Finding My Heart of Thanksgiving Again: Forgiven

November is usually a lovely time on social media. People post daily about the things for which they're grateful. We see photos of children, extended family, co-workers, home, and treasured activities. It's one of my favorite months. 

Usually.

This month, however, has not been so cordial. I've failed at posting thanks-filled words, too, so I'm not casting stones. Instead, I'm starting fresh and posting something about gratitude every day until Thanksgiving. Yes, it's only four days, but at least I've found my thankful heart again. 

My favorite Bible character, other than Jesus, is Enoch. I'm grateful for his simple witness. His story is pretty compact. After his son, Methuselah, was born, Enoch turned to God. For three hundred years, he walked with God. 

After my son was born, I turned to God in a brand-new way, too, so I like to think I'm just a little like Enoch.

What we know is that Enoch was there and then he was gone. God took him to heaven. No long, lingering death. No sickness. He stepped from this world into heaven with no warning or fanfare. Bam. He was gone to his heavenly home. That's how I'd like to live, and definitely how I'd like to go.

I had forgotten that Enoch is also mentioned in Jude. He prophesied about God's judgment against those who have done ungodly deeds in an ungodly way, and have spoken harsh things against Him. 

Jude makes it clear. These ungodly speakers are "grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly..." (Jude 16)

I don't know about you, but that struck a little close to home. Today, I'm repenting of my grumbling, fault-finding, and all the rest. I'd rather be like Enoch than like the ones he prophesied against.

That brings me to my point of gratitude today:

I'm grateful for forgiveness.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

No matter what we've done or said, we can repent (admit we're wrong, apologize to God, and determine to stop doing it). God will not only forgive us, but He will also cleanse our heart as if we'd never sinned at all. If that miracle is not enough to rock our world, I don't know what is.

Today, let's stop, admit our grumbling, ask for forgiveness, and start fresh. Let's find our hearts of gratitude again. 

We live in a beautiful world. We have a good nation, despite its problems. We are blessed more than most of the world's population. We have lots for which we can, and should, give thanks. 

Make a start today. For what are you grateful? Comment below. I'd love to hear words of gratitude the rest of this month. Go...
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In case you missed yesterday's post, here's the link: When What We Need is a Divine Pruning to Restore Order to Our Lives
If God leads you to help support this ministry outreach, here's the link to give: Global Outreach Acct 4841
#thanksgiving

Tupelo Thankful

I grew up in the turbulent 1960's and early 1970's. The race riots of the 1960's are still fresh in my mind. Although I didn't see those death-filled riots personally, Walter Cronkite told us about them every evening. The death counts. The property destruction. "And that's the way it is," he'd tell us, and I believed him.

It was worse after Martin Luther King was assassinated. Our nation was filled with anger and violence that continued for years. 

My son was born in the year of the LA riots, following the death of Rodney King. Even after more than two decades, when I think of Los Angeles, I think of violence, anger, and destruction.

The deaths of Timothy Thomas, Freddie Gray, and Michael Brown triggered more recent rioting. Cincinnati, Baltimore, and Ferguson are still recovering. To a lesser extent, even Los Angeles is still recovering.

Terrible things can happen, and they do. 

When I was in high school, a mini-riot occurred at a basketball game. That night is still vivid in mind. Tensions had been high. The fighting began after one smart aleck comment too many. It was that fast. One guy spoke. The second one replied (and smirked) and the first guy came up swinging. It seemed as if every able-bodied guy in the packed gym poured onto the gym floor to join the fight.

Riots erupt just that quickly. When two opposing parties collide, emotions can overwhelm common sense and terrible things can happen. 

That was my fear with the protests scheduled for yesterday. With either party demonstrating alone, there would not have been nearly as much concern (at least on my part). All factors together, though, made for a potential powder keg.

But Tupelo. 

Tupelo did not erupt in violence. Other than some shouting of slogans and a fist fight that involved an outsider, every second of the day was peaceful. The local protestors conducted themselves with dignity and quiet spirits. 

Some would say Tupelo's just different. We're better. We're calmer.

Tupelo may well be different from other towns, but the humans in Tupelo and the surrounding areas are still human, with human emotions and human responses. 

We're not peaceful and happy today because we're good. We could just as easily be grieving and picking up the pieces. 

We have peace today because The Prince of Peace gave it to us. 

More than fifteen thousand people viewed the prayer guide and prayed. Many thousands more prayed on their own. People were literally on their knees and on their faces praying Friday night and all day yesterday. People humbled themselves, repented, and begged God for peace, and He gave it.

We saw 2 Chronicles 7:14 played out before our eyes yesterday in living color, and I hope we never forget it, never stop saying thank you.

Today is not a day for celebrating the "goodness" of Tupelo (although it's a great city). Today is a day for thanking God and celebrating His grace and goodness.

In the early years of Israel, the great victories of God were celebrated with feasting and dancing and songs. Today, we, too, have a great victory to celebrate, so have a wonderful day as you feast, and sing, and even dance with rejoicing for the goodness of God and His precious gift of peace.

Say thank you, children of God, for HE DID IT.

"It is time to celebrate, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." Nehemiah 8:10 

"If My people who are called by My name, humble themselves, and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and forgive their sin and heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14 esv
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In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post: Last Minute Prayers of Desperation for Tupelo 
Friday's post link is here: Before Magellan Here's a link to the worldwide prayer guide: The Prayer List 
#prayfortupelo #gratefulheart #thanksgiving

Being One of the Richest People in the World

Then He said to them, "Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions." And He told them a parable, saying, "The land of a rich man was very productive. And he began reasoning to himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?' Then he said, 'This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry."' But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?' So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God." And He said to His disciples, "For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. (Luke 12:15-22 NASB)

In the previous post, we looked at the foolish man's response to wealth. "Tear the barns down! Build back bigger and better! More! More!" This rich man counted his money and said to himself, (Leanna Paraphrase) "This is enough money to last me as long as I live, even if I live a long time." 

The foolish rich man might have been pleased with his approach to wealth, but God wasn't. Before we look at what God said to the man, let's look at wealth around the world. It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking that millions of dollars are required for wealth. There are mega-wealthy people, but wealth requires less than you think. It's all a matter of perspective.

I've spent some time this morning reviewing data about world wealth. The numbers might surprise you. According to Gallup, the median annual household income worldwide is $9,733. (or $1,225 depending on what source you read. Regardless, it's much lower than most of us in this country have.) 

The median annual household income in Liberia is $781 with an annual median per capita income of $118. In Rwanda, the median annual household income is $1101; median annual per capita is $235. (1) Not much is it? 

Think about being limited to that amount of money for an entire year. My income looks outrageously extravagant in comparison, and yours probably does, too.

According to Daily Mail, nearly half of the world's richest people live in the United States. To make it into the "wealthiest people in the world category" requires an after tax income of $34,000.(2)  

Why do these numbers matter? Perspective. When our view of wealth is the uber-rich of the world, who fly in personal jets, wear designer clothes, and feast on champagne and caviar, we lose the understanding of the blessings God has given us. 

We are among the most blessed people in the world. We are among the richest people in the world. We serve a God who owns it all. The only appropriate response is deep, consuming gratitude for His great generosity to us.

Years ago, I was worried about my finances and the future. I found a passage of Scripture that changed both my attitude about money and my life. 

"Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving And pay your vows to the Most High; Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me." (Psalms 50:14-15 NASB)

When I'm concerned about something (not just finances, but anything), I offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving. I consider giving thanks when I'm worried a sacrifice, because all I want to do is whine to God about my need for Him to solve my problem. 

What I've found is that giving thanks begets gratitude. As I move through my life, house, and across my property, giving thanks for the things God has already given me, I am overwhelmed by the breadth of blessing I have received. I find myself giving thanks nonstop because that's how God has blessed me. Nonstop.

Do you want to know what happens after a little sacrificial thanksgiving? I find myself saying, "I love you, Lord," over and over. Because I do. LOVE is the only appropriate response to kind of extravagance God has shown to us.

Just yesterday, I needed a tall person to help me with several tasks I couldn't do for myself. A light bulb on my highest ceiling needed to be replaced. Several panels on the greenhouse roof had blown out in a storm and needed to be secured before the next rain (which turned out to be last night). 

Yesterday morning, I prayed that God would send me a tall person. I have laughed off and on since I received a text from someone who wanted a quick job for cash saying, "Do you need any work done? I have one hour and a tall boy who will work, too." That tall boy was a gift from God and the work I desperately needed done was quickly accomplished. 

The text about the tall boy was one more assurance that God is in control and concerned about even the tiniest details of my life. I am extravagantly blessed. And you are, too.

For today, let's stop grumbling about all that's wrong in our country and all that is evil in our culture. Let's focus on the generosity of our sweet God who has given us far more than we deserve. Let's give thanks as a sacrifice and keep giving thanks until we are so overwhelmed with gratitude that we can't stop. 

To live as those who are redeemed, we need to understand the gift we have been given. For today, let's begin by thanking God for His gift of salvation, for the people in our lives, for the safety of home and hearth, for health. Then, walk through every room of your home. Touch every item. Thank God for it. 

Everything we have, tangible and intangible, is a gift from God. Let's be sure to give Him thanks. It will change our lives. It might just change the world around us, too.

(1) http://www.gallup.com/poll/166211/worldwide-median-household-income-000.aspx 
(2)http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2082385/We-1--You-need-34k-income-global-elite--half-worlds-richest-live-U-S.html

The Grateful Heart: Friends

Yesterday was a long, but good day. I volunteered at the Global Outreach International Mission Conference. My friends, Jan and Linda, volunteered with me. I scheduled us to be there the entire time. I loved being there. I was blessed beyond words. Every hour was precious, but I failed to think about how many hours I would be gone from home.

What I hadn't considered was that the Wonder Dogs would need to go outside. Maggie would need her eye drops. Mamie would want her artificial tears so she could have what Maggie has.  It was my day to close the park. 

My sweet neighbor, Sam, comes to see the Wonder Girls often. They take each other for walks several times a day, but Sam doesn't come after dark. In case you haven't noticed, it's getting dark early these days.

Late yesterday, Jan needed to leave. Linda decided to stay. 

It took at least two people to do our job, so Linda's presence was essential. Her decision to stay was a precious gift.

Nearly an hour after Jan left, I received this text:

"Girls are walked and park is closed. Maggie wanted to go to bed but they are back in the kitchen."

Jan saw my need and met it, and so did Linda.

That's what friends do.

I am blessed beyond words by friends who see needs and meet them, sometimes before I realize I have the need. 

I wish I was as good a friend. 

If you have friends, celebrate that friendship. Spend time together. Help each other. Love. Laugh. Serve. Rejoice.

Cherish your friendship, for our friendships here on earth are just a reminder that there is One friend who sticks closer than a brother, never fails, loves at all times, and has already laid down His life for those who would be His friend.

"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work. If one falls down; his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!"         Ecclesiastes 4:9 nasb

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In case you missed any of the past week's posts, here are the links: The Grateful Heart: Predawn Stillness, The Grateful Heart: Orchestration of God, The Grateful Heart: Avoiding Distraction, Maggie: Eye Protection, Maggie: Wanting Eye Drops, and Grateful Heart: Superheroes and Missions Conference.

The most read posts of the past week: (for the first time ever there's a tie) Maggie:Forgiving and Forgetting and Maggie: Being Light.

#friends #closerthanabrother #loveoneanother #JesusChrist #grateful heart

The Grateful Heart: Predawn Stillness

The spring forward/fall back swap-over always confuses me, but I was determined to navigate the change successfully this year. At 5:30 pm yesterday (that pre-change time), I set my clocks back and pretended it was 4:30 pm. It didn't help. I went to bed when I was tired and awakened this morning when I was rested. At 3:44 am.

I love this predawn morning. It's a little like stepping outside into a creation dawn. The distant noise of traffic on the interstate is silenced. The sounds of community are hushed. Man is quiet.

The breathtaking symphony of night song plays in full orchestra.

It's the sound and stillness of God, and I love it.

This is the reason I rise so early most days. 

I can hear God's silence, and it's a beautiful roar. 

As much as I hate the confused biorhythms of the time change, I love it for this one thing... the predawn hour when God fills the air with song.

It gives me a sense of that time when the earth was formless and dark. In that moment before light, the Spirit of God was moving, and creating, and changing His earth. He spoke and called out the light, separated it from the dark, pronounced it good. (Genesis 1:1-4) 

This predawn hour feels a little like the time God's light and His dark mingled in innocence. It's the most peace-filled time of my day.

As we begin a month of Thanksgiving, I'm giving thanks for the beginning of the day, when light and dark mingle and the earth cries out for a return of innocence.

It represents hope to me, a hope that the plans and purity of God could, once more reign. Will reign again.

Today, stop to thank God for the beginning of the day, that predawn hour when He sings in the night and calls us to the deep. Reach out to the deep and allow His plans and His purity to reign in you.

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photo courtesy of freeimages.com

In case you missed any of the past week's posts, here are the links:  Remembering My Way, and Maggie The Wonder Dog and the Hurt Eye, Maggie: Avoiding the Light, Maggie: Sister Love and the Body of Christ, Maggie: Forgiving and Forgetting, Maggie: Being Light.

The most read post of the past week: Remembering My Way.

Here's the link to The Clay Papers, available as an e-book for personal use or to send as a gift for only 99 cents. 

Here's the link for The Road to Bethlehem: An Advent Prayer and Devotional Guide, available on Amazon for 99 cents e-book. Paperback $6.00

#timechange #fallback #dawn #innocence #God #thanksgiving #gratefulheart

The Blessing of Protection

One recent morning, I awakened at 1:30 am with a sense of urgency to pray for my son. I prayed and climbed back in bed. It was no better. I prayed in bed. At 2 am, I got up again. As it turned out, I was up for the day. The sense of danger for my son was so strong that I ended up praying off and on all day. 

By lunchtime, I was overwhelmed. Something was wrong. 

I texted him. He was fine. Nothing was wrong. 

I kept praying. I texted my prayer partner to pray. I prayed some more.

Finally, at 3:05 pm, nearly ten hours after my first sense of danger, I received a text from Ryan. A crazy thing had happened. He was driving (in his tiny Nissan roadster) when an 18-wheeler passed him, had a blow out, and blew the tire onto his car. The tire missed his windshield (which would likely have killed him) and hit his front bumper instead. 

"Did it scare you, Ryan," I asked. 

"No, Ma'am. It happened too fast to scare me, but it sure surprised me."

There's damage to the bumper that will need to be repaired, but Ryan managed to navigate to the side of the road without crashing. He made his way to a service station and the man there, who was so nice, gave him several long zip-ties. Ryan, a modern-day MacGyver if there ever was one, zip-tied his car back together until he could report his accident and arrange for repair.

According to roadtreking.com, highway debris causes more than 25,000 accidents and at least 100 deaths each year in North America. When I called the insurance company to report his accident, the woman who answered asked how much of the car was damaged in the crash. 

"He didn't crash," I told her. "He said he just pulled off on the side of the road."

Most of the time, she said, when a flying tire-remnant hits a car, it causes a wreck. She was very surprised this one did not.

I'm not surprised at all.

The Lord has made known His salvation... Psalm 98:2 nasb

Our God, who is eternally present and sees the past and the future, knew about the accident to come at 1:30 that morning. He invited me into His divine preparations and I accepted the invitation. I can't begin to tell you how often I've been thankful for that. 

Lest you misunderstand, let me make it clear that Ryan wasn't spared because of his worried mama. Ryan was spared because a loving God intervened on his behalf. 

"He cares for you..." 1 Peter 5:7 nasb

On that particular day, at that particular time, God allowed me to glimpse His provision, His tender loving care. There are many days, in fact most days, when I do not glimpse His provision and tender loving care in such graphic detail. 

My failure to recognize God's care does not negate its presence nor His provision.

As disciples, we serve a loving, knowing God who cares for us with more tenderness, more love than we can imagine. Look around you today. Try to count the blessings you see, then count the unseen blessings that, though less tangible, are no less real. 

There's a song I learned as a child. "Count your many blessings, name them one by one. Count your many blessings, see what God has done."

Indeed. Count your many blessings today and thank Him for all He has done.

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In case you missed any of the past week's posts, here are the links: The Problem With Phone Calls, How to Recognize Good News, Removing the Callus, Refillable Nespresso capsules,  The New Normal, and The Blessing Disguised as Coincidence.

#highwaydebris #spared #handofGod #blessed #disciple #JesusChrist #grateful

The most read post of the past week: Removing the Callus.

Who Owns My Stuff? The Generosity of God

Then He said to them, "Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions." And He told them a parable, saying, "The land of a rich man was very productive. And he began reasoning to himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?' Then he said, 'This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry."' But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?' So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God." And He said to His disciples, "For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. (Luke 12:15-22 NASB)

Jesus not only gave His disciples instruction. He also gave them illustrations to make the instructions clear. The admonition against greed was so important that He followed it with an illustrative story. It went like this:

A rich man had very productive land. He had filled every barn on his land with his crops. When all his storehouses were filled, this man did not say, "I should give some of the excess to the poor." He did not think about selling the excess and using the money to build shelter for the homeless. His only thought was how to store more, to have a greater accumulation. 

What has always surprised me about this story is that the man did not decide to build an extension on his existing barn or to repair any problem with his old ones. He decided to tear down all his perfectly good barns and build new, bigger ones. He'd have been right at home in today's world.

More. Bigger. Better. It's a theme in our society, and it is one that Jesus clearly warned against. 

Let's take a look at our possessions and the things we have spent a lifetime accumulating. Are we like the rich man, constantly acquiring more, bigger, better, or are we content with less? Do we want to tear down and build or repair and preserve? There is a marked difference in the two perspectives that begins with a clear understanding of who owns the blessings we enjoy. 

If every good and perfect gift comes from above (and it does), then the good and perfect things we enjoy and call our own all came from above. They are a gift from God, not a benefit of our financial acumen or hard work. 

A godly perspective toward our possessions and finances begins with an understanding of their origin and ownership. It's all God. Embracing that basic truth brings us to the only appropriate response. Gratitude. 

For today, let's look at every possession as a gift from God and thank Him for them. Individually. One by one. It's a way of counting your blessings that will leave you humbled and in awe of the One who has been so generous to you.

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Dear Lord and Father, thank You for the gifts You have so graciously bestowed upon me. Thank you not only for my home, but for the generosity that provided my home and the possessions therein. Thank you for a roof over my head, food to eat, clothes to wear. Thank you for extra to invest in the Kingdom of God. Help me to be a good steward of the things you have entrusted to me and help me to use them as You see fit, not simply to please myself. In Jesus name, Amen.

Teach us to pray, part 3: saying thank you

And He said to them, "When you pray, say: ' Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. 'Give us each day our daily bread. 'And forgive us our sins, For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.'" (Luke 11:2-4 NASB)

There is always a wonderful lesson to be found in researching the meaning of the words of Christ. The original Greek is so rich and multilayered that even a brief study enhances our understanding of Jesus' intent. So it is with the word translated as "when". As I read this, I couldn't help but laugh out loud. 

The word translated as "when" is hotan and is used to indicate a little more than just "when". This particular word is used to mean "when you pray, and I am assuming that you will pray." This is the same word Jesus used when he said, "when you fast". Hotan. "When you fast, and I am assuming you will fast." 

Sometimes I forget that Jesus was not just talking to make a lovely sermon. He had a very limited time on earth, an outrageous amount to teach His disciples, and every word had to count. Jesus was not just talking about prayer to check that off His heavenly list of "things to teach disciples". He was talking to them about prayer because He expected them to pray, and to pray in the way He was teaching. It's important to remember that He also expects us, you and me, to pray in this way, too.

The word translated as "pray" is proseuchomai. Interestingly, it is always translated as "pray". There's no deep layer. It simply means pray. So what is prayer? I turned to an online dictionary and found this definition. "A solemn request for help or expression of thanks addressed to God, an earnest hope or wish." We will learn over the next few days (okay, over the next few weeks) that prayer is so much more than a series of requests. Prayer is a conversation between us and the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. This speaking with God is nothing short of a miraculous privilege, and one we do well to appreciate and take seriously.

There is a two-word prayer that I pray on a daily basis, usually throughout the day, and it is a good starting point for learning to pray. "Thank you." I try to thank God for everything from the air that I breathe to the eggs my chickens lay to the times when my horses exit their stalls without leaving me more to clean up (to put it delicately). It has been a recent goal of mine to thank God for everything He has given me, and I have found that it is very nearly impossible. I am blessed beyond measure and the more I thank Him, the more I find reason to thank Him. 

As we go along in these lessons on prayer, I hope to offer some suggestions to make our prayer lives a little more lively. For today, let's spend our prayer time thanking God for all the gifts He has given us. Don't just say, "Thank you for everything." Let's recall every family member, every friend, every person God has placed in our lives and thank Him for them. Thank Him for what they mean to us, the lessons we have learned from them. Go from room to room in our homes, thanking Him for every specific tangible thing He has given us. As we go about our day, let's thank Him for our work, our ability to move freely, to shop where we want, the money we spend, the freedoms we enjoy, the leaders He has given us (whether we like them or not). While we are thanking, let's not forget to thank Him for the adversity He has allowed, for how He has used it, what He will do from it.

 This is not the day to use the thank you's for thinking of more requests. This is the day to say "thank you" for what we have without asking for anything more. If we do it, it will change us in an amazing way. Start now. Thank you, Lord for...

"Pray without ceasing. In all things give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18 KJV

Lessons from the Battlefield, part 11: the Grateful Heart

2 Chronicles 30: 22-23

Hezekiah and his people celebrated the Passover for seven days.  Scripture tells us they were “sacrificing peace offerings and giving thanks to the Lord.”  It doesn’t sound all that remarkable until you try to spend a week giving thanks.  It’s sometimes difficult for us to spend ten minutes thanking God for all the gifts He has given us without letting our “requests” creep into our prayers, but Judah didn’t stop at ten minutes.  They had endured years of a dreadful ruler during which all worship in the temple was banned.  They had finally been set free from his tyranny and they were truly grateful.  Having lived the consequences of their sin, they rejoiced at yet another second chance.  For a full week, they gave back to God and said thank you.  

What’s really remarkable about this story is that there was such joy in celebrating the Passover that the entire nation of Judah decided to celebrate the Passover for another week – sacrificing and giving thanks.  Two weeks of celebration may sound like just a great big party, but it is harder than you think.  Today, try to spend the rest of the day thanking God for all He has done for you.  Tomorrow, try to spend the entire day giving thanks to God. Try to spend just one day using all your prayer time to give thanks.  Don’t ask for anything.  Simply spend time loving, thanking, and praising our Mighty God.  Our society is so focused on pursuing whatever our heart desires that it may be harder than you think.

 

Here are a few suggestions to get you started:.

- Thank Him for Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, victory over the tomb, and the intercession He ever makes at the right hand of the Father.

- Thank Him for the breath of life, the blood circulating through your body, and all the body parts that work so well. (Nothing about those parts that don't work so well)

- Thank Him for His presence today and His promises for tomorrow. 

Keep going. You might be surprised to find how richly you've been blessed! 

The Unexpectedly Grateful Heart part 8

Today was Sister Saturday. After my mother died, my sister and I wanted to be sure we kept our family close and didn't become adult orphans, so we decided to have a girl day together on a fairly regular basis. Today was our day, and it was a super day! 

We both had gift-making projects that required an extra set of hands for Friday night. Amazingly we were able to complete what we'd planned and I was able to finish my book and upload it to Amazon. There is a lag of twelve hours between when a manuscript is uploaded and when it is available to view. That seemed like two eternities to me, but there was nothing to do but wait. 

My nephew is getting married in two weeks, so there was shopping to do. As we made our way along the aisles of the Charity Sale, I posted about my book, shared the news, checked on how it was doing, and talked nonstop about it. Since it had only been live for two hours and it was not yet 6:00 am, it was really pointless, but I was really excited. Needless to say, I was thrilled by every tiny bit of encouragement. We finished up my Operation Shoebox shopping and my grocery shopping, in addition to my sister's shopping, so we were out for quite a while.  I was non-stop excited the whole time. 

It WAS a super day, but it didn't have a thing to do with the shopping, purchases, or bargains. The best part wasn't the sweet comments and encouragement. It wasn't even the book sales (thank you VERY much!). The best part was that my sister was there to share my joy. She didn't compete with it. She didn't denigrate it. She didn't tell me to hush or that she couldn't stand to hear how excited I was one more time. She just loved me and rejoiced with me. That's not just family. That's love, and I was deeply touched by how sweet my baby sister is, and how kind she was to me today. I am so grateful for her. 

Her response to my joy gives me pause, though. I'm not sure I'm as kind or as willing to rejoice with those who are rejoicing. I want to be though, and I'd like the opportunity to make someone else feel as loved as my baby sister made me feel today.  It would be a pretty tall order on my own. I'm pretty sure that, to love like Baby Sister loves, I'm going to have to let the One who loves us the most love through me. 

The Unexpectedly Grateful Heart, part 3

Happy Thanksgiving!

I know it seems like I'm early with that greeting, but this grateful heart project is changing my perspective on Thanksgiving a bit. Today, the schedule was super long, and I started the day concerned about my ability to stay on time with that many patients. It worked out perfectly, though, and it seemed like I had plenty of time with everyone, but somehow was still ahead of schedule off and on throughout the day. It helped that someone had scheduled me a two-hour lunch break, of course, but we won't discuss that! Being on time is always cause for rejoicing, so many thanks went up because of it. 

One of my patients had had a wound for a very long time, but it was finally healed today. What a celebration we had! There were hugs all around, clapping and cheering! Everyone was thrilled. Of course, this too was cause for rejoicing, and many thanks went up because of it. 

The celebration, however, made me wonder about something. Why don't we celebrate like that when spiritual wounds are healed? How wonderful it is when someone finally relinquishes anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, shame, or any other wound that, allowed to fester, has become an opportunity for sin!  If the angels in heaven are rejoicing over such victory, shouldn't we?  Before we get back to thanksgiving in unexpected places, I want to tell you that, if you have a spiritual wound that gets healed, let me know.  I will happily rejoice with you! I LOVE celebrating! 

When I arrived home, the gate in front of my house was closed. I, of course, immediately thought the cows were out. Looking back, that was a truly dumb assumption, but I was dreading looking for cows in the pitch black dark. It turned out that Bill The Magnificent (who helps me on my farm ) had just forgotten to open it after putting hay out. All was well and I was worried for nothing, but I was rejoicing and thanking God anyway. I have spent more than enough time hunting animals in the dark over the last 24 years! 

Thinking I might have to hunt cows made me remember how much I LOVE cows! I can not begin to tell you how much I love having cows. I like having them better in spring, but even in the dark, rainy nights, I still like them. My cows are so nice, too, that I stopped and thanked God for letting me be a cowgirl all these years. He is so nice to me!!  If you think about my cows and how much I like them, feel free to Eat More Beef. 

There is another truly amazing thanksgiving. I fried oysters for the first time ever tonight!! I have almost never fried anything, so my boss had to tell me how to do it. I was able to follow those directions exactly, and my oysters were golden brown with a wonderfully crispy crust. Perfect! More thanksgiving - for a new skill and for a super yummy dinner. 

I have given thanks all day, and the night is still young. More than likely, there will be more opportunities for thanksgiving before bedtime. What about your day? Have you given thanks today, too? I hope so. 

One other thing... I'm giving thanks for YOU! How precious it is to me that you take time to read all my rambling stories. It means more to me than you can imagine. I'm thanking God for sending you my way, but also thanking you for sharing your time with me. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

    

The Unexpectedly Grateful Heart part 2

If you saw last night's confession, you know that I've decided to make an effort to have a grateful heart, regardless of the trials I encounter. I had my heart set on getting my new advent book finished and uploaded to Amazon this weekend. It didn't happen. My computer picked this weekend to have a crash party. I will spare you the gory details, but I am STILL downloading the software that I needed to be able to re-download the program that crashed. Disappointed? Yes, I am. Defeated? Discouraged? No, I am not. 

Here's my random, no-order list of thanksgivings for today:

- When I awakened at 6:00 am, it was light outside! This was particularly good because I've started feeding my livestock twice a day again, and I'm taking the morning shift. I've gone to the barn in the dark hundreds of times, but I still prefer going in the light. 

- it was a chilly morning, so I slipped into my decade-old Carhartt coveralls, and they still fit!

- I picked up the feed bucket with my right hand!!!! That may not sound like something to get excited about but I shattered a bone in my hand last Christmas and just six months ago I had contractures in my ring and pinkie fingers. Bending it at all is cause for celebration. Having the strength to actually use my hand leaves me deliriously happy!!! Talk about blessings! That is one BIG blessing!

- I lost my new glasses today. I was frantic but finally found them in the leaves on the patio. They weren't broken or scratched! Hooray!

- This morning, my pastor used the very Scripture passage that was my lifeblood more than a decade ago during the worst trial of my life. Everything was going wrong all at once, and this passage in Exodus gave me such hope. When I opened my Bible today, there was a big stain where so many tears had fallen that the ink I'd used to make a note had faded. I could see where the tears had been, but here is the amazing thing. Every tear had dried. He preached a wonderful sermon, but what I kept thinking was how I had tried to do exactly what the verses said (Be still) and God had done exactly what He said He'd do (fight for me). All these years later, every one of those tears are just dried up stains. It was like a little victory celebration right there in the back row. I did a victory dance, but since it is a Baptist church, I just did it in my head. 

- I had asked God for confirmation about something yesterday and it was already there this morning before I finished getting dressed. As I was thanking Him for His answer, I thought about how we have not because we ask not, so I asked God to surprise me somehow today (but to please make it a nice surprise). You are not going to believe it, but three hours later I had the sweetest surprise I've had in a long time. I laughed out loud at how nice our God is to me. 

I could go on and on. My computer is still downloading and my book is still not uploaded, but it was another lovely day.  I had Thanksgiving all day long! 

Unexpected Thanksgiving #1

The post this morning about Nazareth Hearts that only want to see and receive miracles has been on my mind all day. A Nazareth heart was not at all attractive to Jesus, and I certainly don't want to be like that. I want a grateful heart that finds a blessing in every trial. 

With that in mind, I have had to try harder than usual to keep a happy, grateful heart. My Mac computer has been in a mess since last night. I can't begin to explain the problem but, in a nutshell, a critical program quit working. I needed to delete that program and reinstall it. To do that I had to delete another program and reinstall it in order to install a new program so that I can reinstall the program that failed. Confusing, huh? It's been frustrating, too, but I've managed to keep my cool and find things about which to be grateful all day long. 

Here's the list, in no particular order:

- Computer Universe was my first stop. They couldn't help, but everyone agreed they would be frustrated in my situation and their compassion helped quite a bit. They did try but couldn't fix the problem.  

- Since Computer Universe couldn't help, they didn't charge me. I'd have willingly paid them because they were so nice, but I was glad for the savings. 

- I have spoken with Apple representatives off and on all day. John, Doug, Tim, and two other guys whose names I've forgotten (so sorry) were ALL super nice. They were not only apologetic, they commiserated with my misery AND assured me that they would keep trying until they had my problem fixed. I can't begin to say enough about how kind they were. 

- Even better, everyone I talked with at Apple spoke fluent English. I don't mind accents and English as a second language. People have been incredibly patient with me when I was the one attempting a second language, so I try to be patient, too. I was just glad that extra patience wasn't required today. 

- The first time I tried to reinstall the operating system, my computer told me it would take 208 hours and 42 minutes. I was not at all surprised. I do live in Rural northeast Mississippi, and my internet is not the fastest. It was a wonderful surprise, however, when my second attempt (well maybe my forty-second attempt) took considerably less time than that. 

- I had lots of errands to run today and, since the temperature was wonderfully cool, Maggie rode along. There is nothing better than Maggie as a riding companion. Everything is exciting and wonderful to her (and, therefore, to me)

- Since she was groomed Thursday, I had a nice smelling companion for errands, which is definitely a plus. 

- I arrived home with 500 pounds of feed to unload and Bill (who helps me on the farm) was at the barn! He unloaded all the feed so I didn't have to do it!! Hooray! 

-Pillsbury now makes gluten-free pizza dough in a tub, so I had a super yummy GF Gruyere, Romano, arugula, chicken, and prosciutto pizza for supper. Don't knock it until you've tried it. Delicious!! 

- To top it all off, we move the clock back an hour tonight! Extra sleep is a super wonderful thing!!

The funny thing is that, despite the frustrating difficulties with my computer (which have delayed uploading my new e-book to Amazon by two days at least), I have had wonderful blessings all day and I actually have a grateful heart. It's amazing. I chose to have a grateful heart and, in the end, that's what I've had. 

It's become a Facebook tradition to list something every day in November for which you are grateful. This month, I hope to take it a little further. I will be looking for the opportunity to give thanks in unexpected places. Why don't you try that, too?  Let me know how it goes! I can't wait to hear from you!

Happy Thanksgiving!!  

The Nazareth Heart

And all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things; (Luke 4:28 NASB)

That little word ALL is interesting here. There was not one person in the synagogue that day who was not out of control angry with Jesus that day. Not even one.

Why were they so angry? Jesus had said out loud what they were all thinking. He told them that were mostly happy to see Him in the synagogue because they wanted to see Him do some tricks like He had in Capernaum. Apparently He was right. Then, He told them that He wasn't going to be too popular in Nazareth after all, because prophets never are popular in their home towns. He was right about that, too. He reminded them about Elijah and Elisha being sent to Gentiles instead of Jewish people, which implied that they would not be getting any special miracles on an individual basis either. That was pretty much icing on the cake, and they were furious with Him.  

They didn't want truth, they didn't want conviction, and the only thing they did want was more than they already had. They wanted to see corporate miracles and receive individual miracles. They didn't love Jesus. They weren't overwhelmed with gratitude for what God had already done. They just wanted what He could do for them. 

I have a friend who often says, "If Jesus never does another thing for me, what He's already done is more than enough!"  She's right. Oh if we had that kind of grateful heart instead of a "Nazareth heart" that wants not just more, but something spectacular. 

As we begin the Thanksgiving Season, take some time for introspection today. Do you have a Nazareth heart? It's a dread disease, but the cure is simply gratitude. Thank God for all He has done for you. Pray, too, that our loved ones will recognize the goodness of God at work in their lives and that they, too, will express their thanks to Him.