Thankfull living

Thankful.

Every Thanksgiving, we are reminded to celebrate all we have to be thankful for in our lives.

But God doesn’t want us to just be especially thankful once a year. He longs for us to be thank-full every day, in every situation, every time we can.

You recall that verse “Give thanks in all circumstances” we hear every year around Thanksgiving? There’s more to it….for it wasn’t meant to stand on its own!

Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live. – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Be cheerful no matter what.

Being of good cheer is part choice, and part based upon how we handle the emergencies and hard situations we face. Which links it to the next instruction in this verse:

Pray all the time.

All the time. Out loud, in your mind, or with your spirit, constantly bringing everything to Him in the moment.

And when we connect with Him as we do so?

(We can) Give thanks in all circumstances.

Only when all three occur together does the last part of this verse make complete sense:

This (cheerfully praying with thanks every step of all we encounter) is the way God wants His Beloved to live….

Choosing joy.
Connected with Him.
Celebrating with thanks.

This Thanksgiving season, take the time to look back on how God has been with you in every season, and what He walked you through.

Smile. (Laugh, twinkle your eyes or flash your dimple!) Because cheerful inside usually leads to a sign on the outside! 🙂

Pray. However you pray. Whether by speaking it. Thinking it. Writing it. Singing it. Drawing it. On your own. In two or three. At home. At work. Over coffee. While walking.

Thank-fully. We are so extra blessed when we are part of God’s family! We are loved beyond measure by our Father. We belong. We are inheritors of the Kingdom, made whole and clean in Jesus. We are free. We have access to resources surpassing our comprehension through Holy Spirit. We are never alone.

Because God is fully with us through all things, we can always, and in all ways, have a reason to be thank-full.

And then these verses, in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, become as they were intended by God in our lives: Thanks-living as we express how thank-full we are to Him!

#thankfull #hopefortheharddays

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snapshots of thanks

Giving thanks doesn’t have to sound melodious or look beautifully wrapped in order to be genuine, or appreciated.

God looks at the heart, and we should too.

One of my children had a teacher when in grade 2 who positively impacted me in this area.

I may have mentioned how she referred to each child as her favorite, and treated them as if they were as well. 

But the reason she was able to do so was because she was thankful.
She showed it in how she worked with kids. She loved to be there,  showing them she cared and how happy she was to spend the day with them.

Thankfulness speaks through our actions most times louder than our words.

The Psalms are filled with verses of thanks, which I used to think was despite all the woes and pleas for rescue & intervention.

I now know the thanks is there because the psalmists discovered the wondrous truth that God was with them through all they faced, and couldn’t help but give thanks for the revelation…

Even if the circumstances didn’t change for the better in the waiting.

When David was pleading with God to spare his first son with Bathesheba, He fervently fasted and worshipped.

When the child died and afterwards, he still continued to worship God.

For He knew the same God who had been with him facing the lions, Goliath, King Saul and the Philistines was still with him.

And David could still praise Him for who He is despite his loss.

Sometimes it is in the hard places where the deepest encounters with God and revelations from His Spirit can be found.

And I believe being thankful is key.

There was a widow in the New Testament who Jesus pointed out, who gave two small coins as an offering.  Those two coins  represented a good amount of her budget, and I suspect God highlighted her to show she gave out of her great thanks for His provision.

And I saw that same characteristic in my child’s grade 2 teacher.

That teacher impacted me not because her life was perfect, but because she lived out an attitude of gratitude for all the blessings she had, instead of focusing on what she was lacking.

We can do the same.

We have the Maker of Heaven & Earth.  We have God with us, alongside us and within us.

Knowing He is with us, forever, outweighs any lack we might be encountering in the temporary.

And because of His great love, grace and mercy which He extends to us, we can always have Him to be grateful for.

Thanksliving is living your life with a visible attitude of gratitude.

Nor because everything will always be going your way, but because the God over everything is guiding your way, from right beside you and will never stop doing so.

We can give Him thanks at all times, for He never fails to reveal His love for us, and He doesn’t know the meaning of the word quit!

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snapshots of thanks

Giving thanks doesn’t have to sound melodious or look beautifully wrapped in order to be genuine, or appreciated.

God looks at the heart, and we should too.

One of my children had a teacher when in grade 2 who positively impacted me in this area.

I may have mentioned how she referred to each child as her favorite, and treated them as if they were as well. 

But the reason she was able to do so was because she was thankful.
She showed it in how she worked with kids. She loved to be there,  showing them she cared and how happy she was to spend the day with them.

Thankfulness speaks through our actions most times louder than our words.

The Psalms are filled with verses of thanks, which I used to think was despite all the woes and pleas for rescue & intervention.

I now know the thanks is there because the psalmists discovered the wondrous truth that God was with them through all they faced, and couldn’t help but give thanks for the revelation…

Even if the circumstances didn’t change for the better in the waiting.

When David was pleading with God to spare his first son with Bathesheba, He fervently fasted and worshipped.

When the child died and afterwards, he still continued to worship God.

For He knew the same God who had been with him facing the lions, Goliath, King Saul and the Philistines was still with him.

And David could still praise Him for who He is despite his loss.

Sometimes it is in the hard places where the deepest encounters with God and revelations from His Spirit can be found.

And I believe being thankful is key.

That teacher impacted me not because her life was perfect, but because she lived out an attitude of gratitude for all the blessings she had, instead of focusing on what she was lacking.

We can do the same.

We have the Maker of Heaven & Earth.  We have God with us, alongside us and within us.

Knowing He is with us, forever, outweighs any lack we might be encountering in the temporary.

And because of His great love, grace and mercy which He extends to us, we can always have Him to be grateful for.

Thanksliving is living your life with a visible attitude of gratitude.

Nor because everything will always be going your way, but because the God over everything is guiding your way, from right beside you and will never stop doing so.

We can give Him thanks at all times, for He never fails to reveal His love for us, and He doesn’t know the meaning of the word quit!

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Thanksliving

Thankful.

Every Thanksgiving, we are reminded to celebrate all we have to be thankful for in our lives.

But God doesn’t want us to just be especially thankful once a year.

He longs for us to be thank-full every day, in every situation, every time we can.

You recall that verse “Give thanks in all circumstances” we hear every year around Thanksgiving?

There’s more to it….for it wasn’t meant to stand on its own!

Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live. – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Be cheerful no matter what.

Being of good cheer is part choice, and part based upon how we handle the emergencies and hard situations we face. Which links it to the next instruction in this verse:

Pray all the time.

All the time. Out loud, in your mind, or with your spirit, constantly bringing everything to Him in the moment.

And when we connect with Him as we do so?

(We can) Give thanks in all circumstances.

Only when all three occur together does the last part of this verse make complete sense:

This (cheerfully praying with thanks every step of all we encounter) is the way God wants His Beloved to live….

Choosing joy.
Connected with Him.
Celebrating with thanks.

This Thanksgiving season, take the time to look back on how God has been with you in every season, and what He walked you through.

Smile. (Laugh, twinkle your eyes or flash your dimple!)

Because cheerful inside usually leads to a sign on the outside! 🙂

Pray.

However you pray. Whether by speaking it. Thinking it. Writing it. Singing it. Drawing it. On your own. In two or three. At home. At work. Over coffee. While walking.

Thank-fully.

We are so extra blessed when we are part of God’s family!

We are loved beyond measure by our Father. We belong.

We are inheritors of the Kingdom, made whole and clean in Jesus. We are free.

We have access to resources surpassing our comprehension through Holy Spirit. We are never alone.

Because God is fully with us through all things, we can always, and in all ways, have a reason to be thank-full.

And then these verses, in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, become as they were intended by God in our lives:

Thanksliving as we express how thank-full we are to Him!

Give Thanks

Today, I give thanks.

Throughout my day, these are the prayers I will be praying in thanks to the Giver of all good things.

May Your Bride continue to give You thanks for all You are, and all You do for her each & every day.

I thank You Lord for Your…

LOVE. Poured out for all the world to see in an incomparably extravagant display of Your heart for us, Your Beloved.

FORGIVENESS. Wiping my slate clean as far as the east is from the west. 70×7. 24/7. What a gift!

GRACE. The fact You always welcome me with open arms humbles me and fills me with awed amazement.

MERCY. Oh how often I have need of this gift, and You never fail to extend it to receptive hearts!

FAMILY. The precious ones You have gifted me with from birth, and those treasures which arrived later.

COMMUNITY. The Body we believers belong to, and those smaller heart knit ones You have blessed me with.

REST. For each night You recharge us anew with energy. For each moment we spend resting with and in You.

DREAMS. How You show wisdom and ignite hope in our hearts through the dreams and visions You bless us with.

PRESENCE. How You never leave, forsake, abandon, forget or uninvite Your Beloved. You Are always with us!

YOUR WORD, which never fails to instruct, teach and guide us as Holy Spirit awakens us to the Truth it holds.

#Thanksgiving2015
#thankfullprayers

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give thanks hopeful rant

This week, a weariness i rarely have experienced before has left me tired.

Not only physically.

I realized that I am tired of:

false campaign promises (like c’mon, when a flyer tells me that the Liberals will cut child tax benefit from millionaires, and we stopped getting it $90,000+ before becoming millionaires, hullo?!!!!)

companies continuing to call even when we tell them we are on the do not call list & will close our accounts if they keep calling

when you can’t get a straight yes or no answer to your question, when all the proof is clearly there and has been for quite some time

when people make a big deal out of a molehill, so much so what really matters become hidden in the process

On these kinda days, its always good to review your thankful list.

I am thankful for….

LIFE
Without it, I would be missing out on all the blessings I have!

WORDS:
Without His, I wouldn’t have come to be.
The ones He brings me to keep me, no matter what the season. The ones that spark hope & joy on the dreariest of days.
The ones which I sing to Him in thanks for those He songs over me.

COMMUNITY:
Without it, I wouldn’t be here.
Each hug, word of encouragement, free latte, ride to & from work, covering my shifts when I need time off, listening to me vent, praying for me

HOPE:
Without it, i wouldn’t want to be here. Because each new day He blesses me with is filled with a fresh clean slate!

Instead of fixing my thoughts & heart on wearies me, i choose to let what needs to go go, and cling to what adds life. 

To give Him thanks more than I whine.

To remind myself if the blessings of a life spent with & gifted from Him.

#hopefulrant
#givethanks

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all access pass

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image via Remade Ministries

Over and over, I fail.
His love for me remains,
constant, solid, dependable.

Unlike me.

I am nowhere near perfect, inside or out, but I am no longer where I was when He found me.

One thing has changed me for eternity: His love.

And His love is a constant flowing moving living force. It isn’t passive. It is actively seeking out those wanting to be soaked in His Presence, changed by & for His glory.

God never turns away those upon whom Jesus has bestowed His mark, for His love grants us an all access pass to His courts, a freely given gift to enter His Presence, this King over all, at any time.

At any time, you & I have access to the Father.

At any time, you & I have access to Jesus.

At any time, you & I have access to Holy Spirit.

At any time means just that…

Today, take the all access pass you’ve been gifted, and join me as together we use it.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving in your heart.

Sing a new psalm of praise as you remember all He has done for you.

Bring the offering of your sin & past, to leave at the altar & exchange for peace & a future.

Be filled with His living water, coated in the oil of gladness, received with living bread.

The weather outside may be drab or dreary, your soul may be tattered or weary, the path ahead fearful or leery.

Your all access pass brings you straight in to the Holy of Holies, into the arms of the One who calls you Beloved, and longs for you even more than you desire to draw close to Him!

Don’t let your pass stay in your back pocket, only to be used in emergencies.

You will never overuse it, ever.

Any time, any place, for any reason, you have all access to God!

Sunday Psalm: Sing a New Psalm

For the past 112 of 114 days I have been have a quiet time reading a psalm a day. I have discovered three main things along the journey:

1. God is found in all situations, from each breath we take every day to the running of nations. He reigns over all. He is righteous, living, majestic, creative and fascinatingly amazing to see through the psalmist’s words.

2. We can pour out anything we are feeling before God. Our hopes, dreams, hurts, anger, joys, failures, and everything in between that a person could want, need or desire.

3. God included people with all our quirks and frailties not only as part of His story, but used us to tell the story of how He interacts with us.

The Psalms is part of a collection that was recorded over centuries as a series of snap shots of God and His people.Selfies, as you will, that we took with God in each picture. And God initiated in each writer what He wanted them to write.

Fast forward to 2015.

Those of us who follow God, still feel that deep longing to create, to express how amazing He is. How much He loves us. How He has created all things. How He draws close to those of us He calls His own, and longs for those who haven’t yet come home.

And this love wants to be heard.
Through all of our gifts and talents.

As a result, I decided to write my own psalm every Sunday.
Starting today!
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Sing a New Psalm

Morning crashed through the clouds above; announcing the new dawn.
The birds chirping welcome as they flit between branch to nest in the strong oak trees where they make their home.
The fresh aroma of spices & tea rising beside the bread coming out of the oven.
I head into the quiet place
to meet with You, Lord.
Thankful for the glimpses
of Your touch in nature
visible outside my window.
Grateful for the roof over my head,
the food in my belly,
the laughter of my family.
Thankful for the grace
I sense all around me.
Evidence of Your handiwork
in my heart, mind, spirit & soul.
You wrap loving arms around me
when I feel low,
lift my head to capture my gaze
to remind me who I am to You.
Adored, Your precious purchase.
Beloved, daughter of the King.
Chosen, handiwork extraordinaire.
Daughter, in whom You delight.
Everything I have,
I owe to
Your hands.
All of that would be enough,
but You still offer more!
God with me,
You walk beside me.
You wrap Your arms around me,
drawing me close into Your embrace.
You are my refuge when the storms come.
Your Presence fills me with joy whenever I approach.
Always welcome,
always wanted.
My heart burst to share the good news- we never ever
have to be, or feel, alone.
Its is time to raise my voice
and sing this new psalm of praise
to You tonight.

Reason #5 to Give Thanks: Because You Can

The last my top 5 reasons to give thanks ends with:

Because You Can (also known as Why Not?)  🙂

If you are alive, you have a reason to give thanks.

If you have anyone on earth or in heaven who loves you, you have a reason to give thanks.

If you can eat, breathe, sleep, sing, walk, talk, create, move, see, hear….

you have a reason to give thanks.

The Word is full of verses about why to give thanks, but here are my fave four as to why we can, besides the fact we are alive (as I outlined above):

1. Because you are made by His hands:

Oh yes, You shaped me first inside, then out; You formed me in my mother’s womb. I thank you, High God—You’re breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration—what a creation! You know me inside and out, You know every bone in my body. You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. Like an open book, You watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before You; the days of my life all prepared before I’d even lived one day.

Psalm 139:13-16

2. Because He is the Only God!

I will give to the LORD the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the LORD, the Most High.

Psalm 7:17

3. Because He is not only good, but He loves us FOREVER!

Give thanks to the LORD of hosts, for the LORD is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!

Jeremiah 33:11

4. Because of who He IS, Holy, Mighty, Awesome, Just, True, Good….

We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was…

Revelation 11:17

Every day, we have a reason to thank God.

Every day, we can offer Him thanks, even on those days when almost everything seems to go downhill… 😉
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Reason #4 to Give Thanks: Because You Care

Every day, all around you, are people.

People,who like you and I, need to know they are appreciated. That what they do for others (such as us) is helpful, needed, thoughtful, well done.

They need to hear that thanks.

But this isn’t that kind of thanks I am referring to today…

When someone has blessed us with kindness, grace, an extra hand, unexpected help or blessing…we should thank God for them. In doing so, we acknowledge we care about those around us.

More than just that we need to ask Him to bless them for being a blessing we are thankful for.

When we thank God for those who bless us in our lives, He appreciates the thanks!

And when those in our circle of family, friends, coworkers & acquaintances share their good news, show you care for them by joining their celebration & thank God for blessing them!

And somehow in these thanks transactions…
1. They are blessed by Him for being a blessing.
2. We are blessed through being thankful, more aware of God moving around us.
3. God is blessed and honored with our thanks, whether for what He had given us or someone we know.

As the saying goes, “Win win!”

The next time someone does something worth thanking them for, don’t just thank them in this world. Honor them by thanking God for them in the heavenlies, and invite more of His kingdom down to earth.

Giving thanks is one of the keys for more of His presence!

May the Lord reward you for your kindness… Ruth 1:8

…I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you…

Romans 1:8

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