“For an answer Jesus called over a child, whom he stood in the middle of the room, and said, “I’m telling you, once and for all, that unless you return to square one and start over like children, you’re not even going to get a look at the kingdom, let alone get in. Whoever becomes simple and elemental again, like this child, will rank high in God’s kingdom. What’s more, when you receive the childlike on my account, it’s the same as receiving me” (Matthew 18:3, The Message).

“When you rise in the morning, give thanks for the light, for your life, for your strength. Give thanks for your food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason to give thanks, the fault lies in yourself” (Tecumseh).

Every day that you wake up, you can find a reason to give thanks.

If you can’t find one, the fault lies with you.

Most often, you won’t find what you’re not looking for. If you’re not seeking the good, you won’t find it. If you have no reason to give thanks, it’s because you’re probably focusing on the wrong things.

Whenever I give into despair and entitlement, it’s because I quit looking for joy and gratitude in the every day. I forgot to count my blessings and give thanks for each one.

Again, if you see no reason to give thanks, the fault lies in yourself.

If you look with the eyes of grace, you will find more than enough reason.

I heard something once that I’ve carried with me since. Basically, it states that Jesus’ first recorded words were “I must be about my Father’s business” and His last words on the cross were “It is finished.”

In between those two statements Jesus had the most single-minded vision and purpose of anyone who has lived or ever will live on this planet.

His purpose was to say and do exactly what the Father wanted to say and do. His purpose from a cradle in Bethlehem was a cross in Jerusalem.

I’m thankful that Jesus was 100% about His Father’s business because that business included the likes of me and you.

That business included seeking and saving the lost.

That business was inviting all who are weary and burdened to find rest for their souls.

That business was God sending His one and only Son that if anyone believes in Him, they will not perish or be lost forever but have eternal and abundant life to the fullest.

I learned something interesting at Kairos tonight. Or more truthfully, I was reminded of something I probably already knew but needed to hear again.

The Bible never once says to follow your heart.

What it says is to guard your heart and follow Jesus.

I know in my own experience that while emotions and feelings are important and worthwhile, they can also be misleading and sometimes downright deceitful.

I’ve had plenty of times when I was tired and let my emotions run rampant. I felt like my situation at the time was hopeless. But after a good night’s sleep, my emotions changed.

I’ve learned that emotions and feelings are fickle, but God isn’t. The Bible says that He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever.

I don’t need to follow my heart. I need to guard it and follow Jesus. That’s the beginning of true wisdom.

You could add this (not autobiographical, thankfully):

I was dying to get the latest and smartest of the smart phones.
I was dying to find out how I compared with others on social media.
I was always dying to find out what I was missing until I was completely overtaken by the dreaded FOMO (Fear of Missing Out).
I was dying inside because I have all these cyber connections but no real relationships or intimacy with real people.

“And don’t be wishing you were someplace else or with someone else. Where you are right now is God’s place for you. Live and obey and love and believe right there” (1 Corinthians 7:17a, The Message).

Ann Voskamp is with Matt Bemish and Marlou Badiola-Enguero.29 September 2015 at 19:27 · 

“yeah, so the world may tilt off kilter tonight, Lord, with news of unspeakable things, and of things deep inside of us that we’d never speak of:
Kids fail & marriages flail & the work of our hands can feel futile, falling far behind. 
But! ‘…we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, *not a day goes by without His unfolding grace.*’
2Cor4MSG
It can feel like life’s got us in a prison — but on the inside, where God is making new life, we’re free. 
It can feel like we’ve lost — but not a day goes by without His unfolding grace that. makes. us. win. this. race. 
It can feel like the the night has won — but nothing can ultimately steal us from the One Who is Light. 

The bottom line, and the finish line, is simply this: 
The God who has carried you till now 
can be trusted to carry you till you’re through… 
right through to the very end — which, then, on the other side, 
will be a perfect, forever beginning”

#RealHonestPrayer #StrengtheningEachOtherWithPrayer

Hopefully, these borrowed words will speak to at least one person. Maybe someone out there will read them and find the courage and strength to keep going for one more day.

That to me will have been worth it.

I ran across something I wrote 8 years ago on this day that still resonates with me today. I don’t remember the context or what I was feeling that day or even what kind of day I’d had. But here it is, exactly as I wrote it then:

When my song though endless ages isn’t, “I did it my way,” but “Jesus led me all the way,” then God is strong. There are two things I know (and that I heard in a song) that God loves me and He is strong. So tonight I am clinging to that Strong Love with everything that’s in me. God is strong.

When my song though endless ages isn’t, “I did it my way,” but “Jesus led me all the way,” then God is strong. There are two things I know (and that I heard in a song) that God loves me and He is strong. So tonight I am clinging to that Strong Love with everything that’s in me. God is strong.

That’s the prayer of my heart every night. It’s true on good and bad days, fair or foul weather, peace or storm.

I’m still learning that I need God just as much on the days when everything seems doable and I’m content as on the days that seem impossible where I’ve given up and given in to stress. I need God every single day of my life. And God will be faithful for every single day of my life for the rest of my life.

I’m just gonna go on record and state that it did NOT feel in any way like fall today. I’m no meteorologist, but I’m certain that I wouldn’t be sweating so much if it were truly fall temperatures.

I know it says on the calendar that summer’s over, but someone forgot to tell the weather. It was hot and muggy today and in no way was I inclined to wear any kind of scarves or flannel or jackets.

PS If you wear a jacket or a sweater in 90+ degree weather, that’s weird. Just sayin’. God loves you, but that’s unnatural.

But anyhoo. I’m ready for fall, but I’m more ready for summer to finally end. It’s like that houseguest who just won’t leave. Or like one of those infamous Southern goodbyes that last for 4 hours.

Summer, you were great. You were fun. But it’s time to let fall have a turn.

Go home, summer. You’re drunk. And you smell like pumpkin spice.

Congratulations! You now have that Hokey Pokey song stuck in your head. Oh, and you’re welcome.

Yes, it’s Friday Eve, which means that tomorrow is officially and legitimately Friday. And I am officially and legitimately ready for it because I am officially and legitimately exhausted.

I’m ready for that rare sleep-in day with no nasty alarms to rudely awaken my sweet dreams and no heading off to work in the pre-dawn hours.

In the mean time, one more day. Make it a good one. Make it a God one.

Work at everything you do as if you’re reporting directly to God as your supervisor (because really you are). Do it with enthusiasm and joy. Let your work ethic be your witness.

That’s me preaching to myself again. This past week was less than joy-filled because I didn’t intentionally seek joy. This week, worry and anxiety won out.

But tomorrow’s a new day with new mercies and fresh grace.

And it’s also Friday. Win.

“To be grateful for an unanswered prayer, to give thanks in a state of interior desolation, to trust in the love of God in the face of the marvels, cruel circumstances, obscenities, and commonplaces of life is to whisper a doxology in darkness” (Brennan Manning).

If you’ve ever gone through seasons of uncertainty and anxiety, you know what a doxology in the dark looks and feels like.

It feels a lot like the desperate father with his ailing son crying out to Jesus, “Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.”

It looks a lot like putting one foot in front of the other, one moment at a time, one day at a time, feeling hopeful and frightened at the same time.

It’s trusting without knowing answers because you know that you are in the good, safe hands of Jesus.

It feels a lot like those prayerless nights when all you have are sighs and groans that somehow find their way to God’s ears.

It’s Job’s words of “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.”

It’s a tune that everyone will sing at some point in their lives. Jesus didn’t say if you suffer but when. He never promised a way out of hardships but a way through.

Keep singing that doxology until the day breaks.