Thankful, Grateful, Blessed-Part Three

If you have followed my post the last couple of days, you read a little about my girlfriend who has Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA).  You also know that RA can cripple and leave a person feeling useless.  My sweet friend loves baking delicious decorated cookies.  When RA hit her, the baking and decorating stopped because she could not work her hands.  However, she did not let this fact get her down.  She kept her eyes on Jesus and repeated her motto, “Thankful, Grateful, Blessed.”

Today we will briefly inspect our last word.

Blessed-divinely or supremely favored; fortunate bringing happiness and thankfulness.

I found another great quote that really hit home with me.  “Talk about your blessings more than you talk about your problems.”  This is so true!

We all have our issues.  They range from health to ministry issues.  However, we, as believers in Christ, are blessed beyond measure.  We do not deserve anything.  Yet because of God’s love for us, we are children of the King!  Girls, we are God’s little princesses!  Talk about blessed!

Yet there is more to be blessed about.  My friend, who is struggling with RA, keeps going because God is her constant companion.   She shares, “I am thankful and grateful that He (God) listens and hears my voice.  That He has given me a loving family, brothers and sisters in Christ, that care so much for me.  When I feel I can’t go on, he gives me hope.  I am truly blessed beyond measure to be a child of the Living God.”  God has not forgotten her, left her, however, he has enabled her in this time to inspire and encourage people through her continual witness.

 Girls, God never leaves us when ministry or life is hard.  He does not forget us when our pain is great.  His love for us never fails.  No matter our struggles or joys God is always in the blessing mode even when we do not see it.

Let me leave you with this cute saying about blessings:

B-Begin your day with

L-Love in your heart

E-Expect Blessings

S-Share goodness

S-Shine like the Sun (Son)

I-Inspire someone

N-Never forget that

G-God is with you all the time

Thankful, Grateful, Blessed-Part Two

I shared in my post yesterday that a friend has Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA).  When asked how she is doing, she always says, ‘Thankful, Grateful, and Blessed.” When my girlfriend responded to my question of what being grateful meant to her, she sent Psalm 116:1-14 to me.  As I read those words, verses 3-6, spoke volumes:

“The cords of death entangle me the anguish of the grave came upon me.  I was overcome by trouble and sorrow.  Then I called on the name of the Lord: “Lord, save me!” The Lord is gracious and righteous, our God is full of compassion.  The Lord protects the simple hearted when I was in great need, he saved me.”

Today, we will examine the word grateful which is similar to being thankful but I believe it goes deeper.

Grateful-warmly or deeply appreciative of kindness or benefits received; thankful; refreshing, welcome.

While reading the meaning for grateful, one word leaped off the page-“refreshing.” Have you ever been so weighted down with the yuck of burdens that you literally could not sleep?  With the lack of sleep comes stress, illness and a host of more maladies.

I have learned there are times my prayer life becomes empty words.  I become restless.  My soul is not a rest.  When this happens, I “force” myself to express my gratefulness to the Lord.  I do not ask for anything from Him.  I simply praise the Lord for what I am grateful-family, home, food, good health, clothes, vehicles, ministry (in the good and bad times) and being able to think.  You know what I have found?  It is in the grateful mode that the Lord provides rest for my weary soul and freedom from my burdens.  Ah, a refreshing and welcome peace overcomes me!

I found this quote that I love: “Being grateful does produce blessings.”  Yes, it does!

Girlfriends, take a moment today to express your gratitude to the Lord.  If you are in the midst of a dark time, simply take a breath and then thank the Lord for it.

Thankful, Grateful, Blessed-Part One

“Everything in my life seemed to stop.  Everything except the love of the Lord. I prayed.  I asked others to lift my name up in prayer.  God heard our cries.  He has carried my through, and He isn’t finished with me yet.” 

These are the words of my 49-year-old friend who was diagnosed in June with a very aggressive form of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA).  It has affected every aspect of her life from caring for her family to simply walking to the bathroom.  Everyday task like brushing her teeth and fixing her hair bring her to tears due to the pain in her hands and fingers.

When asked how she is doing, this girlfriend smiles and replies, “I am thankful, grateful and blessed.”  She doesn’t focus on the current storm in her life.  Instead, she keeps her eyes on Jesus.  As I have watched my friend, I have been inspired to be more thankful, grateful and blessed.  I decided that we all need to take a moment and rediscover what these three simple words mean. 

THANKFUL-“a feeling or expressing gratitude; appreciative.”

Now I am always thankful that there is a stash of chocolate in my home for my bad days.  However, this word goes deeper.  Can you recall a time when you were appreciative of someone’s kindness shown to you or of a special moment that you now treasure in your heart?

Although it was difficult at the time, I remember the four months I spent caring for my mother as a disease took her life.  I will forever be thankful for the 2 a.m. chats with my mom.  The Lord knew needed to hear the wise words from my Godly mom.  I am also thankful I had enough sense to grab a pad of paper and a pen and write down messages from my mom to her grandchildren and unborn great-grandchildren.  Now, these words are treasured by each of them.  I am also thankful that mom’s last words on earth to me were “Happy Birthday,” because it was not a sad goodbye but a joyful moment of celebration.  These special moments are treasures of gold in my heart.

I wonder if we could all learn from my sweet friend and be more thankful in our seasons of pain and heartache.  Could we set aside our “whiny” nature and put on the garment of praise and give thanks to the Lord above?

This week as we celebrate Thanksgiving and enter the Christmas season I want each of you to consider what you are thankful for and share it with us.

Black Friday

By the time you read this blog, many will have shopped, shopped, and shopped some more! After all, this day after Thanksgiving ritual has become a modern American tradition. But, why wait until Friday? In recent years, many stores now offer their merchandise on Turkey Day to entice shoppers who are anxiously waiting to get a good deal.

I was curious about the term “Black Friday” and searched the internet to find out how this day got its name. As the story goes, in a shopping context, the phrase originated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, around 1961, to describe very heavy pedestrian and vehicle traffic the day after Thanksgiving. As the term became more widespread, it’s popular meaning now represents the point in the year when retailers expect to turn a profit, going from “being in the red” to “being in the black”. I am a bit of a trivia buff, so it was interesting to learn this new fact.

I thought about another “Black Friday” that occurred much earlier than 1961. This “Black Friday” occurred over 2000 years ago, and it was the darkest day in human history. I am referring of course to the day that Christ was crucified.

Why was it black? The Bible says that as Jesus hung between two thieves, “from the sixth hour darkness fell upon the land until the ninth hour” [noon to 3:00 pm] Matthew 27:45. Darkness in the middle of the day! But there was another reason why that day was dark; Jesus, the Savior of the world, was dying on the cross. It was dark because for the first time in all eternity, Father and Son were separated, as Christ bore the divine wrath as the once for all time sacrifice for your sins and mine. Our Lord cried out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Matthew 27:46 I call this the true “Black Friday”, and even though it was a dark day, it’s glorious outcome brought salvation to all those who would trust Christ as Savior!

The shopper’s Black Friday, some may say, ushers in the official holiday and gift buying season. But, think about this: there would not have been that true “Black Friday” if there had not been the miraculous and wonderful virgin birth. Our Savior’s first advent is truly what this season is all about. He brought true joy, love, and peace to this world.

So, as you “shop til you drop” on Black Friday, ponder the true “Black Friday”, then meditate on Jesus Christ’s birth, and celebrate the coming of Immanuel, which means, GOD IS WITH US!

Let's Be Grateful

Gratefulness. Why is that mind set so hard for us at times?

Recently, I believe that I got it right…….

Just the other day I was at the store and I started for the checkout line with a few items in tow. The “10 items or less” line didn’t appear to be a fast option, so I proceeded to get in one of the “regular lines”. Even though I noticed that the shopping cart in front of me had a lot of items, I decided I wasn’t going to try to find a “shorter line; I would stick it out.
Well, much to my surprise the lady in front of me noticed that I had only a few items, so she graciously said (and I paraphrase), “Come on in front of me, since you don’t have that much”. Wow! What an act of kindness! I immediately thanked her when she initially made the kind gesture, and actually thanked her several more times before I grabbed my bags and left the store. As I walked to my car, I thought that I had responded with real gratitude for such a kind act.

I went over and above to make sure that the kind stranger saw my thankful heart. Yet how often do I go over and above to be constantly thankful to my Heavenly Father for all that He has done?
A verse that I find myself meditating on from time to time reminds me of why I should be abundantly grateful. Colossians 2:6-7 says: “Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.” (New American Standard Bible)

From these verses, here’s what I see:

I believe that true gratefulness begins with a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. In Christ we are made new from the inside out. He has taken away that old nature and given us a new nature that is no longer controlled by sin. In Him, we are set free from sin’s power, and now we are capable of living a life that pleases Him. We can, by His Spirit, continue to “walk in Him” …Thank you Lord!

True gratefulness can manifest itself when we know we are “firmly rooted” in Christ. Our identity in Him and our security in Him are indisputable realities! We are in His grip for all eternity…Thank you Father!

The Lord gives us the desire to be established in our faith by reading, studying, meditating on and memorizing His Word. Growing in Christ just doesn’t happen. By Christ’s Spirit, we can be instructed to serve and honor our Savior, not by compulsion or coercion, but because we love Him….Thank you Jesus!

Our natural response for all that the Lord has done should indeed be gratitude! Why not take a moment, or several moments, to reflect on the goodness of the Lord. I’ve come to realize that even in the midst of my trials and my “bad days”, my Savior loves me and in Him there is glorious hope!

Thanksgiving Day comes once a year, but being grateful can be on our agenda every day of the year! Just as I offered many thanks to the compassionate woman in the store, even more so should I offer up to the Lord continuous words of gratitude and praise, for HE IS WORTHY!!!

Let’s be grateful and Happy Thanksgiving!

Even on Bad Days....

EVEN on Bad Days................these two bring me a smile.

Finished

Our kitchen is FINALLY completely finished.....................

I know you have probably gotten bored following my "KITCHEN ADVENTURE"............but you have to remember...............when we moved to this house 23 years ago....we had to purchase a new stove.................however to fit in the spot tdesignated for the stove, we had to get a small, apartment size stove.  The oven would not even hold a large cookie sheet.  AND....for over two years, the oven and part of the eyes did not work properly, sooooooooooo after 23 years....I AM OVER-JOYED to have a NEW KITCHEN....with a normal size OVEN...that WORKS.

So...thank you for being patient with me and it is FINISHED so you don't have to view again.  Smile.