“Brothers and sisters, I myself don’t think I’ve reached it, but I do this one thing: I forget about the things behind me and reach out for the things ahead of me” (Philippians 3:13,CEB).

     My daughter owns a horse. His name is Skipper. Skipper is a twelve-hundred pound toddler. Whatever one may ask him to do, he does just the opposite.

Daily Focus: Gratitude for a possession

”I give thanks to GOD with everything I’ve got—Wherever good people gather, and in the congregation. GOD’s works are so great” (Psalm 111:1, MSG).

     Whenever I enter my office, I pass by a picture painted by a young Haitian artist named Michel. The portrait boasts a brightly colored image of a small village located in the mountains of Hispaniola. The painting is one of my most prized possessions as it reminds me of the people with whom I once served. The importance of this artwork lies not in its commercial value but in the precious memories it recalls to my mind.

Today’s Focus: Gratitude for a smell I enjoy

“But thanks be to God! For through what Christ has done, he has triumphed over us so that now wherever we go he uses us to tell others about the Lord and to spread the Gospel like a sweet perfume” (2 Corinthians 2:14, TLB).

     My wife, Cathy, was the administrator at the Brice Christian Academy in Columbus, Ohio. Cathy wears a perfume called Eternity. Small children periodically gave my wife hugs and would say, “Mrs. Wells, you smell good!”

Daily Focus: Being grateful for a treasure

“Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart” (Luke 2:51, NIV).

     Fifteen years ago, I captured a sense of what God feels like as a father who has lost his child. Ashville, Ohio holds an annual carnival around the fourth of July. More than 100,000 people descend upon that tiny village. My daughter, Courtney, was four years-old at the time. She was walking with her friend, Natalie, ahead of my wife and me.

Today’s Theme: A freedom for which I am grateful

“Christ has set us free for freedom. Therefore, stand firm and don’t submit to the bondage of slavery again” (Galatians 5:1, CEB).

     Four decades ago, I traveled by bus from Fort Dix, New Jersey to my next duty station at Fort Devins, Massachusetts. Interstate Ninety-five passes within a short distance of Liberty State Park from which the Statue of Liberty can be seen. I had dreamed of seeing Lady Liberty since I was a boy.