I recently came across an article that stated that almost two-thirds of American consumers have at least one unspent gift card tucked away in their homes. And at least half of those consumers lose a gift card before they use it. I cringe to think about how many gift cards I was grateful to receive, only to go on to lose. I can vividly recall standing in front of a cashier, looking through my wallet thinking…I know I have that gift card in here somewhere! I was given a gift, but never experienced its full value. Apparently, I am not alone. The study estimates that Americans have a collective $21 billion in unspent gift cards!

This week, many of us will attempt to express gratitude to our mothers for their investment in our lives. In my case, my mom put up with a lot of shenanigans. I am sure that raising my three brothers and I had a fair amount of “extra grace required” moments! Growing up, when someone would hear that my mom was living in a home with five men, they would often say, “Your poor mother!” And they were right.

We all know that words are powerful, and when used as weapons they can cause great harm. Thankfully, when used well, words can be a source of wonderful encouragement. It has been said that some words hurt and some words heal. I want to fill my life with words that heal. While we no doubt can recall harsh words that were spoken to us and about us, we can also remember the sincere kindness and encouragement that others have shared with us. Mark Twain put it well when he said, “I can live two months on a good compliment!” As we strive together to grow deep in our faith and wide in our influence, it is good to remember the power of our words!

We have all seen the images of the massive barge that struck the Key Bridge in Baltimore, MD and heard about the resulting destruction and loss of life. In the aftermath, experts have said that the cause of this devastation was that the barge lost power which resulted in its rudder being useless; it was literally out of control. James reminds us in James 3:1-11 that our tongues can also get out of control, and the result is that they too can cause massive damage.

Recently, some friends at Hope shared that they had received an email that looked a lot like it came from me. In the email, they were urgently asked to purchase gift cards and forward the gift card numbers (security codes and all) to me. At first glance, the email looked like it was from me – the name on the top (by the email address) and the bottom was spelled correctly. The body of the email included something that I found interesting. The person masquerading as me said, “You can keep one of the cards for yourself.” Now wasn’t it generous of “fake me” to say that?

“Awesome.” “Beautiful.” “Breathtaking.” “Frightening…” These were some of the adjectives that I heard people use to describe the experience of a total solar eclipse this past Monday. Many of us set aside our normal Monday routines and found ourselves in awe of God’s Creation. It truly was a breathtaking experience.

I wish that I could have been there when the Apostle Peter stood on Solomon’s portico and shared this wonderful statement recorded in Acts 3:19, “...turn back, so that your sins may be blotted out!” The imagery of God offering for us to have our sins “blotted out” is powerful.