[Darris McNeely] I did a recent BT Daily about daffodils. And the daffodils that I had brought in, the bulbs that I was replanting that very day in my front yard and I was talking about the very fact that flowering bulbs like that planted in the fall usually and are dormant, but they're growing under the ground in wintertime, and then they come out in a beautiful color in the spring. And I was encouraging us to use the winter months, this time of dormancy, to be prepared for the life of a new beginning in the springtime.

One other thought in regard to that because as I am talking here today, we're in the midst of January. Again, winter is is still there. And it promises to be, kind of, a long and dark one, as most winters are, wherever you might be.

But I was thinking about something in regard to the value of poetry. There was a survey that I was reading in an article saying that Americans are turning to poetry by greater numbers than previous years. There's a resurgence of interest in just reading poetry. And that's good, at least, for good poetry because I have found in my life that good poetry can be uplifting, encouraging, and help get you out of the doldrums.

And so, when you're thinking about something for the winter times and where we are, and you might get a bit downhearted to a book of poetry that you might pull off the shelf, you haven't looked at for a number of years or finding something on the internet that can even speak to, you know, the time of year here could be very therapeutic and helpful if it's the right type of poetry. I always have enjoyed that poem by Robert Frost, "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, miles to go before I sleep." So many people know that. You learn it in our grade school years. But the words, the way it's all put together, it just brings up an image and a memory that can be very helpful and forward-pointing.

All right? And so, whatever it might be, find that for yourself, read a poem a day, read a Psalm a day. I'm going through the Psalms right now, and I find many of them to be uplifting, pointing me to God, even if some of them are a bit down because of the way David or the author may have written it in that way. But find that favorite Psalm of yours that lifts you up and put that by your tableside on your kitchen table by your bedside at night and get in the habit of reading an uplifting Psalm or a piece of encouraging uplifting poetry to help us get through this particular wintertime. It can be a very good winter's night tonic.

That's BT Daily. Join us next time.