Category Archives: Thanks & Praise

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January 25, 2016

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Attitudes & Behavior, Challenges & Difficulty, Faith & Hope, God's Grace & Love, God's Plan, God's Promises, Joy, Patience & Perseverance, Thanks & Praise, Trusting God

WINTER JOY

Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? [Romans 8:38 (NLT)]

Steamboat Ski Area

As I stepped off the plane into biting wind and blowing snow, the shock of the bitter cold took my breath away. Having started the day at a balmy 70 plus degrees, I wanted to turn around, get on the plane and go back to where I’d been. The plane, however, wasn’t returning that night so neither was I. As I trudged across the tarmac, I questioned my sanity in leaving the warmth of southwest Florida for a stay in our Colorado home.

That first night in the mountains, I just wanted to go back. Once I traded my t-shirt for layers of fleece, my shoes for insulated boots, and my light jacket for a heavy parka, however, things improved. Once I saw the beauty in the aspens’ glistening hoarfrost, strapped on my snowshoes and enjoyed the snow instead of cursing it, and once I’d taken my first ski run down the mountain and embraced the wintery world in which we’ll live for the next two months, my attitude changed. Once I’d accepted and adjusted to where I was, I found joy in my surroundings.

We made the deliberate choice to spend part of our winter in the cold and snow but, sometimes, life drops us off in cold dark places not of our choosing. We end up at the funeral home, principal’s office, police station, or in the ICU. We find ourselves in cardiac rehab, divorce court, an Al Anon meeting, or across from an unsympathetic loan officer or angry boss. Bills pile up, loved ones get sick, tornadoes hit, accidents happen, children get in trouble, and dreams disappear. When those times occur, we want to turn around and go back to the way it was before—before sickness, bankruptcy, death, betrayal, or unemployment. God, however, does not offer return tickets to the land of before.

Several years ago, it felt like God left me in a cold dark place and I longed for the time before—before any of the bad happened, a time when everyone seemed happy and life was good. There was no going back, however, and it was fruitless to yearn for what had been but was no more. By trusting in God and His purpose, I surrendered my circumstances to him. Along with my tears were prayers and, with His guidance, I eventually adjusted my behavior, changed my expectations, stopped yearning for the before and looked with hope to the after. As for the after—while different, it’s possibly even better than the before! Granted, it didn’t happen overnight and it took more than wearing wool socks and long johns to get to a place of acceptance. It happened when I stopped asking God “Why” and started asking Him “What do you want me to learn from this?” It happened when I managed to find reasons for gratitude in even the darkest place. Eventually, out of the pain came not just acceptance but joy.

At some time or another, we all end up in cold dark places and enter a winter time for our souls. We need to find a way, not just to survive them, but to thrive in them. To do that, we must trust in the Apostle Paul’s words that while not everything that happens is good, God will bring good out of whatever happens. As difficult as that sounds, God will open our eyes to the good in the bad and we’ll find a way to have joy in all circumstances.

Thank you, God, for taking the broken pieces of our lives and putting them back together so they are stronger. Thank you for taking the cold winters of our souls and shining your love and light upon them, warming our hearts and enabling us to once again face life with joy.

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. [Romans 8:28 (NLT)]

Whatever happens, my dear brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord. [Philippians 3:1a (NLT)]

 

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January 12, 2016

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Attitudes & Behavior, Joy, Money & Wealth, Thanks & Praise, Today: Make it Count

THE DOG SWEATER

dog outfit
Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live. [1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (MSG)]

While taking photos in the park before church, I stopped to take a picture of a costumed dog. Personally, I think God blessed animals with fur so they wouldn’t have to wear clothes but the dog’s photo would make a cute addition to the church website. The dog’s person complained that Fluffy’s Christmas outfit had not yet arrived from Amazon. The following week, I came upon the same woman and her dog was now wearing a holiday ensemble. While I took the dog’s picture, Fluffy’s person lamented that the poor thing had to wear last year’s sweater with her new accessories. Apparently the pup had enjoyed a few too many treats over the year and the new sweater was too small. I wanted to tell her how thankful she should be to have a dog, let alone be able to feed and dress it, when some people can’t afford to feed and clothe their children. Fortunately, the Holy Spirit put his hand over my mouth and I realized that the dog probably fills a very empty place in her life.

I remembered that encounter as I ever so self-righteously began this devotion about giving thanks. The Holy Spirit, however, suggested I examine my own behavior before pointing fingers or casting stones at this woman. Granted, we probably don’t stress about dressing our dogs in seasonal attire but something tells me we’re really not that different. Like her, most of us are probably nowhere near as thankful about our blessings as we should be. How often do we compare what we have with what we want? We have a new coat, but now we want a scarf, new boots and gloves to go with it. We have a perfectly good house, but now we want to redecorate, remodel or even get a bigger one. We have a spouse, but we want him or her to be thinner, tidier, richer, or not to snore. We have a good job, but we want one that pays better, has shorter hours, a nicer boss, or longer vacations. We have a car, but now we want a newer sportier model or a second (or even third) one. We have healthy children, but they’re not the perfectly-behaved gifted athletic ones we’d planned on getting.

We all want what we don’t have, often while failing to appreciate what it is that we do have. Consider those people who have neither coat to wear nor roof over their heads. What of the widowed who would welcome an opportunity to pick up after a spouse or hear him snore again, the man who got a pink slip with his pay check last week, the woman who takes two busses to work or the grocery store, or the couples who struggle with infertility? They’d be thrilled to take what we are so anxious to find fault with, change or discard. There’s nothing wrong with aspiring to improve our lives but, when we compare what we have to what we want, we’re bound to become dissatisfied. Perhaps, we should start comparing what we have to what it is we actually deserve. I know my blessings far outweigh anything I’ve ever done to deserve them. When I compare what I have to what I deserve, I’m filled with gratitude and joy.

Here’s something to consider: what if everything with which we found fault today disappeared tomorrow? Moreover, what if we woke up tomorrow with only the things for which we thanked God today?

Father, forgive us when we find fault where we should find gratitude and when we offer complaint instead of praise. Forgive our blindness to the blessings right in front of us. Give us thankful hearts and generous spirits. Thank you, dear Lord, for your limitless love and for not giving us what we deserve.

Oh, thank God—he’s so good! His love never runs out. … Good people see this and are glad; bad people are speechless, stopped in their tracks. If you are really wise, you’ll think this over—it’s time you appreciated God’s deep love.  [Psalm 107:1,42-43 (MSG)]

 

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November 11, 2015

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Faith & Hope, God's Grace & Love, God's Promises, Peace of God, Sorrow, Grief & Regrets, Thanks & Praise, Trusting God

PUT ON YOUR RED DRESS

Then everyone who believes in him can have eternal life. Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him would not be lost but have eternal life. [John 3:15-16 (ERV)]

Jesus said, “Don’t be troubled. Trust in God, and trust in me. There are many rooms in my Father’s house. I would not tell you this if it were not true. I am going there to prepare a place for you.” [John 14:1-2 (ERV)]

When you hear of my home going… Don’t worry about me. …Hey… I’m just another soldier, going home to be with the Lord. [Gospel hymn – author unknown]

While chatting with a friend, I mentioned how my little black dress has served so well at visitations and funerals. “Well, you better not wear that at my funeral,” she protested. “You better wear a bright red dress; I want a celebration!”

cardinal - CSS2592web“I’ve got a home in gloryland that outshines the sun,” goes the old familiar gospel song. If we believe that, why are we so somber when a believer passes away? Why the long faces? Of course, we mourn the loss of a loved one—their death leaves a void in our lives. I’m not trying to minimize the loss of life or diminish anyone’s sorrow. Life here on earth, however, is just the prelude to an eternal life with God. Rather than focusing on our grief, we need to celebrate the life our loved one lived and rejoice at the beginning of his or her new life. Although we’ve lost a friend or family member, Heaven has gained a new resident. The angels won’t be draping black crepe on the clouds when someone new arrives. They’ll be posting “welcome home” signs and hanging colorful streamers and balloons to celebrate another resident. Picture St. Peter busily painting a new number on the population sign at the Pearly Gates. As beautiful as God made earth, imagine how magnificent heaven will be. Moreover, it will feel more like home than any house in which we ever lived.

I imagine few in my circle, with the exception of my friend, would understand if I attended wakes and funerals in a brightly colored dress, so I will continue wearing the same black one. But, when our time is over here on earth, my friend and I have specific instructions—no dirges, just joyful songs of homegoing and no weeping or somber faces, just tears of joy and a little laughter. Ladies, when it’s time for me to go home, get out your red dresses and have the men come in their favorite aloha shirts!

Some day you will read in the papers that D.L. Moody of East Northfield, is dead. Don’t you believe a word of it! At that moment I shall be more alive than I am now; I shall have gone up higher, that is all, out of this old clay tenement into a house that is immortal- a body that death cannot touch, that sin cannot taint; a body fashioned like unto His glorious body. [D.L. Moody]

We know that our body—the tent we live in here on earth—will be destroyed. But when that happens, God will have a home for us to live in. It will not be the kind of home people build here. It will be a home in heaven that will continue forever. [2 Corinthians 5:1-2 (ERV)]

 

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November 6, 2015

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Bible Stories, Faith & Hope, Joy, Miracles, Peace of God, Thanks & Praise, Trusting God

CHARM BRACELETS

Joshua erected a monument at The Gilgal, using the twelve stones that they had taken from the Jordan. And then he told the People of Israel, “In the days to come, when your children ask their fathers, ‘What are these stones doing here?’ tell your children this: ‘Israel crossed over this Jordan on dry ground.’” [Joshua 4:20-22 (MSG)]

Zion 041webIn a television ad for a popular brand of charm bracelet, two couples meet and then go their separate ways. One wife proceeds to tell her spouse all about the other couple: the number and sexes of their children, where they’ve vacationed, and their interests. When her husband asks how she got that much info from a brief greeting, she smugly replies that the bracelet told it all. My granddaughter has one of those bracelets and, when gift-giving occasions occur, I enjoy looking at the charms and trying to decide if there are any that commemorate a special event or accomplishment of that year. I wonder if, many years in the future, she will look at the bracelet and fondly recall her riding lessons, theater classes, trip to China or the grandparents who gave her the charms.

Jacob placed a stone pillar to mark the place where God spoke to him, Joshua erected a monument of stones so the Israelites would remember that the river stopped flowing so the Ark could pass through it, and Samuel used a boulder to mark the spot where God gave victory over the Philistines. I’m not sure placing stones and monuments is that easy or practical today; perhaps all we need are some charms. They wouldn’t be made of silver and semi-precious stones nor would they be worn on our wrists or around our necks. They would be made of memories and kept in our hearts. The charms would remind us of those special moments when God revealed His divine presence in our lives. Yes, I know he’s always been there and always will be, but we’ve all had extraordinary times when we truly felt God’s special touch. The charms would commemorate the times we experienced miracles, the moments we had tangible evidence of God’s help or provision, and the supposedly chance conversations that put us on the right path. The charms would bring to mind the times we received His guidance, wisdom, or strength and those instances we knew without a doubt that God was there with us, holding us in His loving arms. Every time we doubted, every time we felt lost or alone, every time we were afraid or felt unworthy, incapable, abandoned, or lost, we could take out a few charms to remind us of God’s loving provision. Looking at them and remembering those times, we would again have confidence and our faith would be renewed.

What occasions would be commemorated on your bracelet?

Samuel took a single rock and set it upright between Mizpah and Shen. He named it “Ebenezer” (Rock of Help), saying, “This marks the place where God helped us.” [1 Samuel 7:12 (MSG)]

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September 16, 2015

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Attitudes & Behavior, Joy, Love & Works, Salvation: A New You, Sharing Our Faith, Thanks & Praise, Today: Make it Count

LET YOUR LIGHT SO SHINE

All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all your saints shall bless you! [Psalm 145:10 (ESV)]

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. [Isaiah 60:1 (ESV)]

“I Sing a Song of the Saints of God” [Lesbia Scott]
I sing a song of the saints of God, patient and brave and true,
Who toiled and fought and lived and died for the Lord they loved and knew.
And one was a doctor, and one was a queen, and one was a shepherdess on the green;
They were all of them saints of God, and I mean, God helping, to be one too.
They loved their Lord so dear, so dear, and his love made them strong;
And they followed the right for Jesus’ sake the whole of their good lives long.
And one was a soldier, and one was a priest, and one was slain by a fierce wild beast;
And there’s not any reason, no, not the least, why I shouldn’t be one too.
They lived not only in ages past; there are hundreds of thousands still.
The world is bright with the joyous saints who love to do Jesus’ will.
You can meet them in school, on the street, in the store,
In church, by the sea, in the house next door;
They are saints of God, whether rich or poor, and I mean to be one too.

cathedral of st francis - Santa Fe8546webAs a girl, one of my favorite hymns was, “I Sing a Song of the Saints of God.” I joyfully sang of the doctor (Luke), queen (Margaret of Scotland), shepherdess (Joan of Arc), soldier (Martin of Tours), priest (John Donne), and the one slain by a beast (Ignatius of Antioch). Although I wasn’t anxious to be devoured by lions, the thought of being in company of such a stellar cast of Christians gave me great joy. The fact that I, simply by knowing Jesus and by loving to do His will, could be one, too, was even more exciting.

Although it’s been years since last singing it, I thought of that hymn when touring the Cathedral Church of St. Francis in Santa Fe recently. Several saints had been beautifully depicted in the stain glass windows. It was a sunny day and the light shone magnificently through the colored glass. I was reminded that the saints of the New Testament weren’t dead; they were living individuals who had dedicated themselves to the worship and service of the one true God as revealed through Jesus Christ. In fact, all Christians are called to be saints of God—to live their lives in a way that reflects their faith in Christ. We all can be saints of God if we allow the Son’s light to shine through us as brilliantly as the sun did in those windows.

Saint: one separated from the world and consecrated to God; one holy by profession and by covenant; a believer in Christ. [Easton’s Bible Dictionary]

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. [Matthew 5:14-16 (ESV)]

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September 7, 2015

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Attitudes & Behavior, God's Grace & Love, Joy, Prayer, Thanks & Praise, Today: Make it Count

LIST THE BLESSINGS

Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things. Wealth and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and at your discretion people are made great and given strength. O our God, we thank you and praise your glorious name! [1 Chronicles 29:11-13 (NLT)]

deer- does-webAfter returning home from nearly three weeks on the road, we hit the ground running and occupied ourselves with unpacking, laundry, sorting through piles of mail, paying bills, returning calls, watering plants, and restocking the pantry before leaving three days later to go out of town again. Busy with household tasks, editing photos, answering emails, writing devotions and updating the website, and knowing we’d soon be leaving again, I hadn’t even bothered to unpack my book bag. This morning, in a quiet moment, I reached in the bag to read some C.S. Lewis and found my gratitude journal. Sadly, no entries had been made for five days. Was there nothing for which I was grateful? On the contrary, there was plenty. Granted, the journal was buried under a pile of books but that was no excuse. I had simply been too busy and involved in doing things that I’d neglected the most important thing: pausing and being with God. Oh, I’d spent time in prayer every morning but, admittedly, those prayers had been rather rushed and the thanks had been pretty generic. Writing in the gratitude journal, however, makes me pause and truly consider the specific gifts with which God has blessed me each day.

As I reviewed the last several days, there was much for which I’d not offered thanks: over 3,000 miles driven without incident, accident or ticket; the littlest grand started preschool with a smile and another grand is adjusting well to her new school; the flowers survived our absence and neglect; neighbors had taken in the mail we’d forgotten to put on hold; my 98-year old mother-in-law continues to do well; five devotions got written; my shoulder is no longer sore and my foot has finally healed; a friend is recovering well from surgery; another friend is healing from the pain of losing his wife; my children sent pictures of the grands; I got caught up on my paper work; hurricane Erika petered out; my husband cooked one of my favorite meals; and I saw a buck and two does walk through our yard this morning. The list goes on and on. None of it is earth-shattering, none of it is deep, but all of it is worthy of thanks to God. Since He never seems too busy to grant His blessings, why is it so easy to become too busy to thank Him?

Heavenly Father, forgive us when we take your blessings for granted or neglect to acknowledge them. Daily, you bestow upon us gifts of every shape and size. May we always recognize the source of our blessings and never take them for granted or forget to express our gratitude to the Giver of all gifts.

For each new morning with its light, For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, For love and friends, For everything Thy goodness sends.
[Ralph Waldo Emerson]

Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation. [Psalm 100:4-5 (NLT)]