Inspired by . . . Thy comforts

When the cares of my heart are many, Your consolations cheer my soul. (Psalm 94:19ESV)

My heart is hurting, friends. On a week when we should be giving thanks for abundance and blessing our country is starkly divided.  There are riots with people shouting alarming edicts, senseless shootings, and senseless loss of life. My heart aches for those who have lost loved ones, especially the children. And, yes, my heart aches for those who now have to live with the consequences of their actions.

Whenever I am anxious and worried, You comfort me and make me glad. (Psa 94:19GNB)

In the pages of my prayer journal I cry out to God. I tell Him how weary I am of all the hate, how much I long for peace. But I know peace is a long way off.

But I also know that peace will come.

In the multitude of my thoughts within me Thy comforts delight my soul. (Psa 94:19KJV)

I cling to this Truth, the return of the Prince of Peace, I cling to His word. Because the fact is, the Truths of God (His comforts) will only bring us comfort if we allow them room in our hearts.

I was very worried and upset, but You comforted me and made me happy! (Psa 94:19ERV)

It's not easy, friend. The world and its cares can seem louder than His voice sometimes. Honestly, I've struggled to hold on to His comfort this week. I'm apprehensive about sitting down together with mixed minds over a plate of turkey tomorrow afternoon. I'm trying to be brave, but the thought of a political conversation erupting already has my stomach in knots.

You, too?

Or maybe for you, a tense political discussion would be welcome compared to the usual drama.

When my anxious inner thoughts become overwhelming, Your comfort encourages me. (Psa 94:19ISV)

Either way, it's clear the enemy has a strong foothold. And I know of only one way to set him back on his haunches; GRATITUDE

No matter what happens tomorrow, or the next day, or the day after that we can be grateful. We can give God the glory and praise and honor He deserves because He hath done wonderful things. We can know, without a shadow of a doubt, that justice will be done and peace will reign.

We can bear out this truth in our lives today because He has promised to never leave us or forsake us.

I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. (Joh 14:18)

As He promised Joshua:  I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. So His promise belongs to all His faithful servants.

If you're struggling to be at peace this week, struggling to focus on being thankful, I urge you to remember Psalm 94:19. Repeat it as you go about your preparations. Make it the prayer of your heart.

God's word is stronger and louder than any dissent of the enemy. Make room in your heart for the blessed comforts of God and they will come in and transform your soul.

Blessings on your

Thanksgiving!

Sharing inspiration here:
Small Wonders, Testimony Tuesday, #TellHisStory,
Thought Provoking Thursday, Grace & Truth,
Inspire Me Monday, RaRa Link Up, Intentional Tuesday,
#WordswithWinter, Titus 2 Tuesday, Thoughtful Thursdays,
Encourage Me Monday, Wholehearted Wednesday,
Women with Intention Wednesdays, Word Filled Wednesday,
#GiveMeGrace, Sitting Among Friends, #Glimpsesofhisbeauty,
Through My Lens, Life thru the Lens, Our World Tuesday,
Community Global, Photo Friday, Little Things Thursday

Inspired by . . . a special dinner

 

Focusing on Thanksgiving as a Lifestyle, not just a holiday.

 Freedom From Want ~ Norman Rockwell

 

Does your typical Thanksgiving look like a Norman Rockwell painting? Are you blessed with family, and friends, a warm place to gather and an abundance of food?

Freedom from want.

Although we are a small family unit now, I enjoyed large family gatherings growing up. Looking back on the holiday feasts we had at our small family farm in Vermont, the farmhouse overflowing with family and friends, I’m more thankful now for what I had then, than I ever was as a child.

 

Old Farmhouse  - Scanned image

 

Part of that thankfulness comes from more fully knowing the Hand from which the blessing came; and part of it is understanding the reality that for many most people the Norman Rockwell setting does not exist.

Sometimes the family, friends, places to gather and abundance of food are not the blessings they seem. Sometimes they just don’t exist.

However, there is one dinner to which we are all invited. There are no special requirements, other than, you must come of your own free will, wear a robe of repentance, and remove your shoes before you enter. The place where you’re standing is holy ground. Don’t worry, Beloved. If you forget your robe and your shoes, one look at His marvelous face will remind you.

 

And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it,

and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”

Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you.

For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on

until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”

And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Matt 26:26-30

 

Even after receiving such a blessing from their Lord the disciples experienced loneliness and pain. You will too. That is the way of this world. But there is one more feast I want to share with you today. If you have willingly received the blessing of the first meal with Jesus, then your name is on the invitation list for this feast - - A feast beyond imagination!

 

And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude,

as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying,

“Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!

Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory,

for the marriage of the Lamb has come,

and His wife has made herself ready.”

And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen,

clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

Then he said to me, “Write:

‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’”

And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.” Rev 19:6-10

 

The Wedding Feast of the Lamb! There is no loneliness here. No disappointment or pain. At this final heavenly celebration with our Risen Lord we will truly know freedom from want.

This is a promise we can be thankful for today.

This hope is the anchor of our souls, a reality that will carry us through during times of darkness and despair.

 

kk_friday 

 

No matter what your Thanksgiving looks like

this year, may the Love of the Lamb

surround you.

 

Blessings,

 

 

 

PS Don’t forget to check out my Facebook page for daily inspirations on cultivating a grateful heart! I would love for you to join the discussion!

Note: My inspiration for this series comes from the November 2009 issue of Today in the Word. A ministry of Moody Bible Institute.

#monthofthanks

#TellHisStory

 

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Inspired by . . . greater than all the gods

 

Focusing on Thanksgiving as a Lifestyle, not just a holiday.

 

 

Many years ago my husband and I owned a small business and had several employees. There were days that were stressful. There were times when my husband made business decisions that I didn’t necessarily agree with. It was hard living out our personal relationship, and our business relationship in front of others.

Because how do you really separate the two? You don’t.

What made it even more difficult, was that I was determined to be a Godly example both as a person, and as a wife. Not that I didn’t fail. I’m certain I did, often. But even in my failures, maybe especially in my failures, I wanted to be a good example of a believer in Christ.

Why?

Because our employees were not Believers . . . they knew we were . . .

. . . and they were watching.

If you profess to be a believer in Christ, I guarantee there are people watching you. {and lest you think you need to be perfect in this, you may want to go back up and read what I said about failures}

Your marriage {if you are married} and your relationship with others is one of the most challenging and fruitful places to exemplify Christ.

The other is in showing our gratitude to God for the things He has done, and is doing in our lives.

 

 

“when we respond to our circumstances, particularly the difficult ones,

with gratitude to our Lord, we bear witness to others around us

of His existence and His goodness.”

 

There are numerous examples of this truth in scripture. One is the response of Moses’ father-in-love, Jethro in Exodus 18:8:11, “Blessed be the Lord, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh, and who has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. Now I know that the Lord is greater than all the gods; for in the very thing in which they behaved proudly, He was above them.”

When Moses sang his song of gratitude to the Lord in Exodus 15 , Jethro’s eyes were opened to the One True God.

Another example, and one of my favorites, is found in Acts 16. Paul and Silas are beaten and put in jail. Yet, after all this, at midnight they could be heard praying and singing songs to God. Now before we are tempted to do them a disservice by thinking they were only roughed up a bit, the scripture says, “And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely.” Paul and Silas had their flesh laid open, and yet they were praising and thanking God for all He had done for them.

Their perspective is a difficult one to achieve. Yet it is one that saves.

Read the result of their gratitude: Acts 16:25-34

The jailer and his entire household were saved!

 

People are watching.

People need hope.

You never know how one small act of kindness, one small offer of thanksgiving to God will be received.

We are the salt – we are the light.

Go – shine forth and season with love.

 

With gratitude,

 

PS Don’t forget to check out my Facebook page for daily inspirations on cultivating a grateful heart! I would love for you to join the discussion!

Note: My inspiration for this series comes from the November 2009 issue of Today in the Word. A ministry of Moody Bible Institute.

#monthofthanks

#TellHisStory

 

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Inspired by . . . giving thanks

 

Focusing on Thanksgiving as a Lifestyle, not just a holiday.

 

 

We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers 1 Thes 1:2

 

Trying to practice what I preach today. . . . I’m thankful for . . .

 

. . .  Kim Klassen and all the beautiful people that link up over at her café every week. Kim’s generosity with both her textures and her knowledge has had a big part in developing my love for photography and photo art. Thank you, Kim, you are a true artist.

 

kk_sunday

 

. . .  the amazing Jen and Amy, and all the others who made the SDG Retreat possible. I know what it takes to pull off an event like this, and they did an incredible job. Thank you, Jen and Amy {et al} for giving so much of yourselves this past weekend.

 

We didn’t have the best weather, but these images were taken around the beautiful retreat center in Elgin, Texas . . . between the raindrops.

 

American Beautyberry

 

 

 

 

kk_thursday

 

 

What or who are you thankful for today?

 

Blessings,

 

 

PS Don’t forget to check out my Facebook page for daily inspirations on cultivating a grateful heart! I would love for you to join the discussion!

#monthofthanks

 

 

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Inspired by . . . the secret of contentment.

 

 

Focusing on Thanksgiving as a Lifestyle, not just a holiday.

 

 

 

Learning to be thankful in all circumstances is not the same as giving God thanks

for cancer or some other terrible event.

God uses tragedies,

but His purposes are always for healing and wholeness, not for disease or destruction.

So being content and thankful in all circumstances means

seeing God's hand and provision even, or especially, in the midst of hard, or even terrible, situations.

The "secret" of contentment therefore is to focus on our faithful, merciful God

and the way He redeems the worst situations in our lives.

Excerpt from Today in the Word

 

Blessings,

 

PS Don’t forget to check out my Facebook page for daily inspirations on cultivating a grateful heart! I would love for you to join the discussion!

Note: My inspiration for this series comes from the November 2009 issue of Today in the Word. A ministry of Moody Bible Institute.

#monthofthanks

 

 

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Inspired by . . . God’s enduring love

 

 

Focusing on Thanksgiving as a Lifestyle, not just a holiday.

 

 

Author and breast-cancer survivor Erma Bombeck once shared about a little girl named Christina who was living with cancer of the nervous system.When asked what she wanted for her birthday, she thought long and hard and finally said, 'I don't know. I have two sticker books and a Cabbage Patch doll. I have everything!'

Indeed.

Christina’s response was a great inspiration to Erma when she was tempted to feel ungrateful for her own circumstances. The little girl’s attitude is a good reminder to all of us to be thankful for what we already have, rather than focus on what we want.

 

Give thanks to the Lord, for His love endures forever.2 Chronicles 20:21

 

Psychologists have found a link between gratitude and dependency upon one another. Those who are ungrateful don’t acknowledge that dependency or feel the need to be helped by others. The same is true with our relationship with God. When we're ungrateful to God, it's because we have failed to see how dependent we are upon Him.

David’s prayers recorded in 2 Samuel 7:18-22 and 1 Chronicles 29:10-19 clearly show a connection between dependency on God and gratitude. It’s easy for us to miss this link in a culture that emphasizes self-sufficiency.

 

 

In reality we are all dependent on God for everything - - beginning with the very air we breathe!

Acknowledging this dependency opens the way for praise and thanksgiving!

 

Blessings,

 

 

PS Don’t forget to check out my Facebook page for daily inspirations on cultivating a grateful heart! I would love for you to join the discussion!

Note: My inspiration for this series comes from the November 2009 issue of Today in the Word. A ministry of Moody Bible Institute.

#monthofthanks

 

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Inspired by . . . spontaneous praise

 

Focusing on Thanksgiving as a Lifestyle, not just a holiday.

 

I will give thanks to Him in song. Psalm 28:7

kk_Monday

 

German pastor Martin Rinckart lived in Eilenburg, in Saxony during the Thirty Years’ War. During that time the city was overrun by the opposing army three times. The villagers were subject to overcrowding, disease, and famine among other horrors. In 1637 a severe plague hit the city. Rinckart was the only surviving pastor and performed more than 5000 funerals that year, including that of his wife.

Most of us are so far removed from anything remotely like the suffering Rinckart witnessed and endured. Some of us can relate to some of it, disease, loss, but the total package? Probably not. But try. Try to imagine being under the constant threat of war. Sickness, the gnawing of hunger in your belly. Loss, such great loss. For decades.

How would you think? how would you feel? about God?

In 1648 a series of peace treaties were signed that ended the war.

By then, this hymn was already being widely sung throughout the region, “Nun danket alle Gott,” Now Thank We All Our God:

 

Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices,
Who wondrous things has done, in Whom this world rejoices;
Who from our mothers’ arms has blessed us on our way
With countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.

 

This beautiful song of praise and thanksgiving was written by none other than Martin Rinckart.

 

kk_restmagic

 

A similar expression of gratitude is found in Exodus 15 when Moses bursts into a spontaneous song of praise after God delivered them from the hands of Pharaoh. We noted in a previous post that failing to thank God went hand in hand with forgetting God and worshiping idols. Here we see just the opposite. Focusing on what God has done and praising Him leads naturally to worshiping Him. This passage also shows that there's a strong connection between praising and thanking God.

 

Gratitude is a characteristic of those who love God.

As believer’s we have the opportunity to bear witness to a loving and faithful God.

An “attitude of gratitude” can be a powerful witness for Christ in an increasing ungrateful world.

 

Blessings,

 

PS Don’t forget to check out my Facebook page for daily inspirations on cultivating a grateful heart! I would love for you to join the discussion!

Note: My inspiration for this series comes from the November 2009 issue of Today in the Word. A ministry of Moody Bible Institute.

#monthofthanks

 

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Inspired by . . . the Want of Thankfulness

 

Focusing on Thanksgiving as a Lifestyle, not just a holiday.

 

"All our Discontents about what we want, appeared to me,

to spring from the Want of Thankfulness for what we have."

~Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe

 

 

It’s much easier to focus on what we don’t have, than to be thankful for what we do.

Daily, Eve must have gazed out over the garden, marveling at the endless variety of trees. And yet the serpent was able to convince her to focus on the one tree that she could not have. Eve became discontent, doubted God’s provision for her, and ultimately sinned against God.

Genesis 3 shows us how dangerous an attitude of discontent can be. But it’s not just discontentment that we need to watch out for. Simply failing to give thanks and glory to God can put us on a path to ingratitude which leads to idolatry. Romans 1:18-32 describes this downward spiral for us. Take note of verse 21: because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

Although Romans 1 is speaking about non-believers, a similar path to idolatry can clearly be seen in the life of Solomon. Even with his vast wealth, and a blessing of wisdom from the Lord, Solomon refused to acknowledge God and give Him thanks. Rather than having a grateful heart, his ingratitude ultimately led to idolatry (1 Kings 11:6).

 

kk_Thursday

 

"See, then, how great an evil ingratitude is: it produces a love for vanity,

and this results in blindness, and blindness in idolatry,

and idolatry brings about a whole whirlpool of vices."

~Martin  Luther

 

If you find yourself focusing more on what you don’t have, rather than being thankful for what you do, it may help to clearly identify these roots of discontentment. Left to themselves these roots can easily grow into an ungrateful spirit that shifts our eyes off the one true God.

 

Once you’ve identified your areas of discontentment, pray.

Ask God to redirect your focus to what He has already given you.

Then praise and thank Him for what He reveals to your heart.

 

With gratitude,

 

PS Don’t forget to check out my Facebook page for daily inspirations on cultivating a grateful heart! I would love for you to join the discussion!

Note: My inspiration for this series comes from the November 2009 issue of Today in the Word. A ministry of Moody Bible Institute.

#monthofthanks

#TellHisStory

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Inspired by . . . God’s abundant provision

 

 

Focusing on Thanksgiving as a Lifestyle, not just a holiday.

God . . . richly provides us with all things for our enjoyment.  1 Timothy 6:17

 

Nowhere is the abundance of God’s provision seen more clearly than in the creation story. The account in Genesis 1 and 2 show how God provided for our every human need. The garden's abundance guaranteed no lack of food. Intimacy with God ensured spiritual fulfillment. But God went even further, providing Eve as a source of companionship for Adam. In Genesis 2:23 we read Adam’s gracious response. Everything was perfect.

For a time.

The problems began {in part} when Eve couldn’t see how God was meeting all her needs. She wrongly assumed that He was holding out on her.

We do the very same thing today. As humans we have basic needs.  The need for food, the need to be valued, and have a purpose for our life. We were also created with the basic need to connect with God and others. When we feel that any one of these needs are not being met we often, either deny the need, or rebel against the Source. Both responses lead to a an attitude of discontent.

 

"So do not start worrying: 'Where will my food come from? or my drink? or my clothes?'
Your Father in heaven knows that you need all these things.
Instead, be concerned above everything else with the Kingdom of God

and with what He requires of you, and He will provide you with all these other things. Matt 6:31-33

 

The truth is, God knows our every need. Genesis 1 and 2 encourage us to thank God for how He has created us. These passages also assure us that God does faithfully provide what we need——when we need it. Believing that God will provide for our every need is an important step in cultivating a grateful heart.

 

What need is He providing

that you can thank Him for today?

 

Blessings,

 

PS Don’t forget to check out my Facebook page for daily inspirations on cultivating a grateful heart! I would love for you to join the discussion!

 

Note: My inspiration for this series comes from the November 2009 issue of Today in the Word. A ministry of Moody Bible Institute.

 

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#GiveMeGrace