Tag Archive | thanksgiving

We Have Much

A hole the size of a car’s front bumper (and then some) is now an eye sore on the side of our house. The police report states that there were “no significant injuries” and our insurance adjuster assures us, “We’ll take care of everything. All of this will be like new.”

We can’t help but thank God for his protection and for the help we’ve already been given in cleaning up and sorting through the aftermath of a concrete block explosion.

I was working at my computer, caffeinated, and feeling great about all I was accomplishing when a lady left her nine-to-five day job and hi-tailed it to our house. Trouble is, she wasn’t invited, and she didn’t drive to the corner and turn into our driveway, or ring our doorbell. She drove on the wrong side of the road for a while, nearly went into a creek, then overcorrected (or perhaps went unconscious), jumped the curb two lawns down from ours, plowed down a solidly posted mailbox, and made straight and clear snow tracks between two of our neighbor’s trees before the crash. All that, with no evidence she saw danger or attempted to avoid what one can only assume was an accident.

The noise was deafening. Chunks of concrete block, and other debris, flew all around me. Some as far as thirty feet across our basement. I felt something scrape the side of my head as it flew by, and a blow to my upper arm, but my computer screen was still lit. My new, hi-back office chair had shielded me from the biggest pieces of flying concrete. I didn’t click to save my work or shut down anything. I turned to see where the rocks had come from, and screamed, “Roger!”

He thought lightening had struck, but I thought gas explosion. The electrical box, previously attached to the wall, was now dangling. I should have known how to shut the gas off, but I yelled for Roger to do it. Turning off the gas seemed the immediate thing to do.

“The gas shutoff is outside.” He looked at the hole in our wall and pointed toward the stairs for me to go. But I wasn’t going without him. He says that he didn’t smell gas, which is why he stepped deeper into the cloud of dust for a better look instead of following my command. But other than a gas explosion, what could have caused this?

“There’s a car out there!”

Now, the immediate thing to do was to run outside and tend to the driver. I grabbed my phone, not thinking that it might not function, ran up the stairs, and raced out the front door. One of the two drivers who had witnessed everything outside our house called 911, and the other was assisting the lady driver. She was walking on her own, steady and coherent. Whew!

Thank God for airbags.

Police and firemen arrived. “Ma’am. Were you hurt? Is there anyone in the house?”

Roger? Where is Roger? Is he still in the house? And then I saw him…with flashlight in hand, checking out the car and the property damage.

So, I’ve been thankful for my husband for about sixteen years now, but never more thankful than today. He tells me that he’s never been more thankful for me. We have yet to know the extent of structural damage to our house, but our home is intact and as beautiful as ever.

Thank God for homes.

Thanksgiving Day 2018, and the parade in New York City is happening as I write this, and I still need to make a pecan pie. We have much – for which we are thankful.

Give Thanks?

Nov24

by Kathy Stanford

Do you ever feel like you just aren’t ready to “give thanks”? Have you approached the official day with a feeling of dread and wished you could just put it off for a month/forever? I have. But that is when I need to give thanks the most. You may already be familiar with the concepts of sacrificial praise and thanksgiving. However, did you know that the old testament sacrifice of thanksgiving was a part of the peace offering? (see Leviticus 7:11-13) OH! Of course! There is not going to be any peace for a heart that is unable to give thanks to our loving, gracious, all mighty, creator God – “from whom all blessings flow”.

This has been a month of mess ups for me. I really, really, really need a 30 day do over. No details-just trust me in this. And while we don’t offer sacrifices of animals today, it can be a real sacrifice of spirit to offer thanks in some circumstances, even though 1 Thessalonians 5:18 clearly tells us to give thanks in all circumstances. Sometimes, I would really like to erase that little word all. However, in my own experience I have found that when I determine to give thanks in all circumstances, I stay more focused on Him. And my focus on Him leads me to thoughts of praise and worship. Psalm 50:23 says “He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me”. When we choose to give thanks we can’t not honor Him. The more I focus on Him, the less I think about the “bad Stuff”. Thinking less about the “bad stuff” leads to – you guessed it- peace. No, my life is not miraculously fixed. But perhaps I have a better perspective on it. And I am truly thankful for a God that I know is bigger than my mistakes.

So, no matter your circumstances, I sincerely wish you a very “thanks filled” Thanksgiving Day and pray the next few weeks will be a season of thanks and celebration for all that God has done and continues to do.

Judy’s World

Nov9

Today we welcome a guest post from our friend Judy Mandrell. We think you will enjoy her descriptive visit to the world of her childhood. In this season of Thanksgiving it reminds us to be truly thankful for the everyday gifts God sends our way.

By Judy Mandrell
Since I was a little girl, growing up on ten acres in the Midwest countryside, I have been fascinated by God’s Creation. I loved watching the butterflies flutter around Mom’s irises in the Spring. So many beautiful colors.
If the weather was good I was outside. The Summers were the best. I would sit under a tree, on a blanket, and play with my toys while making a fuzzy caterpillar crawl over my hand several times to get to the other side of the blanket. There were birds calling to each other in the trees and bees buzzing around. Dad had a couple hives. He loved his honey.
In a discussion with my grandson awhile back I mentioned we didn’t have air conditioning, when I was little. He asked me how I got cool and I told him I sat in the shade and fanned myself with a homemade fan. His exact words were, “that’s cruel and unusual punishment.” He’s eleven going on thirty.
There was nothing cruel about my time in the shade. God sent a lot to keep me interested. From many different types of birds to the ants crawling in and out of cracks in our old sidewalk and over the peony bush, chewing the green outside off the buds to let the flowers open up. My favorite was the wild bluebells that lined the fence between the side yard and the pasture. A beautiful shade of blue.
Every Spring there were wild violets under the trees at school. All the mothers got bouquets of purple violets and yellow dandelions wrapped in wet paper towels. I’m glad my Mom was always happy to get hers, it taught me how rewarding it was to give.
There was a bunch of kittens every Spring to play with. I enjoyed watching them get milk from their Momma and the way she washed each and everyone of them, setting in motion my instinct to be a good mother to my children.
There was always a large garden. I can’t say I was too fond of hoeing and pulling weeds but it was interesting watching plants grow and produce, such as Mom’s strawberries turning from white to a bright red.
I remember chasing lighting bugs on a Summer night and being amazed at how their tails lit up, always wondering how and why God created them that way.
In the Fall when the leaves turned, there were so many colors; colors in a rainbow, sunsets, birds in the air, beautiful colors every where. I believe God loves pretty colors.
My pony’s coat always got thick and soft in the Fall. Ever feel a horse’s muscle? It’s as soft as velvet.
I’m so grateful to God for letting me be born before cell phones, I-pods, and electronic games. I wonder how many children today notice half the things I’ve mentioned?
I miss seeing the minnows in the creek that ran through our property and the pristine, white snowfall in Winter before all the pollution. But I have my memories of that time and I have never lost the wonder and amazement of God’s Creation.

So take some time to thank God for some of the small daily blessings that we so often take for granted. I am thanking Him today for you, dear reader.

For Chocolate and Much More

Nov5

I’ve a lot to give thanks for, but I’d rather grumble. Ever feel that way?

It’s been one of those weeks.

I’ve been:

ignored
overworked
forced to do what others ought to do
laughed at
and lied to.

I’ve:

listened to excuses
repeated simple answers
felt guilty for spending five extra minutes in the bathroom
overindulged in chocolate
and tomorrow doesn’t look to be much better.

All that in four days, and I’m not even raising teenagers!

All that in four days, and I still have reason to give thanks.

If you read my last two posts (and I hope you have) you know I’ve been thinking about thankfulness. It’s been on my mind again this week, and marrying my thankfulness to obedience has proven to be a challenge. A verse of scripture came to mind, just when I was about to divorce the two. In John 14:15 Jesus reminded me that if I love Him, I’ll keep His commandments. It’s not a stretch to say that if I am thankful for Him and to Him, I’ll be obedient to what he asks of me. Is it?

If Jesus’ words weren’t enough, my own words from last week scolded: “He made obedience to His commandments simple to understand. First: Love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and secondly, love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:38-40). We have no excuse. No loopholes. Our obedience and thankfulness are inseparably married. We’re getting it wrong if we obey, yet grumble. We are liars when we offer thanksgiving, yet live comfortably in disobedience.”

So, here I am before you and the God of all creation asking forgiveness for my disobedience, and hoping you will love me the way Jesus said to love your “neighbor.”

Heavenly Father,

Some days it’s not easy to be me. Remind me tonight as I fall asleep how I am fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). Remind me again in the morning when I wake. I have been given the ability to be patient. You help me to listen and understand. You gave me the privilege that comes with my vocation and a voice to speak truth in kindness. Be with me. I am not persecuted. I am barely uncomfortable. Forgive my grumbling attitude. Thank you for payday – the one next Friday, and the forever one. Have I thanked you lately for chocolate? Thanks again for chocolate, and so much more.

Amen.

Try a Little Thankfulness

Oct22

When my children were little I wanted to encourage thankfulness so, like most other parents, I instructed them to say “Thank You” whenever they received anything from a piece of candy, to a compliment, to a pricey toy. They generally complied with my request, but sometimes they complied with more or less enthusiasm, and the degree of their heart felt thankfulness was revealed by their reaction to the gift.

Sometimes their response made me confident of their thankfulness and their appreciation for the sacrifice it took for the giver of the gift (usually me) to give the time, attention, and cash required to offer the gift. But the true degree of their thankfulness might become evident days, or maybe an hour later, when the gift was treated with disrespect or perhaps found abandoned and vulnerable to destruction.

It’s been a long time since my children Trick or Treated, but on October 31st I’ll be reminded of what it is to have a child express genuine thanks, and what it feels like to give to children with an attitude of ingratitude or entitlement.

I try not to judge small children because they are too shy to speak up and say, “Thank you” when you hand over that treat. And news bulletin: Not all children enjoy going door to door asking for candy. For the most part, I’ll see happy children and grateful children, but every year a child or two will respond to my generosity with a grumble of discontentment. It never fails.

The word “entitlement” is more than a buzzword. It’s an epidemic. It’s an epidemic that is infecting my attitude toward giving. Am I the only one who appreciates a bit of appreciation when I give? Am I the only one who sometimes feels used for what I have to give? We hear about the “entitled generation”, but I don’t think the attitude of entitlement is anything new. Even if it were, who raised up this entitled generation?

I want to be a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7). Over the past year, I’ve experienced how my cheerfulness in giving has little to do with the response of the perceived receiver. Remember how Jesus contrasted those who feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, take in strangers, clothe the naked, visit the sick, and see to the needs of prisoners, with those who do none of those things (Matthew 25:34-46) ?

Jesus taught that to love and share with our neighbors is to love and share with Him. We can say “Thank You” in prayers and songs of praise. We can say “Thank You” to those who give to us, and reciprocate with sincerity, but our thanksgiving to God for what He has done for us is best expressed by obedience – the kind of obedience commanded in what Jesus called the second greatest commandment.

He made obedience to His commandments simple to understand. First: Love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and secondly, love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:38-40). We have no excuse. No loopholes. Our obedience and thankfulness are inseparably married. We’re getting it wrong if we obey, yet grumble. We are liars when we offer thanksgiving, yet live comfortably in disobedience.

I could say, “No one is perfect.” That would be true, but it would also sound like an excuse or like I’m creating an exception. I can’t speak for everyone, but I tire with listening to excuses, and suppose there are those who tire when hearing mine.

Jonah and Daniel are two Old Testament prophets whose commitment to thankfulness was revealed by their response to what God asked. Their stories are good for more than a child’s bedtime. Jonah’s story (Jonah 1-4) is told in four short chapters, and the book of Daniel (Daniel 1-12) is twelve short chapters of good reading.

Jonah obeyed God, only after being in a fish’s belly for three days, then was angry when his reluctant obedience didn’t have the results he wanted. Could Jonah have been feeling a bit “entitled?”

Daniel was consistently obedient, even when God allowed evil people to enslave, threaten, and abuse him. Jonah and Daniel both helped a lot of people find God, but I’d rather live like Daniel lived, and when the final chapter of my life is written, I’d rather not be caught complaining and unthankful.

I mentioned that over the past year, I’ve experienced how my cheerfulness in giving has little to do with the response of the perceived receiver. It has everything to do with obedience – fearless, no excuses obedience. Come back to Wet Feet next Friday. I’ll be celebrating an anniversary of sorts, and it’s always better to celebrate with friends.

Read the stories of Jonah (Jonah 1-4) and Daniel (Daniel 1-12).
No questions or food for thought this week. The books Daniel and Jonah have plenty for you to think about.

Lord, Thank you for the great stories of the Bible. Thank you for this past year’s journey, and proving your promises can be trusted. Help me to try a little more thankfulness over the next few months. Amen