Living Thanksgiving

It has come back once again to my favorite time of year - the holiday season and in particular Thanksiving. I went to church yesterday prepared to hear a "traditional" Thanksgiving sermon and nod my head in agreement that we should all count our blessings and then go on about my day. However, sometimes when you least expect it a simple phrase can get all "up in your business" and start to tear away at your heart walls and reveal changes that need to be made. What my pastor said I have never heard a pastor say before and certainly not from the pulpit! He said that he was reading his Bible and read a scripture verse that he did not like. (As a regular person and not a pastor, I knew from my own experience that in my most honest moments there was actually more than one verse that I did not like and wish was not in the Bible.) So...I was anxious to hear from one of God's Shepherds which one had caused him difficulty. He said it was the one that said, "give thanks in all circumstances". I took the time to find it right then and there (and yes I was still listening!) I believe that this particular phrase is in more than one place but I found it in I Thes. 5:18. He shared with us that he did not like that verse because it was hard to "give thanks in everything". I heartily "amened" that in my head. And yet...when I read the rest of the verse it said, "for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." Then his struggle with the verse became more clear because this was not a suggestion but something way more serious - something like a directive for life!
I immediately came up with all kinds of situations in which this would just be an impossible "directive" for my life because there are some really AWFUL things that happen in our lives. This morning I looked a little closer and did a little research. The verse did NOT say "give thanks for everything". Rather, it said "in" everything which changes things immeasurably. God does not tell me that I have to be thankful for bad or hard stuff. Rather, there are all kinds of things I can be thankful to God for - even in the midst of the hard circumstances. Even in the tough season or struggle I can be grateful to God for His presence, His mercy, His compassion, His comfort, His strength, and the list goes on and on.

That epiphany made the next part of my pastor's sermon make so much more sense. He said that people who are grateful or thankful have lives that are worshipful and demonstrate joy, humility, good stewardship, and generosity. In fact, when I looked up this verse in my commentary it said, "Thanklessness is a trait of unbelievers". Suddenly I "get" the directive for our lives - it was given for "believers". (Now the light bulbs are turning on!!) Can you imagine what a difference it would make in our world if even 10% of "believers" started to "Live Thanksgiving"? The impact would be unbelievable and our world would scarcely resemble the one in which we now abide.

I want to live a life like that but often my own circumstances are the only things on which I focus my attention. Yet...I have seen with my own eyes that kind of person and the fruit that is produced from that kind of living. Her name was Viola and she was my husband's grandmother. I honestly have to say that I have never met another person who "lived Thanksgiving" like she did. She was a small lady in stature with needs that were simple and wants that were few. Yet, her gratitude was HUGE. The simplest of things she treasured and kept in pristine condition. She once gave me her blender (in it's original box) that was many years old. (I knew it to be an early model due to it having a glass pitcher and harvest gold color). That is but one example of how she lived and treated nothing as disposable and took naught for granted. However, I knew that her life had not been an easy one and was filled with much pain and sorrow at various times. She had experienced the loss of a child, her husband had died at a young age, her finances were limited, and she had to raise her teenage son without a dad. Yet, those things were never the topic of conversation or the focus of her life. Joy, humility, good stewardship, and generosity were all traits of her life - all a result of her "living Thanksgiving". The obvious few things that were missing that I fear might be indicative of many of our lives were bitterness, anger, and stinginess. What a great example of someone who lived God's will in this command!

As I bring this writing to a close, I am reminded that Thanksgiving is not to be just one day that we celebrate. Rather, it is to be a lifestyle that we pursue. Saying "thank you" is always a wonderful courtesy and one that we should teach our children by example. However, "living Thanksgiving" is a daily decision that we make moment by moment. Life becomes so much more when we choose to be grateful. I know that firsthand from seeing that kind of life from my precious Grandma Russell. Happy Thanksgiving but even more so, "Happy Thankful Life!"

Waiting and Whining...

I woke this morning feeling a bit sluggish, foggy, and pretty unmotivated. I found myself wishing that I was farther along in my spiritual maturity and wondering why so many areas of my life showed little signs of victory. I really thought that by this time in my life I would have conquered more and been way more effective in "storming the gates of hell". So...after doing a few tasks and still not feeling any better I picked up my Bible and read a verse in Joshua that literally jumped off the page at me. The background to the verse is that seven tribes of Isrealites came to Joshua and were whining and complaining because they had not received their "land inheritance" yet. All the other tribes were settling in to their new homes but not them. I fully expected Joshua to be a little understanding and see how hard their journey had been and how "unfair" it had been for all of the other tribes to get their inheritance first, and just basically have a little "pity party" with them. However, this is just the exact OPPOSITE of what Joshua said. I quote, "How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers has given you?" If I read this correctly I do not see a hug or kleenex anywhere in the story. Rather I see a challenge. If I could paraphrase Joshua here I think he said, "Quit your whining and get busy claiming that which God has already given you!! If you want your inheritance - go get it!!" (So much for my "poor me" mentality today.)

Joshua refused to give in to their "poor me" mentality. He acknowledged that what they said was true - they did not have their land yet. However, he placed the responsibility for that fact squarely on their shoulders. He brought to their attention that they were the ones waiting to begin - not God. Granted the job would not be easy but they had been promised that God would go before them and had already given them the victory.

God has designed our lives so that we can be victors and overcomers. He challenges us to live lives of great conquests. Phillip Keller in his book, Joshua, Mighty Warrior and Man of Faith said, "He (God) calls all of us away from despair and defeat. Like Joshua, Christ challenges us to enter new territory, to overcome the enemy, to clear the ground of our lives from the undergrowth of this world. He stirs us to seek higher ground, to enter the rich abundant life He offers, to find repose and contentment in Him."

Too often in my life I have lived just the opposite of this. I have been easily defeated and discouraged. But that is not to be my destiny - my "lot in life". So...I hear the call to victory this morning. Part of the reason I am not where I want to be lies within my own reach. Over and over again in Scripture I see examples of men and women who stepped up to the challenge. With God they "overcame" all kinds of impossible situations and did amazing things for the kingdom. These were not "special" but rather ordinary people (just like you and me) who believed God and trusted Him completely when He said to do something. Paul said something about that kind of life in Phillipians. He encourages us with these words, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." This is not a verse for the whiners and complainers. Sounds to me like a bugle call to begin an amazing life!!

Wilderness Living

I am not by any means a "city girl" having been raised in the marshlands of the Gulf Coast of Texas. Therefore, I am no stranger to hard work,livestock, gardens, canning, yardwork, etc... However, I am not one of those people who enjoy what I would consider "harsh or extreme" conditions. I don't do creepy, crawly critters and when something slithers across my path my "snake dance" is a sight to behold! I recently saw a TV show where some guy gets dropped off in the middle of nowhere and then has to survive on various bugs, drink weird stuff, and sleep in cramped and cold places. All I have to say to that is "No thank you!" I love the outdoors but give me the closest Lodge or Holiday Inn at the end of the day and I am just fine with that.

I don't seek out hardships and in fact, want to avoid them if at all possible. However, it interesting that I sometimes find myself in the wilderness in spite of my best efforts to avoid that very place. Not physically, but sometimes emotionally and/or spiritually. I was reading in Luke Ch. 4 how Jesus was led into the desert by the Holy Spirit where for 40 days He was tempted by the devil. This came right after Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. After having visited the Holy Land I got a whole new appreciation for what the desert or the wilderness really looks like. Desolate is the best word I can think to describe the utter barrenness or "lack of life" that I saw. Miles and mile of rocks, dirt, and sand made it appear that no life could be sustained there. Yet this was the place Jesus was instructed to go. This was the place satan sought to derail Jesus from his work and mission. The devil wanted to "tempt Jesus to forsake His love for the Father and take shortcuts to accomplish what God sent Him to do."

As a wife and mother I am often tempted to take "shortcuts" too. In fact, I think I am the "shortcut queen". I hate tasks or anything (like puzzles and math problems) that takes a really long time. My husband is so very meticulous and patient and I am the complete opposite. We have this joke when we have a long and arduous task before us where he says, "A task worth doing is worth doing right." I answer, "I can do it wrong 10 times and finally get it right in the amount of time it took you to do it once." (All said in love of course!) I have the patience of a 3 yr. old most days so "finding the loophole" or "way out" is a big temptation for me. The reason is either the task feels to big for me to handle or because my purpose seems vague and unimportant. Some days just the "sameness and repetition" of preparing meals "again", washing the same clothes "again", and cleaning house "again" can feel boring and less than meaningful. I wonder if all of the things I am trying to accomplish will have any lasting value. It feels very wilderness - dry and dusty and hot and no relief in sight!

I read the following verse and it shed great light on possible "why wilderness living occurs". Deut. 8:2 says, "Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert these 40 years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep His commands." This struck me like a bolt of lightning. God sometimes puts me in a hard situation to find out what is in my heart and just how much "fruit of the Spirit" is going to come out when I get "squeezed". I wish I could say that I had reached a stage of maturity where God finds nothing but good in my heart and the only thing seen is peace, love, joy, patience, etc... But alas that is not reality. My goal is not perfection but progress. Some days it looks like progress of a snail but that is still progress! Perfection will not come until the day we are with Jesus but each day I can walk closer with Him and become more like Him.

One final note of encouragement that comes in the next verses in Deut. 8. To paraphrase...the Israelites were in the wilderness and they did get hungry and have regular normal needs. However, God provided them food and their clothes and shoes did not wear out. That tells me that even in the midst of boring, dry, and dusty times - God loves me and cares for me and is very attentive to even my "everyday" needs. So...just like Jesus we need to handle our "shortcut temptations" with God's Word and use it like a weapon. We don't give up or jump ship - just press on to the prize that is before us!

2010 - The Year of the Do-Over

One of my grown children received a board game this past Christmas. I shook my head in delight as I listened to four of them gathered around the game laughing, plotting, and occasionally accusing someone of "playing by a different set of rules." It reminded me of those family games long ago of "Chutes and Ladders", "Pretty, Pretty Princess", "Monopoly" or outside games like "Horse" and "21". The one "constant" in almost every game was at some point something would go wrong. The dice would roll off the table or the basketball would hit a rock in the driveway, the youngest child would trip into whatever game board, or some other mishap would occur. The words "I get a do-over" would be yelled immediately. At that point some discussion as to whether the offense merited a "do-over" would take place. If the mishap was legitimate - the "do-over" was granted. However, if the request was made simply because the player did not like the number on the dice, the answer would be no. At that point, life lessons about working through things that don't work out the way you hoped were learned!

As I pondered this new year and the beginning of a new decade I could not resist the temptation to look back over the last 10 years. First, I was overwhelmed at how much LIFE had happened in ten years. It felt like long days at the moment but now it seems that time flew like light years. In the past decade I definitely saw God's hand loving me, blessing me, and teaching me. There was such a mixture of mountain tops and valleys, the thrilling and the very mundane, and also great joys and incredible sorrows. There were those instances where I could honestly say "I got this right" and was so proud of my decision, action, reaction, etc... However, there were also those times of opportunities missed, less than brilliant decisions, and behavior that did not exactly portray the "love of Christ". There were many victories but not nearly as many as I had hoped. Like the children when things did not go exactly right - the words "Can I have a do-over?" kept coming to mind.

The reality is that we can never go back and change history. That decade is gone and there is no time machine to go backwards and do it over again. However, I also know that my past does not have to dictate my future. 2010 is the perfect time to start again. In Joel 2:25 it says, "I will restore to you the years the locusts have eaten" or another version says, "I will give you back what was lost". The word that came to mind immediately was "redeemed". Webster defines redeem as "to offset the bad effect of or to buy back". So...all those decisions that were not so great or not being as far along in my spiritual walk as I think I should be - can all be redeemed. God can take my "not so great track record" and somehow use it for good. 2010 is brand new and just chock full of opportunities to allow God to offset the bad effect of. Therefore, as I look back my prayer for my future is that God would redeem my past and allow me to start again. Now that is the best "do over" anyone could ever receive!