Living Life In Gratitude

All week Thanksgiving has been prominent in my mind and heart.

“Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim His greatness. Let the whole world know what He has done.” Psalm 105:1 NLT
 

       1.  Give thanks to the Lord. 

Faith. Family. Friends. The whole week has been living life in gratitude. My faith is fortifying. My family is Christ-bound in love. My friends are my anchor . . . God’s support group for me. I’m so thankful my husband and I will be going to Colorado to spend Thanksgiving with my oldest daughter and her family. I’m so thankful that our oldest granddaughter wants to take us to see her college of choice, CSU.  I will miss my other two daughters and their families, but so thankful they have wonderful Thanksgiving plans in place.

    2. Proclaim God’s greatness.

“Through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere.” (2 Corinthians 2:14 ESV) I love this verse. I try hard to remember to smile and speak Christ’s name to everyone I meet. “God bless you.” “God loves you!” “God is greater than anything you are going through.” These are great and small things we can always do! People need to hear the good news . . . the Truth that does not alter. Proclaim the richness of knowing Christ.

      3.  Let the whole world know what He has done.

As a writer, I get to share Jesus and His mighty works constantly. I have a card ministry where I share God’s love, grace, and mercy. God nudges me to call people, and I’m always amazed when they say, “I needed this call!” Or sending quick texts to do a Jesus-shout-out to friends, family, and acquaintances. I’ve even done this on Facebook with “friends” I barely know that are relatives of relatives, friends of friends. When their post-feeds come through mine and they are asking for prayer, I take it seriously. It’s a small thing to do for Jesus when he does so much for me.

Those are the big things I’m grateful for. But this week gave me a new sense of gratitude. Dash-moments of thanksgiving in the middle of real-everyday-life situations.

1     While sitting at BSF (Bible Study Fellowship), I had a woman come up and hug me. She was a total stranger amid hundreds of women, and she chose me to hug. She said, “God asked me to tell you how much you mean to Him.” I desperately needed that message. Before BSF I had been at the chiropractor’s office with back pain. Seeing my distress, the doctor adjusted my back, taped it up, and handed me pain meds. I left in tears, knowing I had to get on an airplane in two days and wondered how in the world I was going to accomplish it. God sent that sweet woman at BSF to give me God’s hug and let me know He had it all worked out. Praise God!

“In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18 KJV

2.     In the middle of listening to Matthew West’s song “Mended,” I received a call from a friend. Her daughter’s husband asked for a divorce. My heart broke with my friend’s. The words from West’s song rang in my heart. “When you see broken beyond repair, I see healing beyond belief. When you see too far gone, I see one step away from home.” A dash moment of thanksgiving, offering a hurting heart a healing message.

“My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9 NLT

3.     Seeing the perfect gift for my sister-in-law and buying it, knowing it will cause her heart to rejoice, just as mine was doing holding it. She’s been going through some disruptive moments. Praying over the gift and asking God to use it as a token of His love and a reminder that He is always with her, providing the support she needs.

“Having a grateful heart keeps our minds focused on the Lord.”

Dash-moments of thanksgiving, those spur of the moment happenings, occur every day. As I’m growing in my faith, God’s growing my ministry to touch others for Him. It’s nice being a vessel for my Savior. Thanksgiving can be expressed in a variety of ways. And the spirit of thanksgiving is a result of remembering all that God has done for us. Heartfelt daily thanksgiving has a powerful impact on us and everyone we come in contact with.

Faith leads to hope. Hope leads to joy and peace. Joy and peace lead to gratitude. 

“Gratitude to God not only honors Him, but it is good for us.” Psalm 92:1

“Gratitude honors God.” Psalm 50:23

A life of gratitude starts today. Begin a thanksgiving list and start writing down the things you are thankful for. Look back over it periodically to add more things God has revealed to you. Over time your thanksgiving list will be a remembrance memorial of all the things God has shared with you or shown you. 

J. Ellsworth Kalas states, “My place on Gratitude Street depends on constant awareness. So each morning . . . I list the three or four matters from the previous day for which I am grateful.”

Kalas lived on Gratitude Street. Can you believe that? But we can also live on gratitude street as we live a life filled with thanksgiving.

“May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father.” Colossians 1:1-12 NLT

Have a beautiful Thanksgiving. Let gratitude pour out of you as you proclaim God’s goodness,

Angela

Thanksgiving Blessings, Tragedy, and God's Grace

On November 19^th, my husband and I drove to Gatlinburg, TN to begin a week of thanksgiving and gratitude to our Savior. It was a long 500 mile trip, but the expectation of seeing the mountains and hoping for a little leftover color kept our hopes high.

God showed up in a mighty way! As we wound around one curve after another, we oohed and ahhed. Red, orange, and yellow clung to the trees. When the thicket of trees thinned, the valley was still ablaze, rich in color. My heart beat faster, my prayers came in worship. Creation sang its endless song to the Father, and I sat amazed with wonderment and joy. God provided.

When we pulled up to the rental cabin, it was nestled in the side of a mountain. The sweetest little cabin I’d ever seen. I wanted to cry. And when we got inside I almost did. It was a nightmare. Half the furniture was gone. It was filthy, and there were dead bugs on the floor. Our daughter and her family met us there. Disappointment was an understatement.

Three hours later, we were in another cabin on another mountain top, and it was the cabin we had envisioned staying in over Thanksgiving. But we couldn’t. We could only stay there until the day before Thanksgiving. The cabin assistant worked earnestly in order to get us into another cabin by late Wednesday.

All of us chose not to be discouraged and to head out and see as much of Gatlinburg as we could. I hadn’t been to Gatlinburg in a few years and couldn’t wait to see the village, go Christmas shopping, and take the tram up the mountain to see more of God’s glory. We went hard for three days.

On the eve of Thanksgiving, we were faced with a dilemma – either we get into another cabin or we travel home. At the eleventh hour the assistant called and we moved into our third cabin. Glory Hallelujah! Thanksgiving in the Smokies!!! God provided.

Thanksgiving was joyous! I managed to find a grocery store the night before, and presented a decent meal the next day. All twelve of us sat around the table giving thanks to God for all His intervention in our lives. We lifted up my grandson, Hudson, who would be having surgery on December 5. Life was grand! God was good! The color was still hanging on, and outside the gorgeous full-length windows, we sat amazed and humbled by God’s blessings. God provision.

Here’s a picture of a beautiful Smoky Mountain sunrise (and my granddaughter taking pictures)

Within twenty-four hours, the fire that had threatened the Smokies raged and grew. When eighty-plus miles per hour winds hit on Monday night, the ashes swirled around the mountaintops, landing, and creating more fires. By ten o’clock, an evacuation was called for our area. Smoke thickened, and visibility was limited to only a few feet. We could see the red glow of the fires in the mountains. All the beauty turned into a beast, a fiery beast threatening everything in its path.

Below is a pictures taken of the thick smoke.

I cried at the loss. My heart sank thinking about the locals and visitors who were scrambling to get off the mountain and into safety. We chose to leave early Tuesday morning. Images of downed trees and backed-up traffic on the TV kept us back. It was a harrowing night filled with fear.

Tragedy. As I stood and looked out over the smoke and fire, I cried again. The landscape would never look the same. The cabins lining the mountaintops were gone or burned too badly to be saved. On the tram ride we took earlier in the week, we sadly realized our images of a peaceful mountain town were gone forever. Now everything was in chaos and destruction.

I prayed. And as I prayed, God revealed His blessings, one-by-one, providing for His people and eliminating my fear.

Volunteer helpers poured into the area. Firefighters from all over Tennessee and adjacent states arrived and went right to work. Churches opened their doors for evacuees. Money began to pour into the coffers of the Red Cross and local food banks. Blessings heaped upon blessings that were broadcast during the night. We watched and marveled at God’s people laying down their commitments and lifting up their resources to help a needy mountain area. God provided.

Tragedy to blessings. God was on that mountain. His hands and feet were working miracles. Many people were saved from perishing. A lot of establishments were saved from destruction. Even the eagles at Dollywood were taken care of. The acts of courage and kindness continued. The hands and feet of Jesus moved throughout the area.

Every day we are called to be a blessing. Opportunities abound. Even small gifts of kindness are multiplied and the harvest grows. God provides.

Many blessings to you. In Christ’s name I pray,