Be the soil

A proud man is seldom a grateful man, for he never thinks he gets as much as he deserves. (Henry Ward Beecher)

Pride leads to destruction; a proud attitude brings ruin. (Proverbs 16:18)

I have had those moments when I thought I didn't get as much as I deserved - credit where credit was due; thanks for a job well-done; or some form of remuneration. As a young leader, I thought this stuff was important. As I matured a bit, I learned it wasn't all that important - there was a certain sense of joy in just doing a job well, no matter who got the credit, thanks, or 'payment' for it. I have come to realize it is quite a dangerous thing to drift into this pathway of believing we are 'owed' something. If we are to be truthful here, our attitude about why we are doing something is very important. 

Proverbs 29:23 reminds us, "Pride will ruin people, but those who are humble will be honored." It is important to have the right attitude behind our actions. Look at what Beecher said - a proud man is seldom a GRATEFUL man. It isn't that we want the gratitude directed towards ourselves - it is that we are grateful to be called upon to do whatever it is we are doing. Grateful for the skills we have been given. Grateful for the time to complete the task. Grateful for the hope or pleasure it will give another. There is no greater honor than to have completed the task and see the work become a means of blessing to another.

Do you know the rest of the quote by Beecher? The full quote is: "Pride slays thanksgiving, but a humble mind is the soil out of which thanks naturally grow. A proud man is seldom a grateful man, for he never thinks he gets as much as he deserves." Pride slays thanksgiving - herein is the crux of our study today - gratitude. Do things from a grateful heart and the outcome will be much different. Think less about what you will get from the action and more about how it will be a blessing to another. Become the soil out of which thanks grows. Gratitude is grace in action. Just sayin!

Strum those strings

On your feet now—applaud God! Bring a gift of laughter, sing yourselves into his presence. Know this: God is God, and God, God. He made us; we didn’t make him. We’re his people, his well-tended sheep. Enter with the password: “Thank you!” Make yourselves at home, talking praise. Thank him. Worship him. For God is sheer beauty, all-generous in love, loyal always and ever. (Psalm 100)

I have a 'password keeper vault' in order to keep track of all the passwords I use - how about you? There is on password that I will never need to enter into that vault, though - the one that gives me access to the presence of God! Saying 'yes' to Jesus opened the access - grateful heart expressing all manner of praise and worship gives me freedom to enter into his presence time and time again.

Well-tended sheep - doesn't that conjure up a great picture? I walk through some small 'white fence farms' around me and there is this one place that uses sheep to 'tend' the yard. He places a few in a square enclosure on wheels and then moves it around and around the yard until that large piece of property is 'mowed' by his 'natural lawnmowers'. Yesterday, on sheep stood there just bellowing - no other sheep in the pen, so not sure if he was lonely, needed the pen moved to a 'greener spot', or just saw us and wanted to make himself known. He tends those sheep well, but I am sure we are much better attended!

The pen usually has a couple of sheep and even a lamb or two in the lambing season. Not sure why the solitary sheep stood there that day - perhaps the grass wasn't long enough to support more than one. That sheep wasn't happy and it was letting us know. I think the grass looked greener somewhere else and that is why it was making all that racket. Isn't it so like us to make a bit of a racket whenever we think the grass isn't as green as we want it? We 'bellow' for a bit of movement, feeling trapped in our present circumstances and like no one is aware of us. All the while, God is just waiting for us to get content where we are, calling out in praise and thanksgiving rather than discontent and grumpiness!

God can be counted on - even when we feel a little 'penned in'. He can be trusted to know the bigger plan - moving us when the time is just right. Choose joy rather than discontent. Open you lips and begin to praise instead of bemoaning the fact you aren't where you want to be. You could just be surprised by how quickly God comes when those gratitude words strum the strings of his heart! Just sayin!

Here's a little, but wait, there is more...

My frequent and ongoing struggle to keep weight off my body has me investigating how to keep my metabolism moving right along so I can burn the calories I put in. I have discovered fasting from a meal or two a day on occasion actually helps me to keep weight off. It isn't that I am starving myself, as I have reserves! I am just asking my body to use what it already has and not to demand what it doesn't actually need! The term "fast" has a couple of meanings, but when we use it to describe a condition of heart, mind, and soul which abstains from something in order to focus on another, we call it "fasting". There are all kinds of fasts - some from food, others from input of various forms of media, or perhaps from a special treat we enjoy. The season just before Easter is called Lent and is considered by some churches to be a season of temporary "fasting" - giving up something in order to get a little closer to God during that season. I wonder if we really have considered the kind of "fast" God is really after in our lives? It may be he is after what is keeping our heart captive and our mind focused on things that just deter us from our time with him.

"This is the kind of fast day I'm after: to break the chains of injustice, get rid of exploitation in the workplace, free the oppressed, cancel debts. What I'm interested in seeing you do is: sharing your food with the hungry, inviting the homeless poor into your homes, putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad, being available to your own families. Do this and the lights will turn on, and your lives will turn around at once. Your righteousness will pave your way. The God of glory will secure your passage. Then when you pray, God will answer. You'll call out for help and I'll say, 'Here I am.' (Isaiah 58:6-9)

We focus on what we "give up" when God seems to focus on what we "do" with the time we set aside for HIS use. It is more to him a matter of us being willing to be available to do things WITH him instead of always being so willing to do them without him! God's primary purpose of asking for our "focus" is for him to "tune us into" the various needs which exist around us and sometimes within us. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in our own lives, we miss the apparent needs all around us. We all have something to share - yet we often don't think of the impact our action of withholding what we have at our access is to those around us! There are just times when we need to get things in order within our lives, then share how God transforms lives just as he has transformed us in those areas. Others need to learn from what we have learned. We need to be mentors in our faith.

Sharing food with the hungry can be both in the literal and spiritual sense. We almost always have the ability to share food with the hungry in the natural sense. For the majority of us, we have cupboards with extra stuff on the shelf that could meet the needs of another who is hungering for a good meal. We have the ability to give out of our "abundance" most of the time, don't we? The truth of the matter is that God also asks for us to give out of more than our abundance - simply because giving out of abundance does not cost us much! When we stop long enough to share something from a spiritual "shelf" within our lives, we are giving as God would have us give. The physical food is good - the spiritual food just "ices the cake"! We may not feel anyone would benefit from what we could share in a spiritual sense, but the opposite is quite true. I have learned some of the most profound lessons from those who thought their 'simple' learning experiences couldn't benefit anyone else! You just never know when what you have to give - even when you think it is 'too simple' to matter to anyone else - will touch the lives of those who have been hungering for that in their own lives.

Inviting the poor into your homes is a touchy subject for some, I know. We are very protective of our "space", aren't we? Guess what? You can become proficient in 'opening your home' in a very practical sense by being willing to open your heart doors to the spiritually poor first! Then you will begin to identify ways to open your doors to the physically poor later! Our willingness to meet the needs of others is one of the ways we grow in our faith. Being open to share from your heart is probably one of the biggest steps we each take in this walk of faith. We like our facades, don't we? Get real with others and you might just see how much 'good stuff' is on the shelves of your 'heart pantry' that others can actually find hope in! Put clothes of the ill-clad. We don't find it hard to part with the clothes we no longer want to wear, but have you ever given something which was your very favorite? It costs you something different, huh? In the giving of this simple gift, much is accomplished because you have shared a part of yourself that you actually enjoy!

Be available to your own families - why does God actually need to tell us this? There are times when we become so wrapped up in meeting the needs of others, we neglect our own. I think God is giving us a little "process check" here. He reminds us of the need to cultivate our own fields. Cultivated fields grow much richer crops than those which have been neglected by the passage of time and attention! We have much to "give" from within our lives , but did you ever consider what you give as a matter of "fasting"? Well, if you consider your "fast" in light of what God said about the 'fast' these many years ago, you just might find it easier to 'fast' than you ever did before! Just sayin!

Let us be grateful

Let me see clearly so that I may take in the amazing things coming from Your law. (Psalm 119:18 VOICE)

What is it you are not seeing that clearly right now? Is there some question you have been wrestling with for some time unable to quite reach some form of resolution or solution? Is the time you spend pondering the stuff of everyday life kind of getting harder and harder when you expected it might just let up a little? If so, you are not alone in this inability to see clearly at times - we all suffer from the same "lack of clarity", but may not always admit to it because we don't actually realize we haven't reached a point of "clarity" yet.

I think one of the greatest things which unlocks clarity in my own life is when I reach a place of gratitude in whatever are I am struggling or wrestling with at that moment. That may seem a little naive at first, but hear me out. When I transition from questioning into trusting, it usually happens when I begin to settle into being grateful for whatever it is I am facing or dealing with regardless of how tough, unfair, or monumental it may seem. I think Melody Beattie penned it beautifully when she wrote: "Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend."  

It doesn't take much of a rudder to turn a huge ship, my friends. Sometimes the smallest amount of gratitude in our hearts and minds ends up bringing the deepest sense of trusting, the exact amount of hope we need, and the most insightful direction we could ever receive! We may not be removed from the tough place, but we somehow manage to see it differently. I don't know how all that works because I am not God, but I have seen him do this in my own life time and time again - simply because I turn from complaint about the issue, stop struggling to produce the answer myself, and begin to just thank him for holding me right there in the midst of it until he reveals the way out.

We don't uncover truth - it comes to us because we have opened our hearts and minds to receive it. One of the keys to unlocking our minds is to change from using the key of "questioning" to using the key of "thanking". When my marriage was falling apart many years ago, I had lots of questions, hurts, anxieties, and frustrations. The one thing that settled my heart and mind, guiding me through that tumultuous time was being grateful for what I had received and learned during those years of being together. I don't always embrace the lessons the first time I am going through them, but as I see things unwinding or getting a little chaotic in my life, I can choose to see things from a different perspective, not because I become "enlightened", but because I choose to be thankful.

We are in a season dedicated to being grateful for the many wonderful things God has placed in our lives. I challenge each of us to think upon the things we are not the most grateful for today - those tough things we are facing. As we think of those things, could we just for a moment ask God to help us change our focus from one of wrestling or struggling with those things to just being grateful for them? We don't know what awaits us around the other side of those things, but trust me on this one - when we change to a position of gratitude, we may just see possibility where we only saw challenge, hope were we only imagined the worst, and delight where we had been experiencing all manner of frustration. Just sayin!

Thank you is more than just words

Thank you.  Gracias.  Grazie.  Merci.  Dankeschon.  Spasibo.  Whether English, Spanish, Italian, French, German, Russian - all these words express gratefulness, thanksgiving, and appreciation.  There are lots of ways to say thank you, but even more ways to show a heart and attitude of thankfulness! I know when I have given a gift which touches the heart, or one of those gifts I "thought" someone would like, but which bombs pretty badly.  It is like the difference between a new video game or a package of underwear on Christmas morning to my grandson.  One will elicit genuine thankfulness - the other will get the prerequisite "thank you", but it will not be heartfelt!  You know which one is the latter!  It is more in what the heart and attitude display than the words we speak which convinces another of our true gratefulness anyway.  

Thank you! Everything in me says “Thank you!” Angels listen as I sing my thanks. I kneel in worship facing your holy temple and say it again: “Thank you!” Thank you for your love, thank you for your faithfulness; Most holy is your name, most holy is your Word. The moment I called out, you stepped in; you made my life large with strength. (Psalm 138:1-3 MSG)

How many ways do we express our gratitude to our heavenly Father?  In words, we fall a little short of what our heart means to say, don't we?  If we rely solely upon the words we speak to express our gratitude and God never sees our heart, he won't be as convinced of our gratefulness.  This is why God continually connects the heart (mind, will, and emotions) with the expressions of our mouth - one backs the other up!  Did you ever stop to consider who listens when you express gratitude to God for who he is, what he has done, and where he stands in your life?  I never really did because I always just thought my prayers of thanksgiving were just between me and God.  Then I came across this passage of scripture one day only to discover that these prayers are not "secret"!  They are overheard by angels - not because they are eavesdropping, but because they are purposefully listening to hear them!

Worshipful words are expressed from the heart - they reveal the intensity of gratitude we have toward God.  These are the words which don't escape the attention of the heavenly host.  When thankfulness becomes most noticeable is when it is spoken "from everything in you".  In other words - your actions match your words.  We have all probably been a little guilty of saying "thanks" for stuff we didn't exactly want - like the package of underwear on Christmas. We make a "show" of being "thankful", but in reality we are simply reciting the polite phrase because it is the right thing to do.  There are also times when we come into worship in a place of "just saying the right words" rather than these words being a reflection of what is in our heart.  Did you ever stop to consider that God even receives thanksgiving when we are open about how much disappointment we have experienced, or when we trust him enough to hear our deepest secrets?

We are expressing what our heart holds - this is music to God's ears.  It is more than the formal "thanks God" we speak - it is the trust we place in him, the hope we exude in bringing him our needs, etc.  Yes, he wants (and needs) to hear our words of "thanks", but he also needs to see our heart of trust. There is something which makes the words a little more meaningful when we feel the heart behind them, isn't there?  As we enter into times of intimate communion with our heavenly Father, we come into a place of trust - where we can bring anything and everything before him without fear of how he will "interpret" what we bring, or how he will "treat it".  Even the angels who overhear our prayers don't betray our trust - they simply look toward our heavenly Father to see how he is moved by our heart and how he will move on our behalf when we finally reveal the intensity of faith we are placing in him to handle our life better than we have been able to in the past.

The rest of the psalm probably sums it up better than I can:  When they hear what you have to say, God, all earth’s kings will say “Thank you.”  They’ll sing of what you’ve done: “How great the glory of God!”  And here’s why: God, high above, sees far below; no matter the distance, he knows everything about us. When I walk into the thick of trouble, keep me alive in the angry turmoil.  With one hand strike my foes, with your other hand save me.  Finish what you started in me, God.  Your love is eternal—don’t quit on me now. (vs. 4-8 MSG)  You see, OUR thanksgiving is met with God's intervention - he embraces our heart and takes our trust into his care.  His watchfulness is over us and his hand is quick to respond to our need.  Thanksgiving opens the door to heart connection - when it comes with genuine trust in the one who gives even the "gifts" we don't actually understand we have the need of in the first place (like underwear on Christmas morning).

No matter the distance - he knows everything about us.  No matter the need - he stands ready to meet it.  No matter the words we use to express our gratefulness for his watchfulness and care over our lives - he looks deeper into the recesses of our heart to see the trust we place in him.  It isn't easy to trust this deeply, but when we begin to venture into deeper avenues of trusting him with the parts of our lives which we have not trusted him before, this is an expression of thanksgiving he experiences with great joy!  Just sayin!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I don't get into the Facebook fads like sharing ten things about yourself no one else knows, or the one which surfaces each year around Thanksgiving season when everyone tries to focus on what they are thankful for everyday. It isn't that there aren't things you don't know about me, or that I am not a thankful individual.  In fact, as today is Thanksgiving Day in the U.S., I just wanted to take a moment or two to just focus our attention on what it is we are truly grateful for.  The most profound post I saw this month about thanksgiving read:  "If material things are what you are talking about when you say 'I am blessed', you have no idea about blessings."  If we stop long enough to chew on this one, we might just have to agree with the person writing this post.  What we choose to focus on, make the object of our affection and attention, will often become the thing or individual we learn to count among our greatest treasures.

Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.  (I Thessalonians 5:16-18 MSG)

Four things are outlined in this passage:  Rejoicing at all times; Being joyful in all things; Praying without ceasing; and Giving thanks regardless of the "things".  We have a tendency to complain when "things" don't fulfill our wants or wishes, prayer seems to be taking too long to see any answers we might expect, sadness seems to invade space where we'd rather have joy reside, or when it is almost impossible to be thankful for what we see as not so wonderful of a "blessing" in our lives.  If you stop long enough to consider this, you might just realize "Promised Land" possibilities are not a result of "Present Circumstance" complaining!  If we are given toward complaining when the slightest thing doesn't go our way, or our expectations are not completely met, we will be miserable - because it just doesn't ALWAYS go our way!

Complaining actually keeps us from realizing the possibilities God has for us in the moment.  Complaining is usually because we have formed some unrealistic expectations anyway - just getting our priorities a little mixed up. If we'd just stop to consider the power of our words, and the revelation our words provide us to actually explore the intention of our hearts, we might just pay a little closer attention to them!  Our words reveal the direction our hearts have taken - they are like the rudder on a boat, directed by the course of our heart.  The scriptures clearly point out the words of our mouth as a source of many of our worries and conflicts - but those words come from a deeper source - the heart.  This is why God reflects on the four principles we outlined from our passage - for each of these is what he is wants to see realized in our hearts rather than all the complaining.

Rejoicing is a choice - we determine the level of satisfaction or gratitude we will attach to or associate with events and individuals in our lives.  Once we make this determination, we can either choose to rejoice or bemoan our fate. The choice to rejoice is much more rewarding, for it is then we learn to regard even the tiniest of blessings as worth a price far greater than gold!  When we learn to rejoice from a heart focused not on the 'size' of the blessing, but rather on the fact we are truly blessed, it is a whole lot easier to be joyful, prayer comes a little more freely, and we just don't forget the small stuff when we consider what it is we are grateful for.

There is something powerful in thanksgiving - it creates a connection between the potential for and the provision of.  We all have potential, but provision is a result of our focus.  Focus on the correct connection and potential becomes provision.  Thanksgiving trains the mind's eye to look beyond what isn't there to seeing what is.  "Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see." (Hebrews 11:1 NLT)  Faith, trust, and thanksgiving all go hand-in-hand.  Most of us don't have a problem RECEIVING the good things in life, but do we stop long enough to consider the PERSON behind those good things?  Even the very faith to believe for the possibilities is a result of the provision of our God.  We don't possess faith on our own, we don't see the possibilities because of our own inner conviction, and we don't act on our faith because we have the inner strength to see things through to completion.  We get all these at the feet of Jesus.

If you haven't stopped to consider the connection between relationship and thanksgiving, it is time to do so.  All thanksgiving is best understood and appreciated because we stopped long enough to consider the giver of all good things in our lives.  We acknowledge each other often, but do we stop to acknowledge the one who actually provided that other person?  Thanksgiving provides foundation for praise and promise - you enter with a grateful heart and upon that gratefulness, foundational truths are built into your spirit. Those truths guide your heart and in turn focus your attention on the one who blesses instead of all the blessings.  As we stop today to "consider", maybe it is time we turn our attention away from the blessings and toward the one who blessed us with all things - God himself.  Just sayin!

Gratitude - the evidence of a changed heart

Thanksgiving - gratitude - is evidence of a changed heart.  As children, we learned to say "thank you" for just about everything from getting a cookie to mom handing you a pile of clean undies to put away in the drawer.  Every act of "kindness" or "provision" became an opportunity for us to thank someone. For most of us, saying "thank you" has become a little "rote", hasn't it? Thanksgiving is more than saying the right words - it is revealing the right heart.

It happened that as he made his way toward Jerusalem, he crossed over the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten men, all lepers, met him. They kept their distance but raised their voices, calling out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” Taking a good look at them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.”  They went, and while still on their way, became clean. One of them, when he realized that he was healed, turned around and came back, shouting his gratitude, glorifying God. He kneeled at Jesus’ feet, so grateful. He couldn’t thank him enough—and he was a Samaritan. Jesus said, “Were not ten healed? Where are the nine? Can none be found to come back and give glory to God except this outsider?” Then he said to him, “Get up. On your way. Your faith has healed and saved you.”  (Luke 17:11-19 MSG)

Ten lepers were healed - one returned to say "thanks".  Does it surprise you it was the Samaritan who returned - the one who would have been least likely? What we see in his actions is evidence of a changed heart.  Each had the same potential for gratitude - the same motive - but only one returned.  I don't know why the nine didn't return, but something speaks to me about the one who did.  He had lived so close to the pit of despair - now his whole world has been transformed.  For him, his change in appearance, general health and well-being was more than just a chance to live outside of that "pit" again.  It was a chance to display freshness and wholeness.  Nothing speaks louder of God's actions on a man's behalf than the freshness of heart and the wholeness of spirit which is a direct result of his healing!

I have to wonder what this man's attitude of heart was in the midst of the "pit" of leprosy.  Maybe, just maybe, there was a hint of gratitude in the midst of the pit, as well!  Maybe he had learned to trust God wherever he was - no matter the circumstances.  These many years, he had been defined by the "pit" in which he dwelt - the pit of leprosy - let's call it the pit of imperfection. This had defined him for however long he was there - yet, somehow he is able to embrace this idea of mercy better than all the rest.  Maybe it is because he no longer saw himself defined by his imperfection, and this drove him to his knees in absolute gratitude and worship!  Isn't it an amazing thing to finally discover you are no longer defined by your imperfection, but by the mercy of God's grace restoring and renewing your life?

It is easy to be thankful for what we can get.  We come out of the deal with something we didn't have when we went into it.  It is quite another thing to just be thankful because God "is" and not always just because of what he "does".  At first, they were all grateful for what God "did" for them - but this one shows an awareness of who God "is" as he kneels in worship.  Worship is really a connection of heart between who we are and what God is.  Ten sought his "action" - one sought his "presence".  It is one thing to always to be ministered to by the hand of God - it is quite another to settle into the comfort of connecting with his heart!

Here's a tough question:  Would we find ourselves struggling with anger or disappointment if somehow something which has defined us for so long was removed from our lives?  If this "something" was a negative habit, or some gnawing guilt from our past, we'd likely answer this one with a resounding "no".  Yet, if this "something" was something we rely upon everyday, we'd likely feel a tremendous loss without it.  If we find ourselves answering "yes" to this one, we might just have an attitude of entitlement, instead of gratitude toward that "something".  I wonder if Jesus saw something different in this leper even before he sent them on their way to the priest - something like gratitude even before his circumstances changed.  It is possible this man was just grateful for the chance to connect with Jesus.  Maybe he was more concerned with this connection than he was consumed with his desire to be healed.  Who knows?

Here's the thing I hope we can see from this passage - God's wants us to have hearts of gratitude even before he changes the circumstances in our lives.  Gratitude reflects the change of heart which defines us no longer as "pit dwellers".  Gratitude is foundational to worship.  Worship flows from being more consumed by who God is than what he does.  Just know this - he delights in "doing" for those who delight in just "being" with him!  Just sayin!

Anticipating our needs

If you have ever tried to talk with someone who just isn't listening, you know the frustration this can create.  If you try to get their attention, you might succeed, but holding it is another thing.  When someone is definitely not interested, or totally distracted by something else, no amount of coaxing on your part seems to do the trick in holding their attention.  I wonder how God feels sometimes when we are so totally disinterested, or distracted, when he is attempting to get some message across to us.  Since he gave us all the emotions we experience, and we are created in his image, do you think it is possible he might get a little "frustrated" with us at times?  In the simplest sense, "frustrated" simply means to be disappointed.  I definitely think God experiences disappointment!

I’ve made myself available to those who haven’t bothered to ask.  I’m here, ready to be found by those who haven’t bothered to look.  (Isaiah 65:1 MSG)

The good news is found in Isaiah - God doesn't wait to be heard, nor does he wait for us to focus all our attention on seeking him!  He seeks us!  He makes himself available, even before we know we have need of him!  Looking at our passage, we see him "anticipating" our need.  If you have ever tried to anticipate the needs of anyone, you know this is quite a task!  It is such a tremendous task for us because we are human and limited in our understanding of the various needs of another.  God is not limited by these same "limits" - he is in no way "finite" in his understanding or apprehension.  In fact, he is all-knowing (omniscient).  

We are just about to enter another Christmas holiday season, complete with all the mixed up rush of shopping, gathering, and celebrating.  Some will be engaged in preparing home and hearth for the many celebrations, while others will quietly squirrel away in the comfort of their little homes, trying desperately to avoid all the hubbub.  We all "celebrate" the tremendous "gift" of Christmas in our own ways.  Before we get either totally wrapped up on the hectic events, or withdraw to our own wee abodes, let's not forget the meaning of this season.  It is the celebration of the birth of our Savior.  As such, the real meaning is God's ANTICIPATING our need!  He knew we needed him long before we ever realized his actions on our behalf.

As we take apart our passage this morning, we find several awesome truths:

- God makes himself available.  If you have ever tried to get an appointment to see some high up official such as the town mayor, your senator, or possibly the governor of your region, you might just know how tremendously difficult it is to find time in their busy schedule to have an audience with them.  Imagine  this is the God of the entire universe we are talking about here.  Wouldn't he be pretty busy, too?  Wouldn't his schedule be tight?  You betcha!  But...he makes HIMSELF available.  Readily available - attainable.  No hesitation on his part.  It is his greatest joy to be available!  Every time I think my need is just too insignificant to bring before the God of the entire universe, I need to "check" myself - no need is EVER too insignificant, nor is his "schedule" too tight to make himself available.  The mayor, senator, or governor may have to "fit me in", but God has already "blocked" time for me!  He's done the same for you, too!

- We don't even ask.  Looking carefully, Isaiah reminds us we often find we need his "availability" even before we take the time to bother to ask.  Do you know what it means to bother someone?  It means to interrupt the pressing duties of another.  Imagine this:  The God of the entire universe must have some pretty demanding "duties".  Things like holding the planets in alignment, stars in their place, waters flowing from the deep recesses of the earth, and hearts beating everywhere.  There is a lot he does just by the power of his word spoken.  Yet, his "duties" as God of the entire universe NEVER outweigh his desire to be available even before we ask!  We don't even realize we have a need - we don't realize we need his "availability".

- He is here.  Not in some far off place, or in some galaxy yet undiscovered by human eye.  He is HERE and ready to be found.  There is nothing elusive about God.  He is ever-present (omnipresent).  We try to look all kinds of "places" for the answers to what we might perceive to be our need, but it is only in recognizing God HERE that we discover the answer to our need even before we know what the real need is.  

So, as we approach this season of Thanksgiving and on into our celebration of Christmas, let us take a little time out of our busy days to refocus our attention on the one who makes these seasons even possible.  Did you ever stop to consider there would never be a Thanksgiving is men and women never sought to enjoy their religious freedom?  Did you ever think Christmas would just not exist if Christ had never been sent to the earth to be the atonement for our sins?  This should give us perspective - God "anticipating" the needs of his people even before they asked, or bothered to look!  Just sayin!

Exclaimed in Thanksgiving!

Hallelujah is a shout of joy, praise, or gratitude.  When I heard a little girl we'd been praying for was finally in remission with her battle against leukemia, my first word was indeed "Hallelujah!!"  Sometimes we shout because of something wonderful done in the life of another, like when we hear of this little one's "win", and at other times, it is almost a moment of relief because we saw God intervene before total destruction overtook someone.  The reason behind the word being spoken can vary, but the intent is always the same - to proclaim just how blessed we are!

Hallelujah!  Blessed man, blessed woman, who fear God, who cherish and relish his commandments, their children robust on the earth, and the homes of the upright—how blessed!  Their houses brim with wealth and a generosity that never runs dry.  Sunrise breaks through the darkness for good people—
God’s grace and mercy and justice!  The good person is generous and lends lavishly; no shuffling or stumbling around for this one, but a sterling and solid and lasting reputation.  Unfazed by rumor and gossip, heart ready, trusting in God, spirit firm, unperturbed, ever blessed, relaxed among enemies, they lavish gifts on the poor—a generosity that goes on, and on, and on.  An honored life! A beautiful life!  (Psalm 112:1-9 MSG)

Our psalmist proclaims how beautiful life is for those who fear God, cherish and relish his commands.  To cherish is to care for in such a way so as to nurture.  Think of it as taking God's commands so close to our hearts that we allow them to be "nurtured" until they come to a place of full growth (maturity) in us.  To relish is to appreciate them as enjoyable - even when they are hard for us.  The man or woman of God who takes these commands of his as their own will allow them to affect their hearts deeply and will allow their work to be fully accomplished.  In turn, they become so pleasurable, even the "hard ones" become something we seek more of in our lives!

Then he lists some definite "results" of taking God's commands to heart - allowing them to come to full maturity in us:

- Children robust on the earth.  This may not be the case of our "physical" offspring, but it definitely applies to our "spiritual" offspring.  Some have no physical offspring, but their lives, richly graced with God's presence, produce offspring of a spiritual nature.  

- Homes blessed, brimming with wealth and a generosity that never runs dry.  I don't think our psalmist was saying all believers will be millionaires, or rich philanthropists who will endow institutions with their "excess" wealth.  In fact, I think there is very little "blessing" in wealth of a physical nature.  Sure, it buys us things, but it cannot buy us family, sincere relationships, or a fulfilled heart.  The richness our psalmist refers to here is that of a heart looking beyond its own wants and seeing the needs of another, then being moved to meet the need.

- Sunrise breaks through the darkness.  Nothing is more welcomed for one in dark times than a little breaking of light into the space where the darkness once dwelt.  Our psalmist refers to this "light" as bringing God's grace, mercy and justice.  Guilt and shame are never more powerful than God's grace and mercy.  No wonder he says "sunrise" breaks THROUGH the darkness!  Grace, mercy, and justice are like razor sharp rays of light into the darkest places of the soul of one enveloped in the strong hold of guilt, shame, or fear.  

- Lending freely and generous in all ways.  To this he adds, "no shuffling or stumbling around about this one" - it comes as an outcome of being enveloped in God's grace, impacted my his mercy, and the intensity of thanksgiving (gratefulness) this produces.  There is a desire to give what has been freely given - without measure.  One truly impacted by grace finds it a thing to share, not hold up or squirrel away as only for them alone!

- A sterling, solid, and lasting reputation.  Not fazed by rumors or gossip.  It never says we won't be the objects of someone's gossip or rumors - it only assures us we will be unfazed by it!  Why?  God's grace "re-orders" our reputation - where we once were worthy of a "bad" reputation, we are now changed (made anew) and no longer "under" the influence of that rep.  It may take a while for our head to catch up with this truth, but when God changes us at the heart level, the reputation of our past is gone!  Our head may need a while to be convinced - but it doesn't make it any less true!  When we realize the steadfastness of the reputation God gives by his grace, we can stand strong and assured.

- Heart ready, trusting in God.  Remembering our heart is mostly what we think of as our emotions, it is interesting he combines our heart with our trusting.  Where our emotions go, so go we!  Trust is based on truth - the more of God's truth we get into us, allowing it to affect our heart, the more reliable our emotions will be!  Yet, our emotions are never our best guide in life - we still need ready and firm spirits.  Spirits connected to his - integrated as one person.  It is this integration of spirit which gives us the ability to respond with ready hearts and willing spirits.

- Relaxed among enemies.  Wow!  If you have ever been face-to-face with your enemies, you know full-well what anxiousness this can produce.  Your heart-rate almost goes up right now just thinking about what it is like to be in their presence, doesn't it?  It is not a place of comfort, yet our psalmist tells us those who are touched by the grace of God are able to be "relaxed" among their enemies.  No tension, no anxiety - freedom.  Why?  Simply because we have already set them free!  We don't hold onto their hurt, but release it to God and then hold his grace out to them.  It drives them crazy to get this response from us!  Try it!  You will find it much more powerful than any amount of bitterness, anger, or resentment you could muster toward them!

Yep, a blessed life indeed.  Just sayin!

Want high returns on your investment?

Be generous: Invest in acts of charity. Charity yields high returns.  Don't hoard your goods; spread them around.  Be a blessing to others.

(Ecclesiastes 11:1-2 The Message)

In the United States, this is the week of Thanksgiving.  We will gather around tables across our nation with friends and family this Thursday to celebrate the season of harvest that our forefathers began so many years ago in Plymouth.  The celebration of harvest was something to relish, as the hard work of the year was drawing to a close, and the land would soon lay at rest for while prior to the planting of the next crops.  We've lost that sense of celebrating harvest over the years as our country has become far more of a manufacturing country and a lot less of an agricultural country.  Yet, we continue the celebration without any real connection to its original meaning.

In many ways, Thanksgiving marks the beginning of the season we call our "holiday" season.  Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, families begin to prepare for Christmas by hanging lights, erecting decorated trees, and bringing out the nativity scene.  The stores begin to fill with all kinds of reminders that this is a season of "giving" - urging us to purchase, purchase, purchase.  The wee ones clamor for a place in line to sit on the lap of a jolly Santa figure who will listen to their pleas for a certain toy or a new bike.  In fact, over the last 20 years or so, we have seen the trend to celebrate what can only be known as the season of "HalloThanksMas".  It is the season where Halloween candy is just barely out the door, Thanksgiving decor is ushered in, and Christmas ornaments are not far behind!

I heard an interesting statistic just before Halloween that made me ponder for a while.  The reporter shared that in today's economy (and for many years now), the holiday where the most money is spent per member of the household is Christmas.  But....the second most celebrated (and costly) "holiday" is Halloween!  Does that surprise you?  Well, the statistic showed that the average household spends around $250 per person to celebrate Halloween!  Than included costumes, candy, decorations, and the parties.  Ummm...I don't know about you, but I think that is crazy!  I cannot remember the statistic for Christmas, but I was totally amazed at the amount spent on celebrating Halloween, a celebration with "roots" in celebrating the dead!

Somewhere in the mix of things, Thanksgiving took a backseat as the "beginning" of the holiday "season"!  I think we might want to reconsider our focus on this holiday!  You see, I believe that in opening our heart to the spirit of being grateful, we are opening our heart to share with others.  When we see how tremendously we have been blessed, we cannot help but want to share our blessing with others.  I don't know how God is challenging you to be a blessing to someone this holiday season, but if you reflect long enough on how his grace has changed your life, what his love continually provides, and the keeping power of his protection over your life, you will begin this holiday season well!

There are many who need nothing more than your love - evidenced in your investment of time in their lives.  There are others who need your hands - bringing them skilled help where they can no longer do the work themselves.  Then there are those that need our resources - filling their hungry bellies with nourishing meals.  Whatever God moves you toward - do it!  Don't be stingy in your THANKS - be generous in your GIVING!  Have a blessed beginning to your holiday season!