Winter Coats

 

Daily Gratitude Year 10-Day 334: Today, I am grateful for winter coats.

I do not enjoy wearing a coat, but I am so grateful to have one when I need it. 

I think of the homeless in places that turn bitter with the winter winds and my heart hurts. Few plan to find themselves without a job, proper clothing or a home. Life happens in the midst of making plans. 

This passage is familiar to many:

She has no fear of winter for her household, for everyone has warm clothes (clothe in scarlet (or double thickness). -Proverbs 21:31

This is one where I clicked onto "all English versions" to compare translations from the Hebrew. "In scarlet" referring to dyed wool or "double thickness" are other translations. 

I went to Blueletterbible.org and found "in scarlet" to be very interesting. The Hebrew word relates to a particular insect whose body when crushed gives the red dye used to color fiber - it was most often wool- which is used for creating beautiful red items, and it is warm.  It is the female insect in this particular process whose body, when crushed, provides the dye to color the materials that would provide warmth in the winter months... and they are pretty. Interesting, right? 

What was common knowledge and language in the time of King Solomon, we have to dig a little deeper for understanding. 

Red coats are some of my favorites.  They are easy to spot in a crowd. They brighten the winter days. 

I don't love the cold, but I am so grateful to have proper winter outerwear. 

Today, I am grateful for winter coats.

Christmas "To-Do" Lists

Daily Gratitude Year 10-Day 333: Today, I am grateful for a Christmas "To Do" list.

My Sister-in-Love,  Jennifer, is the Queen of the To-Do list!

 She has several going at all times. Some on her phone, but my favorites are the handwritten ones she has on the countertop in her kitchen. It is a part of who she is, just like her very nice left-handed penmanship. 

I like to make a list. Writing a list helps me remember  - even if I forget the list at home on the counter. Sometimes, when I fail to do my intended list, I write down the things I did, instead, and cross them off as if it was planned that way. Silly? Maybe, but it makes me feel more accomplished. 

This Christmas list caught my eye. I love the replacements:

Buy Presents - Be Present

Wrap Gifts - Wrap Someone in a Hug

Sent Gifts - Send Peace

Shop for Food - Donate Food

See the Lights - Be the Light

This advent season is full of lists. There are things to accomplish for work and at home. As you consider them all, remember there is one list, in  particular, that you want to be on: 

"Nothing evil will be allowed to enter, nor anyone who practices shameful idolatry and dishonesty—but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life." -Revelation 21:27

He's making a list... checking it twice. Is your name written down in "The Lamb's Book of Life." Do you belong to The King who wants you to be His? 

Today, I am grateful for a Christmas "To Do" list.

A Prayer for a Quiet Heart

 

Daily Gratitude Year 10-Day 330: Today, I am grateful we can pray for a quiet heart. 

"Lord give me a quiet heart that does not ask to understand,  but confident steps forward in the darkness, guided by Thy hand." -Elisabeth Elliot

Such a beautiful prayer from a heart that learned to be quiet and trust Him in the darkness. For those who don't know who Elisabeth Elliot is, she was one of the women who was widowed when a group of missionaries were murdered in the jungle of Ecuador as they were attempting to share the Gospel with the Auca tribe. 

Her story is powerful. She returned to the Amazon jungle to continue the mission that took her husband's life. Her mission was a success. She not only forgave the people who speared Jim to death, she grew to love them.  She shared Jesus. He changed their lives. 

There are days it is hard to offer grace to bad drivers in our path. Elisabeth learned to quiet her heart and offer forgiveness to the ones that brutally took her husband's life.  I imagine she would say they didn't "take his life", he gave it.  In the footsteps of Jesus, she pressed on. 

After the loss of her husband, she walked confidently forward into the jungle and into the unknown. She continued to trust God's heart and His hand... even when nothing made sense.

Today, I am grateful we can pray for a quiet heart. 

Decking The Halls

 

Daily Gratitude Year 10-Day 330: Today, I am grateful to be decking the halls. 

It is always good to pull out the Christmas decorations. Once the beautiful autumn days of colored leaves are spent, it is time for some color, twinkle and glitter. 

We are like white lights. We have a formal tree that is crystal and gold and one with all of the colorful ornaments that evoke sweet memories of when our boys were little. 

The Love-of-my-Life is a master at getting the trees up. This year, he put most of the ornaments on the tree. I play with the mantle until it is done. I go through the tubs deciding what will come out and what will remain packed away for another season. 

This year, we have a more old fashioned feel, but there is still plenty of sparkle, glitter and light. The days are getting very short and the merry lights around the house are good for lifting our spirits. 

Light always breaks through the darkness. Darkness cannot overcome the Light. It is true in science... and it is a spiritual truth. Yes, once again, science reflects the Creator. 

"In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." -John 1:4-5

Let Heaven and Nature sing! 

Today, I am grateful to be decking the halls.

To Be Called Beloved

 

Daily Gratitude Year 10-Day 329: Today, I am grateful to be called "beloved". 

There is  a special joy that comes from being loved and cherished. 

Perhaps it is why we feel emotional at weddings.  The understanding of the perfect commitment to an imperfect person is beautiful. Both partners know they are not flawless, but somehow... they fit together. They are perfect for each other. 

There is a confidence in the soul of one who knows they are loved deeply and unconditionally that the world seeks but never finds.

This is "true love":

As the Scriptures say in the book of Hosea, “The people who are not mine— I will say they are my people. And the people I did not love— I will say they are the people I love.” -Romans 9:25 

Isn't that beautiful?" Can you hear and feel the tenderness in the words from the prophet Hosea? The broken, wayward, lost and seeking souls find they not only have a place at the table.. .they are called "beloved". 

"for 'in Him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “‘For we are indeed his offspring." -Acts 17:29

Not "step-children" but we are offspring with all the rights and privileges.  

Today, I am grateful to be called "beloved". 

Sweet and Simple Pleasures

Daily Gratitude Year 10-Day 328: Today, I am grateful for the sweet and the simple pleasures. 

Thanksgiving is in the rearview mirror and it is officially time to look toward Christmas. 

This season can be so full of the hustle and bustle, it is easy to lose our focus on the reason for the season.  The Birth of our Savior is reason to celebrate. Sharing that celebration with our favorite family and friends is where new memories are made. 

What are the sweet and simple pleasures? Gathering together is at the top of the list. 

"So go ahead. Eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart, for God approves of this!" -Ecclesiastes 9:7    

Gathering... cooking together (one of my favorite things)... sharing memories and making new ones... laughing until it hurts... and saying, "I love you."  

Pause. Savor the sweet. Embrace the sweet and simple moments that matter most. 

Today, I am grateful for the sweet and the simple pleasures. 

Thankful People are Happy

 Year Ten- Day 327: Today, I am grateful thankful people are happy!

Hope everyone had an great day if celebrating your blessings. Not every year is easy, but He is always present.

Our joy increases when we pause to reflect on the source of our many blessings.

Today, I am grateful thankful people are happy.

Abounding In Thanksgiving

 

Daily Gratitude Year 10-Day 326: Today, I am grateful we can be abounding in Thanksgiving. 

Not just a little thankful, but full of it. Let our cups run over with gratitude. 

We do not know what tomorrow may bring. This year, there are some empty seats at the table, but this does not take away from the goodness of God. Not for a minute. 

We, who choose to believe, are rooted deeply in the knowledge that we are only here for a blink or two in God's time. I don't understand it all, but I know it is true. This year, many we love have passed through that door  and into the presence of Jesus. Death, my friends, is not an end, but a door for those who know Him, trust Him and are deeply rooted. 

"Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.' -Colossians 2:6-7 

We have no need to be shaken. We can lift our hands in praise for all that He has done on the mountain tops and in the valleys. When we feel "buried" by life's losses and challenges, know that it is in those seasons new life begins to sprout and grow. 

What feels like an ending, we know is a new beginning. He is the Lord of the Harvest!

Today, I am grateful we can be abounding in Thanksgiving. 

Grateful Entries

Daily Gratitude Year 10-Day 325: Today, I am grateful for grateful entries. 

It is all about the entrance, right? How do we enter a new space or an old familiar place? 

 Walker used to talk about rolling into town during his college years and smelling the "pumpkin guts". I do not love that smell, but to a boy coming home from college, it triggered the warmth of coming home. 

He took in the sights, sounds and smells of  "the Morton 102 exit" with joy... with the window rolled down. It brought him home.  

We used to sing this praise song:

 "I will enter His courts with thanksgiving in my heart; I will enter His courts with praise. I will say, "This is the day, that the Lord has made; I will rejoice for he has made me glad."  The chorus was, "He has made me glad. He has made me glad. I will rejoice, for He has made me glad!"

 "Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations." -Psalm 100: 4-5

Can you hear the cymbals and the tambourines when you read this passage? It comes to life simply in the reading. It celebrates grateful entries. 

Many will take to the road this weekend. Be safe. 

Enjoy the fellowship and the family. As we get our fill of the Thanksgiving feast, pause to reflect on the feast ahead. The Marriage Supper of the Lamb is coming. 

"it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.  And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.” Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." -Revelation 19:8-10

Have you made your reservation and completed the R.S.V.P.? 

Today, I am grateful for grateful entries.

Unity

Daily Gratitude Year 10-Day 324: Today, I am grateful for unity. 

As I start this most, I want to put up my reminder that this is a gratitude spot, not a political one. I have no idea where this post is going, but conversations on unity can spark division, right? Today, I want to celebrate unity. 

I love that our nation is called the United States... not the Divided States. Unity is part of what makes us strong. This nation was birthed by strong-minded and strong-willed men (and women) who would not give up on the idea of a nation where we could be free to think differently, but live together in harmony. 

United, not divided, is more than words. It is choosing to be kind, even when we disagree. When we disagree, if we intentionally sought a closer walk with our Lord, it would make such a difference in everything we say and do. (Earworm is singing, "Just A Closer Walk With Thee".)

We are called to unity... not to be of like minded..."iron sharpens iron"... but to love Him more than we love being right.  We are to love Him more. We are to desire to think more like Him.

 "God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin.  Therefore, as the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.” -1 Corinthians 1:30-31

God made himself to be wisdom. We are not. We can seek His face. We are told to chase His heart.  We can find unity with others who share that pursuit. His sacrifice made us "right with God"... he didn't make us "right". No one, but Jesus, was perfect. None was without sin. 

The Lamb came to become "the One" to make us one. 

Today, I am grateful for unity. 

The Mystery of Time and Space

 

Daily Gratitude Year 10-Day 323: Today, I am grateful the mysteries of time and space. 

One thing I know for sure about time is that we... as humans... have not mastered time and space. 

It is a God quality that man continues to seek, but we are missing omnipotence and omnipresence. We do not have all power. We are not all present in time and space. He is. That thought, alone, can keep us pondering. 

"For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite." -Isaiah 57:17

He, Our God,  inhabits eternity. Not just the future, but all of eternity. Wow! Right? 

"who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began," -2 Timothy 1:9 

"Before the ages began!" He is not locked into our time and space. He lives outside of our clock and space boundaries.  He existed before the world began. 

"So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple." -John 8:59

He hid Himself... by His own power... he moved freely out of the situation and the angry crown. The disciples saw Jesus appear in their midst, defying locked doors and their attempts to hide. 

"Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”" -John 20:29

When we think back to the Garden, God was with them in very personal ways. They walked and talked with God. Can we really imagine it? 

"Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end." -Ecclesiastes 3:11

He can see "from beginning to end". We do not. We can seek His face, His way and submit to His orchestration of time. Understanding was never promised. What would life be without a little mystery? 

Today, I am grateful the mysteries of time and space. 

Walk the Walk

Daily Gratitude Year 10- Day 321: Today, I am grateful for those who live by words of gratitude.

It is much easier to talk the talk than to walk the walk.

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live them."-John F. Kennedy

Such a great quote. It rings true. It is not what you say, but how you act. Yes, people remember how you made them feel through your actions, not your words.

There is the humbling cringe that comes when you know that something you said came out wrong. If only people could see what is in our hearts. On second thought, there are times that would be equally as humbling.

Some days we get it right. Some days we get it wrong.

There is value in pausing to appreciate those who behave as if they are grateful. They are not demanding at a restaurant or at a coffee shop. They share what they have without giving it much thought.

One of my junior high students... many years ago... saw me trying to run out the door without a coat. It was chilly, but not freezing and I was in a hurry. He, absolutely, insisted I take his jacket from his open locker. My heart still warms at the thought.

That particular student had special needs. He had some physical and learning challenges... but his heart was perfect. I want to be more like him. His kindness was extended often, not just to the adults around him, but to anyone he encountered. I only saw his love ...expressed out loud... and with no agenda.

Nobody is perfect, but his heart was about as good as a human heart can be.

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” -1 Samuel 16:17

Today, I am grateful for those who live by words of gratitude.

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Helping Hands

Daily Gratitude Year 10-Day 320: Today, I am grateful for helping hands.

“You never know when a helping hand will change another person’s life.” -Zig Ziglar

It is true. A helping hand can be just the boost someone needs to reach new goals.

There is a difference between helping and doing something for someone. We learn more when we are active in the process. A helping hand is a reason to be grateful because it grows is so much more than a handout.

When Matthew was little, he wasn’t big enough to walk the beans like the rest of us. He would take two rows and hold the row. I can still remember his little blonde head barely above the beans.

It was easy to get confused in a sea of green. The row holder held the row, but more importantly… the row holder learned the art of bean walking. (Weeding the bean fields manually.).

What helping hands served beside you, today.

Today, I am grateful for helping hands.

11Val Devine, Denise Varner and 9 others

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