Giggle In Your Wiggle

 

Daily Gratitude Year 14-Day 240: Today, I am grateful for the giggle in your wiggle. 

It is Friday! It comes every week, but it is always a reason to pause and give thanks. The weekend is here when the work day ends. 

"May your day begin with a giggle in your wiggle, and end with pep in your step." 

I love a good rhyme and this image hit all the right notes. 

"This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." -Psalm 118:24

Now make a great choice to start the day. Put some giggle in your wiggle and take on the day. 

Today, I am grateful for the giggle in your wiggle. 

Quiet Healing

 

Daily Gratitude Year 14-Day 239: Today, I am grateful for the healing in quietness.

"There are seasons when we must learn that quiet is not emptiness. Sometimes... it is repair." -image from Pinterest

The beautiful art caught my eye before I read the quote. This is one of those simple thoughts that packs a big impact. We forget the healing power that comes in the quiet times.

“A time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak.” – Ecclesiastes 3:7 

Often when I read that scripture I think about quiet being the opposite of speaking up and speaking out, when it is the right thing to do. In this passage, I think it is so much more. 

Quietness has great value. It is not doing nothing. It is choosing to be still in the storm. It is choosing our response beyond our natural impulses. It is seeking His face in all things and embracing the powerful healing that comes in the quiet seasons. 

Today, I am grateful for the healing in quietness.

Cut Flowers

 

Daily Gratitude Year 14-Day 238: Today, I am grateful for cut flowers.

"Always have something beautiful in sight, even if it's just a daisy in a jelly glass." -H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Never underestimate the power of something beautiful. I love cut flowers in a vase. It does not have to be a huge arrangement, but those are beautiful, too. Sometimes I purchase the marked down bouquets at Kroger and rescue the blooms from the bunch that last a little longer. Fresh flowers smell wonderful and are beautiful wherever they land. 

There are times I hesitate cutting from the zinnia patch because I want to harvest the seeds for next year's garden. When I cut blooms, they are enjoyed for days.  

Simple glass containers... even jelly jars... make the perfect container to hold flowers. Fancy vases are lovely, but not necessary. 

“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these!” – Matthew 6:28-29

Keeping beautiful things in sight adds joy to our days. 

Today, I am grateful for cut flowers.

Mixed Adjectives

 

Daily Gratitude Year 14-Day 237: Today, I am grateful we are mixed adjectives. 

"We are tender and fierce. We are soft and strong. We are fragile and courageous. Sometimes all in one day." 

Isn't it glorious that we are not defined and confined to on category or a short list of adjectives? The human experience is broad. Life is a great adventure, at times in the period of 24 hours. 

One of my favorite scriptures has always been God's reply to Moses from the burning bush when he is being sent to the Jewish people to explain  God's plan to lead them out of Egypt, after many years of slavery and abuse. 

"Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations." -Exodus 3:13-15

Reading the passage this morning, I realized Moses was just as anxious about speaking to his own people as he was about confronting Pharaoh. He was a mix of adjectives, but God promised "I will be with you." 

"'I AM' is a statement of pure being—a dynamic verb that encompasses all things. In both our struggles and our successes, we aren't confined to a single state of mind. Because He is 'I AM,' our potential is limitless. We can be tender yet fierce, soft yet strong, fragile yet courageous. We can face the Pharaohs and the family dynamics in our lives, knowing we are never limited by our own imaginations or skill sets."

Today, I am grateful we can embrace our mixed adjectives. 

A Grateful Soul

 

Daily Gratitude Year 14-Day 236: Today, I am grateful that a "grateful soul makes you whole." 

In this 14th year of gratitude, I do not think I have seen this little quote:

"A grateful soul will make you whole." Gratitude is such a powerful way to approach and problem or any day. It is not "rose colored glasses." It is a reality check. Gratitude is a  heavy hitter in the hard days and tough times. 

Feeling "whole" is a direct reflection of our relationship with the One who created it. When we offer prayers of gratitude, it does not change God. It changes us. That was my lesson in the first year of Daily Gratitude, and it continues to be my favorite. He delights in our expressions of gratitude, but he does not need it... we do! 

Are days are illuminated when we see them through the eyes of gratitude. We see more God... we see people better, too. Our hearts are more tender when we are looking for the hurts and struggles in people. Our compassion grows with our gratitude.  

Revelation (the last book of the Bible) declares that the persecution of the church will continue to grow. Are we ready? Recently, I find myself praying that the church will continue protections that allow it to be a vessel that helps it feed the hungry, clothe the needy, and shelter... especially for the sick, widows, and orphans. 

Our congregation just completed 1500 school kits that provide the most simple, but necessary school supplies. A mission team last winter was able to see them in use on a trip to Africa. It is a powerful reminder that the little things can go far.

We have church related and sponsored food banks in town that help feed people here at home and abroad. People of faith help stock the shelves and help pack the food that is sent out. People coming together in those moments are always joyful. Helping hands yield happy hearts.

"And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him." -Mark 12:30-32

I have to note, we have a little bar downtown that has a little food pantry out in the open by the door. Anyone in need at the moment can take from the shelves. That small business is loving its neighbors, too. Small towns have big hearts. 

When seasons come with challenges, the grateful soul response changes us from the inside out. 

Today, I am grateful that a "grateful soul makes you whole." 

Support & Consolation

Daily Gratitude Year 14-Day 235: Today, I am grateful for His support and consolation. 

No one likes the feeling of losing their footing. It is why we are fascinated with the animals that seem to navigate steep and rocky terrain almost flawlessly where humans would struggle. It is mesmerizing to watch them run, leap, and jump where we would fear a fall. 

Animals were designed to live in and adapt to their environment over time. It is a wonder and wonderful at the same time. 

Humans are different. We were designed for relationship and companionship with God. We need Him and each other. We can attempt to go it alone, but it is a road that leads to confusion and feeling lost. We need His support and consolation. 

This passage offers encouragement and perspective:

"When I thought, “My foot slips,” your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up. When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul." Psalm 94:18-19

I loved reading it in several translations. I am not sure which is my favorite. If we were always as surefooted as the elk or deer, would we forget that we need Him? When we slip or fall, we look for comfort from His hand. 

Natalie Grant's song, "Held,"  talks about the pain of loss and the companionship of grief. The hurt cuts deep and the emptiness is real. It is in those moments we know what it means to be held. Our God does not abandon His children. In His embrace, we can finally rest and breathe. 

Today, I am grateful for His support and consolation. 

The Same Waters

Daily Gratitude Year 14-Day 234: Today, I am grateful the same waters change when HE steps into the story. 

"He sent them back into the same waters that failed them,  just to show that nothing is truly empty when He steps into the story. " 

It is true. They fished all night but caught nothing. They were ready to call the night a failure, as they brought in the nets.

Some days, months, and seasons produce nothing more than discouragement. It can be hard to get out of bed and face the day when it seems the day holds little promise. We forget that He is the true agent of change. He is the one who brings goodness from the same waters that had only seem to produce disappointment. 

"Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” -Luke 6:5-6

Pastor Doane spoke from this passage years ago. It is still a favorite of mine. "Because you say so, I will" is an act of obedience, even when discouragement runs deep. When the nets come in the next time, they are bursting with fish. Obedience in this instance, came before trust. The result was a profound outcome. 

How many times do we miss His best for us, because we fight for control? For me, it might be a daily battle. We tend to live our days in "the same waters." We forget how powerful and life-changing His presence is in our ordinary moments in the regular days. 

He is always present. He is always good.  

Today, I am grateful the same waters change when HE steps into the story.