Gratitude. It's something we hear a lot about in November--in the days leading up to Thanksgiving. But it can be in short supply....like on a long line in a store where you are waiting to pay for something. Or when you are trying to park your car in a crowded lot and someone pulls into a space just ahead of you. Or when your basement floods or your roof leaks. Rather than being grateful for clothes, or the money to pay for them, or for the job that gives you to money to pay for them....or for having two legs and feet to be able to stand and wait for your purchase to be rung up... Or rather than being grateful for your car or for parking lots made to house your cars while you are not using them. And rather than being grateful for a house with a ceiling to keep the rain off of you. Or for home owners insurance ...or for the job which will enable you to pay for repairs....
Do these gripes sound familiar? Because you see, there are millions--maybe billions--of people who don't have clothes or money or a car, or a house with a relatively secure roof. I know this for a fact because I have some internet friends who live in desperate poverty and to them, these things sound like they are from another planet because they are so far from possible.
I think that our lack of gratitude is caused mostly by our sin-stained fallen natures, and also by habit and social conditioning and lack of awareness. We are in the "Me First" mindset because that is what our culture teaches us. It takes some mindfulness and effort to smash through that and to begin to see things that are beyond our own nose. So what I am proposing is not a new thing -- A lady named Ann Voskamp crashed on to the Christian non-fiction book scene with her book, "1000 Gifts" which became an instant hit. (1000 Gifts, Ann Voskamp ) It also had a wide following of "non-religious" folks because that is the beauty about God's gifts....their value can widely impact a culture often without recognition of the One who devised them in the first place. But eventually--after your life is changed--the Author of that change, that healing, calls to the soul and we are compelled to respond. Compelled by his beauty and needing his love.
This was a lady who suffered deep wounds because of an early trauma in her life and it tells about her healing which took part largely through the challenge of a friend to get a notebook and record 1000 gifts or things for which she could be thankful; the unnoticed gifts from a God who loves her and wanted to heal her spirit. It is not a bad thing with which you too, might challenge yourself. Or maybe just spend five minutes a day thanking God for his every day mercies and blessings he pours into our lives that often go un-noted. I think you will begin to find healing in your spirit from the bitterness and selfishness that may have crept into your spirit unnoticed. The subtle shift from "after you." to "after ME."
So, whether you are charting 1000 gifts or whether you are thanking God through out your day as he points out to you blessing after blessing, or whether you are just going to peek in here and be thankful in the third person; I challenge you today to be changed. Let the humble, thankful, joyful pieces of your life speak louder than the selfish, rushing, mindless, rude parts of you. Surrender. And be Changed for the better.
My plan is to start a list here...and every day until Thanksgiving, I will record some of my gratitude provoking items. I invite you to comment and share with us, your items for which you are grateful. And just a word: When something inspires you to gratitude, try to recognize its source. TO be grateful is to acknowledge and be aware of the SOMEONE who gave you that blessing. Gratitude by definition implies that there is a Giver. Otherwise it is just some hot air being released out into the atmosphere and does little good.
Look for the post "November's Gifts" and each day in November I will add to it. Feel free to jump in.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 New Living Translation (NLT)
Do these gripes sound familiar? Because you see, there are millions--maybe billions--of people who don't have clothes or money or a car, or a house with a relatively secure roof. I know this for a fact because I have some internet friends who live in desperate poverty and to them, these things sound like they are from another planet because they are so far from possible.
I think that our lack of gratitude is caused mostly by our sin-stained fallen natures, and also by habit and social conditioning and lack of awareness. We are in the "Me First" mindset because that is what our culture teaches us. It takes some mindfulness and effort to smash through that and to begin to see things that are beyond our own nose. So what I am proposing is not a new thing -- A lady named Ann Voskamp crashed on to the Christian non-fiction book scene with her book, "1000 Gifts" which became an instant hit. (1000 Gifts, Ann Voskamp ) It also had a wide following of "non-religious" folks because that is the beauty about God's gifts....their value can widely impact a culture often without recognition of the One who devised them in the first place. But eventually--after your life is changed--the Author of that change, that healing, calls to the soul and we are compelled to respond. Compelled by his beauty and needing his love.
This was a lady who suffered deep wounds because of an early trauma in her life and it tells about her healing which took part largely through the challenge of a friend to get a notebook and record 1000 gifts or things for which she could be thankful; the unnoticed gifts from a God who loves her and wanted to heal her spirit. It is not a bad thing with which you too, might challenge yourself. Or maybe just spend five minutes a day thanking God for his every day mercies and blessings he pours into our lives that often go un-noted. I think you will begin to find healing in your spirit from the bitterness and selfishness that may have crept into your spirit unnoticed. The subtle shift from "after you." to "after ME."
So, whether you are charting 1000 gifts or whether you are thanking God through out your day as he points out to you blessing after blessing, or whether you are just going to peek in here and be thankful in the third person; I challenge you today to be changed. Let the humble, thankful, joyful pieces of your life speak louder than the selfish, rushing, mindless, rude parts of you. Surrender. And be Changed for the better.
My plan is to start a list here...and every day until Thanksgiving, I will record some of my gratitude provoking items. I invite you to comment and share with us, your items for which you are grateful. And just a word: When something inspires you to gratitude, try to recognize its source. TO be grateful is to acknowledge and be aware of the SOMEONE who gave you that blessing. Gratitude by definition implies that there is a Giver. Otherwise it is just some hot air being released out into the atmosphere and does little good.
Look for the post "November's Gifts" and each day in November I will add to it. Feel free to jump in.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 New Living Translation (NLT)
18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
No comments:
Post a Comment