Finding Room for Gratitude...

Gratitude is a memory of the heart...

Watching the craziness in Ferguson this past week, I had to remind myself that all across the nation this Thursday, we will gather to give thanks.  Not to just fill up on turkey until we can't get off the couch, but to say thank you to our God for all of His many blessings.  For some, it is a lonely and difficult time.  I know that there are many people all around America that aren't feeling very thankful.

I believe it is a good thing to call the nation, and oneself, to bend a knee and say a prayer to thank the God of all provision and grace, even when we least feel like it.  But, let's lift a prayer for those who aren't in the mood to say thanks. I have been there myself.  When I have been in an unthankful mood, from somewhere in my heart there came a little whisper saying, "do it anyway..."  Here's my do it anyway list of thank yous that need to be said - anyway...

When you're alone and missing those you love, and don't really feel thankful, say it anyway.

When you're angry at all the craziness around you, and don't really feel thankful, say it anyway.

When you feel like you have absolutely nothing to be thankful for, say it anyway.

When you feel like the whole world is having a party without you, say it anyway.

When things just don't make sense anymore, say it anyway.

When you can't remember a single reason to give thanks, give it anyway.

When you are sure that God has forgotten you, say it anyway.

When you're ready to give up and throw in the towel, say it anyway.

When you wish you could find a single reason to be thankful, say it anyway.

When you are tired of all the hoopla and can't remember what the holiday is all about, say it anyway.

When you don't understand life and it seems so unfair, say it anyway.

When it feels like nobody cares, really, say it anyway.

When you're counting your blessings and drawing a blank, say it anyway.

When someone you love is dying and you can't bear their loss, say it anyway.

When you just feel like screaming, say it anyway.

When you are hurting, angry, lost, ready to give up, say it anyway...

When you've taken the last step you think you can take, take one more and say thank you anyway.

Sometimes, it's in the choice to be thankful when we least feel like it that are hearts are changed and gratitude finds a home.  No matter what, say thank you to the God who loves us when we are the least lovable.  He was alone, abandoned, lonely, forsaken, frightened, and wanting to run away.  He knows what you're going through. He loves you, anyway...

Everything that has Breath...

"Let everything that has breath
Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 150:6
NKJV
 

(This is a reprint of a favorite poem from 2011!) 

"Everyday Praises"

 

 



In McDonald's

and in the park

In the morning

and in the dark.

In the hospital

and in the store

In the needy

and in the more.

In the sunshine

and in the rain

In the laughter

and in the pain.

For snowflakes

and rainbows

For fingers

and toes.

For gardens

and beaches

For Whip Cream

and peaches.

For family and friends

For tears that are shed

For getting up mornings

and goings to bed.

For saying I'm sorry

and hearing it too

For friendships I treasure

and those I adieu!

For grace to forgive

And receive it as well

For ears that are tickled

With stories I tell.

For seasons that change

And things that do not

For wisdom to seek You

In spite of the what.

For questions I ask

And the answers You give

For prayers that are prayed

Every moment I live.

For the millions of ways

You have shown me Your love

You have covered me

Over with gifts from above.

For babies

I bounced upon my knee

For the beautiful world

You have given for free.

Like a Father who loves me

You dote on your child

I see You all over

In tears and in smiles.

Amazed by Your grace

I'm in love with Your face

You are the wonder

of all that I see.

For the heaven You purchased

With the blood of the Lamb

For everything, Father,

I thank you. Amen!

 

Where Are the Other Nine...?

Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed?"
Luke 17:17

 

This painful question, posed to the only leper who thought enough to return to Jesus to thank Him for healing him, paints a poignant picture of our Savior's humanity, as He expresses the very real disappointment He felt when only one of ten returned to thank Him for answering their cries for healing. 

 

Jesus so loved being human that one of His favorite titles for Himself, was "Son of Man"!  I think He delighted in being part of us!  He laughed, He cried, He hurt, He felt the sting of disappointment in His followers and the pain of being taken for granted. He knew many followed Him, not for who He was, but, for what many wanted to "get from Him".  Once they had their needs met, they moved on never to look back at the face of Jesus, even long enough to say "thanks".

 

As I looked around me today, I realized I could be counted among the nine that left, jumping for joy in their new leprous-free, soft and beautifully tender skin, freshly bestowed on them by their Savior, never pausing to thank the One who met their deepest need, and answered their desperate prayer. 

 

If Jesus' love language is words of appreciation, some of us may be leaving Him starving for affection.  In keeping with that jarring realization, here are a few things He has blessed me with recently that deserve a loving and tender "Thank You, Lord.  You have touched me again and again with your healing grace and your extravagant generosity.  I love you, soooooo."

 

He has sent the Springtime to light on my doorstep and shine through my window.

 

He has surrounded me with His beauty, everywhere I look.

 

He has provided for me beyond my wildest expectations, surprising me again and again with gifts I never expected to receive. 

 

He has filled me up with joy that has taken me by surprise in the midst of a difficult situation. 

 

He has drawn me close and lifted my head when I felt the sting of shame and rejection. 

 

He has smiled at me when I most needed to see a smile.

 

He has forgiven me seventy times seven million.  I have truly lost count of His kindnesses to me.

 

He has laughed with me, cried with me, mourned with me, encouraged me, lovingly chided me, called me back to Him, never, ever forgotten me. 

 

He knows my name.

 

He has healed me of wounds and sickness that I never thought could be healed. 

 

He has never given up on me.

 

He has promised to stay with me all the way home.

 

He has made me His own.

 

For these and so much more, thank you Jesus.  You are everything to me...

 

 

 

 

Tell Me a Story...

of days gone by...

Oh, dear.  I feel a story coming on...!  There are few things that seem to delight my grandchildren more than stories from the past, full of mystery and wonder.  They sit very close to me in those moments.  Their eyes grow bigger and bigger, trying to picture what it must have been like...

For just a few moments, I have them in the palm of my hand.  They are captivated by a past they never knew.  I can see their faces picturing what it must have been like when Daddy was a little boy, sometimes naughty, just like them!  Such mysteries are fascinating to children. They ask me again and again, "tell me a story".  I so love to oblige...

As Thanksgiving draws closer and closer, I love to tell stories of holidays past.  Here's one just for you!

My daughter, Kimmy, was a junior in college at Knox College in Galesburg, Il.  She had taken a job in the area and would not be able to come home for Thanksgiving.  She had to work.  I don't know who was more disappointed - me or her.  The thought of her being alone on Thanksgiving did not rest well with me.  I pictured her coming home to an empty apartment at the end of her shift with no family, no Turkey, no pumpkin pie, no celebration of the day.  The more I thought about it, the less I liked it.  Finally, the thought occurred to me - if she couldn't come home, we would go there!

And that's how it happened that we packed up a 20 pound turkey, cranberries, stuffing, potatoes, pumpkin pie and whatever else we needed to complete the feast, and made the trek to bring the day to my daughter.  Her siblings all joined in the fun, even if they did think I was a little off the beam to carry a turkey a couple of hundred miles to cook it for their sister.  They knew they had best go along with the program.  It wasn't a suggestion.  It was going to happen, if you know what I mean!

And so we packed the car up with all our goods, Turkey and all, and drove to Kim's apartment to "make Thanksgiving happen" for all of us, but, especially, on this particular Thanksgiving Day, for my sweet daughter.  We were there most of the day before she finally got off work and came home tired and a little down.  When I saw her face, I breathed a prayer of thanks to God that He had led me to her little apartment, on that cold November day, to share that day with this daughter who needed to be reminded that she was loved and cherished by her family.  

It was one of those Thanksgiving holidays that I have never forgotten.  And neither has she.  She told me recently that she remembers that day so clearly, it is etched in her memory forever.  She knew when she came home that day that she was deeply loved.  The best reason of all for thanks, I believe.  For me, as her mother, I am so glad we overcame the obstacles and went out of our way to love on each other that day.  That's what I remember the most.  We made a memory that was filled with love.  Those are the memories that hang around forever.  They make up the stories we love to tell each other.  They tell us, beyond the shadow of a doubt, we are loved, more than we can know.  So loved.  So very, very loved... 

I didn't know on that Thanksgiving Day that in another year, Kim would graduate and make her life a thousand miles away from all of us.  I didn't know that this was almost the last Thanksgiving we would share together as a family around the same table.  None of us knows, really, if this might be the last time we get the chance to be together in this way...  

Because we just don't know if we will ever have another one like this one, Lord, teach us to make the most of the moment we have right now...Teach us Lord, God, to go all out to love each other. Teach us to spend it all for love...

For love that knows no bounds, we thank You, Lord.  We thank you for it all...

Through It All...

I have learned to depend upon the Lord...

The cold wind was blowing through my bones today.  I could feel winter moving in for a long overnight stay, welcome or not.  I went to the park to write for a while.  It is one of my favorite places to write, to think, to commune with the Lord.  I scribbled for a little while, but gave up finally.  I wanted to drink in the evening as the sun was disappearing for another day.  There is something about beginnings and endings that are so enticing to me.  I love the sweetness of the morning sunrise, and the beckoning home of the evening sunset.  I am drawn to look up and consider the things of God.  I need to spend some time alone with Him.  I am longing for His presence.  

So many thoughts were running through my mind.  Next week is Thanksgiving already. I love this holiday.  As I have watched friend after friend daily announce some other thing they are thankful for, I was drawn back in time to count the things, great and small, that the Lord God has done for me.  The list is endless.  Everything I have that is worth having is from Him.  For all of it, I am truly thankful.  

In the midst of my remembering, I "happened" to hear the beautiful old hymn I have attached below. I qualify that because I don't believe it was just by happenstance.  I believe God was whispering to me as if to say "Have you considered this...?"  And so I leaned in a little closer to hear what He wanted to speak into my heart.

In the morning, I had felt so hungry for God to speak to me.  I was longing for Him as surely as a lover longs for the beloved.  I was missing my God.  Here, in this beautiful old hymn, I heard the God of the universe step into my world to answer my morning prayer.  

My heart was moved by the tenderness of His message to me.  This song reminded me that He has been with me "through it all..."    The pains, the sorrows, the trials, the tears, the fears, the moments of unspeakable joy and the moments of despair - my God has seen it all.  He has laughed with me, wept with me, held onto me in moments when everyone else had long departed.  He held onto me in the ugliest times of my life when nobody else was there.  He carried me through every trial - every loss - every grief that threatened to destroy me.  He was there.  He loved me through it all.  

Ironically, it isn't the joyous moments - the flying high moments - the kiss the sky moments - that I thank Him for today.  It is the so low I thought I'd never survive moments for which I am most thankful.  Because He was there. He met me in the pit of my despair.  He was waiting for me "at the end of myself."  He never gave up on me.  He loved me no matter the sin.  He loved me no matter the distance He had to go to find me.  He loved me when I didn't love myself.  Through it all - through it all -  I have learned to depend upon the Lord...

For all Your many, many gifts to me, Lord God, I thank you most for this...

                          

Proclaim Liberty to the Captives...

"He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound..."
Isaiah 61:1 NKJV

Praise God, Praise God, Praise God!  Pastor Nadarkhani has been released from prison by the grace and power of the Living God!  

There have been millions of prayers lifted up on behalf of this dear man and his family, as he was sentenced to die for charges that were trumped up against him by the regime in Iran.  He has been in prison for over three years, not knowing from one day to the next if he would live or die.  This young pastor, under incredible stress to reject Jesus Christ, refused to turn his back on Jesus in order to save his life.  What an awe inspiring witness that Jesus is worthy.  Jesus is worthy.  Jesus is worthy of whatever it takes in this life to stand up for the Gospel...

None of us will know until heaven how many unbelievers, inside the prison walls and out, have been brought to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ because of the courageous witness of this young pastor.  Praise God for the faithful witness of this man under the threat of a death sentence.  And for his young wife and children who stood by him through it all.

You and I, thousands of miles away from the cell where he was incarcerated, have had the incredible privilege of being a part of the prayer support for this dear man and his family.  Isn't it amazing how God knits believers together in the Body of Christ?  Even when we don't know each other; when we have never met; when we are separated by thousands of miles, God puts us together for blessing, one to the other!  I love that about Our God!

I have posted requests for prayers for Pastor Nadarkhani frequently, most recently on July 29th, I asked all of my readers to pray for his safe return to his family. We dare not neglect to say thank you to the God of All Mercy for His answer to our prayers. What a privilege to have been able to "stand in the gap" for this dear man.  And even more, to be able to stand and see the power of God to "set the captive free..."  Thanks to all of you who prayed.  You have been a part of something magnificent...

NOTE:  Unfortunately, shortly after this happened, Pastor Nadarkhani was again imprisoned and remains there today, (Jan. 5, 2015).  Please continue to pray for him and for his wife and children, who have now spent three Christmases without him.  May God strengthen him, encourage him and his family. He has need of endurance..  And may the God of all Mercy and Grace bring something wonderful and beyond our imagination out of this nightmare.  In the Powerful Name of Jesus Christ, we pray...