Giving Thanks

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

  Have  you ever stopped to think about thanks?  I mean, really think about it?  God's been working in my heart about being thankful, truly thankful.  How many times a day do I say, "Thank you," and yet not really mean anything more by it than acknowledging that someone has done something for me, most often something that it was their job to do. ( The cashier at the store hands me my change, I smile, say, " thank you," and go on my merry way. )  But how thankful am I, really, on the inside, where it counts?  How often do I say, "thank you," and really mean, "you did your job satisfactorily, common courtesy  obligates me to acknowledge your efforts"?  

  Even when it comes to my prayers of thanksgiving, am I really thankful?  How often are my thanks to God just words, because the Bible says I'm supposed to be thankful?  Is my heart thankful, or am I saying "thank you" to mask a heart of discontent?  So often I say prayers and words of thanks, while in my heart I'm complaining about all the things I don't have, or the things they didn't do.  

  More and more I am realizing that discontent is more than just being discontent, it's a lack of being thankful.  When I am truly thankful for all that I do have, I will cease to be discontent because of what I don't have.  When I find myself complaining and discontent, if I stop and think about something I am thankful for, my discontent will vanish, my complaining will cease, the true rejoicing will start, and the prayers of thanksgiving, real thanksgiving, will soar heavenward.  And it won't stop with me, my thankful spirit will begin to rub off on those around me as His joy ripples ever outward to the world around me.

   Oh, Lord, make me truly grateful!

Auntumn

  It seems I've been thinking and writing a lot about change lately.  I guess that's because life is all about change.  Without change, there would be no life.  Without change, the caterpillar would never become the butterfly, Winter would never become Spring, the greens of Summer would never become the rich golds and crimsons and browns of Fall.

  Sometimes we want change, even long for it, other times we fear it.  We fear change because change means things will be different, no longer known.  We long for change because we dislike what is and wish for something we think will be better.
  Today, I am thinking of the changes that have been occurring in my heart.  Specifically, the change of being willing to accept the lack of change in my life.  There are many things I would wish to be different, but they remain the same.  Foremost in my mind is the often painful fact that I am still single.  I am learning to accept this fact, while still trusting that my Father will one day change it.  Sometimes accepting the lack of change can be harder than accepting the changes.  
  The changes in my heart take place as I learn to look to Him for all that I need.  He alone is able to give the love that I long for.  He alone will love me without fail.  He alone will be faithful completely and never disappoint me and leave me wondering what happened to love.  He alone will truly never leave me.
  Sometimes I wonder why it is that I feel like I need more than what He is giving me.  Isn't He supposed to be all that I need?  I don't know the answer to this question.  I can only trust Him, trusting that if I needed the answer, He would give it to me, clinging ever closer to Him.

New Adventures

  I've been setting off on a new adventure lately.  I don't know where, or how far it will take me, but I have become fascinated with the world of herbs and wild foods.  I am amazed by the vast variety of plants and herbs that God has given us to use for our health and survival!  Most of us know that peppermint can sooth an upset stomach, but did you know that the Latin name for Dandelion, Taraxacum officinale, means "disorder remedy used in the workshop" and the plant has properties that can treat a wide range of ailments from intestinal gas and poor digestion to arthritis and even acne?   There are a host of other wild "weeds" that can be made into treatments for all sorts of troubles.  Others are good for eating, either as a part of a meal, or as seasonings to enhance a more "traditional" meal.
  Learning about and collecting these wild treasures has become my latest hobby.  It gives me a real sense of accomplishment, knowing that I can take things from the world around me and use them to provide for my family and help to keep them healthy.   Now if I could just get them to try my food experiments!

Waiting

  Waiting.  We wait for a lot of things in life.  From the first day I can remember, I've been waiting for something.  I waited for my first lose tooth, I waited FOREVER for that tooth to get lose enough to pull out.  I waited for Christmas, and birthdays, I waited for the day I was finally old enough to wear nail polish and makeup!  I've waited for a lot of things in life.  There are a lot of things I'm still waiting for.  Some things are just little things, that make very little difference in the grand scheme of things.  I wait for the mail to come, the light to turn green, my turn in the grocery store check out line, and yes, I still wait for Christmas. (There are precisely  112 days until Christmas!)  Some things are big, really big.  Like waiting for that one special someone to come and sweep me off my feet and make me his forever.  It's the really big things that are the hardest to wait for, especially if they don't have a specific date attached.  You can't count down the days if you don't know when it's happening.
   For me, waiting is hard.  Really hard.  I'm not particularly impatient, I just don't like to wait, and it's even worse if I don't know when the thing I'm waiting for will happen.   I like to have everything all planned out, well in advance, with all the details in place long before I need them.   That's what makes waiting for the big things in life particularly difficult for me, they happen in God's way and with His timing, and that doesn't always match up with my ideas very well.  In fact, it's often VERY different.
  When I was 13, I had my life pretty much all planned out!  I knew who I would marry, when and where we would marry, where we would live, how many children we would have, and the list goes on!   Needless to say, life didn't happen according to my plan, and, looking back now, I'm very glad it didn't.  God's ways are so incredibly superior to my plans!   I would like to have married when I was 21, like I planned, but I would have missed out on so many incredible blessing along the way!  
   I still don't like waiting, but I am learning to trust, to lean on Jesus when I can't see my way and trust Him for each step, one step and a time and only the next step.  Because, really, the next step is all we really need to know.

Why Do I Worry?

  So often we here distressing news, whether it is world news, local news, news from a friend, or simply a passing comment from a stranger.   Distressing news can so often instigate worry in our hearts, but why?   What really, truly good reason is there to let it?   Over the last few months I have been using Ruth Leamy's devotional book, "Sacred Signposts".   (An excellent book I would highly recommend!)  In Day Two of the final chapter, something she said really gripped my mind and got me thinking.  She asked a simple question.    One which to ask ourselves when something is causing us to worry.   "Is it relevant to you in your current situation?"   How often are our worries focused on some future time or date, or even have no direct impact on us at all?   A verse from Matthew comes to mind.   "Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.  Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."  (v.6:34)    Today, this moment, has enough things to cause worry without borrowing things from another time or place to worry about!
    Besides, when we worry, it's like telling God, "I don't believe You are big enough or strong enough to handle this one by Yourself,  I think I'd better help You figure this one out!"   I would never dream about actually voicing such an arrogant statement, and I'm sure few of you, my readers, would either, but my worry says it nearly every day!    Who am I, who are we, to presume to be able to "help" God, not to mention to imply that He could ever need help?!
   I think, most times, our tendency to worry reveals our lack of truly knowing God.   If we but had a clearer grasp on who and what He is, our worries would evaporate in the brilliance of all that He is!   When you find yourself prone to worry, turn your focus onto God's great power and wisdom.   Often this will need to be a very deliberate, often repeated exercise, but one well worth learning!

Broken Pieces

The Lord has been working in my heart lately. Of course, this is something He does all the time, but sometimes He works in ways that make it easier for us to see, other times He works through difficult circumstances, or in unusual ways. This is one of those times when I'm not sure if I simply notice it more than at other times, or if He's getting ready to do something REALLY big. I think it might be a little of all the above.

One of the things He has been teaching me is that my broken places can be sources of God's light to those around me. Sometimes when we are broken, we try to hide those broken places. We are afraid of being vulnerable, afraid of what other people will think, afraid that, by sharing our brokenness, we will disappoint the expectations of those around us.   Exposing my broken places is kinda scary, but I am trusting that God has a plan for my brokenness, and I am trusting that He will use the broken places to let His light and love shine out to those around me.    And through my willingness to allow God to use my brokenness for His glory, He has begun healing the hurts, the cracks, and the open wounds.  
    He is teaching me that the pain and the bitterness I have been holding onto so tightly is not hurting the ones who have hurt me, but only causes greater pain to my own heart.    As I learn to forgive the people in my past, and my present, who have hurt me and bruised my heart, God is healing those hurts and bruises.   As He heals the hurts, He shows me more of His greatness and love.   As I see more of His love for me, I realise how little I trust Him.   I cannot view God through the filter of my past hurts, but through the brilliance of His great faithfulness and love for me.    I have allowed the people who have hurt me in the past to cloud my view of God. I have placed their offences on God's shoulders, expecting Him to hurt me as the people in my past have hurt me.   God is not like us!   He is infinitely perfect, loving, holy and powerful!   He is all powerful God, Creator of all that I can see and all that I can't see, and yet, HE LOVES ME!   He did not cause my pain, but He did allow it for a reason.   I may never know all the reasons behind what He allows, but He does, and because of His love and faithfulness and power, I CAN TRUST HIM!   People will let me down, but God will not allow ANYTHING into my life that He will not carry me through and use to bring me closer to the woman He wants me to be, a woman He can use to bring Him glory.

Laura Story : Blessings

This is one of my favorite songs right now. Hope you all enjoy it!

Precious Treasures

Isaiah 40:10-11; 28-31

I have been studying through various passages that concern God, His power, and care for His children, and waiting on God. Today I studied word by word through Isaiah chapter 40. This has long been one of my favorite passages, but taking my concordance through and looking up each key word has made it even more rich and deep with meaning. It was such an encouragement to me, that I wanted to share it with you all, that God might use what He has been showing me to encourage someone else. While I studied verses 10 through the end of the chapter, I will focus here on verses 10 and 11, and verses 28-31. (Please take the time to read this entire passage (10-31) as it is all filled with precious treasures. Verses 12-27 are pretty straight forward, with the key words meaning pretty much what we would expect them to mean.)

I will list the key words I found to have particularly rich or deep roots, along with the Strong’s numbers and their alternate meanings. After each verse, I will paraphrase it, pulling in the portions that God used to speak to my heart today.

Verse 10

Lord - H136 ̀Ādônây - and emphatic form of H113 ̀Âdôn - sovereign, ruler, controller, lord, master, owner

GOD - H3069 Jehôvih - self existent one; when used with H136 Elohiym creating Adonai Elohiym, the sovereign self existent one

come - H935 bố - to go or come with implications of going or coming as for war, also to lead or lift up

strong - H2389 châzâq - from H2388 châzaq - to fasten upon, be strong/courageous, to strengthen, cure, help, repair/fortify, to be constant, encourage, hold fast

arm - H2220 zerôâ - arm, with the added meaning of help, mighty, strength

reward - H7939 śâkâr - salary, price, hire, reward, wages

“Look, Adonai Elohiym, the sovereign, self existent one, will come to lead you with strength and courage, His arm will rule with strength and might to help you; See, He brings His wages with Him and His work is before Him, (we don’t have to pay or compensate Him for His help!)”

Verse 11

feed - H7462 rấâh - to tend a flock, to rule, to associate with (as with a friend), to make friendship with, to pastor or shepherd

shepherd - same word as feed

lambs - H2922 telâ - lambs, includes the intent to cover for protection

carry - H5375 nâśấ nâsâh - to lift, bear up, bring , carry, contain, desire, ease, fetch, forgive, help, obtain, pardon, raise up, receive, spare

bosom - H2436 chêyq chêq chôq - to inclose, bosom, lap, midst, within

lead - H5095 nâhal - to run with a sparkle, to flow, conduct, protect, sustain, carry, feed, guide, lead gently

“He will feed His flock as a shepherd tends his sheep, with the care of a friend; He will gather His protected lambs in His arms and lift them up with forgiveness and desire, inclosing them within His bosom. He will sustain those who are with young and gently lead and protect them.”

Verse 28

heard - H8085 shâmâ - to hear intelligently, carefully; to be content, to discern, give ear; be obedient, obey; make a proclamation, publish, report, show forth, tell, understand, witness

everlasting - H5769 ̀ôlâm ̀ôlâm - time out of mind, eternity, always, continuance, eternal, perpetual, at any time, world without end, since the beginning

faint - H3287 yấêph - fatigued, exhausted

searching - H2714 chêqer - finding out

understanding - H8394 tâbûn tebûnâh tôbûnâh - intelligence

“Don’t you know? Weren’t you listening so you could understand and tell others? The God who always is from the beginning and even before the beginning, Yaweh, the self existent One, the Creator of all that you see, never grows tired or weary. His intelligence is so deep that you can’t even find out how great it is!”

Verse 29

gives - H5414 nâthan - gives, also restores

power - H3581 kôach kôach - to be firm, vigor, ability

faint - H3287 yấêph - fatigued, exhausted

might - H202 ̀ôn - ability, power; from same root as H205 âven - to exert oneself in vain, to come to naught

“He restores the vigor of the exhausted and gives strength to the weary. He restores those who are worn out from their futile trying in their own strength.”

Verse 30

faint - H3286 yấaph - to grow tired, as from wearisome flight

fall - H3782 kâshal - to totter or waver because ones legs are weak, to falter, stumble, faint, fall, be cast down, be decayed

“Even children grow tired when the way is weary, and young men grow discouraged and stumble and fall.”

Verse 31

wait upon - H6960 qâvâh - to bind together, expect, look patiently, tarry, wait

mount up - H5927 ̀âlâh - to ascend, come up, dawn, depart, exalt, make to go up/away, grow, increase, leap, recover, restore

wings - H83 ̀êber - wing; from H82 ̀âbar - to soar, fly

“But those who hold tight to Jehovah and wait with patience and expectation for Him will be given new strength. They will rise with the dawn and ascend above their troubles, soaring on wings like eagles, away from the weariness of life.”

Now read it all together and let the truths of these precious verses sink into your very soul. Let them sooth the weariness of life that settles in and pull us down.

“Look, Adonai Elohiym, the sovereign, self existent one, will come to lead you with strength and courage, His arm will rule with strength and might to help you; See, He brings His wages with Him and His work is before Him, (we don’t have to pay or compensate Him for His help!) He will feed His flock as a shepherd tends his sheep, with the care of a friend; He will gather His protected lambs in His arms and lift them up with forgiveness and desire, inclosing them within His bosom. He will sustain those who are with young and gently lead and protect them. Don’t you know? Weren’t you listening so you could understand and tell others? The God who always is from the beginning and even before the beginning, Yaweh, the self existent One, the Creator of all that you see, never grows tired or weary. His intelligence is so deep that you can’t even find out how great it is! He restores the vigor of the exhausted and gives strength to the weary. He restores those who are worn out from their futile trying in their own strength. Even children grow tired when the way is weary, and young men grow discouraged and stumble and fall. But those who hold tight to Jehovah and wait with patience and expectation for Him will be given new strength. They will rise with the dawn and ascend above their troubles, soaring on wings like eagles, away from the weariness of life.”

New Year Thoughts

The old year is gone. All that is left of 2010 is the memories of time gone by. As I look forward to the new year, my thoughts are drawn back to what God has done in the past year. I have seen Him do some pretty amazing and life altering things in the last year. He taught me to trust Him to provide when I went the entire summer without income. Time after time I saw Him provide, just what I needed at exactly the right time. My brother got married in October, and we found out that they're expecting their first baby next summer. I got to care for a wonderful little baby girl the last few months of the year. (Caring for babies is one of the best ways I know to learn patience. Even the best babies will cry sometimes, for reasons that are impossible to discover. You simply have to have patience and do the best you can to comfort them. And sometimes you just have to have a good cry yourself, then a good laugh, and then it doesn't seem so bad after all.)

I am beginning this new year with a new adventure, looking for a new job. I have a lot of options and possibilities. It seems like everyone has a new idea, and they all sound like good ones. So, I'm putting out feelers and trusting God to show me what His will is, praying that He will open the right doors and road block the wrong paths. I am learning to move forward in what seems to be a good direction, then trust Him to guide my turns.

A new year holds the promise of better things to come. I am excited to see what God's better things are for me and how far above and beyond my better things they will be! His ways truly are higher than my ways and following Him is by far more fun than doing things my own way! That's another things He has taught me over the last year. Whenever I try to do things my own way, all I end up with is one BIG mess! When I do things God's way, I get something truly beautiful, even when it is 100% opposite from what I thought I wanted!