Tag Archives: Thanksgiving

Thanking God for His Love

Thanking God by noticing Him in the little things and praising Him in and with everything.

“To be grateful is to recognize the Love of God in everything He has given us – and He has given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of His love, every moment of existence is a grace, for it brings with it immense graces from Him.

Gratitude therefore takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder and to praise of the goodness of God. For the grateful person knows that God is good, not by hearsay but by experience. And that is what makes all the difference.” ~Thomas Merton

God loves you…

• Not because you go to church.
• Not because you follow the rules.
• Not because you do your best.
• Not because you’re lovable.

God Loves you because…

• Of who He is.
• He is love.
• He chooses to love you.
• Of His grace and mercy.

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever. Psalm 107:1

Out of His perfect love He meets every need. Not always the way we want Him to, but always in ways that are good and give Him glory.

Yet we doubt. The enemy shouts and points to evil, pain, and poverty tempting us to question His promises, and we ask:
Why would God allow..?

Because He loves.

Really?

REALLY!

He knows the end from the beginning and the present. He knows His plans for each person. He knows the master plan for humanity.

He knows.

He loves.

He invites…

Trust my love.

“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me.” Jesus, in John 14:1

Look for God’s Love in Everything

[Tweet “Look for God’s love in small moments that typically go unnoticed each day:”]

• Waking.
• Getting out of bed.
• A warm home.
• Indoor plumbing.
• Hot water.
• Food.
• Clean water.
• Clothes.
• Family.
• Friends.
• Seasons.
• Plants and animals.
• Sun, moon, and stars.

Jesus. Grace. Mercy.

I’m starting my Thanksgiving week thanking God for His perfect love. Asking Him to help me see His love everywhere in everything. Repenting of the times I focus on evil and look through a lens of selfishness. Praising Him for His grace and mercy. Praising Him for Jesus.

Are you stressed as you make preparations for your family gathering? Are you trying to please the unpleasant? Are you anxious about personality clashes? Are you intent on providing a perfect celebration for less than perfect people?

Stop!

It’s okay if your table settings don’t match and your potatoes are lumpy. It’s okay if your aunt and your sister are crabby, and your uncle wants to watch football. It’s okay if you can’t get everyone together at the same time.

Just be thankful.

Trust His love.

Make a Blessings Jar or a Gratitude Tablecloth.

Blessing Jar & Tablecloth

Tablecloth post at Daring Young Mom

Celebrate and thank God for His perfect love this week and into the Christmas season ahead.

Where do you see God’ perfect love?

Photo Credit

Genuine Humility – What You Need to Know

To truly understand humility, you have to start by looking at pride. What is genuine humility Learn how humility leads to happiness.s-photography-free-high-resolution-flowers-field-960x541
What is genuine humility?

Any good discussion about humility should probably start with a look at pride.

Pride is the cultivation, preservation or exalting of self. ~Bob Krepps

It’s perfectly proper for humble people to celebrate every accomplishment, ability, and blessing. The problem occurs when people believe they deserve, have earned, or have the right to the praise and/or preferential treatment because of those things.

C.S. Lewis wrote the following about pride and humility.

“Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man… It is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest. Once the element of competition is gone, pride is gone.”

Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.

Genuine humility is not putting yourself down. Genuine humility is what puts “self” in perspective by applying the following three truths…
 To truly understand humility, you have to start by looking at pride. What is genuine humility Learn how humility leads to happiness.

3 Steps to Genuine Humility

1. Praise and thank God for every accomplishment, ability, and blessing. – Recognize that everything is a gift. Everything! Each talent, gift, possession, and relationship is a blessing from the hand of a loving God.

2. Do your best. Always. – You are only a steward (manager) of each gift you’ve been given. Excellence is an important part of humility, using every blessing to glorify God as a humble act of gratitude and praise.

3. Serve others with your gifts. – God gives time, health, wealth, abilities, and talents so they can be used to glorify Him and benefit others. Those with genuine humility use their gifts to serve and bless others.

Let’s look at a few Scripture verses that talk about humility:

 Since God chose you to be the holy people He loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Colossians 3:12-13

The greatest among you must be a servant. But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. ~ Jesus, Matthew 23:11-12

 When you do things, do not let selfishness or pride be your guide. Instead, be humble and give more honor to others than to yourselves. Philippians 2:3 (NCV)

Finally, a bit of practical wisdom from Mother Teresa in her book,
The Joy in Loving: A Guide to Daily Living. 

“These are the few ways we can practice humility:
To speak as little as possible of one’s self.
To mind one’s own business.
Not to want to manage other people’s affairs.
To avoid curiosity.
To accept contradictions and correction cheerfully.
To pass over the mistakes of others.
To accept insults and injuries.
To accept being slighted, forgotten and disliked.
To be kind and gentle even under provocation.
Never to stand on one’s dignity.
To choose always the hardest.” 

Let’s Talk: Do you think pride is a problem for most people? How can you tell the difference between real and feigned humility?

Photo by BossFight

Nine Quotes to Inspire

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In my search for movement motivation and inspiration I found the following quotes:

He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. Ephesians 4:!6

The only exercise some people get is jumping to conclusions, running down their friends, side-stepping responsibility, and pushing their luck! ~Author Unknown

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The First of 52 Goals for Living with Intentional Gratitude

I want to invite you to join me each week in 2013 as I share goals for improving and maintaining various parts of our lives by intentionally looking at them through the lens of gratitude.

Each month I will focus on a different theme:

  • January – Health
  • February – Love
  • March – Forgiveness
  • April – Attitude
  • May – Relationships
  • June – Time Management and Rest
  • July – Leadership
  • August – Education
  • September – Home
  • October – Growing up – Growing Older
  • November – Thanksgiving
  • December – Giving

Each week I will break down the theme for that month and share how I believe an attitude of intentional gratitude will improve that part of our lives. By the end of the year, we will have set and hopefully accomplished 52 goals.

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A New Resolution

Living for God with GratitudeDo you make New Year’s resolutions?

Are you determined that January 1st will be the day you stop a bad habit, start a diet or exercise program, begin organizing your home, or get a grip on your out of control spending or schedule?

Before you take a midnight stand for change, I have a couple of questions for you….

What is motivating you?
Why are you resolved to make this change?

People will tell you that you need to be able to answer those questions if you want to keep your resolutions long-term. 

I have one more important question….

Who are you trying to please?

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The Power of More and My 2013 Word Reveal

1-IMG_0023-001I want more. 

I need more. 

The goal of marketers is to entice us to move from wanting more to needing more, and for many of us they have been quite successful. 

I believe the desire for more causes much of our dissatisfaction, envy, exhaustion, and unhappiness. How many of our children are completely satisfied with their gifts until they talk to friends. What they had to have because is was cool, is now soooo yesterday and a new cool has emerged.

And if we’re completely honest . . . we do the same. We are guilty of playing comparison games. I want more. If I don’t have more, I want to appear as if I have more. We have foolishly bought into the lie that our value is based on the value of our possessions. 

Rev and I are joining ranks with those who are taking a stand against the power of more. We are going through every closet, corner, and cubbyhole eliminating anything that isn’t useful or treasured because of its history. We are purposefully throwing away and giving away. 

Those of you who know me, know I didn’t initiate this removal of excess; however, I’m so thankful Rev was determined to make it happen. All of this sorting and organizing inspired my….

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You Can Have Joy this Holiday Season

Little mister spent his Thanksgiving visit imitating Rev. It was so cute watching Tanner posture Rev’s stance and eat off his plate. They played together and watched a movie side by side on the couch. He is an equal opportunity grandson, so I was blessed with lots of cuddles and giggles too.

The holiday was practically perfect, until everyone settled down for the night and my thoughts which began by counting blessings veered off to losses and missed loved ones.

Do you ever struggle with happiness-robbing thoughts?

What do you do when losses and sad memories take over?

When you:

  • miss those who are absent?
  • are ill?
  • are lacking?
  • want more?
  • want restoration?
  • are lonely?

The holidays can be  filled with conflicting emotions of happiness and sadness.

The Season of Joy

Kay Warren wrote a book titled, Choose Joy: Because Happiness Isn’t Enough. At Daily Hope, she wrote . . . “I thought joy meant feeling good all the time. That’s impossible.” She added the following definition of joy from her study of Scripture:

Joy is the settled assurance that God is in control of all the details of my life, the quiet confidence that ultimately everything is going to be alright, and the determined choice to praise God in every situation.

As you and I pass through the remaining weeks of 2012, tinsel and twinkling lights, parties and presents will not turn our sad realities into permanent happiness.

God created us with emotions. They are part of who we are and how we experience life.

He also created us for joy.

Joy is who we are, because of who He is.

The Psalmists understood joy, almost one-third of all the verses which speak of joy are found in the Book of Psalms.

I will praise You, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all the marvelous things You have done.
I will be filled with joy because of You. I will sing praises to Your name, O Most High. Psalm 9:1-2

You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of Your presence and the pleasures of living with You forever. Psalm 16:11

Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in Him! Psalm 34:8

But as for me, I will sing about your power. Each morning I will sing with joy about Your unfailing love.
For You have been my refuge, a place of safety when I am in distress. Psalm 59:16

Joy for more than a season

Will you join me and choose joy?

Because God is:

  • our safety and strength.
  • our future and hope.
  • unfailing love, mercy and grace.
  • always present and in control.
  • Father, Savior, and Spirit of Truth.

Choosing joy will not make the days ahead blissful;however, it will help us recognize the truth of our circumstances and emotions with faith-filled trust and hope.

I will continue to pray about those I’ve lost and miss, but I will do so under a covering of the Lord’s joy.

Father, thank you for making joy a reality of faith. A gift given to us by Your Holy Spirit. Cover us with the power of Your love when we are in need and our hearts are hurting. Fill us with strength, peace, and hope. We praise You and rejoice in Your faithful care and presence. You are our all in all forever and always. Amen.

No One Thought to Thank Him – Will You?

Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 1:9,  What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.

We live in a time of ever-changing and developing technology. I often wonder what my grandparents would think of today’s world. However, Solomon wrote –  nothing is original. We may be able to get information more quickly, but the basics of life are true generation after generation.

King Solomon told the following brief story in chapter 9 of Ecclesiastes:

There was a small town with only a few people, and a great king came with his army and besieged it. A poor, wise man knew how to save the town, and so it was rescued. But afterward no one thought to thank him. v 14-15 (NLT)

Nothing new under the sun.

The story above is a familiar one. We want our rescuers to be strong, wealthy, and good-looking. We want celebrities who will make our lives comfortable and safe.

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