Paul's Letters

 

Daily Gratitude Year 14-Day 314: Today, I am grateful for Paul's letters. 

This passage is one of my forever favorites:

"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." -1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Paul is writing to people he cares for deeply during times of persecution and uncertainty. He does not know what tomorrow brings but he is 100% sure he knows who holds tomorrow. 

The Love of My Life and I just read "The Greatest Salesman in the Word" by Og Mandino. It was new to him but it has long been a big influence on how I want to live. "I will greet this day with love in my heart." is one of the 10 scrolls in the book. Gratitude and love go together. To wake up and give thanks for a heart that still beats and plenty of purpose to fulfill. 

There are times we walk through seasons that make no sense. Difficulties and discouragement are a part of this world, but we are just passing through. We do not need to have it all or grab it all while we are here. You can look at the front of any magazine and see evidence that wealth, fortune, and fame are fleeting and the "happy" is short-lived and shallow. 

Connections, community, and a call to feed the hungry, help the sick, and shelter those in need is a life-style that leads to a peace, joy, and the kind of wealth that money cannot buy. It only comes when we learn to greet each day with love, prayer, and hope. 

Today, I am grateful for Paul's letters. 

Warm Holiday Beverages

Daily Gratitude Year 14-Day 313: Today, I am grateful for warm holiday beverages.

There is something about the smell and taste of certain holiday beverages that make us feel cozy and warm no matter the weather. They are the beverages that show up in Hallmark movies, although I feel my favorite wassail has not been given equal time and it is magical. 

I had, what I believe is my first Starbucks Holiday Peppermint Mocha Latte (decaf) on a road trip with the Love-of-My-Life on Saturday. I now understand why it is so loved. Oh my goodness! It was delicious. 

Food traditions are a big part of most family holidays. Wassail was always on the stove at our big Bess Thanksgiving. I have such fond memories of sitting with my nieces to keep watch over the pot, sampling until it was ready. It took a little time, but it was so worth it. It was a favorite of my Aunt Judy Hanson, and this season I will think of her when I start the first pot. 

Our Wassail recipe is my favorite. My Sister-in-Love, Jennifer, asked those making the Central High School Madrigal meal for the recipe and they graciously shared it. That recipe is now deeply woven into Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's for our family. The leftovers are stretched and savored between each holiday. The scent alone says "welcome home."  

CHS Madrigal Wassail
★★★★★
Ingredients

3 quarts 100% Cranberry Juice
4 Quarts 100% Apple Juice
1 Cup Brown Sugar
6-8 Cinnamon Sticks
1 1/2 Tablespoons Cloves (whole or ground)

Directions: Let it come to the bubble before the boil. Simmer together. Serve warm. 

Notes: Save juice bottles for leftovers. Enjoy between the holidays all season long. 

From my Madrigal friends, enjoy the memory. I've had others, but ours is my favorite and it is simple. When you need a taste of the holidays, the local coffee shops and Starbucks are happy to provide some goodness. 

Wassail was served by the Lords and Ladies. It certainly feels rich and royal. I hope you enjoy a pot or two this season. Share it with joy and gratitude. Share it with strangers, family, and friends. I love this reminder to share with those in need:

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ -Matthew 25:34-26

Today, I am grateful for warm holiday beverages.

Slow Down

Daily Gratitude Year 14-Day 312: Today, I am grateful for reminders to slow down.

Earworm started singing the 59th Street Bridge Song (Feeling Groovy) by the legendary Simon and Garfunkel. I used it in a gratitude challenge I am currently leading at work, and Earworm is still singing it, even after worship this morning. "Slow down, you move too fast. You gotta make the morning last..."

This complements yesterday's post, but it is not the same. This is not holiday-related. Today is a reminder to look for opportunities to slow down in our ordinary days, from January through December... Sunday through Saturday.

I am grateful for the people, life events, and places that make us slow down and evaluate our priorities. Our message at church this morning was a perfect complement to this thought. The "other things" can become thistles and thorns that keep us from fully living our lives as intended. Let God manage the troubles and trials, and trust in His plan.

We are so blessed by the people in our family whom people the world often misunderstands or underestimates. My Aunt Helen was about 13 when I was born. As a toddler, her brain was impacted by a very high fever associated with spinal meningitis. There is no doubt about her place of honor in our family. Her abilities vary with the task, and she has a remarkable range of things she knows how to do. The things she knows how to do, she does well and wholeheartedly. She loves to play games and was our favorite childhood companion. With her great-nieces and great-nephews, she is equally adored. Aunt Helen never lacks a dance partner at family weddings.

Our family was blessed again when Cousin Molly and her husband, Brian, welcomed their third beautiful daughter, Alyssa. She arrived with Down syndrome. I finally found my picture of Aunt Helen holding her as a baby. It is priceless to me. I remember appreciating that Molly and Brian trusted Aunt Helen to hold her. This picture of Alyssa with her foot in her mouth is one every parent of a child with Down syndrome will appreciate.

Slowing down can mean choosing a French press over a K-cup. It can mean stove tops and crock pots over microwaves. It can be slowing to walk with the elderly, a child, or the health challenged. It is looking with love and humility at those who are "slow" because we have so much to learn from these special people. Those who slow us down often help us see the important, the honest, and the true things around us more clearly. 

This passage is straight from our morning worship. Jesus reminded Martha to slow down and not miss what is important being too busy. 

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one.” – Luke 10:41

There is freedom and "treasure" in slowing down.

Today, I am grateful for reminders to slow down.

Savor... Don't Rush

 

Daily Gratitude Year 14-Day 311: Today, I am grateful for the chance to savor, and not rush the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons. 

I am a firstborn. I am a rule follower. I adore Thanksgiving and Christmas is the most joyful time of the year. I used to have strict rules to protect my beloved Thanksgiving holiday. I have mellowed on this matter over the past fourteen years. 

Life goes by too swiftly to not squeeze out every sweet moment of the season and to delight in every decoration. For us, mixing pumpkins and Christmas is completely normal, as we live in the Pumpkin Capital. It can be done whatever your "style" of decorating might be. 

Letting go of the rules has freed us and allowed us to enjoy the season more. The only Smith house rule is that the tree comes down swiftly after Christmas, but that is only in the Smith house. You make your own rules.

 "To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven" Ecclesiastes 3:1

Today, I am grateful for the chance to savor, and not rush the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons. 

Fire Refines

 

Daily Gratitude Year 14-Day 310: Today, I am grateful for fire.

"Fire reveals. Water restores. God uses both." 

We are doing a gratitude challenge at work. Someone shared a quote about dealing with hardship and adversity. He is a history teacher, so I know he has seen many good quotes. This one was succinct. 

"Fire will either burn your house down or refine you."

It is true. And somewhere in between, it can keep your house warm. 

Our current culture seems to perpetuate and glory in discord and disagreement. Disagreement can be like fire. It can help us explore what we know, what we think we know, and if we use conflict as a tool for growth, it can help refine. 

Power in any human's hand can lead to destruction. It can, also, be a path to solving big problems. When the Queen of Sheba of Ethiopia journeyed to meet King Solomon in Jerusalem, the ancient world watched. It is recorded in the Bible. It is repeated in a 1st-century account by Josephus. She is credited with bringing the first balsam trees to Israel. The account of her time there is interesting. I am reminded that we only see small parts of the puzzle in the story of God and man. 

I love this passage. 

“Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.” – 1 Corinthians 3:13

We had a pastor who used to say in difficult situations, "Do you want to throw water on it or gasoline?" It depends on the situation. Burning road ditches is good for the land. Wildfires are not. It is situational. 

Water will be another day's discussion. 

Today, I am grateful for fire.

Temporary Shelter

 

Daily Gratitude Year 14-Day 309: Today, I am grateful for temporary shelter.

I loved this image of someone sitting on a bench under an umbrella beneath the flaming gold and orange leaves. What struck me was that the umbrella was not being used to go from place to place. It was acting as a temporary shelter. The person might not be waiting for anyone or anything. Perhaps, they are simply enjoying the scent, the leaves, and a misty rain. 

I have fond memories of going for walks with Randy in our days at Olivet. I always had a big golf umbrella with plenty of room for friends. It was a little like "Thidwick, the Big Hearted Moose" on the way to class some days with others joining under the umbrella. When it was just the two of us, there was plenty of covering for a walk in the rain to enjoy the scents, sights, and sounds that come with a gentle rain or snow. 

 Temporary shelters are for a certain time, place, or situation. When we need them, they are not a luxury but a necessity. Think of caves(not temporary, but can provide temporary shelter), tents, and other ways we escape the elements. Humans have been relying on temporary shelter to travel from place to place for all of history. Some cultures never build permanent homes the way we do. They move when it is necessary and for different reasons. 

I'm fascinated with Moses and the people of Israel in the desert years. Forty years of moving around because the time was not right. God led; they followed. They were fed, had water, and lived under temporary shelter. 

Leviticus 23:42-43 states: "You are to live in booths for seven days; all native-born Israelites are to live in such booths so your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in booths when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God." This passage emphasizes the importance of remembering God's provision during their journey.

It has been a year of loss of two very special people who had a hand in raising Matthew, April, and me. Aunt Judy and "Aunt" Marilyn let go of their temporary shelters of their eternal souls. It was good for them, but we still miss them. I am grateful to have shared their temporary homes and their lives. 

Today, I am grateful for temporary shelter.

Soup Season

 

Daily Gratitude Year 14-Day 308: Today, I am grateful for soup season.  

"This and soup on the stove." 

The fall rains have begun. On Sunday, I was greeted by my  buddy Mike who is a farmer. I shared that we finished the harvest back home and only have the ground to work. Wind and rain on harvest ready fields is not always a good combination. 

Mike replied with the air of someone who has been on a tractor his entire life, "A farmer should never complain about the rain." I agreed 100%. The ground needs it to restore as do the wells and everything else impacted by rain. After the crop is out it is even better. We prefer the rain to come gently and with space in between the days. We don't want much, right? 

There is nothing like a cascade of fall color with soup on the stove or in the crock pot. I think I have even recently mentioned that chili is not seasonal at our house. We serve it all year round, just like Steak-n-Shake. We love it with cornbread, as a potato topping, and over spaghetti for chili mac. 

There are references to what we could consider soup in the Bible. Gideon's encounter with an angel includes broth, meat, veggies, and unleavened bread. 

"And Gideon went in and prepared a young goat, and unleavened bread of an ephah of flour; the meat he put in the basket and the broth he put in the pot, and he brought them out to him under the oak and presented them." -Judges 6:19

Soup season is here! The scent, the flavors, and the way it warms us from head to toe. 

Today, I am grateful for soup season.