Pizza Ranch Serves

Every night before bed, I read a story out of our children’s Bible to my daughters. We just got into the New Testament, and we read the story in Luke 2 of how God sent a choir of angels to tell the lowly “riff-raff” shepherds about his Son who was born.

One way to inspire hope is encouraging those around you. General Manager, Donnie, is doing just that with his team in Wichita by creating a Positivity Wall in their restaurant. Team members can submit anonymous messages about other team members and leaders; these messages are then written on a white board for all to see.

Ephesians 1:18 – I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people.

It’s a new week, a fresh start, a chance to begin again. What does your week look like? What are you excited about? What are you anxious about?

One of my favorite authors is Donald Miller. I recently re-read one of his books called A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I learned while editing my life. A Million Miles in a Thousand Years is the story of when Don and 2 other guys turned Blue Like Jazz (an earlier book he wrote and a memoir of sorts) into a screenplay for a movie. What they discovered, however, is that they had to “edit” Don’s life in Blue Like Jazz because it wasn’t interesting enough for a movie as is. Ouch.

Finishing our discussion of the Beatitudes, even though there are more, here is another one that I really live by and enjoy reading. I would encourage you to open your bible and read Matthew 5: 3-12, selecting one or two verses that really touch your heart and challenge you.

Chelby and her team at the Manhattan, KS Pizza Ranch hosted a Community Impact Night for the Tinkel Family, who was involved in a car accident where the father was tragically killed, and the mother and 2 small children (7 & 2 years old) were left in critical condition.

This Beatitude is another favorite that I have; it really helps me in times of need or when I'm feeling guilty about a particular sin in my life.

The Beatitudes are a series of blessings that are found in the fifth chapter of Matthew in the Christian Bible.

What a blessing it is to find out people have been praying for us. Right? To know that others have taken time to lift us up to the Lord in prayer. It’s special. It’s just one of the blessings of being a believer.

How have your thoughts changed this week?  On Monday we challenged ourselves to be kinder to ourselves in the ways we think and talk to ourselves. On Tuesday I shared about the three questions we can use to assess those thoughts: 1. Is it true? 2. Is it helpful? 3. Is it kind?

Here in Northwest Iowa our schools opened their doors this week, so in the days leading up to kids filling the hallways many of our schools held development days for their faculty and staff.