29 October 2023
Two-Minute Features | 05 November 2023 | 22 October 2023

Using Drive Time for Enjoyment, Part 2 (TMF:2215)

Friday, November 03, 2023
Peace to Live By: Using Drive Time for Enjoyment, Part 2 (TMF:2215) - Daniel Litton
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       Another thing you can do with that time is listen to sermons. Lots of sermons indeed. There is Christian radio, of course. The pastor at your church probably has his or her messages posted online for download to be listened to anytime. These messages can provide further careful study. Perhaps you want to try out a new pastor you’ve always wanted to listen to? Well, with the internet, all of this becomes possible in a way that people haven’t been able to in the past. Don’t let these opportunities pass you by. People long ago would be envious of the knowledge we have available to us in digital form now. Thirdly, audiobooks are growing more and more. A lot of popular titles are available in audiobooks. Whether that is a Christian book, or perhaps even a self-help book, there are many titles available, and some of these, usually the older books, are available for free. Certainly, to get the newest stuff and the stuff of the past decade or two you’re going to have to shell out some cash. That’s just the way it is. But some libraries allow you to check out audio books, and perhaps even over their app. So if money is tight, this could be a good alternative.

Using Drive Time for Enjoyment, Part 1 (TMF:2214)

Thursday, November 02, 2023
Peace to Live By: Using Drive Time for Enjoyment, Part 1 (TMF:2214) - Daniel Litton
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       A lot of us commute into work. Whether that is twenty or thirty minutes a day, that time really adds up over time if you think about it. Let’s say it’s twenty minutes a day. Well, in a week that amounts to 1 hour, 40 minutes. Quite a lot of time there. About the time of a typical movie. That being the case, that’s a lot of time that we can take to do something productive. That productive thing may work for our enjoyment. Here are three things I suggest you could do with that time. First, maybe use to it listen to the Bible? There are so many audio versions of the Bible these days. In fact, I would venture to say that most of the popular Bible translations have an audio version. And on top of that, when you listen to a different version, you can pick up things you hadn’t noticed before. The same passage phrased in a different way can shed new insight. Easier versions of the Bible to understand can also give deeper meaning. You are not distracted by all the language specific to the readers of the time, but things have been presented in a way that makes more sense to us nowadays in American culture.

Listening to Classical Music, Part 2 (TMF:2213)

Wednesday, November 01, 2023
Peace to Live By: Listening to Classical Music, Part 2 (TMF:2213) - Daniel Litton
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       The King’s men suggested to him that he call upon someone who could play the lyre, that it would likely help him. He did just that—he called upon the man his men recommended. This person, we know, was David, Son of Jesse, the future King of Israel. And David would play the lyre for Saul, when the evil spirit was bringing him torment, and after a while Saul would be refreshed and made well. Hopefully none of us are suffering in such a harsh way, being tormented by an evil spirit, but most of us have enough torment from ourselves. We have worries we haven’t given up, uncertainties about the future, and hopes for others who are in our lives. If everything was perfect, we should be able to give all of this up, to not really trouble ourselves about any of it. To be in a surrendered state like our Master, Jesus was, and is. But, if we are honest with ourselves, we know that a lot of times we aren’t. We have a lot of negative thoughts rampaging through our heads. Well, why not take the example from 1 Samuel 16? Why not play some classic tunes to try to clear our heads and give us rest?

Listening to Classical Music, Part 1 (TMF:2212)

Tuesday, October 31, 2023
Peace to Live By: Listening to Classical Music, Part 1 (TMF:2212) - Daniel Litton
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       Sometimes I like to just take some time, relax, and listen to some classical music. Why classical music and not some other form of tune? Why not alternative, or rock, or hip-hop, or whatever else one likes to listen to? Well, for me, I find that when I listen to classic music, it really relaxes me in a way that a lot of other things cannot. There is something refreshing about it, almost as if it is rebooting my brain and clearing out all of my thoughts. Other music tends to get me to think about things too much. But classical music, it’s like going for a nice evening swim when the temperature is perfect outside. We can all remember the story from 1 Samuel 16. This is the story in which Saul, king of Israel, was facing a real problem. He found himself being tormented by an evil spirit for something he had done wrong. The King’s men suggested to him that he call upon someone who could play the lyre, that it would likely help him. He did just that—he called upon the man his men recommended. This person, we know, was David, Son of Jesse, the future King of Israel.

Not Getting Overhyped About Things, Part 2 (TMF:2211)

Monday, October 30, 2023
Peace to Live By: Not Getting Overhyped About Things, Part 2 (TMF:2211) - Daniel Litton
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       It’s good for us, then, to keep things in their proper perspective. Realize that dinner will be good, but not great. The family reunion will be a good time to catch up with people we haven’t seen in a while, but there will be a couple of people we have to talk to that perhaps in a perfect world we would rather not. Our favorite TV show will come back with a bang, but there will likely be at least one decision the writers made that we don’t like. Our wedding day will be great, but we still have to get up early, go through dressing ourselves up, and do a lot of waiting. When we bring events down a notch or two on the excitement scale, we can then sit back and enjoy the day as it comes without having too much eager anticipation. This allows us to sort of take things in as they come. It allows us to enjoy the moment, to accept things for what they really are, and not some artificial thing that they are not. It allows us to remember that God is the one who really matters, and everything else is secondary. It permits us to accept people as they are, imperfect, just as we are, and not expect too much from them. All of it allows us to live life in the manner it really is.