.040 they come to class, we do the same warm -ups 00:07:42.040 --> 00:07:44.720 week after week so that we build these muscles 00:07:44.720 --> 00:07:47.899 so that they become second nature. Developing 00:07:47.899 --> 00:07:51.699 a skill of any kind takes practice. So if you're 00:07:51.699 --> 00:07:54.480 not currently in a practice of saying yes to 00:07:54.480 --> 00:07:57.850 God, get in the habit. With practice, saying 00:07:57.850 --> 00:08:00.889 yes to God will no longer be a discipline of 00:08:00.889 --> 00:08:03.850 your heart, but rather a delight of your life. 00:08:04.670 --> 00:08:08.050 Say yes to God before you even know what it is 00:08:08.050 --> 00:08:11.449 that he wants you to do. As Lisa said, you never 00:08:11.449 --> 00:08:14.209 know how God will use you until you let him. 00:08:15.110 --> 00:08:18.490 So I didn't really see... myself being a children's 00:08:18.490 --> 00:08:21.769 ministry director but here I am I'm doing it 00:08:21.769 --> 00:08:24.470 and honestly it is one of the most rewarding 00:08:24.470 --> 00:08:27.910 duties that I have the pleasure of doing and 00:08:27.910 --> 00:08:30.689 I just simply said yes to God's promptings and 00:08:30.689 --> 00:08:33.730 let him guide me from there. I always enjoyed 00:08:33.730 --> 00:08:37.230 working with kids and I feel that God has put 00:08:37.230 --> 00:08:39.730 a passion within me to make sure that kids feel 00:08:39.730 --> 00:08:43.490 seen and heard and loved so teaching children 00:08:43.490 --> 00:08:46.590 was never something out of my comfort zone. But 00:08:46.590 --> 00:08:49.009 to carry that title and to have that responsibility 00:08:49.009 --> 00:08:53.470 seemed a little bit beyond me. But I have learned 00:08:53.470 --> 00:08:56.330 that with God, I don't need to possess all the 00:08:56.330 --> 00:08:59.789 skills to do what he asks of me because he is 00:08:59.789 --> 00:09:04.570 my source and my provider. Now, I 1 ,000 % never 00:09:04.570 --> 00:09:07.230 saw myself standing up on a Sunday morning and 00:09:07.230 --> 00:09:11.710 sharing a message with people. I do not feel 00:09:11.710 --> 00:09:16.009 that I am learned enough or took the proper training 00:09:16.009 --> 00:09:18.690 or anything like that. But this is my fourth 00:09:18.690 --> 00:09:22.789 time standing in front of you all. And all I'm 00:09:22.789 --> 00:09:26.350 doing is listening and following what he asks 00:09:26.350 --> 00:09:29.389 of me. And he has yet to let me down. And then 00:09:29.389 --> 00:09:34.149 even better is I become closer to him when I 00:09:34.149 --> 00:09:37.570 say, oh, this is beyond me. I really need to 00:09:37.570 --> 00:09:41.350 rely on you. to make this happen, and he always 00:09:41.350 --> 00:09:45.149 does. So if you find yourself this morning or 00:09:45.149 --> 00:09:47.669 another time in your life where you're looking 00:09:47.669 --> 00:09:50.649 for joy, right, you're looking to find that joy 00:09:50.649 --> 00:09:54.149 in your life, I think what we need to do is identify 00:09:54.149 --> 00:09:58.129 what's distracting you from connecting with your 00:09:58.129 --> 00:10:03.309 creator. Do you have treasured God moments stored 00:10:03.309 --> 00:10:06.940 up in your heart like Mary? I know that when 00:10:06.940 --> 00:10:10.139 I'm normally a happy person and I'm an optimist, 00:10:10.139 --> 00:10:11.840 so it doesn't take me long to get there, but 00:10:11.840 --> 00:10:15.159 I still have days when I feel down or I'm troubled 00:10:15.159 --> 00:10:18.240 about something or life is hard. But it's in 00:10:18.240 --> 00:10:20.879 those moments that I know I can pull out all 00:10:20.879 --> 00:10:22.879 of these beautiful moments that I've shared with 00:10:22.879 --> 00:10:26.220 God. And my perspective changes as soon as I 00:10:26.220 --> 00:10:29.200 fix my eyes on him, the author and perfecter 00:10:29.200 --> 00:10:32.960 of my faith. I've these treasures because I've 00:10:32.960 --> 00:10:36.289 said yes to God. I am the Lord's servant. Use 00:10:36.289 --> 00:10:39.889 me as you will. And it's in the times of weakness 00:10:39.889 --> 00:10:44.470 and despair when I have called that he has answered. 00:10:45.029 --> 00:10:48.610 I know I'm not the only cancer survivor in the 00:10:48.610 --> 00:10:53.350 room today, but what a beautiful time that was. 00:10:53.389 --> 00:10:56.610 As hard as it was to go through these treatments 00:10:56.610 --> 00:11:00.039 and make myself walk through those doors. He 00:11:00.039 --> 00:11:04.019 was so close. I felt like I could touch him. 00:11:04.100 --> 00:11:07.820 I felt like I could hear him. And those are treasures 00:11:07.820 --> 00:11:12.419 that I have forever now. And I'm better now, 00:11:12.539 --> 00:11:14.639 and that's great. And those are all reasons to 00:11:14.639 --> 00:11:17.159 give praise and thanks. But even more so are 00:11:17.159 --> 00:11:20.840 the moments when I was weakest and he was strongest, 00:11:20.840 --> 00:11:23.519 that those are beautiful treasures that I have. 00:11:24.559 --> 00:11:27.879 Thanks to Gary, I started watching The Chosen. 00:11:29.000 --> 00:11:31.340 I remember I first started watching the show, 00:11:31.460 --> 00:11:34.759 and I was like, whoa, I need to, like, fact check, 00:11:34.860 --> 00:11:36.539 because I don't want to put anything in my brain 00:11:36.539 --> 00:11:39.580 that's untrue. And so I stopped. Didn't even 00:11:39.580 --> 00:11:42.179 get all the way through the first episode. And 00:11:42.179 --> 00:11:43.539 then Gary was like, hey, we're going to do a 00:11:43.539 --> 00:11:45.340 study. And I was like, oh, cool, let's go check 00:11:45.340 --> 00:11:48.340 that out. And then I sat in this room with, you 00:11:48.340 --> 00:11:50.139 know, a handful, a number of people from this 00:11:50.139 --> 00:11:52.919 congregation, and I was like, okay, I feel like. 00:11:53.200 --> 00:11:55.120 If you guys are all good with that, I should 00:11:55.120 --> 00:11:57.080 be good with it too. I think we're okay. You 00:11:57.080 --> 00:11:59.220 guys vetted it for me. So thank you for that 00:11:59.220 --> 00:12:02.899 because I'm really enjoying just the applications 00:12:02.899 --> 00:12:06.159 that you can take or the understanding of what 00:12:06.159 --> 00:12:09.440 it was like in that time that we just can't tap 00:12:09.440 --> 00:12:12.659 into in the world we are today. So it's been 00:12:12.659 --> 00:12:14.320 really great. If you haven't checked it out, 00:12:14.399 --> 00:12:17.789 I totally recommend it. One of the really big 00:12:17.789 --> 00:12:20.730 takeaways I've had so far is from the season 00:12:20.730 --> 00:12:25.549 one finale. So they start with Jacob, and he's 00:12:25.549 --> 00:12:28.049 like, yep, this is the spot. And he starts tapping 00:12:28.049 --> 00:12:30.710 in, and he's building this well. And they don't 00:12:30.710 --> 00:12:32.570 know why they're building it. God just told him 00:12:32.570 --> 00:12:35.929 to do this, so he just did it. And it turns out 00:12:35.929 --> 00:12:38.490 that that is the well that Jesus meets the Samaritan 00:12:38.490 --> 00:12:41.580 woman at generations later. And the takeaway 00:12:41.580 --> 00:12:44.580 is that the purposes of God are not always for 00:12:44.580 --> 00:12:48.159 our understanding. God is calling us to listen 00:12:48.159 --> 00:12:52.019 and obey. His purposes are not always for our 00:12:52.019 --> 00:12:54.340 understanding. We're just to serve faithfully. 00:12:54.600 --> 00:12:57.139 Maybe we get to see the effects of the work, 00:12:57.159 --> 00:13:01.220 and maybe we don't. But our work is for God, 00:13:01.360 --> 00:13:05.940 and he gets to choose how to use it. And I think 00:13:05.940 --> 00:13:09.980 that we find joy having the opportunity to participate 00:13:09.980 --> 00:13:13.240 in the divine nature. Just to have the opportunity 00:13:13.240 --> 00:13:16.440 to work alongside him. We can find that joy. 00:13:16.740 --> 00:13:19.299 So this is week three of Advent. And as we're 00:13:19.299 --> 00:13:23.000 reflecting on joy, let's bounce back to John. 00:13:23.960 --> 00:13:27.000 It says, there was a man sent from God whose 00:13:27.000 --> 00:13:30.600 name was John. He was not the light, but he came 00:13:30.600 --> 00:13:33.659 to bear witness to the light. And this is true 00:13:33.659 --> 00:13:37.139 for us too. There was a man sent from God whose 00:13:37.139 --> 00:13:40.940 name is Robin. There was a man sent from God 00:13:40.940 --> 00:13:44.220 whose name is Connie. There was a man sent from 00:13:44.220 --> 00:13:47.980 God whose name was Dave. So just make sure everybody's 00:13:47.980 --> 00:13:49.720 paying attention. I'm going to say that one more 00:13:49.720 --> 00:13:52.139 time, and everybody say your name out loud, okay? 00:13:52.960 --> 00:13:55.779 All right. There was a man sent from God whose 00:13:55.779 --> 00:14:01.159 name is? Yes. We are not the light, but we are 00:14:01.159 --> 00:14:04.490 here to bear witness to the light. and letting 00:14:04.490 --> 00:14:06.889 the light of Christ shine in your life will bring 00:14:06.889 --> 00:14:10.570 you all the joy you seek. Our treehouse kids 00:14:10.570 --> 00:14:13.450 sure did a great job of reminding us of just 00:14:13.450 --> 00:14:16.549 this simple truth. Jesus is the light, and I'm 00:14:16.549 --> 00:14:22.490 going to let him shine. So I do want to... share 00:14:22.490 --> 00:14:26.789 a prayer from my Jesus Listens devotional this 00:14:26.789 --> 00:14:30.129 morning. You can take whatever attitude of prayer 00:14:30.129 --> 00:14:32.529 that is for you. You can journal. You can close 00:14:32.529 --> 00:14:35.669 your eyes. You can open your hands. But if you 00:14:35.669 --> 00:14:40.250 would open your hearts with me as we pray. Dear 00:14:40.250 --> 00:14:45.450 Jesus, help me to lead a victorious life by living 00:14:45.450 --> 00:14:49.149 in deep dependence on you. I used to associate 00:14:49.149 --> 00:14:53.360 victory with success. not falling or stumbling, 00:14:53.419 --> 00:14:57.240 not making mistakes, but being successful in 00:14:57.240 --> 00:15:00.639 my own strength made me vulnerable to going my 00:15:00.639 --> 00:15:05.039 way, forgetting about you. It is through problems 00:15:05.039 --> 00:15:08.000 and failure, weakness and need, that I'm learning 00:15:08.000 --> 00:15:11.460 to rely on you. I realize that true dependence 00:15:11.460 --> 00:15:14.019 is not simply asking you to bless what I have 00:15:14.019 --> 00:15:17.879 decided to do. It involves coming to you with 00:15:17.879 --> 00:15:20.960 an open heart and an open mind, inviting you 00:15:20.960 --> 00:15:25.000 to plant your desires within me. Sometimes you 00:15:25.000 --> 00:15:27.500 instill a dream in me that seems far beyond my 00:15:27.500 --> 00:15:31.059 reach. I know that my own resources are inadequate 00:15:31.059 --> 00:15:34.879 for attaining such a goal. Thus begins my journey 00:15:34.879 --> 00:15:39.200 of profound dependence on you. It's a faith walk, 00:15:39.460 --> 00:15:43.299 taken one step at a time, leaning on you for 00:15:43.299 --> 00:15:46.360 strength and guidance. It's not a path of continual 00:15:46.360 --> 00:15:50.419 success, but a way of multiple failures. However, 00:15:50.659 --> 00:15:54.779 each failure is followed by a growth spurt, nourished 00:15:54.779 --> 00:15:58.360 by increasing reliance on you. I want to enjoy 00:15:58.360 --> 00:16:02.000 the blessedness of a victorious life by deepening 00:16:02.000 --> 00:16:05.639 my dependence on you. In your joyous name, amen. 00:16:07.419 --> 00:16:10.019 So what if instead of grumbling about our problems, 00:16:10.120 --> 00:16:13.639 we took an attitude of thankfulness? What if 00:16:13.639 --> 00:16:16.360 we made friends with our troubles by thanking 00:16:16.360 --> 00:16:19.860 God for them? The counterintuitive act opens 00:16:19.860 --> 00:16:22.519 our mind to the possibility of blessings emerging 00:16:22.519 --> 00:16:26.279 from our difficulties. And moreover, when I bring 00:16:26.279 --> 00:16:28.940 God my prayers with thanksgiving, my anxiety 00:16:28.940 --> 00:16:32.679 diminishes and his peace that passes all understanding 00:16:32.679 --> 00:16:37.700 guards my heart and my mind. It's a daily prayer 00:16:37.700 --> 00:16:41.059 of mine to just say, Jesus, may the light and 00:16:41.059 --> 00:16:45.120 love shine through me. But in order for me to 00:16:45.120 --> 00:16:48.539 do this, I must take time to bask in his presence, 00:16:48.659 --> 00:16:53.139 asking to be transformed into his likeness and 00:16:53.139 --> 00:16:56.740 willing to follow where the spirit leads, even 00:16:56.740 --> 00:17:00.179 when it makes no sense. So let us be reminded 00:17:00.179 --> 00:17:03.799 today to connect with our creator and to be his 00:17:03.799 --> 00:17:10.490 light in the world. All right, so lastly, I don't 00:17:10.490 --> 00:17:12.049 know, did you guys know that this is the last 00:17:12.049 --> 00:17:15.269 year for the almanac? Yeah, if you didn't know, 00:17:15.349 --> 00:17:17.930 I'm sorry to break the news, but it's the last 00:17:17.930 --> 00:17:20.529 year of the almanac. So says enough people in 00:17:20.529 --> 00:17:24.940 Mercer County that I believe it to be true. If 00:17:24.940 --> 00:17:29.519 you need a copy of The Current Almanac, you can 00:17:29.519 --> 00:17:31.279 find one for free at Blackhawk Bank and Trust. 00:17:31.680 --> 00:17:35.140 I was flipping through it, and this is what I 00:17:35.140 --> 00:17:37.279 found. There was a recent study published in 00:17:37.279 --> 00:17:40.140 Psychological Science that revealed breaking 00:17:40.140 --> 00:17:43.619 into a genuine smile, one that engages the muscles 00:17:43.619 --> 00:17:45.759 around the mouth as well as those around the 00:17:45.759 --> 00:17:49.140 eyes, reduces your heart rate after a stressful 00:17:49.140 --> 00:17:51.980 event. The lead author of the study said, whether 00:17:51.980 --> 00:17:55.640 you feel happy or not doesn't matter. The muscle 00:17:55.640 --> 00:17:59.720 activation alone does the trick. So just think 00:17:59.720 --> 00:18:02.160 about that. If you go through your day and you 00:18:02.160 --> 00:18:04.779 smile at those you encounter, your family, your 00:18:04.779 --> 00:18:08.480 friends, some colleagues, a stranger, there's 00:18:08.480 --> 00:18:10.920 a high likelihood that they're going to smile 00:18:10.920 --> 00:18:13.819 back and you're offering them the same benefits 00:18:13.819 --> 00:18:16.400 that you yourself are receiving. And it doesn't 00:18:16.400 --> 00:18:19.079 cost you anything. And you don't even have to 00:18:19.079 --> 00:18:24.579 mean it to make it matter. All right. That is 00:18:24.579 --> 00:18:26.980 all I have for you guys today. Thank you so much 00:18:26.980 --> 00:18:30.660 for being here. I hope you enjoyed the kiddos 00:18:30.660 --> 00:18:34.119 as much as I enjoy working with them every single 00:18:34.119 --> 00:18:38.079 day. It truly is a delight to spend my Sunday 00:18:38.079 --> 00:18:41.880 mornings with them. They're amazing kids. And 00:18:41.880 --> 00:18:45.180 it gives you kind of hope for the world to come, 00:18:45.279 --> 00:18:47.250 right? All right, Merry Christmas everyone.