October 6, 2009

Today I am thankful for His consistent goodness to me, His Faithfulness. I am thankful that He created me, and that from the womb He designed me and has known me.  I am thankful that He has a divinely appointed purpose for my life and more than that, He cherishes me.  I am thankful that though I am neglectful and forgetful, that He is Immanuel, the God who is with me.  I am thankful for the gift of a wonderful husband, who loves me and cherishes me; who works hard to care for his family and to serve his Lord; and that we continue to grow together.  I am thankful for the gift of five precious children, 2 foster daughters and their children, and 4 grandsons.  I am thankful for JM whose life is marked by purpose and passion for God, passion for those whose lives are broken, and for his loyalty to family.  I am thankful for R-A, who like the pre Damascus road Saul/Paul, seeks to serve God with all her heart, never the luke-warm “religion” that Christ despises.  I am thankful for D, for his cheery ways and bright dreams.  I am thankful for S, for her sweet spirit and compassionate, servant heart.  I am thankful for B, for his ever creative mind, and his ever growing heart.

October 7, 2009

Today I am thankful.  Thankful that His Strength and Glory are revealed in my weakness and foolishness.  I am thankful that I am chosen, to be loved by Him, to be cherished by Him. I am thankful to be chosen by Him for Redemption and Renewal.  I am thankful that I have been chosen by my Creator and Redeemer for purposes beyond my comprehension.  I am thankful that He is so kind, and so patient, that He is full of creative beauty.  I am thankful for the complexity, even in a small flower, of creation, and what it reveals of our Creator.  I am thankful for the sound of laughter ringing from my children. I am thankful for music, music that lifts up, music that touches our experiences and sorrows, music that inspires and encourages.  I am thankful for tears.  I am thankful for grace.

October 8, 2009

Today I am thankful for reminders to be thankful!!  I am thankful for the sun that is shining, for my son who is smiling and for a beautiful new day!!  I am thankful for every new minute and the potential in that minute to make new, right choices.  I am thankful for the chance to look lies in the face and boot them out of my life.  I am thankful for each new moment to grow in trust and see God do the amazing things in my life that he wants to do.  Most of all, this day, I am thankful for each new, however small, opportunity to set my self aside and allow His Love to flow through me.  I am thankful He is the God of New Mercies every morning!!  I am thankful that He knows the hairs on my head, and the name of each and very star!!  I am thankful for His unending forgiveness, no matter how foolish my stumbles and bumbles.  I am thankful for his ever flowing, and overflowing, moments of grace, most of which I am sure I am totally unaware…and yet He continually gives, whether I recognize it or not. I am thankful that He is in charge and I am not.

October 9, 2009

Today I am so thankful that God is on His Throne, that He is the Sovereign Ruler over the entire Universe, and over my life.  I am thankful for all the good things He has blessed me with. With a wonderful, hard-working, loving, faithful, humble, amazing husband who is coming home today!!! Thank you Jesus!!!  I am thankful that I have not been struck by lightening for all the poor choices I continue to make over and over and over again.  I am thankful, oh so thankful, that His mercies are new every morning.  I am thankful that our Lord is a Redeemer, and that He is renewing and redeeming my life, day by day, moment by moment.  I am thankful that our Lord promises to restore that which the Locusts have eaten.  I am thankful that He never gives up on us, and that in Him there is always HOPE.  I am thankful that He gives rest to the weary.  I am thankful that He cares for us and bids us to cast all our cares on Him.  I am thankful that He bids us to bring all our anxious thoughts to Him and exchange them for His incomprehensible Peace!!

October 12, 2009

Today I am thankful for a gift given 20 years ago today, when our precious daughter S was entrusted to us.  I am thankful for her tender, compassionate heart; for her love for us, her caring, serving attitude.  I am thankful for her willingness to lay down her life for Christ and for others. I am thankful for her passion for justice.  I am thankful for her love and commitment to our family.  I am thankful for D’s cheerful heart that breaks out in song.  I am thankful for each and every precious treasure God has entrusted us with.

October 14, 2009

1. Gratitude - Today I am thankful for your overwhelming Agape Love, a love that loves far more than the recipient deserves.  I am thankful for the long awaited rain.  I am thankful for new hope.  I am thankful that You, Lord, have so much more for us that we have ever imagined.  I thank you that you call us forth to dream God sized dreams and that you are both the giver and the enabler of dreams.  I am thankful that yours is not a puny love, nor is it a love that is meant to hoard and keep all to ourselves, but that yours is a giving, expanding empowering love.  I am thankful that you are the giver of all good things, and that you privilege us with the privilege of also giving as you have given to us.

October 15, 2009

Today I am thankful for the gift of life.  I am thankful that this day we live and breathe and have our being.  I am thankful for good health, for the gift of arms and legs and a body that functions.  I am thankful that our family is a healthy family.  I am thankful for the gift of RA, entrusted to us 25 years ago this day.  I am thankful for the beautiful person you created her to be; for her passion and zeal for You; for her creative talents; for the hug she gifted me with two months ago, for the tea she served with love, for the beaming smile on her face, for her two amazing young sons.  I am thankful that she is in Your Hand, and in your Heart, that You will never leave nor forsake her, that You will complete the work that you have begun in her, and that one day, in Your timing, you will Restore what the Locusts have eaten in our relationship.

October 19, 2009

Today I give thanks for divided highways and the mercies of God that brings us safely home.  I am thankful for leaders and friends that challenge us to face our fears.  I am thankful for the Lord, whose hand grasps our hands as we face those fears.  I am thankful that God’s Wrath does not consume me, that His Compassion, Mercy, Patience and Grace are my companions. I am thankful that though I am not worthy, yet in His eyes, I am not worthless, but treasured and loved. I am thankful for cleansing tears.  I am thankful for still, quiet moments to hear his voice and know His Peace.

October 21, 2009

Today I want to thank and Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, Bless His Holy Name!!  Bless the Lord, O my soul and forget none of His benefits…today I am thankful for His many benefits; that He pardons all my iniquities; that he heals all my diseases; that He redeems my life from the pit; that He crowns me with lovingkindness and compassion; that He satisfies my years with good things; that He renews my youth like an eagle.    I am thankful that He performs righteous deeds, and that His judgments are for all those who are opposed.  I am thankful hat He made known His ways to Moses and then to us, and that He made known His acts to the sons of Israel and then to us.  I am thankful that the Lord is compassionate and gracious, that He is slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.

October 23, 2009

Today I am thankful for a wonderful husband, for the sun that rises, for a fresh new day.  I am thankful for God’s goodness and faithfulness.  I am thankful for hope and new beginnings. I am thankful for love, for hugs and smiles.  I am thankful for the Living, Breathing Word of God, which speaks to us anew each day.  I am thankful for a bed to sleep in, warm blankets to cover me, a pillow for my head, for clothes to wear, a roof over my head.  I am especially thankful for forgiveness for my failures, and for a Great High Priest who ever intercedes for me.

October 25, 2009

Today I am thankful for a new day full of hope.  I am thankful that all the promises of God are Yes in Christ Jesus our Lord. I am thankful for the sun that is shining, and the fingerprints on the window!  I am thankful that the Lord Himself is my Shepherd; that He makes me lie down by quiet waters, that He restores my soul, and that I do no lack for any good thing.  I am thankful that He indeed leads me in His paths of righteousness.  I am thankful that He walks with me through valleys of shadow and death, and that I need fear no evil of any kind.  I am thankful that your rod and staff protect and correct me, and am thankful for the comfort of your constant careful watch.  I am thankful that even in the presence of my enemies; you choose to prepare a feast for me and to bless me.  I am thankful that You have anointed my head with oil and that you have, indeed, caused my cup to overflow.  I am so thankful that your goodness and mercy are my constant companions and will accompany all through this life’s journey.  I am thankful that You have prepared a place for me, and that I will dwell securely with You forever.

I am thankful for the silence and stillness of the early morning. I am thankful for the early morning sun beginning to warm this new day. I am thankful for brisk fall nights that make us glad. I am thankful Lord, that You make all things new, and that your Mercies are new each morning. I am thankful that today is a fresh new slate, full of His Promises and fresh opportunities to walk with Him, experience his Grace anew, and in turn share the Mercy and Grace that I have received with others. I am thankful to know that even though my family is spread around the country, and even around the globe, your hand is upon each one. I am so thankful for members of Christ’s body, who so faithfully intercede and pray. I am so thankful that we have a great High Priest who sympathizes with our weaknesses, who is able to help us in time of need.

September 30

I am thankful that when the wind has been knocked out of my sails, and my small boat has been stranded for a brief time, He lifts me up and gets me back on course, once again. I am thankful for cooler fall weather. I am thankful for the precious gift of children, whose needs often bump into my self-appointed agenda, thus reminding me to lay my life down for His Sake and theirs, which I cannot do without depending on Him. I am thankful for a roof over my head, and walls around me that keep the cold winds out. I am thankful for warm covers to sleep under, and a pillow to cushion my head. I am thankful that when I am harassed and harried, tossed to and fro upon a sea of doubt, He remains ever the same, a Solid Rock in the midst of the storm, a Refuge in the turmoil, and an Anchor to the Soul. I am so thankful that when my soul cries out, “Unworthy, unworthy, I am so unworthy”, He gently reminds me that we are all unworthy and that is precisely why He died; that He might scoop us up in His Arms, Redeemed and made New, and with our hand firmly held by His, grow into the glorious purposes He created us for.

Do we interpret life’s experiences through the grid of truth…or do we interpret truth through the grid of our experience?

As human beings, we are much more prone to evaluate, define, and reshape “truth” in light of our experiences, rather than to hold up our experience to the light of Truth and allow Truth to interpret, define and reshape our experience.

A very small example comes to mind as I remember back to when my daughter was 3 or 4. She suddenly began screaming and crying that Daddy had “broken” her “house”. She was extremely upset. In her mind, her Daddy had deliberately and maliciously destroyed her personal creation. We had a small chalkboard that she had used to partition off a small section of space to play house. She had not communicated her project with anyone and only she alone actually knew that the chalkboard had become a wall of “her house.”

Daddy, in the meantime, was on his way out the door to teach a class, and picked up the chalkboard to use in his class. While Daddy was using the chalkboard for its intended purpose, our daughter, evaluating truth through her experience, concluded that “Daddy was mean and didn’t love her.” Using this process to come at the “truth” led to great misunderstanding on her part. In a perfect world, secure in her father’s unconditional and deep love for her, she could have trusted that even though she didn’t understand why Daddy was taking a piece of “her house”, it would never be his intent to be mean, nor to ever maliciously destroy a creation of hers.

Due to her young age, part of this story includes a lack of communication on her part. While she failed to communicate what the chalkboard has become to her, she was also quick to jump to conclusions about her father’s motives without actually asking him. How often do we do the same with life’s experiences? With Truth? We fail to communicate with each other, with our heavenly Father, about the importance something holds in our hearts, and then when something traumatizes us, we jump to conclusions and assign malicious motives without even asking the right questions.

So we come back to the original question. Are we interpreting truth through the grid of our experience? Or, are we evaluating our experiences through the grid of Truth? Our approach to this question matters deeply. Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life”. He alone is Truth. Truth is a person. When we evaluate “truth” according to our experience, we are in essence redefining truth and rejecting Truth Himself. We are all guilty of doing this in a dozen little ways every day. And herein lays our greatest tragedy. We live in a broken, evil world, with far too much pain and grief. Every one of us has our own personal store of woundedness in some form or another. The Deceiver relishes it when we interpret truth through our experience because that digs us in ever deeper, and keeps us from searching out Truth, which heals and frees us.

A pig is comfortable in the mud, but its eventual end is slaughter. Many of us are wallowing in mud, destined for slaughter, but rather than face the painful circumstances of how we got there, whether through wrong actions we ourselves took, or whether by wrongs committed against us, rather than admitting that the mud is mud and that it stinks….we hoodwink ourselves into believing mud is the ultimate. We’ve become so used to the stench; we would be put off by fresh air if it penetrated the thick, putrid atmosphere around us.

It can be unpopular, and more importantly, downright uncomfortable, to reverse our deeply entrenched patterns, and instead of evaluating truth through our experiences, holding our experiences up to the Light of Truth. Most of us would be deeply surprised by the results. We’ve avoided going there because we think we already know the answers. The Deceiver/Destroyer would encourage us to keep on that path. It’s just where he wants us.

For the Joy set before Him, Truth went to the cross. The Joy of setting us free from the muck and mire that sucks us ever downward, the Joy of seeing us healed and released to become ALL, and more than we could even begin to dream of, to become ALL that we were created to be, Image Bearers of the Almighty, crowned with Glory and Majesty, just a little lower than the angels. Truth does not promise us the way will be easy, in fact, Truth is upfront that it will not be easy. But it will be worth it. And He will be with us every step of the way. It is His Joy to see us rise out of the mud we have been beaten into, and to stand clean and pure, and to rise to discover the eternal, joy-filled purpose each of us was created for.

Today I am thankful for the early morning stillness and for the cool, crisp air of the new morning. I am thankful for new beginnings and fresh new starts that come with each rising sun. I am thankful for the crisp sweet first bite of an apple. I am thankful for the cold, wet noses of our cats and the exuberant greetings of our dogs each time they see us, they never grow weary of us!! I am thankful for weeds in the garden that remind me to check for weeds in the soil of my soul. I am thankful for daughters who hum and sing as they work, bringing cheer to our home. I am thankful for 8 year olds whose questions and non-stop creative ideas keep us growing and humble. I am thankful that our hearts can soar above the dark valleys because we know Him who guides our steps in the shadows we cannot see our way through. I am thankful for a Father whose heart weeps with ours, who holds our breaking, aching hearts in the palm of His hands, and who, after bottling our torrent of falling tears, pours out His balm of healing. I am thankful that we can know that it is always darkest just before dawn, that joy comes in the morning…and that we can put our hand in the Hand of He who calls the dawn forth. I am thankful that light banishes darkness, and that there is a Son who is brighter than our sun, whose Light can banish the darkest, deepest, scariest secrets in our hearts. I am so very, very thankful that I need not accept the dreary condemnation of the Accuser of the brethren, but instead can grow into the glorious image of my creator and fulfill the Divine purpose He has for me.

Today I am thankful that I have a Redeemer and that I am a Redeemed one. I am thankful that in the dark, scary realms within my heart, I need only take His Hand and let Him guide me safely through. I am thankful that He cares for me. I am thankful that He exposes the lies that have secretly embedded themselves in my soul and replaces them with His freeing Truth. I am thankful that He already knows my ways and loves me deeply anyways. I am thankful that He is both the Lion of Judah and the Lamb of God all at the same time. I am thankful that He is fierce against my foes and sin, and yet He is my Sacrifice and paid my overwhelming debt. I am thankful that I have such a Savior!!

Today this verse was brought to my attention:

Isaiah 59:19 declares, “When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.”

(Not IF, but WHEN, the enemy shall come in like a flood…)

And I am reminded of this quote -

“Thoughts are things, things have gravity, gravity attracts….what are your thoughts attracting”  (From “In God We Trust” by Jon Bender)

For as he thinks in his heart, so is he (Pr 23:7)

When circumstances look gloomy, it is so easy to feel defeated and to do just exactly what the enemy wants us to do…to forget that we are constantly in a great spiritual battle for our souls and the souls of our loved ones…the enemy will never, ever, voluntarily give up ground….he is on no one’s side but his own…and he pits both sides in court against each other, not to accomplish the goals of either side, but only his own….deception, death and destruction….by whatever means he can….but we need not be his puppets…and we need not allow our thoughts to attract defeat and despair just because the enemy tries to plant those seeds in our minds and hearts.

When the enemy comes like a flood, and he surely will, again and again and again….are we looking to the Lord, or are we surrendering to despair and defeat?  What are our thoughts attracting?  defeat?  or thankfulness, praise and worship to the Lord who lifts up a standard against the enemy, who gave His only Son to demonstrate His good intentions towards us if we will truly trust that He has our back, no matter what the enemy may paint the circumstances to look like?

This day, I choose to attract thoughts of trustworthiness, praise, worship and glory to the Only One who is worthy of all our Love, all our Trust and all of our Allegiance. I will not surrender or even entertain thoughts of despair or defeat.  We may be tested and tried…but in Him, we are not defeated, but rather refined and purified, made fitter vessels for His Glorious Purposes.  To His Love crafted plans and purposes I gladly surrender.  Let the enemy rage and flood….the Lord shall lift up His standard and accomplish His greater purposes!!!

Today I am thankful for His Love in my heart. I am thankful for his unmerited favor. I am thankful to be safely home with my family. I am thankful for His many unexpected gifts. I am thankful that when we are in the valley of tears and our hearts will hold no more, He is there, His arm tightly around us. I am thankful that He multiplies our feeblest attempts to serve others, and magnifies the blessings. I am thankful that in our darkest night, we can reach out and grasp His outstretched hand, and know that He is near, and all is well. I am thankful for His incomprehensible patience. I am thankful for His fathomless Hope.

– Today I am thankful for each new day that is given us. I am thankful for good health, for limbs that work, for a good night’s sleep. I am thankful for family. I am thankful for so much variety in the garden. I am thankful for His goodness, His Grace and His Faithfulness. I am thankful that unlike me, who is the queen of chaos, we serve a God of order. I am thankful that He set the stars in place. I am thankful that the sun rises and sets each day. I am thankful for the winds that blow. I am thankful for the gleeful hugs of children

Today I am thankful for water, for the rain that has not come. I have always loved and been thankful for the rain, and the new life it brings, the clean, fresh air, and the greenness that comes with rain. I am even thankful for both drought and flood, because adversity often sweeps out the old, stagnating life, and causes us to let go of the things that keep us from growth and change. I am thankful that the Lord did not consider even the temple, built for His Name and Glory, sacred, if it was not serving His Purposes, down it came. I am thankful that He is a jealous God, who loves us enough to tear down the false idols in our lives that we may know Him who is the only and true Truth. I am thankful that His Mercies are new each morning. I am thankful that though we may turn our backs on God, He never turns His back on ours. I am thankful for smiles, and for tears. For joy and for sorrow. For love and for grief; for it is the sorrow, grief and pain that make love, peace, joy so meaningful. I am thankful that our Father’s heart is to bless us with a rich, deep life full of meaning, purpose and His Glory.

Today I am thankful that His ways are higher than mine, that His thoughts are beyond mine. I am thankful that when I don’t understand or know the way, He does. I am thankful that when I am confused, He is not, and I can place my hand in His and TRUST. I am thankful that when the way before me is unclear or unseen, He knows the path I take and will show me the way. I am thankful when it seems like the rug has been pulled out from under me, He is there, the palm of His hand upholding me. I am thankful that I need not know all the answers, or even what the question is, because He does, and I am His. Forever. I am thankful that He is not a God of confusion; that He has a purpose and a plan, and that I am part of His plan and part of His Glory. I am thankful that the earth is full of His Glory. I am thankful, not only that His Ways and Thoughts are higher and grander than mine, but that His purposes and plans are also far higher, and far grander, than what my puny mind can comprehend. I am thankful that He has invited me along for the ride, to be a witness of His Glory, to testify to His greatness and awesomeness. I am thankful that I don’t have to stay locked into treading water in the storms of Life, but that we serve a God who invites us to walk on water in the midst of the Storms. I am thankful that He is patient, O so patient with us, when having once begun to stretch our faith and step out onto the stormy seas, eyes fixed on Him, we suddenly panic and begin to sink. I am thankful that He reaches out His hand and draws us out and to Himself. I am thankful that He bids us stand, regain our focus on Him and try again. I am thankful that He is rooting for us, applauding our efforts, including our stumbles and falls as we learn, like babies, to walk in faith. I am thankful that He is a father like none other. I am thankful that while He listens, compassionately, to our cries and pleas, He answers, not according to our finite foolishness, but according to His infinite Wisdom, Grace and Love; that which is our highest and best. I am thankful that He did not create us as mechanic robots to do His bidding, but as living, choosing, creative, growing beings, who can choose to stagnate and stink, or to stretch and grow and become more, become all He created us to be in glory.