Gratitude – A Way of Life

With it being the Thanksgiving season, it’s one of the best times to again reflect on the many blessings God has bestowed over the past year. This year has provided me with too many things to choose from when I think of blessings and expressing gratitude. I’ve been blessed with parents and siblings who are in relative good health. I’ve been surrounded by good friends and loyal co-workers. I’ve been protected throughout the year during travel and going back and forth to work. God has opened doors for me spiritually and professionally. 

The more I line my life up with His word, the more He blesses me and the things I touch. He has promoted me in ways I could not have anticipated. But that is who God is and what He does. His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts (Isa 55:8-9). He has a plan for us and when we consistently show our gratitude to Him, acknowledging Him as Lord, He will direct our paths (Prov 3:6) – to the destiny He chose for us. 

While gratitude to the Father should be our focus, since we are to be thankful in all things (1 Thes 5:18), we should also be thankful to those around us. God places people in our lives to serve special purposes and we should make sure to show gratitude to them as well. Gratitude brings hope and remembrance of what God has already done in, through and to us. 

As we continually praise Him (1 Thes 5:16), He continues to show up for us. When we acknowledge Him and our need for Him, we open space for Him to show us who He is and show others through us. God deserves our thanks all the time. Even when things are not going the way we think they should, God is faithful and He is good. That is why gratitude and thankfulness need to be a way of life for us. They are not about our feelings – we can feel however we feel. Gratitude is a matter of choice. What do you choose? 

What is Your Next Step?

All of us are constantly looking at the next thing. At breakfast, we’re already planning lunch and dinner. While it’s great to plan and planning is needed, we also need to be in the moment. When we’re always planning for the next thing we forget that it will take care of itself in the long run. It’s important to be present and in the moment (Matt 6:34).

 

I’m by no means taking anything away from planning. I do it all the time…..for retirement, for vacation, for the next business trip, for a family get together, for family bible study, etc. All that planning is necessary to get some things done, but it doesn’t negate the need for me to be present now…..for my staff, for the family and for myself. I need to focus on the here and the now. 

We’ll only get these moments once and we’ll never see them again, so I want to enjoy the moment and get all the joy out of each one that I can. I also want to pour into others right now - I want them to know they are valuable.  They are worth my time and attention. 

Time is moving so fast and we’re so used to getting things quick, that we’ve lost the ability to concentrate on the moment. I remember being a little girl and just enjoying whatever I was doing at the time – of course, that was before cell phones and streaming and tablets and the like. So we have to be intentional about being in the moment. It doesn’t just happen.  

What are you going to do next? Take all your time planning for tomorrow, or enjoy today. Remember, tomorrow isn’t promised (Jam 4:14). All we really have is today. Yes, we want to be strategic for tomorrow, but let’s live for right now and make the most of it. 

Do You Have Real Friends?

I recently found myself very thankful for the people God has brought to my life - both personally and professionally. I tend to think of myself as a giver. I give to charity. I give to friends. I give….but I can be stingy with my time. I have to make intentional efforts to spend my time doing for others. 

In fact, this blog is a good example. I mean, I love writing and I’m so blessed that God trusted me to do this every week, but I have to be intentional to get it done….hence this late night post. I realized I needed to write this post this morning and am just making time for it. I make time for other things as well, but again I have to be intentional with my time. Those things I make time for are important to me or important to the people who are important to me. Those are the people I will bend over backwards for, the ones I will sacrifice for, the ones I call friends. 

God has placed people in my life to help me along the way, too. They are generous with their time and talents and they push me….sometimes more than I might like, but definitely for my good. That is what a friend is. By definition, a friend is one who is attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard; one who is not hostile; a favored companion. I would go on to add that a friend is one who cares for you and wants the best for you and will do their part to make sure you have what is best for you. 

I have been blessed with several people who fall into this category. Whether it’s needing someone to review an application package, or regularly feed me, or help me purge and pack up a house I’ve lived in for almost 20 years, I have been blessed with real friends who go the distance with me – accepting me for who I am with all my faults and loving me just the same (Prov 17:17). They show me daily the love of Christ and I am forever grateful to see and feel it in the flesh. I know beyond a shadow of doubt that they love me no matter what. Will they call me on my “ish”? Absolutely, but they are still there…..whether I’m in a place to deal with it right then or not (Ecc 4:10). They walk through this life with me and I’m reminded of Jesus walking with the disciples. Even when they messed up, he admonished them and then they went on about the Father’s business. 

I don’t know if you have friends like mine, but you should check your inventory. If you don’t, you may want to ask yourself why. In order to have friends, you must be a friend (Prov 18:24). You can’t take, take, take and expect someone to stick around. Friendship works both ways – both parties give and take. No matter how much someone has or how many talents they possess, they were not created to give everything and receive nothing. Luke 6:38 says, “Give and it will be given to you, good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over.” Giving is not just about money and it’s not just about the tithe (although it is obedient to consistently pay your tithe). Giving is about thinking about someone other than yourself and providing for a need. I thank God daily for the people he’s put in my life and I pray you have some real friends too. If you don’t, pray and ask God to send some your way, but remember you have to do your part, too.

Is the Lord Real to You?

I know that we often talk about who Jesus is and we know He is God’s son and our way to eternal life. But have you experienced Him for yourself. I know that like me, you probably study your bible and learn more about Him and who He is, but is He real to you? Have you had experiences where you know it was Him? 

I have felt Him when I praise and I have been comforted by the Holy Spirit in times of distress and convicted by the Holy Spirit when I’ve stepped out of line (John 14:26), but I’ve also had experiences where I knew it was Him intervening on my behalf. I can remember an experience I had with the Lord many years ago that sticks with me and reminds me that He is always with me (Deut 31:6). 

I was traveling to my parents at Thanksgiving and I was having a great drive. I was driving alone and had been praying and praising for hours on the road – just me and the Lord. When I was about 45 minutes from my destination, I saw something flying at me on the road and I knew it would hit my car. The last thing I remember thinking before it hit me was whether it would put a dent in my hood. Little did I know, it would do a bit more damage than that. 

“It” was an at least 18 inch piece of metal that had broken off of an 18-wheeler. It slammed into the hood, putting a hole in it, before it came through the windshield in front of my face. I remember closing my eyes so I didn’t see the piece of metal come into the car, but I felt the car slam down and then heard the metal come through the window and hit the roof of the car as if flew over my head. 

When I was able to get to the side of the road and the paramedics arrived, they were surprised that I wasn’t hurt since the metal bent the door, dented the roof, and tore out all the lining over my head. It was a miracle, because that metal should have hit me, but God! He had me that day, just as he does every day, but that day was special because after it was all over I could see where His hand had covered me. 

I should be dead, but here I sit. The Lord is real and I experienced Him for myself – just like the woman at the well (John 4:1-25) and the lame man at the pool (John 5:1-15). He saved my life and I know without a shadow of a doubt that He is real. You may not have had a similar experience but if you get into His presence you can still experience Him. And when you experience Him, tell someone. 

We are to be His witnesses (Acts 1:8) – telling people about Him wherever we go. We don’t have to know all the scriptures to tell someone about Jesus – tell them what you do know. I know that Jesus saved me – both spiritually and physically. He is a protector (which I experienced in that car) and He is a provider. That car was totaled, but multiple people in my life offered me the use of cars until I bought one. There is no way to the Father except through the Son – Jesus is The Way, The Truth and The Life (John 14:6). Don’t let the busyness of life distract you from the very real Lord who we serve. 

Our primary purpose is to love God with all our heat, soul and mind and love others as ourselves (Matt 22:37-39). If we do that we want others around us to realize just how real He is so they too can be part of our family – the church. If He is real to you, tell somebody. Don’t keep it to yourself.