Michele Chynoweth's Blog, page 11

The Battle for Joy

[image error]The picture says it all…I was happy in the moment with my granddaughter celebrating her three-year-old birthday sitting beside me and my new one-week-old baby grand-niece in my arm on Easter Sunday. It was a beautiful day filled with joy at our house, celebrating with my sister’s family, my son’s family and some of our own family having fun with the traditional ham dinner, Easter egg hunts, dying eggs, the “picking eggs” game and more. I was a little anxious at first but ultimately happy to host Easter at our house for the first time. Yes, we missed those who couldn’t make it, and yes it was a lot of work (my husband was a huge help), but I was overjoyed at how the day turned out. And now the morning after I feel like a balloon punctured, back to work, thinking about things that could have gone a little better…and although I know those thoughts don’t lead anywhere good, sometimes I get mired in them. And then, poof, there goes my joy! Out the window.  So how do I fight to get my joy back, or more importantly, how do I fight to keep it? How do I resist this emotional “hangover?” I think the answer lies in fighting back, or resisting the bad habits and thoughts that creep in…wanting to crawl back in bed (which would make me ultimately feel guilty I wasted time getting nothing accomplished)…wanting to have more fun instead of go back to work (which pays the bills so we can have more fun and not feel guilty about it)…wishing for things to come or worse, wishing things had been a little different (instead of being grateful for all of the good).

If any of you were fortunate to view the “Best Lent Ever” program with Matthew Kelly of Dynamic Catholic, you would know that we actually have to “slay” resistance every day, sometimes multiple times a day, in order to have true happiness and be open to moments of joy. But first we have to know what makes us happy. Of course being with family, especially my granddaughter, makes me happy…but I can’t have that every day, it can’t be Easter Sunday every day. Today is Monday and it’s cloudy and rainy and back to reality. So how do we sustain happiness? Like Matthew Kelly, I usually can have a reasonably happy day if I spend a little time with God, (praying, reading something inspirational/spiritual, etc.), exercising, getting some writing or work done, and if the opportunity presents itself, being of service to others. Just writing these words lifts me out of that “day after” blues because I know I have been through this battle before, and I can win it if I take one step at a time and stay in the present…and focus on the good and let the rest go.

So I’ll end with this Bible quote from today’s Mass reading: “But God raised him up, releasing him from the throes of death, because it was impossible for him to be held by it. For David says of him: ‘I saw the Lord ever before me, with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed. Therefore my heart has been glad and my tongue has exulted; my flesh, too, will dwell in hope…You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence’…God raised this Jesus…(and) He poured forth the promise of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:14 22-33) Don’t worry, be happy, He has risen!

And if you missed it, here’s the whole Dynamic Catholic “Best Lent Ever” series:   http://dynamiccatholic.com/bestlentever/category/lent-reflections-2017/

 

If Peter Could Do It…

“Pet[image error]er built the church on the rock of our faith, his banner over me is love.” I remember the line to this favorite children’s song I learned in Bible school growing up as I sat down to write my weekly Monday morning blog.  I have always thought Peter was a really cool figure in the Gospels. I guess because I could really relate to him. He was so passionate, and yet so flawed…so enthusiastic, but then sometimes too impulsive. He walked on water, and then fell into the water and nearly drowned when his faith wavered. He told Jesus that He couldn’t die as planned because it just didn’t make sense to him, but he couldn’t see God’s plan. He told Jesus he would never deny Him, and then when he was afraid, he denied Him three times. And yet, Jesus picked him, Peter, to build the church. Even though Peter had all of those failures and flaws, Jesus never wavered in His faith in him or love for him. Which should be very comforting to the rest of us. We can make mistakes and we will still be forgiven “seventy times seven” times. (and since seven is a number that represents infinity in ancient Jewish times, this means a lot!)

But I think even more importantly, Peter’s story shows us that we can all achieve greatness despite our failures and flaws, if we have unwavering love and faith in Jesus in the long run. We can all start anew like Peter, put aside the guilt and shame of our mistakes and start over, walking the path and purpose God lays for each of us. For some of us, we will be called to do great things like Peter. Jesus said, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” (Luke 12:48) and “…whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” (John 14:12) If I stop to reflect on these statements by Jesus, I realize they sound a little scary. I have been given much…and of course I am here on earth to do God’s work while Jesus is still with the Father in heaven. So what great works am I doing, and what will I be asked to do in the future? If Jesus asked me to walk on water to get to Him, I know I would get out of the boat like Peter and try. But do I have enough faith not to turn back when the storms come and the tide gets rough? I guess only time…and my faith despite my failures…will tell.

This week is the Passion week of our Lord. I pray we have the passion of Peter, despite our faults and failures, to keep building the church and following Christ. If Peter could do it…well, so can we!

 

What’s It Gonna Take?

[image error]It seems like God has been trying to get our attention forever…from the Old Testament days of Genesis  when He saved Noah and his family on the ark and sent a rainbow and of Exodus when He parted the Red Sea and sent manna raining down from heaven, to His works through Jesus in the Gospels – sending His Son to be born of a virgin, turning water into wine, healing the blind man, the lepers, and so many, many more, converting tax collectors and murderers into disciples and saints,  and even raising Lazarus from the dead! And yet, despite so many miracles recorded in the Bible, there are so many stories of people who actually witnessed these miracles and still did not believe. So what about us today, two thousand and seventeen years later? What signs from God are we getting and perhaps ignoring? What do we have to go on to keep believing?

At first, when I asked myself this, I felt a bit uneasy. I actually found myself wondering why God is taking so long to come back to us, for Jesus to appear and do some more “magic” acts, healing acts, miracles. Of course, as soon as that thought crept in I felt guilty. How dare I question God’s ways? And where is my faith? And more importantly, do I forget so quickly what it says in the Bible…that not only is He coming again physically: “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.” (a promise at the very end of the Bible in Revelation, 22:20-21) but He is present among us – within us – right here right now spiritually, and that we are and need to be God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit for each other here on earth – that WE are and need to do and be the miracles for each other. (“And it was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers…to build up the body of Christ until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God.” Eph. 4:11-13)

If I stop long enough to reflect on all of this, I realize I have seen many miracles in my life…the birth and growth of my own children,  the continued sobriety and spiritual awakening in the rooms of recovery both of my own self and of others, finding true love with someone who helps me to be a better person, the start of healing in my father who has cancer, the changes in others’ lives I’ve made through my Bible-based novels (the idea to write them was a God-given miracle in the first place), and so much more.

Lord, let me not grow weary in my faithfulness, and remember that if and when I doubt, I can turn to Your Word for the proof I seek.

Blind Faith…Lose the “but, what if’s”

[image error]Have you ever wished you were blind? Probably not. Sight is such an important sense to most of us. We look forward to seeing our kids and grand-kids grow up, the spring flowers bloom, the sunrise or sunset…but Jesus tells us (in yesterday’s Gospel) that it would be better for some of us if we did not see. In the reading he heals a young man born blind, and yet the Pharisees still deny that He is the Christ. “Jesus said, ‘for judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.’ Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, ‘What? Are we blind too?’ Jesus said, ‘If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.’  (John 9:39-41) I think what Jesus is telling those of us today who can see is to have unconditional faith. You’ve heard of unconditional love…some of us even make an effort to practice it (not perfectly by any means) trying to love even those who hurt us. But unconditional faith…that’s another matter. Sure, we say we believe in a God we cannot see. But do we really believe He will work all things out for our good? Do we really have unwavering faith in His plan for our lives, especially when prayers go unanswered, our dreams aren’t fulfilled, things don’t go according to our plans? That’s the kind of faith we are supposed to have. And yet like the Pharisees or Jews following Moses in the desert, we refuse to believe or we complain and get frustrated.

I was reminded of this late this past Saturday night when my car got a flat tire as I came out from a long day at the Maryland Writers Association Conference in Annapolis. I was blessed to be invited to be a presenter and the day had gone well but had started at 6 am and it was after 7:30 pm and time to drive an hour and a half for home. I came out to find my right front tire completely flat. I was annoyed with my husband  because he hadn’t renewed our Triple A membership yet, and of course he wasn’t there to help me change the tire. (I know, not his fault, I should have renewed myself and should learn how to change a tire!) I ended up driving over a mile, at about 10 mph, to a gas station, other drivers angrily honking their horns at me as I prayed my car would make it without being completely damaged. I started thinking, ‘why God, would you allow my car to break down when I’m so very tired, in a place I’m not familiar with late at night, when I’m broke and don’t have money to shell out to get it fixed?’  I’m thankful I had driven to the conference along my friend, Faith. (ironic, huh?) She stayed with me during the hour-and-a-half it took to finally get a tow truck driver to take off the tire, patch it and put it back on again, and get on the road for home. As we sat on the rear bumper of the car waiting for what seemed to me like an eternity, she reminded me that God was probably just helping us avoid a far greater mishap down the road. That turned my attitude around from frustration to gratitude. And then on the long drive home I complained that my writing career isn’t taking off as fast as I’d like and I’m going broke. She reminded me of God’s timing. And I countered with “but what if it never does take off?” And she reminded me that He would have never put the dream to write Modern Day Bible Stories on my heart if he didn’t want me to be successful at it.

One of the most courageous people of all time is Helen Keller. At 19 months of age an illness rendered her deaf and blind. Helen’s parents hired 20-year-old Anne Sullivan to work with Helen, teaching her words and helping her to “see” and “hear” by spelling words into her hands. Helen in turn became an author and  motivational public speaker helping many, many others who were deaf and blind. I believe God sent Anne to Helen just as he encourages each of us by putting others in our paths to help and guide us, like he put Faith with me Saturday night.  My favorite quote of all time comes from Helen Keller: “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” When things seem dark and dismal to us, we need to see through Faith’s eyes, Helen’s eyes, the eyes of our own faith.   Lord, help me to have blind faith and to see You and Your wonderful plan for my life by opening the eyes of my heart.

Fake it ’til you make it!

Just [image error]do it! I heard the Nike slogan in my head this morning as I debated (for the umpteenth time on a Monday morning) whether I should get up at 6 a.m., brave the cold and venture to the local gym to work out and swim laps…or sleep a little longer. Luckily, my better self won and now I feel physically and emotionally better as I sit and type this afterward! I think we need to tell ourselves to “just do it” when it comes to spiritual growth as well. We need to schedule or make time for prayer and meditation. Five or ten minutes the first thing every morning spent praying and meditating usually makes for a better day, no matter what happens. Making a gratitude list even when times are rough often can lift us out of a downward spiral of depression and anxiety. And often, just being nice to people – even those who rub us the wrong way – takes daily practice, but makes us feel better about ourselves in the long run. That last one isn’t easy…praying for those who “persecute” us, smiling at the nasty person who cuts us off in line or in traffic, complimenting someone who never ever compliments us in return. But often, if we practice something long enough, it becomes a habit. Those in recovery have heard the saying, “fake it ’til you make it,” meaning just don’t drink one day at a time and eventually you will become not only a sober, but better person.

I’m not suggesting by all of this that you be fake as in phony to other people. But faking good behavior even when we’re not feeling it…thinking of others when we act, instead of acting out of how we think or feel, can be a good habit. It may start off with little things, like smiling and saying hello to a stranger on the street even though you just experienced something that made you sad, hurt or angry. Asking how someone else is doing even though you may not be doing so great. Praying for the happiness of another, even when that same person has caused you unhappiness. We sometimes can’t tell when others are feeling much worse than we can even imagine, and that kind word or gesture we show might just be what it takes to make their day better, and lift us out of our own funk as well.

St. Paul encourages us to do this very thing, and we will be rewarded as well as the one to whom we show mercy, kindness and charity: “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me–put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” (NIV, Phil. 4:8) And of course, Jesus tells us the same: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you…If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same…But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High.” Sounds like a pretty good deal to me! I think I’ll start acting on it today.

Forgiving and Freeing Yourself…

Have you ever felt so completely overwhelmed that you felt paralyzed? That feeling overtook me of late like a rock in my chest and I felt like it was hard to breathe. I berated myself not only for already messing up on giving up sweets for Lent and watching TV during lunch…but on everything…for being late today writing my “Monday morning” blog, for being so very far behind in writing my next novel, so far behind in achieving my goals for my books already written and published, and guilty that I am not a “better” author (as in not on the NY Times bestseller list yet!), wife, mother, grandmother, sister, friend, etc. etc. And then I was stopped in my track (on that negative self-pity path that leads no where and ends in frustration) whe[image error]n I viewed a video posted by Matthew Kelly of Dynamic Catholic’s new Lenten series called “Best Lent Ever” http://dynamiccatholic.com/bestlentever/  and author of the book, Rediscover Jesus, which was distributed in our Diocese of Wilmington, DE on Ash Wednesday. He said (and I paraphrase) God wants us to be happy more than we want to be happy ourselves. I know I’ve been standing in my own way of happiness with these feelings of guilt…and I realize I have to “let go” of them. But how?

First talking it out always helps (and so my husband in turn helped by encouraging me to write my blog post on the subject – better late than never!) I think praying and meditating are good ways…the Serenity Prayer always helps me: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to accept the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” (just in typing it I feel better!) and of course turning to a Bible scripture always helps, especially Psalms. This one jumped out at me today:  “He (God) does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him.” (Ps 103: 10-11) I realized that if God forgives me, I should forgive myself right here and now. That in not doing that, I am blocking myself from being useful (and kind and loving) to others by not letting go and moving on. And in not doing that, I am not being obedient to God, but actually egotistical (who am I to think I am better than God?) I think He really wants us to not only forgive others, but to forgive ourselves. If we can’t forgive ourselves, how can we forgive others? (Just like if we can’t love ourselves, how can we love others?) And if we can’t love and forgive ourselves, we can’t truly open ourselves to the love and forgiveness of God…and that’s what we need to do to truly be happy, which is what He wants for us! 

Not to worry! How to de-stress

“But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O men of little faith?” (Matt 6:30) [image error]

Almost every day I hear from someone that he or she is “stressed.” Even I say I am stressed from time to time, though I know by now that stress is in direct disobedience to God’s will for us. It’s a form of worry that things aren’t going right now which opposes the state in which we are supposed to try to be – grateful for how things are – or a state of fear that things won’t go right in the future, which opposes our faith.  When we stress – over our jobs, our parents, our kids, our health, our future, our lives – we are feeling and acting faith-less, or in a state of distrust. So it would make sense to me that the only way out of stress is to make every effort to trust – in ourselves, the people around us and especially in God. And I think the season of Lent is the perfect time to give it our all.

Trust in ourselves – Sure, we shouldn’t only trust in ourselves. And most problems are bigger than we are. But we have to believe that we are God’s children and that often the answers lie within us – and if we do the next right thing, we can trust in the outcome, even when we make mistakes and fall. I think sometimes we just need to find the right balance of trusting not only in ourselves, but enough so that when we work with others and with God, everything will be okay. Lord help me find the right balance of trust in myself.

Trust in others – We are living in an increasingly distrustful world. An AP poll recently showed the percentage of Americans who trust in other people has fallen from half in the 1970’s to just a third today. Distrust usually brings fear and discord. “Even the rancor and gridlock in politics might stem from the effects of an increasingly distrustful citizenry.” the article says.  The solution? Open our minds and hearts to trust others – it’s never too late – and teach our youth to do the same. I tend not to have a problem with this as I’ve been told I can be too trusting – gullible even. But I’d much rather err on the side of trust in my fellow human beings than the alternative of living in fear. This Lent, Lord, help us to work with and trust our fellow human beings.

Trust in God – This is the most important thing we can do to de-stress, and what Jesus specifically calls us to do.  “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on. Look at[image error] the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

(Matt 6:25-27) And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life?” Wow. Those last words are so true and powerful. This Lent, Lord help us most of all to trust in You.

Lifting Your Spirit!

[image error]As an author, I often feel like I am taking one step forward and two steps back. I’m sure the millions of other authors out there, who write books that haven’t sold millions of copies (yet) or been made into movies (yet) or reached the New York Times Bestseller List (yet) feel the same way. Yet day after day we strive to put words on the page (or computer screen), market our books already published, and pray for the best. It can get a little daunting, discouraging, frustrating. Yet every so often there’s a light that shines through the clouds.

 

A few rays have shone forth for me lately…my novel, The Peace Maker, is being promoted through a company called Books Go Social and reviews and sales are happening as a result! My novel, The Runaway Prophet, is also gaining sales through good reviews. And my latest novel, The Faithful One (republished on Feb. 14, 2017 by Morgan James Publishing) just received a good Kirkus Review: “…an exploration of what a contemporary Job might look like, Chynoweth’s tale should more than satisfy.” (KIRKUS REVIEWS)

 

I write “Modern Day Bible Stories,” contemporary, edgy, inspirational novels full of suspense and romance based on Old Testament stories in the Bible. Many times I’ve been asked why I write novels based on Bible stories…instead of something more “in vogue.” But I write them because I feel that’s the calling God has put on my heart…to “re-imagine” these otherwise hard to read and comprehend stories into fast-paced, entertaining fiction so that today’s readers can get the message (and escape into a good book at th[image error]e same time!)

 

There is part of me for sure in each story…I started writing The Faithful One based on the Book of Job (about the guy who has it all and then loses everything and questions God) when I was going through a lot of Job-like trials and tribulations; I wrote The Peace Maker about the story of David and Abigail in the First Book of Samuel after going through a rough divorce (Abigail is in a terrible marriage and faces some tough decisions to do the right thing when she meets soon-to-be King David who is ready to obliterate her husband and her village); and I wrote The Runaway Prophet based on the Book of Jonah (about the guy who tries to run from God’s call and then falls into all sorts of trouble as a result) when I was mired in doubt and frustration about my own calling.

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So how do we keep trudging along when the light seems to fade? First, I think we have to find our true purpose and then keep trying to fulfill it with everything in us. I actually have come to love my calling, despite the hardships that come along, and am writing the next novel based on Cain and Abel in Genesis (stay tuned!). Second, I believe we all need to try to help each other whenever possible. And last but not least, we need to just keep putting one foot in front of the other on this journey we call life – and hope, pray and have faith in God’s Will and Purpose.  And although all of those other great bonuses I mentioned (millions of sales, movies, bestseller lists, etc.) are still part of my dream, my main encouragement meanwhile usually comes through my readers. Every time readers tell me they got something out of one of my books, whether it was enjoyment, entertainment, inspiration or even a little more faith, my spirits are lifted. I pray I am lifting your spirits right now with this message. And with that I’ll leave you with my favorite Bible quote: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28) Thank you to all of my fellow authors, readers and even critics – you push me to keep striving and keep writing!

 

Michele Chynoweth is the award-winning author of The Peace Maker, The Fait hful One and The Runaway Prophet, contemporary, inspirational suspense/romance novels that are Modern Day Bible Stories. She is also an inspirational public speaker, book coach and writing instructor at her local college. More about Michele and her books can be found on her website: http://www.michelechynoweth.com

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NOTE: The Peace Maker is on sale for a limited time for $3.99 on Amazon Kindle.

Raising the Bar…

[image error]I’ll never forget when my husband was going through the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation) program with our church to convert to Catholicism (and marry me!) and I attended meetings with him as one of his sponsors, what the priest, Father (now Monsignor) John Hopkins, said in response to a question raised about “why become Catholic?” As in, what makes the Catholic church any different than any other church? And Fr. John answered, “I guess it’s because we raise the bar.” If you knew Fr. John (an extremely humble man) you’d know that he didn’t say it in any sort of arrogant way, but meant it’s because the Catholic Church calls believers to follow the teachings of Christ and the Word of God in the Bible to the utmost degree, not diverting in any way, nor leaving anything up to our own (or anyone else’s) interpretation. For example, the Church calls us to strive to be saints and to participate in the Sacraments including Confession, Holy Matrimony, and Holy Communion, in which we actually participate in the Last Supper and eat of Christ’s body, as He commanded us to do “in memory of me.” (Luke 22:19) Much the same way, Jesus raised the bar for the Jews back in His day, and for us today, through His example and teachings.  He told the people “I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” To paraphrase, He tells the people that the Commandments are a good start, but we have to go further…not only to “not murder” but to not hold any anger in our heart, not only to “not commit adultery” but to get rid of any lustful thoughts, not only to “not bear false witness” but to not swear at all. (Matt 5:17-37) Often people refer to Jesus when they defend the secular world, saying He opened His arms to everyone including sinners. But that’s a convenient way to let ourselves off the hook I think. Better to keep striving to reach higher as a Christian and to keep striving to enter through the “narrow gate” than to take our chances of just getting by and possibly missing the ultimate reward of being with Him one day in paradise.

Being freed from financial worry

[image error]This is the time of year when we usually sit down to do our taxes…never a fun thing of course. So what do taxes, finances, or money have to do with spiritual matters (which is usually what I write about)? Didn’t Jesus say “give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s?” But it turns out if you look at the Bible, there is a lot to be said, both in the New and Old Testaments, about how we should view and handle money. You have probably heard of the “ten percent” rule when it comes to giving to the Lord, or tithing. This comes straight from the Bible: “Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce.” (Prov. 3:9) and “A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord…every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd’s rod will be holy to the Lord.  No one may pick out the good from the bad or make any substitution. These are the commands the Lord gave Moses at Mount Sinai for the Israelites.” (Lev. 27:30-34) I will be completely honest and admit it wasn’t until just yesterday I sat up and took notice of all of this (although my husband has suggested it more than once) finally realizing we should be—and are not—tithing ten percent of our income. It’s ironic because my sudden epiphany comes at a time when we are making less income than we have in years now that I quit my day job last year and am working full-time as an author. My spiritual awakening came as I was reading a little book sent to me free in the mail, apparently in return for a donation we made, by a church which we had attended with family at Christmastime. It’s “The Treasure Principals” by Randy Alcorn. It talks about how we will be richly rewarded if we give away our treasures (and a good beginning can be made by tithing.) The Bible also talks about this reward system:  “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.” (Malachi 3:8-10) I cracked the book open early Sunday morning and found my heart cracking open with it. We have been worried a lot the past few weeks about income running out, not being able to pay the bills, debt mounting, etc. And I read, “Ironically, many people can’t afford to give precisely because they’re not giving. (Haggai 9:11) If we pay our debt to God first, then we will incur His blessing to help us pay our debt to men. But when we rob God to pay men, we rob ourselves of God’s blessing.” It’s also ironic that just when you feel like your back is up against the wall and you face the most fear that’s when God usually steps in! So we tithed ten percent for the first time in church yesterday. I won’t test God on this. I’ll just see what happens. But I’m sure being obedient to Him certainly can’t hurt any!