Thanks Be to God!
The
theme of Thankfulness has been everywhere this month, and rightly so. Here at Daily Fast Fuel we’ve touched on the practical,
powerful promises of this public holiday.
Now it’s time for some private thoughts.
What are WE, your Daily Fast Fuel Kitchen Crew, thankful for? This week the gals are going to “celebrate, share
and declare the greatness of our God!” (Thanks, Sara!)
Saturday, November 23, 2013
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Coming Along Side
What’s on my heart this week isn’t what I intended to write about. I wanted to tell you that the word pilgrim is only used two times in the Bible, both in the New Testament; pilgrimage is used three times and only in the Old Testament. The root word for pilgrim means to “come along side; resident foreigner.” Our forefathers took a risk coming to this foreign land and many of them were as those listed in Hebrew’s “hall of faith” chapter. “All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims, exiles, on the earth.” (Ch.11:13)
Instead,
my thoughts have been on my six-month-old granddaughter who was admitted to the
hospital and hooked up to oxygen and IVs last week. Tests were run, but nothing
had been determined. My son and his wife took up “residence as foreigners in a
cold and sterile place” in order to come
along side their daughter. They don’t know how much longer they’ll have to
be there, but again, I think of the saint in Hebrew 11:9 who “By faith he lived
as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents
with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise.” My son's family has been given that promise.
Jeremiah
speaks further about it in 29:11, “ ‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’
declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future
and a hope.’ ”
My
son has also been given the promise that God will never leave nor forsake him.
God is right there, along side Ryan’s pilgrimage with his daughter. I’m
thankful it’s not the same journey God took me on concerning my own daughter who
has lived in heaven since she was two.
While
we are all pilgrims sojourning in this fallen world of disease and brokenness, we
are not without promises. One of the most powerful tools we have to aid us
during our earthly trek is stated at the beginning of this devotion: Thy statues are my songs in the house of my
pilgrimage. Don’t wait for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or for a given reason.
Celebrate now with songs of thanksgiving for the days of your life here, even
as aliens and strangers. “Sing to the LORD a new song.” (Psalm 96:1)
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
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A Thankful Six-pack
“How long have
you gals been celebrating each others?” The guest asked.
“It’s been over a
decade,” we chimed in around the table. “As single women,” I clarified, “six of
us began getting together for Christmas, then for birthdays. If someone moved
away, another came along to compliment and increase our six-pack.”
I traditionally
hosted the fall birthdays of our group during November, America’s month of
Thanksgiving celebration. I had asked God how I could initiate an attitude of
thanks around the table. After printing off verses with words pertaining to thanks, and reflecting on each verse, I
wrote a word of encouragement on the back. I folded, mixed the verses up, then
placed them by each woman’s plate—not knowing who would receive which one.
When we began
sharing how the verse and what was written on the back, spoke to us personally,
the chatter quieted. My verse had to do with thanking God for His good deeds
and sharing them with others; another spoke of thanking God for His people; another
on how generosity brings forth thanksgiving to God. But the hardest verse for
many, landed in the hands of the woman who had a difficult time getting to our
get-together. Arthritic pain plagued her body.
“I don’t know if
I can get through this,” she said wiping at her eyes as she read: “Thank God in
everything no matter what the
circumstances may be; be thankful and give thanks, for this is the will of God
for you. (I Thess. 5:18)” Tears rushed forth. “I’m afraid to read what’s on the
back,” she paused to grab a napkin. “Okay, here goes,” she said between sobs. Turning
her verse over, she read her message from God.
“I see every tear that drops. I know your
struggles and hardships. I’m here holding you up every step of the way.”
Now her tears splashed onto her plate.
“As
hard as the pain is,” she continued, “I’m thankful God is there for me.” After a
brief pause, she looked at all of us. “I’m also thankful for each one of
you—your prayers, love, and friendship throughout the years.” By the end of the
evening, we had our Christmas gathering scheduled and planned. :)
God has given our
group more than a six-pack of faithful friends over the decade. He’s given us a
family: a safe place to share our hearts, both from pain and in joy.
I love this month
of celebrating thanks—for family, friends,
and for you, my readers. Thus, I leave you all with Paul’s famous greeting: “We
always thank God for all of you,” 1Thess 1:2; and Philippians 1:3, “I thank my
God every time I remember you.”
Thursday, November 07, 2013
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Box-shakers. All of You.
A hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is the tree of life.
- Proverbs 13:12
Admit it. You’re a box-shaker. You lurk around the Christmas tree, looking for packages addressed to you. After the traditional “shake”, you consider the size, shape and sound of the little wrapped mystery and you hope for what gift might be unveiled come Christmas Day.
The best is when you open that gift, and it’s way better than you ever dreamed or imagined.
For me, that about sums up the Hope of Advent. The Gift has been delivered. It is not yet time to fully reveal the Gift, so we examine it. We shake it up a bit as we try to make sense of it. The good news is, no matter how much we jostle it around, three truths will remain unshaken:
One, the Gift is addressed to you.
Two, the mystery of the Gift has planted a longing within us to fully unwrap it.
And three, once fully revealed, the Gift will prove to be far more than we ever dreamed or imagined.
So, shake away my friends! Examine and embrace. Hope for the revelation. He’s coming.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
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Thankfulness
I'm most thankful for...
Don't you just love Thanksgiving? I mean besides all the delicious food and hopefully spending time with loved ones, it seems like people take a break from their negativity. It's a time to foucs on what we're thankful for, and contemplate our many blessings.We NEED to focus on the positive, especially now. As we close out this year and look forward to 2012, I've heard a lot of talk about the problems that lie ahead - whether it's predicted natural disasters, the upcoming election, our economy, or just the unknown...I find myself extremely grateful that God is in control!
Out of all the many Scriptures I've read on being "thankful", this one jumped out at me as one to memorize!
"Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe."So I'm most thankful that no matter what happens in the days to come, I'm in a kingdom that cannot be shaken, serving a King who reigns forever.
Angie Mauer is your server this week! Find out more about her here and don't forget to sign up for updates by email or RSS before you go.
Friday, November 25, 2011
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Thankfulness: A Learning Process
“The greatest thing is to give thanks for everything. He who has learned this knows what it means to live… He has penetrated the
whole mystery of life: giving thanks for everything.” Albert Schweitzer
“I have learned to
be content whatever the circumstances. I
know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned
the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or
hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:11-13, NIV
Gratitude is not the most natural reaction to life,
especially with the hard things, the painful things. How do we learn the secret
of being content? We must learn gratitude, and
to learn it we must practice.
Some in my family, including me, seem to have a genetic
predisposition to defeatist thinking. In
an effort to combat this, every night after he prays, my older son tells me
five good things about his day. Being
the clever fellow that he is, he has also suckered me into telling him five
good things about my day.
I have been thrilled to see not only his change of attitude,
but mine as well. Concentrating on the good, naming it and speaking it out loud, is
powerfully effective in reworking our negative thought patterns. Many times we have come away from our time
together thinking, “you know, today wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought.” (It has also been a great conversation
starter which, as anyone trying to communicate with a teenager knows, is never
a bad thing.)
Deliberately looking for the silver lining, the hand of God,
is bringing me closer to God. Naming the
blessings, noticing the miracles, good and “bad,” day after day, is leading us toward
realizing contentment in any and every situation. I am also learning about my son, which is a
treasure beyond price. For those things,
I am most definitely grateful.
Debbie Legg is your server this week! Find out more about her here and don't forget to sign up for updates by email or RSS before you go.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
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Thanks? Bruce Willis and Gratitude
What do Bruce Willis and Gratitude have in common? They can both take some serious blows and keep on keepin’ on! Lost your job? No retirement savings? No longer live in a home you own? Cancer reared its stupid head in your family? Rough marriage? Unpredictable kid(s)? No college savings for the unpredictable kid(s)? Life generally full of understandably good reasons to be grumpy?
It’s time for Die Hard Gratitude. That’s the kind that flows from the heart of a person who knows that an absence of Love isn’t the reason that life got crummy. A person with Die Hard Gratitude might have, at some point, stumbled across one of the following scriptures…
“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; His love endures forever.” – 1 Chrn. 16:34
“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; His love endures forever.” – Psalm 106:1
“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; His love endures forever.” – Psalm 118:1
“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever.” – Psalm 136:1
…or even 1 Chronicles 16:41, 2 Chronicles 20:21, 2 Chronicles 5:13, Psalm 107:1, Psalm 118:29, Psalm 136:2, 3 or 26!
Or, MY personal favorite, Jeremiah 33:10,11:
…there will be heard once more the sounds of joy and gladness…and the voices of those who bring thank offerings to the house of the Lord, saying, “Give thanks to the Lord Almighty, for the Lord is good; his love endures forever.” For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before, says the Lord.
Die Hard Gratitude, folks. Thank Him. And then thank Him again. Every day. Thank Him because the crummy stuff will change, but He will remain the same. Forever.
Happy Thanksgiving. Amen and Amen.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
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365 Days of Thanks
There are just so many ways for us to track those things, people, events, and moments, for which we are thankful. As a natural "tracker", I really enjoy tools to help me maintain a habit of recording devotionals, workouts, even calories.
Years ago I attempted to keep a Gratitude Journal, or Thankfulness Diary - call it what you will.
I got the surprise of my life. I couldn't keep up.
What I learned then (almost 20 years ago now) is that I can not possibly record every single God-sighting in my life.
And I am thankful for that. How beautiful is it to know that I can not keep up with my God.
What the exercise DID instill in me was the conviction that regardless of whether I can "track" or "mark" it down, thankfulness MUST be a daily part of my day. It shouldn't be an exclusive accessory worn only for the month of November or Thanksgiving Day. It is why I ask my children every night, "What are you thankful to God for today?" My answer is always the same - even if the answer is "Donuts at church". "Great. Tell Him."
1 Thessalonians 5:18 instructs us to "give thanks in all circumstances; for THIS (my emphasis) is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
Think 365 days of thanks. God is up to His goodness all year long!
Monday, November 21, 2011
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Thankful Much?
Yes! We've enjoyed both the service and the practice of writing, and are thankful for how Daily Fast Fuel has touched you, as well as us as our team . . . and thus, as we move forward from here, we have decided to take daily shifts - rather than weekly ones.
What better way to begin this week than with the topic of THANKFULNESS.
That word sure is thrown around this time of year, isn't it? Only, doesn't scripture instruct us to give thanks in EVERYTHING? I don't know about you, but EVERYTHING seems to be more expansive than a Thursday in November when we indulge in some of our favorite treats.
Is thankfulness an event? Or a lifestyle?
Joline Atkins is your server today! Find out more about her here and don't forget to sign up for updates by email or RSS before you go.
Monday, November 21, 2011
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