Good morning on this Saturday, November 28th. I hope you enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving last Thursday. All of my children and grandchildren have been together during this holiday weekend and as usual we had a great time talking, eating, playing games, and generally hanging out together. During our prayer at the table before our Thanksgiving feast, I recalled the Thanksgiving three years ago when I was suffering from a severe case of shingles on my chest, side and back and was horribly uncomfortable and largely withdrawn from my family because of it. I gave thanks for the blessings of a pain-free holiday and another chance to ENJOY time with my family members instead of having to mostly isolate myself in my bedroom because I was so miserable. What are the things that make this Thanksgiving better than some of your others? Most of us have a long list of blessings for which to be thankful this year, and even in times of dire circumstances, we can follow the admonition of the Psalmist who advised, "Oh, give thanks to the Lord for He is good! For His mercy endures forever." When we cultivate the habit of regularly counting our blessings and giving thanks to God for them, we have transformed thanksgiving into thanks-living and that will always lift our spirits.
Tomorrows sermon is another in the Proverbs series and is entitled, These Valuable Attributes Will Make You More Valuable. I'll look forward to seeing you then.
Mel Brown

Good morning on this beautiful fall Saturday, November 21st. Tomorrow's sermon from Proverbs is entitled, A Joyful Spirit Vs. A Broken Spirit Is Good Medicine. Because of the nature of the topic, I thought I would supplement the sermon with this week's blog on the subject of happiness. Numerous studies have identified what makes happy people happy and non-happy people unhappy. Happy people:
1. Pursue growth and intimacy and spend the least time alone. They enjoy family and friends.
2. They don't measure themselves by what others do or have; they are not very materialistic. They do not live life "keeping up with the Jones."
3. They look on the bright side of things; they look for the positive in things instead of dwelling on the negative. The see the glass as half full instead of half empty.
4. They absorb themselves in activities which cause them to forget themselves, supersede worry, occupy their time and attention, and increase life satisfaction and fulfillment. These activities can be projects, work, hobbies, family activities, or anything which absorbs their attention. They find things which they do best and find satisfaction and enjoyment in growing in their strengths. They enjoy meaningful work and play.
5. Gratitude makes the difference in happy people. They don't take blessings for granted, frequently talk and write about them or express them in other ways, and take time to savor the moments of life's experience whether eating a good meal, enjoying the beauties of nature, or spending time with a friend or family member. They are constantly counting their blessings.
6. Happy people help others. Life is not all about themselves, but about others and their needs.
7. Contrary to common belief, happiness is not about getting what we want; it is about realizing that we are often better off when we don't get what we want and that in the grand scheme of things, many things which seem so important at the moment are not so in the long run. Happy people adapt well to the new realities of life.
These are not all of the happiness factors, but they are the top ones. Jesus gave us a wonderful prescription for happiness in the Beatitudes found in Matthew 5:1-12. Compare them to the above list for an interesting comparison and see what difference it makes when you inject the "God Factor."
Mel Brown

Good morning on this Saturday, November, 14th. The Minister's Instruction Manual is in press! Its subtitle is A How-To Manual For Pastors, Missionaries, and Lay Leaders. Fifteen years ago we began training missionary intern couples who were preparing to serve Christ on fields around the world. I carefully considered the subjects which needed to be covered in their preparation for ministry and began covering those topics with each candidate. With the assistance of the senior church staff, Edgewood has trained a dozen missionary couples, most for an intensive two-year tenure which exposed them to all aspects of ministry. Through the years many pastors have asked for our material to be made available so they could use it in the training of their interns, and missionaries have requested some of the material to teach in their Bible Institutes. Six years ago we began distilling two huge notebooks of material into a book and I am happy to say, it is now in the process of being printed. After many rewrites and edits, it is finally finished. There are 42 subjects covered in The Manual in addition to nine appendices. I hope all Edgewood is as proud of our former interns as I am; they are serving with distinction and great success all over the world.
Tomorrow's sermon is the third message in the series, Proverbs: God's Instructions For Your Best Life. I trust you'll be there.
Mel Brown

Good morning on this first Saturday of November. From time to time folks ask me questions about Bible study books and what I recommend. I have used most of the study Bibles over the years and frequently use them all, but my favorite is the Life Application Bible. I like it because the notes are succinct but adequate and scholarly but practical. Check it out, I think you will like it. As to a good Bible commentary I recommend The Bible Knowledge Commentary - 2 volume set which was written by the faculty of Dallas Theological Seminary. For any Bible student, this combination of a study Bible and commentary set is a winning combination. Finally, I recommend The Online Bible as a software for computerized Bible study. The good news is that a starter package of this software is available for download to your computer free of charge at http://www.onlinebible.net and the upgrades and additions are very modestly priced.
You can also go to http://www.studylight.org for access to a large variety of Bible translations, commentaries, and study notes online free of charge. These recommendations will help your Bible study to be more productive and meaningful. For a minimal investment you will experience maximal returns. Tomorrow's sermon is the second in the series Proverbs: God's Instructions For Your Best Life and is entitled, Wise Advisors and Advice Lead To Success.
I'll look forward to seeing you there.
Mel Brown