An Attitude of Gratitude for 2009
by Monica M. Deer
I was given the opportunity some time ago to speak to a group of women about having an attitude of gratitude (hence the title of this article). As I started to prepare, I started by asking myself one basic question…What does it mean to be grateful? Gratitude is defined in Wikipedia as “the substance of a heart ready to show appreciation, or thankfulness.” It is not simply an emotion, which involves a pleasant feeling that we get when we receive a favor or benefit from someone else but it’s the combination of a state of being and an emotion. Although gratitude is something that anyone can experience, some people seem to feel grateful more often than others. People who tend to experience gratitude more frequently also tend to be happier, more helpful and forgiving, and less depressed than people who are less grateful.
Ask yourself what am I thankful for? It’s easy to be thankful when things are going well. No one has a problem being thankful when they are on top of the world, but what is your attitude when things aren’t going very well? Paul writes in Philippians 4:12 – “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. In whatever state you find yourself be ye content.” What does it mean to have Contentment? Contentment is finding “happiness with one’s situation in life” – no matter what the situation! Now I don’t know about you but I don’t always feel like being “happy” about the things that are going on in my life. When I have company coming to visit, have my meal menu planned and all of a sudden my stove goes on the fritz, I don’t really feel like being happy…or when I’ve had a relaxing vacation, we’re driving home and all of a sudden my 2 year old and 3 month old both start throwing up (in the car – 400 miles from home), that’s not really a call for celebration…or when I’m standing in the hospital, looking down at my newborn baby, tubes going every direction, not being able to breath independently, having to lie in an incubator with no physical touch from the outside world – well, that’s not really a joyous occasion in my opinion.
But, being thankful enables us to overcome our problems instead of being overcome by them. It allows us to look at the situation and not be overtaken by fear and hopelessness, but to know that something (or someONE greater is at work). I heard Oprah Winfrey make a statement about being grateful and it stuck with me. She said, “When you dwell on all the reasons you have to be grateful, you open yourself to receiving even more good - and more good comes to you. As you begin to feel abundant, you’ll be willing and able to pass positive things on to others.” Although I don’t agree with what Oprah says most of the time, I think Biblically speaking we call that philosophy reaping what you sow. If we choose to dwell on what bad things are going on, then we only feel and experience the negative aspects of that situation. We cannot experience fear and gratitude at the same time. We cannot feel anger and gratitude in the same moment. And we cannot possibly feel resentment or jealousy when we view the situation from a place of gratitude.
Recently, I asked several of my friends to email me what came to their mind when they thought of Gratitude. My roommate in college, Stephanie, who lost her father to brain cancer told me this about gratitude. “When my dad was diagnosed with cancer, we all asked why us, why do we have to go through this horrible time? But my dad said to all of us, why not us, what makes us better than any one else. God knows us intimately and would not allow us to face this unless we could do it and we are going to go through it together. That was so comforting even after he died. We still go through it together as a family because why not us.”
Many times the “why me” attitude blocks our attitude of gratitude. When we face a situation that is hard to deal with or that we don’t understand, instead of looking at it from a place of contentment we often face those situations with despair. Now I’m not saying we have to be “happy” in every situation. We don’t even have to like them…but the scripture tells us to be CONTENT. Being content means knowing who is in control and who knows what is best for us – even when we don’t. It’s having an attitude of gratitude for the blessings that God gives us even when we can’t see those blessings for mess that is in front of us.
I received an email several years ago and I never forgot the implications of this simple prayer of thanksgiving. Maybe you can look at it and see that it’s in our attitude of being grateful for what we have that helps us find that place of contentment and thankfulness – no matter what the situation:
Thankful Prayer
Lord, thank you for this sink of dirty dishes; we have plenty of food to eat.
Thank you for this pile of dirty, stinky laundry; we have plenty of nice clothes to wear.
And I would like to thank you, Lord, for those unmade beds; they were so warm and comfortable last night. I know that many have no bed.
My thanks to you, Lord, for this bathroom, complete with all the splattered mirrors, soggy, grimy towels and dirty lavatory; they are so convenient.
Thank you for this finger-smudged refrigerator that needs defrosting so badly; it has served us faithfully for many years. It is full of cold drinks and enough leftovers for two or three meals.
Thank you, Lord, for this oven that absolutely must be cleaned today. It has baked so many things over the years.
The whole family is grateful for that tall grass that needs mowing, the lawn that needs raking; we all enjoy the yard.
Thank you, Lord, even for that slamming screen door. My kids are healthy and able to run and play.
Lord, the presence of all these chores awaiting me says You have richly blessed my family. I shall do them cheerfully and I shall do them gratefully.
Amen
The Beauty of Holiness
by Linda Lail
Watch the little girls with their bouncing curls, bright smiles and twinkling eyes. See how they imitate their mothers and other women as they dance through the dress rehearsal on their way to becoming beautiful young women. “Beauty is only skin deep” my mother used to say when she thought her daughters were becoming too much concerned about outward appearance. “It’s what is inside that counts”.
It is what is inside that counts. The mothers of my generation understood something that we seem to have lost in the present generational culture. There is a beauty that does not get its glow from a bottle or a nip and tuck. It is the beauty of holiness. The beauty that only a dynamic relationship with the Holy God, our Father, can produce. The glow that comes from time spent in His presence in worship and praise, from time spent in His word.
Remember Moses as he came down from Mt. Sinai after spending time talking with Yahwah? His countenance was so bright that he had to wear a veil to protect the Israelites from the “glow”. The glow was not a result of Moses beauty but rather a reflection of the beauty of the One in whose presence he had spent time. True beauty does not come easy. There is a price to pay to get the “glow” that is everlasting. In John 16:24 Jesus says “if anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me”. It is the cross that transforms us into a woman of beauty. As we daily give up our desires, nail them to the cross, we take on more and more of the beauty of Jesus. As a little girl in Sunday School we used to sing “let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me, all His wonderful passion and purity. O, Thou Spirit divine, all my nature refine, til the beauty of Jesus be seen in me.”
Father, create within us, Your daughters, a deep, burning desire to seek after the beauty of Holiness, the only beauty that is everlasting.
Even so, come Lord Jesus, come.
Promises
by Maria Simone
The Christmas season can be so busy, and it’s easy to lose sight of the true meaning of Christmas. On Christmas eve morning, I was feeling particularly overwhelmed by all the shopping and cleaning that I still had left to do, so I opened my bible to Luke Chapter 2 and asked the Lord to give me a new perspective. Verse 8 speaks of the angel of the Lord coming to the shepherds, to announce the birth of Jesus. Verses 9-11 go on to say, “An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” I put myself in the place of the shepherds, and thought about what it must have been like to be there in the fields at that moment. Their entire lives they had been waiting for the promised Messiah, holding on to the words spoken by the prophet Isaiah, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (verse 6). Their entire lives…waiting for Jesus…and right there in front of them was the angel, announcing His birth…God had kept His promise to send a Savior to deliver us from our sins. Isaiah 55:11 says that God’s word will not return void, but WILL accomplish what He has sent it forth to do. God ALWAYS keeps His promises.
So we see from this example that God fulfills His promises from His word, but what about those specific promises that He speaks to the hearts of His children? Consider Simeon for a moment, from Luke 2:25. Like the shepherds, he too had been waiting for the Messiah to come. We see in verse 26 that “It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.” God had made a very specific promise to Simeon. Can you imagine Simeon’s joy when he walked into the temple courts and saw the Jesus child? Verses 28-32 tell us, “Simeon took him (Jesus) in his arms and praised God, saying: “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” A very specific promise from the Lord to Simeon, fulfilled. God ALWAYS keeps His promises.
Do you have a promise from the Lord that you’ve been holding on to? I do - six years ago God made a very specific promise to me regarding my husband’s salvation. I can hear His words in my heart and see the image in my mind, as if it was yesterday. Do I sometimes get weary waiting for God to fulfill this promise? Sure I do, but then I think about the shepherds and Simeon, and how they trusted God to keep His word, and He did not disappoint them. In fact, He fulfilled His promise above and beyond their wildest dreams. So my friend, I encourage you today to take heart, and hold on to the promises of God…He ALWAYS keeps His promises.
Tis the Season
by Susan Lucas
It’s that time of year again. People are already rushing around, toys are out of stock and the pace of our lives gets more hectic. Seems like we either love the hustle and bustle or would rather do without all the fuss. Since my mom passed away on a Christmas morning and my sister in January, I am always filled with memories and longing. I would gladly give everything I own just to spend an hour with them. The frantic pace only accentuates the sadness.I always have to get my focus off the toys and tinsel and onto the Hope of Christmas.
I love to be still and quiet during this season.The candlelight service at our church is therapeutic for me. To stop and be still takes me back to the arms of Jesus. To be wrapped up in His love reminds me of what Christmas should be. I am reminded that I am not alone and that He is still with me.
I always try to focus on others during the year but especially at Christmas. I try to involve my children too. I want them to share God’s hope and love with the people who need it the most whether it be an elderly person at a nursing home, a family with no money to spend or even a homeless pet. All my children enjoy helping others. For a mom,that is a precious gift! This gift can’t be bought or wrapped.
I rarely remember what I got for Christmas, I do remember sleeping with my sister each Christmas Eve and my brother’s exquisitively wrapped presents. I remember the pitiful Christmas trees that we found in the woods and Mama allowing me to decorate the tree “all my myself”. They are gifts that never tarnish. For these memories I am thankful, gifts of gold and hope from God.
The Most Holy Place
by Linda Lail
In the Old Testament the High Priest went into the Holy of Holies or The Most Holy Place once a year to offer sacrifice to Jehovah for the sins of the Israelites. He had to dress in garments prescribed specifically by Jehovah which included bells on the hem of the outer garment. A rope was tied to his leg so that if he was overcome by the holiness of the presence of the Most High God, the bells would jingle as he fell to the ground, and the people would pull him out of the Holy of Holies.
Where is The Most Holy Place today? In John 14 Jesus talked to his disciples about his need to go away so that the Holy Spirit could come into the world. In chapter 14:16-17 Jesus said “the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be IN (my emphasis) you. In 14:23 Jesus told his disciples “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him and WE (my emphasis) will come to him and make OUR (my emphasis) home with him. The Most Holy Place is within us. God, the Eternal Holy, the From Everlasting to Everlasting, the I AM THAT I AM lives within each of us, His chosen bride.
Think about what that means in your daily life. Where do you go? Who do you spend time with? What kind of language do you use? What do you watch on television? What kind of movies do you go see? What do you look at on the internet? What do you wear as you go out into the world? You cannot do anything as His bride without the Bridegroom being there with you. HE IS WHEREVER YOU ARE! That thought should make us take stock of all that we do as the people that are called by His name. It should also cause us to rejoice that our precious Savior, our coming Bridegroom is already here, within us, loving us, bringing the glory of heaven to bear on our very lives in this moment.
As I watch television news programs today and see the hatred that is so blatantly revealed toward God and His people, and the boldness of sinful behaviors, I know that He is coming soon for His bride. It is of ETERNAL importance that we be washed in the blood and made white as snow, without spot or blemish, for it is THAT bride for whom He is coming.
Even so, come Lord Jesus, come.
The Potential of a Day
by Maria Simone
More often than I would like to admit, I find myself waking up and dreading the day ahead of me. I find myself thinking of everything I have to do, and wind up feeling behind before my feet ever hit the floor. One particular morning, the Lord reminded me of Psalm 118:24, “This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it”. He reminded me that every day is a gift from Him, and not only am I to be thankful for it and rejoice, but that each day has the potential to be great. Dictionary.com defines the word potential as “Capable of being but not yet in existence; having possibility, capability, or power”. Think about the first part of this definition for a minute - “capable of being”. Each day is a clean slate…a blank canvas…and only you hold the instrument to write on it. In fact, not only is your day a clean slate, but each minute is a blank line on the page of your day.
Look at the second part of the definition again - “having possibility, capability or power”. When I go through my day with dread and annoyance, I am, first of all, wasting this great gift that God has given me, and second, I am failing to see the great power God has given me to paint the canvas of my day for His glory. Deuteronomy 30:19 says “This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live”. We have within us this great potential, this power, to make not only our day great, but to have a positive impact on those around us as well.
Looking at each day this way fills me with hope for what it can become. Be encouraged, my friends, that you have the God-given power to paint your masterpiece any way you want to. Your small, minute-by-minute choices, can paint beautiful strokes on your canvas, and leave a lasting impact on your family, friends, and even strangers.
Spare Change
by Nora Neal-Dagett
Unexpected expenses! A problem with my roof, the must take trip to N.C. because my dad was having surgery for a fractured neck; combined with the ever increasing cost of EVERYTHING had me wondering how I would pay for gas and off street parking that was required to perform my job next week. “LAWD HAVE MERCY!”
I sat at the computer and pulled up my banking account. Um… nothing to spare there! I already knew how much I had in my wallet… not much. And I had cleaned out all of my purses a few weeks ago looking for spare change. What to do?
Immediately, Satan began his tirade, see you can’t make it on your own. When you and Ruben bought this house you were blessed with two salaries. You called this house “Our blessing.” Well, it’s no blessing now! It’s no use, give up!
Quickly I retorted, “Satan you are a liar and there is no truth within you. I am a child of The Most High God and He will never leave me or forsake me! God’s word says, “I have never seen the righteous forsaken or seed begging bread”. God has always taken care of me and he will continue taking care of me. Step off right now, Satan! Take all your menacing demons back to hell with you, IN THE NAME OF JESUS!”
I took a cleansing breath to blow the last doubt from my mind and with the next inhalation I remembered a rather large jar of change Ruben always kept beside our bed. I ran to our bedroom and pulled the jar of spare change from the closet where I had put it in the spring. I opened the jar and the scent of his cologne wafted from the jar!
WOW! A flood of emotion and memories resulting in tears washed over me. It was as if he was still taking care of me! I smiled as I remembered always hearing the change jingle in my husband’s pockets as he walked or ran from one place to another. Then, at night he would open the jar and throw in the loose change. The money smelled like his cologne because he kept a sample of his scent in his pocket.
“I will never leave you our forsake you”. God said it. I believe it. Here’s the living proof right here, right now, in this jar of spare change!
Prayer: God, I praise you because you are worthy to be praised! You promised that you would always take care of me. Your promises are true and that even when money is low you provide spare change. I have everything I need because I have you!
Scripture: For with God nothing is impossible. Luke 1:37; Trust in Him at all times; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for me. Psalm 62:8 (emphasis mine.)
The Stain
by Tina Bruno
I love my morning coffee, I so look forward to that first cup. But with my work schedule, I sometimes have it when I am half asleep. That apparently is what happened to me this morning…
I arrived at work first thing this morning, a little before 6 a.m. I had on a beautiful white shirt and after several hours of greeting ladies that came to work out at my Curves, I stepped into the ladies room. Looking in the full length mirror, I was horrified to see a coffee stain on the side of my shirt. It was huge!! And worst of all, it was DRY. That meant that it had happened perhaps first thing that morning, and I never even noticed!!
How does that happen? How do we, as Christians, go through life staining our souls, and not even notice? How about an evil reaction when we get cut off in traffic? How about a “little” gossip about our neighbor? How about a second thought about the cute FedEx guy?
David wrote about this in Psalms, especially Psalms 51:5 “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” (NIV) We are covered by the Blood, and washed clean. But just as in John 13:10, Jesus tried to wash Peter’s feet, and he did not want to allow it. Jesus pointed out that he was clean (washed by the blood) but his feet were dirty (from walking through this world). Thus we need to be aware of the dirt or stains that we “pick up” in this world, and let our Savior cleanse our feet regularly.
As for me, I will be more careful with my coffee…and my heart.
Holiness or Hollywood
by Linda Lail
Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego were young men, approximately 17 years of age, when they were thrown into a culture much like ours today. To say that Babylon was an unholy culture would be an understatement. To say that America is quickly becoming an unholy culture would also be an understatement.
Some of you may be asking, “Why is she always talking about holiness?” The more important question may be “why aren’t we talking MORE about holiness?” My heart has been heavy for several years as I have observed the world seeping into the body of Christ. Our attitude that we can come into God’s holy presence any way WE choose and He will accept whatever WE choose to bring into His presence is a prelude to spiritual death. God has always demanded holiness from His people, and the holiness He demands is based on who He is—a God of pure, white holiness. A God so wholly Other than who we are that we can come into His presence solely bathed in His pure light. Do we understand what this means in this “Babylonian American culture”?
Hollywood has become the “god” of America. By that I mean that as a people we have come to judge ourselves by Hollywood’s standards. The latest styles, the lax morals, the relative thinking, the tolerance of everything and every idea that is put forth by some guru, and the most unthinkable of all, the acceptance within some parts of the church, the Bride of Christ Himself, that God’s word is not the ONLY truth. Today we live in a time when the church is under great attack by the ruler of darkness and he comes just as he did in the Garden of Eden whispering “did God say?”
This morning I caught a report on CBS’s The Morning Show about the “coming out” of a former American Idol winner. It showed a picture of him on the cover of a tabloid holding his baby son with the caption “Yes I am gay”. The Hollywood reporter doing the piece about celebrities stated “Hollywood is changing. Society is changing. This generation doesn’t care about what you choose to do”. My spirit cried out within me “GOD cares about what we choose to do”. He sets before all of us everyday the choice —life or death—and we make that choice everyday.
What a marvelous opportunity we have as women to “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (Eph. 5:15-17). Do we have the courage and the faith of a Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego to stand and say “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up” (Dan.3: 16-18).
Most Holy God, lover of our souls, grant us the courage to walk in the white brightness of your holiness in this dark world.
Even so, come Lord Jesus, come
The Next Step
by Nora Neal-Daggott
I remember reading a book on grief that asked, what is the hardest part for you? I remember thinking…his not being here, in the moment, with me. Sharing life with me. Not being able to feel his hand in mine, or his hand on my neck. The loss of his touch; that was the hardest for me! (And it still is.)
So, now I pose that question to others who are grieving. It opens the door and allows conversation to flow and sometimes tears too. I have held other women in my arms, just embarking on their journey from mourning to joy. I know and feel their pain.
Recently a woman from my church buried her mom one Saturday and the very next week her husband died. They had only been married one year! I could not even begin to wrap my arms around her loss. How devastated she must feel. Waves of compassion flooded my mind for her. I prayed for her every time I thought of her, which seemed every moment for the first few days.
Since my husband’s death, I had carved out a very comfortable spot for myself. Funerals were tough for me. So I gave myself permission not to attend them. I would breeze into the visitation, sign the visitor’s register, express my condolences, kiss and hug the family, and quietly leave. This worked well for a long time…until this time.
I was sitting out in the back yard the morning of my friend’s husband’s visitation and funeral. Content with my plan, dress, go, sign, kiss, hug and leave. I was praying and praising God for the beauty of the day. I noticed how the soft breeze moved the taller blades of grass and how the early dew glistened in the suns light. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Content and peace were my breath sounds. Then, ever so quietly, I heard… “you need to go to this funeral. WHAT?” I said out loud!
I have walked with God long enough to know His voice. So I listened. This is your next step He said… your next step.
I was obedient. I dressed and participated in a joyous celebration of a man who truly loved the Lord and was never ashamed to literally “sing” God’s praises whenever and wherever he could. There were moments that were really tough. But I knew that God wanted me to experience the moment and to embrace His taking me the next step.
Prayer: Lord, God you always know the next step. It is only my responsibility to be obedient and take the next step. Thank you Lord for your steadfast attention to me, for your guidance and your love toward me. I am stronger because I took the next step.
In Jesus name,
Amen
Scripture: Be strong and brave. Yes, be bold and strong! Banish fear and doubt! For remember, the Lord God is with you wherever you go. (Adapted from Joshua 1: 6-9.)
Good People
by Susan Lucas
I recently attended a Jack Johnson concert. It seemed like everyone in Raleigh was there. People were clamoring for seats and no one sat down the whole concert. I have to admit, he was really excellent. While there, I began to wonder why he is such a popular artist. His music is simple. As my son said, he’s basically a two note guy. So what’s the appeal? Then I began to really listen to his lyrics…
Wherd all the good people go
I’ve been changing channels
I dont see them on the tv shows
Wherd all the good people go
We got heaps and heaps of what we sow
They got this and that and
with a rattle a tat
testing one two
now whatcha gunna do?
got too much to lose
gimme some truth
now whos side are we on?
Whatever you say
turn on the boob tube
Im in the mood to obey
so lead me astray by the way, now
I found his words painfully truthful. I long for the days of a sincere handshake, a promise that you can count on and unselfish motives. We are inindated with images of reality shows where people are either selling themselves or hurting others to get ahead. There are no “good people”. As Christians, we seem to mostly accept it all and become part of that culture. That makes me sad. We watch those shows. We are reaping what we sow. We are in the mood to obey. LET’S NOT BE LED ASTRAY.
The Eternal Holy Revisited
by Linda Lail
Isaiah Chapter Six
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
The whole earth is full of His glory!”
And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. So I said:
“Woe is me, for I am undone!
Because I am a man of unclean lips,
And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips;
For my eyes have seen the King,
The Lord of hosts.”
THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE HOLY
A.W. Tozer
Chapter 21
The Holiness of God
“Until we have seen ourselves as God sees us, we are not likely to be much disturbed over conditions around us as long as they do not get so far out of hand as to threaten our comfortable way of life. We have learned to live with unholiness and have come to look upon it as the natural and expected thing. We are not disappointed that we do not find all truth in our teachers or faithfulness in our politicians or complete honesty in our merchants or full trustworthiness in our friends. That we may continue to exist we make such laws as are necessary to protect us from our fellow men and let it go at that.
“Holy is the way God is. To be holy He does not conform to a standard. He is that standard. He is absolutely holy with an infinite, incomprehensible fullness of purity that is incapable of being other than it is. Because He is holy, His attributes are holy; that is, whatever we think of as belonging to God must be thought of as holy.”
“We must hide our unholiness in the wounds of Christ as Moses hid himself in the cleft of the rock while the glory of God passed by. We must take refuge from God in God. Above all we must believe that God sees us perfect in His Son while He disciplines and chastens and purges us that we may be partakers of His holiness.”
Lord, God Most High, we are Your Bride. Give us a new vision of Your holiness and help us surrender to the cleansing power of Your blood that we may be a shining holiness in a world dark with unholiness. As Your Bride waiting for Your return we pray:
Even so, come Lord Jesus, come.