gratitude

In Whatever You Do

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“Surely, no matter what you are doing (speaking, writing, or working), do it all in the name of Jesus our Master, sending thanks through Him to God our Father” (Colossians 3:17 VOICE).

So, this is my 1,955th blog. Tonight, I revisited an old classic, To Catch a Thief, from the year 1955. Coincidence? I think not.

It’s always nice when a Wednesday turns into a Friday. For the lucky ones (like me), that means that we get both Thanksgiving Day and The Day After Thanksgiving (also known in some circles as Black Friday) off from work.

I’m thinking about these words. Whatever you do, do it all in the name of Jesus, sending thanks through Him to God our Father.

Do it all for the glory of God out of a spirit of thanksgiving. How appropriate is this verse? Maybe that’s why the good folks at Bible Gateway chose this to be their verse of the day on this November 25, 2015.

Today, I am thankful for my job. I’m thankful for my car that got me to my job. I’m thankful for good health and legs that were able to get me to my car, which got me to my job.

I’m thankful for friends who refuse to accept bumper sticker answers to hard questions. I’m thankful that I have friends who have stuck around when maybe they shouldn’t have.

I’m thankful for the abundance of turkeys who made the ultimate sacrifice for our feasts tomorrow. Your sacrifice will not be in vain. Trust me.

I’m thankful for 15-year old furry babies who still like to curl up in my lap and lower my blood pressure in the process.

I’m thankful for every single day that I get to live and remember those who didn’t get that chance.

I’m just plain thankful.

The end.

 

 

Thanksgiving and Thanksliving

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“Go through His gates, giving thanks; walk through His courts, giving praise. Offer Him your gratitude and praise His holy name. Because the Eternal is good, His loyal love and mercy will never end, and His truth will last throughout all generations” (Psalm 100:4-5, The Voice).

These days, you hear a lot about how thankful everybody is. Especially on November 26, known on most calendars as Thanksgiving Day.

What about the other 51 weeks of the year?

You find that thanksgiving works best when gratitude becomes the attitude of your heart and not something you celebrate only around holidays and special occasions.

Thanksgiving becomes thanksliving when gratitude becomes less of an act and more of a lifestyle.

You really do see more of God when you see everything as grace and a gift from His band. I’ve found that out through experience.

You really do find what you seek. If you go around expecting the worst, all you see is bad news. When you look for the good, seeing blessing in everything, you find that you being alive today is the miracle. You breathing in and breathing out is pure grace.

I confess that I’m not always good at gratitude. Often, I get caught up in the trap game of comparison, which leads either to pride or despair. Either way, you never see the entire picture of what (or who) you’re comparing yourself with.

If I do any comparing, it’s with myself. I want to be better than I was yesterday. I want to be less critical and more compassionate, less grudging and more giving, less fretful and more forgiving. I know that I’m a long way from who I used to be and am not nearly what I shall be when Jesus is through with me.

So, live thankfully. Be grateful. Don’t let Thanksgiving be one day out of the year where you eat your weight in turkey, but an attitude that carries you through all 365 days of the year.

 

Keep Praying

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At Kairos tonight, Mike Glenn spoke from Luke 18 on the persistent widow and the unjust judge. I wish I could tell you I took copious notes and remembered every word he said. I didn’t. I saw something shiny, my ADD took over, and it was all over from there.

The main point I take from that passage is this: keep praying.

Even if it seems that you’re mouthing words, keep praying.

Even if it seems like you’re the only one listening to your own prayer, keep praying.

Even if it seems that your praying is doing nobody any good, keep praying.

You’ll never know the power of persistent prayer if you quit in the middle.

I’ve learned a few things over my lifetime. One of those is that God’s timetable is entirely different than mine. He’s looking at a much bigger picture than I am.

So what I see as a deadline that’s come and gone, God sees as a better time and a better me to receive what He’s preparing for me.

Often, I don’t receive what I pray for, not because it’s out of God’s will, but because I’m not ready for it. I think I am. I say I am, but I’m not.

Often, what I pray for isn’t big enough. God has something way bigger than what my small mind can dream of and hope for. I’m praying pint-sized but God is thinking Kingdom-sized.

God is not like that unjust judge. He’s not reluctant to give us what we ask for. In fact, He’s often very willing to give us what we ask for. That means that we have to do the asking.

I’m thankful for the Holy Spirit that prays my own prayers better than I can.

I’m thankful for those around me who pray for me unceasingly and who believe for me when I can’t believe for myself.

Most of all, I’m thankful for the God who gives the perfect gift at the perfect time in the perfect way.

The end.

That Ol’ Imago Dei

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“You weren’t an accident. You weren’t mass produced. You aren’t an assembly-line product. You were deliberately planned, specifically gifted, and lovingly positioned on the earth by the Master Craftsman”  (Max Lucado, The Christmas Candle).

“If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. If He had a wallet, your photo would be in it. He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning… Face it, friend. He is crazy about you!” (Max Lucado)

Today, Aaron Bryant preached from Genesis 1:26-31 about the creation of Adam and Eve. He then proceeded to make a very powerful illustration.

Suppose you buy a Louis Vuitton purse and spend an astronomical amount of money on them. You’re not going to give that bag away to just anybody. You’re not going to sell it to anybody who walks up to you off the street and offers you $50 for it. Why not? Because you value it.

In the same way, you and I have immense value because God created us in His own image. We bear the Imago Dei, the image of God, and that makes us worth more than any designer purse (or really fancy watch if you’re all about being manly). Side note: I had to look up the spelling for Louis Vuitton, in case you want to permanently revoke my man card.

Not only did  God created  you, but Jesus redeemed you, and that makes you much too valuable to live cheaply.

I know some of you read that as: don’t drink a gallon of whiskey a day or snort a bag of cocaine every 5 minutes or sleep with everything that moves west of the Mississippi.

But it’s more than that. To live out of your great worth is to live where Jesus and Jesus alone is the center of your universe, your reason for existence. Because He is. Anything and anyone else is much too small to fill that void.

It means that everything you say and do is an act of gratitude and worship back to the God who made and ransomed you.

It means to make the most of every moment you’re given, not taking for granted that you will have tomorrow to start living right.

So, if you’re ever in the area on a Sunday, check out The Church at Avenue South. And if not, remember Whose you are and how valuable you are because of that.

The end.

 

 

Django and Jimmy and a Busted Thursday Night

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The bad news is that my Thursday night ended up being pretty much of a bust. Nothing worked out quite the way I had hoped it would. The good news is that I was listening to some great music while all my best laid plans went kaput.

First of all, the good. How can you go wrong with Willie Nelson AND Merle Haggard one one album? What you get is 14 tracks of awesomeness and some seriously old-school country music by folks who know what country music should sound like.

http://www.amazon.com/Django-Jimmie-Willie-Nelson-Haggard/dp/B00VXGTJMU/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1443750246&sr=1-1&keywords=django+and+jimmie+willie+nelson+%26+merle+haggard

The bad? I was supposed to lead a Life Group that met at the Starbucks on Franklin Road in Brentwood. I found out that it’s kinda hard to lead when you’re the only one to show up. Still, it wasn’t so bad. I had my pumpkin spice latte, Harper Lee, and Netflix to keep me company. Also, I did my fine dining with a chicken bowl at Chipotle (although I overdid the Tabasco Chipotle sauce just a tad).

The ugly was me showing up at Hudson Hall, thinking I would find a little peace and quiet, forgetting that it was Girls Night Out, which means No Boys Allowed and Me Feeling Like a Doofus and Doing My Best Joey Tribbiani Impression aka Not My Brightest Moment Ever.

Also, all the parking lights were out in the church parking lot, which was a bit creepy. Especially on a coldish, rainy night.

Back to the good news. Even though Thursday, October 1, won’t go down as the greatest day in the history of Greg, it still only lasts 24 hours. I get a new day (which just so happens to be Friday) tomorrow. I get to dogsit for some family friends in Murfreesboro over the weekend.

Life’s better when you count your blessings instead of nursing your wounds. Gratitude makes every situation better, because it helps you to see God in every situation more clearly.

Plus, pumpkin spice anything makes the day better.

 

Words of Wisdom

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hemingway

As you can see, I posted this way back in 2013.

I can’t say that I’ve always lived to the fullest, but I can say those were by and large the best moments that I can remember.

This is the only present you will ever have. There will never again be a moment exactly like the one you’re in now.

Even in those bad moments, there is always something good to be found, something to be thankful for, and something to learn from.

It’s hard to keep from looking back into the past or looking ahead into possible futures, but the best life is lived when you’re fully present in the moment, taking in all of your surroundings, i.e. not with your head buried in a smart phone, tablet, or some other kind of electronic gizmo.

You may miss out on what’s trending on social media or the big announcement your friend just posted about, but the gain is so much more than what you lose. You get to see sunshine, breathe in fresh air, and see the glory of God cascading down all around you. You get to live.

My recommendation (weather permitting) is to have a meal at a restaurant that has outside seating. If you can, go the whole meal without using any smart media. Maybe even journal about who and what you see. Take it all in and try not to miss a thing. And yes, order the dessert.

 

Gratitude Kairos-Style

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“A devout life does bring wealth, but it’s the rich simplicity of being yourself before God. Since we entered the world penniless and will leave it penniless, if we have bread on the table and shoes on our feet, that’s enough” (1 Timothy 6:6-8).

Gratitude makes all the difference. That was one of tonight’s themes from Rachel Cruze, daughter of Dave Ramsey and speaker extraordinaire. Comparison is the thief of joy, according to Theodore Roosevelt, but gratitude makes what you have enough (so said Ann Voskamp in her book, 1000 Gifts).

So here’s what I’m supremely thankful for tonight.

I’m so very grateful for the many people I’ve crossed paths with at Kairos over the nine years I’ve attended and served as a greeter.

You may not know this, but I’m a different person because of you. You will never know how you’ve encouraged, blessed, challenged, rebuked, and lifted me up during all these years.

I see a generation of godly women whose true beauty comes from within. If God chooses to bless me with a wife, I hope she will be half as pretty and tender and sweet and loving and generous and godly as these women.

I see young men who are learning how to be masculine without being macho. I’m encouraged that it’s still possible to be a man of God in this day and age when such a thing is about as politically incorrect as you can get.

I see people every single Tuesday who never fail to make me smile and feel better about myself. I see people who make me want to be more like Jesus.

I serve with some of the greatest people on the planet whom I am privileged to call friends. Yes, I am shamelessly plugging the Kairos Greeting team if you’re looking for a safe place to serve and meet people and show the love of Jesus to people.

I’m grateful most of all that I came to serve and bless and I have found that I’ve been served and been blessed a thousand times more than anything I’ve ever done for anybody. And that’s the Gospel Truth.

 

Being Thankful on a Friday

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“Thankfulness opens the door to my Presence. Thankfulness is built on a substructure of trust. I want you to learn the art of giving thanks in all circumstances. See how many times you can thank Me daily; this will awaken your awareness to a multitude of blessings. It will also cushion the impact of trials when they come against you. Practice My Presence by practicing the discipline of thankfulness” (Sarah Young, Jesus Calling).

I am thankful for Fridays.

I am thankful for friends who invite me over to do stuff with them.

I am thankful for ice cream socials.

I am thankful for bonfires that burn low and sweet and conjure up a million memories.

I am thankful for milder temperatures on late July evenings.

I am thankful that in God’s economy change always leads to something better.

I am thankful for my old red Jeep that still gets me places in style.

I am thankful for my bed which I will shortly be inhabiting.

I am thankful for that 15-year old feline that calls me Dude and continues to let me take care of her.

I am thankful.

 

Give Thanks No Matter What

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“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” (Ephesians 5:16-18).

That’s the mantra for the day: give thanks no matter what.

Good day? Give thanks.

Bad day? Give thanks

Ugly day? Give thanks.

I know I probably sound like a broken record at this point, but I’m learning how to give thanks in any and every situation.

Gratitude is more than just an attitude. It’s a way of living that leads to a new way of seeing. Giving thanks changes how you see who you are and what you have. Suddenly, what you have becomes enough (again, props to Ann Voskamp for that thought).

It’s much easier to give a hearty “Amen” to something like this when you’re in a comfortable pew on Sunday with a fat wallet and a pretty wife and two perfect kids.

It’s not so easy when you’re in the midst of an anxiety attack and feeling like it will never get better. When your wallet is pitifully thin and there’s no ring on your finger and you feel like you’re beating your head against the proverbial wall.

Still, the command is clear: give thanks. This is God’s will for you. Give thanks.

The command is not to give thanks FOR the tragedies and heartaches in your life, but to give thanks IN THE MIDST of these events. Give thanks that God is still able to work out even these things for good. Just ask Joseph.

That’s my message for this Saturday night: give thanks.

See you again tomorrow.

 

Thank You!

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“Thank you! Everything in me says ‘Thank you!’
    Angels listen as I sing my thanks.
I kneel in worship facing your holy temple
    and say it again: ‘Thank you!’
Thank you for your love,
    thank you for your faithfulness;
Most holy is your name,
    most holy is your Word.
The moment I called out, you stepped in;
    you made my life large with strength” (Psalm 138:1-3).

Gratitude is still the word of the day.

It’s easy to be grateful and full of thanksgiving when you get everything you’re after. When your skies are sunny and your wallet is fat and your life is easy and comfortable.

It’s not so easy when you’re looking at an endless procession of grey skies filled with lightening and thunder. When you’re looking at a fat stack of bills you can’t pay and your wallet is looking pitifully thin.

Give thanks anyway.

Not because it’s some kind of magic password that will unlock untold riches and happiness into your life.

Give thanks because God deserves it.

If He never did one more thing for you than to save your soul, that’s more than enough reason to spend the rest of your days in praise and thanksgiving.

And besides, what better gift is there than being alive with God on your side?

One of my favorite authors, Ann Voskamp, says that gratitude changes how you see the world. When you give thanks, you see God more in the details. You see God at work in and around you.

She says that eucharisteo (thanksgiving with joy) releases the miracle.

Again, that doesn’t mean your bank account statement will have a few extra zeros at the end. It doesn’t necessarily mean that a sleek new Ferrari will show up in your driveway.

What it does mean is that you see that life itself is the miracle and the present where God is present is the best place to be.