Elfish Impersonators

Here they are:  Elfish impersonators.  Yes, that was a bad pun.

Madison had speech therapy today, all decorated nicely - and with happy counselors.  Miss Courtney was delighted to see Madison again, and quite complimentary of the improvement she sees.  Madison impressed her further by saying the word entrepreneurship.  While she was speaking in her room, Mommy and Daddy play Scrabble, and Daddy's been reading "A Christmas Story," or at least the stories that inspired the movie.  It's a funny book!

We found ourselves getting out at 4:30 in Alpharetta with one simple thought:  travel the distance that Google told us - 13 miles - to go from there to Norcross, and get there before 6:00 pm.  We didn't make it.

Traffic was such that nobody was going anywhere far.  Again, how can anyone voluntarily live in such a place?  There wasn't an accident or any reason for the traffic, other than Christmas traffic, perhaps.  Whatever it was, it made for the most miserable three hours experienced since that hospital visit.  Yes, we were in Norcross around 6:00, and then we faced the bitter drive in rush hour home.  We stopped to eat at a McDonald's, and went home as carefully as we could, anxious to get home and simply go to bed and stop the day from getting any more irritating.  There's an anger message we wrote for the upcoming series, and I suppose this would be the best place to put it, as Daddy nearly lost his sanity on yet another drive through Atlanta.  This would be a good time for all of us to take a deep breath, and talk about anger management!

     Anger is there, ready to boil over, complain, yell, scream, and in some cases, even worse.  We all feel it - it's that red-hot emotion that wants to take control every time someone does something to aggravate us.  It may seem like a fiery eruption, but it's an emotion that everyone has had.
     Did you know that the Bible tells us even Jesus felt anger from time to time?  He was very upset with the Pharisees when they didn't think it was right to heal someone on the Sabbath day.  How ridiculous is that?  They were so stubborn, and not willing to do what was right.  Jesus was also angry at the greedy salespeople he saw in God's Temple.  He actually turned over their tables, and drove them out of the place!  And get this:  Jesus was even angry at his own apostles from time to time!  There was this one occasion where they were trying to keep little children from coming to him for prayers.  He put a stop to that nonsense right away.
     The point is that anger is a natural reaction to something that upsets you, and it is something everyone has felt - even Jesus.  So when you start to feel anger, don't think it's just you.
     The important thing is this:  Don't let Anger take control.  James 1:20 tells us, "Human anger doesn’t produce the holy life God wants."  In other words, the best decisions are made when you are not angry.  Anger may feel it's the right thing, but we have to be very careful what we do in anger.  It could cause lasting harm to others, and even ourselves.
     We must control it.  Anger comes in like a fiery explosion, and sometimes it wants to take over - even a few hours or days later!  But the Bible is clear:  we cannot let Anger rule our lives.  We must let go of offenses, forgive those who hurt us, and move on with our lives.  Scriptures tell us to forgive, and they give us some really good advice:  each night before going to sleep, look back on those things that happened during the day.  If there's anything that still causes you anger, ask God to help you forgive, and forget it.  Don't let the sun go down on Anger.
     The thing to remember is this:  Anger happens to all of us, even Jesus.  But the best of us are those who - like Jesus - can keep it under control.





     Another time Jesus went into the synagogue. A man with a weak and twisted hand was there. Some Pharisees were trying to find fault with Jesus. They watched him closely. They wanted to see if he would heal the man on the Sabbath day.  Jesus spoke to the man with the weak and twisted hand. “Stand up in front of everyone,” he said.
     Then Jesus asked them, “What does the Law say we should do on the Sabbath day? Should we do good? Or should we do evil? Should we save life? Or should we kill?” But no one answered.
     Jesus looked around at them in anger. He was very upset because their hearts were stubborn. Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand had become as good as new.

Mark 3:1-5 NIrV


People were bringing little children to Jesus. They wanted him to place his hands on them to bless them. But the disciples told them to stop. 14 When Jesus saw this, he was angry. He said to his disciples, “Let the little children come to me. Don’t keep them away. God’s kingdom belongs to people like them.  What I’m about to tell you is true. Anyone who will not receive God’s kingdom like a little child will never enter it.”  Then he took the children in his arms. He placed his hands on them to bless them.

Mark 10:13-16 NIrV


"My dear brothers and sisters, pay attention to what I say. Everyone should be quick to listen. But they should be slow to speak. They should be slow to get angry.  Human anger doesn’t produce the holy life God wants." James 1:19-20 NIrV

"It is better to control your temper than to take a city." Proverbs 16:32 NIrV


1.  We all feel Anger.  The Bible tells us even Jesus felt anger from time to time in the Bible.  He was upset that the Pharisees were so stubborn, and not willing to do what was right.  He was angry at the greedy salespeople he saw in God's Temple.  He was even angry at his own apostles one time when they were trying to keep children from coming to him.  The point is that anger is a natural reaction to something that upsets you, and it is something everyone has felt - even Jesus.
"Jesus looked around at them in anger. He was very upset because their hearts were stubborn." Mark 3:5 NIrV

2.  Don't let Anger take control.  The best decisions are made when you are not angry.  Anger may feel it's the right thing, but we have to be careful what we do in anger.  It could cause lasting harm to others, and even yourself.
"My dear brothers and sisters, pay attention to what I say. Everyone should be quick to listen. But they should be slow to speak. They should be slow to get angry.  Human anger doesn’t produce the holy life God wants." James 1:19-20 NIrV

3.  Don't let the sun go down on Anger.  Anger wants to take over more often, but we cannot let Anger rule our lives.  We must let go of offenses, forgive those who hurt us, and move on with our lives.  The Bible tells us to forgive, and gives us some good advice:  each night before going to sleep, look back on those things that happened during the day.  If there's anything that still causes you anger, ask God to help you forgive, and forget it.
"Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry." Ephesians 4:26 NIrV