A Note From Tom: July 6th, 2012

Hey, everyone!

Hope you're having an awesome day filled with warmth in your heart… on a day that will also be filled with warmth in your…pretty much everything else!! It's so hot our dogs chased a squirrel down the road, but all three were walking! The other day, we heard the strangest little explosion. Mr. Jones' corn in his field popped on the stalks!

I know everyone has their own personal remedies for how to stay cool during July-fest but they say you need to be careful you don't swap one problem for another. Fer instance…

If Popsicles are your answer, sloooooooow down! You could give yourself a "cold-stimulous headache"! Or, as we call 'em, a brain-freeze. You know the feeling… "Sluuuurp….Yuuumm! …OWWW!"  Ever wonder what causes those eye-closin', noggin-throbbing popsicle headaches?

"Maybe popsicles?"

Well, sure. But I mean, why do you get 'em? Actually, no one really knows!

The classic brain freeze headache is being seriously studied by the director of research at the War Related Illness and Injury Study Center, which is part of the Department of Veterans Affairs in East Orange, N.J. They are trying to help our veterans because many of them suffer from headaches after their deployments. Headaches are difficult to study because you never know when they'll happen. The advantage of brain-freeze headaches is that they're easy to get "on-demand". Just open wide and stick in a sticky pop on a stick! "Sluuurp...Yuuumm! …OWWW!"

The theory is that blood rushes to the chilled zone causing pain. Or that the nerves of the mouth are over stimulated. But the only thing they know for sure is that brain freezes DO happen! From coast to coast, all summer long!

But if no one really knows where they come from, I know how to stop 'em! The answer is simple! First, take out the popsicle (duh!). Insert thumb, chubby side up, and press it against the roof of your mouth. Wait a sec. It really works!

Isn't that better?

Y'know, sometimes you might have a day that is just…well, a hard one. Not because anything really difficult happens. But you're just blue. Or down. Or sad. Or upset. Or irritated. Or anxious. Or…you name it. You don't really know where it comes from. There is no real reason and maybe there's a bunch of reasons. It could be physical (you're not sleeping well, you're eating the wrong stuff…) It could be stress you don't even recognize. It could be spiritual conflict with forces you don't see who like to mess with your thoughts (it happens, y'know!) There might even be other theories to explain why you're just having a cruddy day. It might be any one of them. Or a combination of them. Or none of the above.

Maybe no one really knows where it might be coming from. But the answer might be simple!

"What?! Stick your thumb in your mouth like the popsicle headache?"

Nope. Just ask God to take your gluminess (or grumpiness) away. Check this out…

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit!" (Romans 15.13)

Did you get that? Ask God to fill you with joy! And peace! By the power of the Holy Spirit!

Sometimes there's no need for reasons, theories, or explanations for a cruddiness of heart. You just need God to take the feelings away and to give you better ones! Joyful, peaceful, hopeful ones!

It's easy! It's cheap! Ask Him to just give you joy! Or peace! Or hope! Just do it!

Or, do it for some struggling one you know! Do it without them knowing! See if you could be used to just change their heart! And their day!

What a cool thing to do on a hot day!!

That's the weather!