Posts Tagged: Thanksgiving

Thankful Thursdays: My Basement is Flooded and I Still Choose to Praise

So I was thinking Job today and God gave me Hannah’s prayer of thanksgiving instead.

1 Samuel 2:1-10 Then Hannah prayed and said, “My heart exults in the LORD; My horn is exalted in the LORD, My mouth speaks boldly against my enemies, Because I rejoice in Your salvation. 2“There is no one holy like the LORD, Indeed, there is no one besides You, Nor is there any rock like our God. 3“Boast no more so very proudly, Do not let arrogance come out of your mouth; For the LORD is a God of knowledge, And with Him actions are weighed. 4“The bows of the mighty are shattered, But the feeble gird on strength. 5“Those who were full, hire themselves out for bread, But those who were hungry cease to hunger. Even the barren gives birth to seven, But she who has many children languishes. 6“The LORD kills and makes alive; He brings down to Sheol and raises up. 7“The LORD makes poor and rich; He brings low, He also exalts. 8“He raises the poor from the dust, He lifts the needy from the ash heap. To make them sit with nobles, And inherit a seat of honor; For the pillars of the earth are the LORD’S, And He set the world on them. 9“He keeps the feet of His godly ones, But the wicked ones are silenced in darkness; For not by might shall a man prevail. 10“Those who contend with the LORD will be shattered; Against them He will thunder in the heavens, The LORD will judge the ends of the earth; And He will give strength to His king, And will exalt the horn of His anointed.”

This is a woman who knows God’s sovereignty and our freedom to walk humbly with our God. She is barren, despised by her community, but she prays and God gives her a son. She gives that son right back to Him! Her son Samuel will one day anoint David as King, and ultimately leading to the birth of Jesus! To know that what God will do in our lives is far greater than our suffering, our circumstances even our accumulated wealth, and our kingdom is a rare wisdom.  Do you and have it? Are we willing to humble ourselves, submit to God’s authority and wait on his answer? Do we accept that he is limitless?

I raise my hands to the heavens and declare: You Lord know what you are doing! Wow! Oh Father I give you praise that my husband, kids, and I are drawing closer in the midst of our storm. I praise you that we can laugh! I praise you that the sun rose again. I praise you for keeping Brian and Natalie safe as they drove through the flooded streets last night. I praise you that my house is still standing. I praise you that we are still standing! You are a good God. I praise you for the friends who love and support us. Thank you for making our path straight.

Thank you Jesus for our salvation! Amen

 

Thankful Thursdays: Taking a Praise Shower on Friday

Psalm 73:26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

This morning I was an explosion waiting to happen. Just light the fuse and shrapnel everywhere! Yet another night of pain and not sleeping. The cortisone shot doesn’t seem to be working. I had intended on recording my thankfulness yesterday, but felt it all stopped up by the struggle and pain of functioning. As I read my Unglued devotional this morning the thankfulness began washing over me!

So Lord, I praise you this morning!

  • What great music you are playing for me on the radio! (Air 1)
  • My husband and I laughed this morning
  • I get to bundle up and go watch a high school football game tonight!
  • My in-laws have my kids for the weekend
  • I didn’t come unglued, instead I acknowledged my anger and released it
  • Dishes are complete!
  • I get to write!
  • The cardinal that landed on my deck
  • That I don’t have to rely on my own strength
  • Your daily love notes in scripture: Today meditating on Psalm 73:26
  • Friends

What can you praise God for this morning?

Remembering to Give Thanks

1 Peter 4:7 The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. 8Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.

My name is Greek, and it means grace or thanksgiving. This morning as I was hunting, once again, for my daughter’s glasses I wasn’t very filled with grace. Peter reminds me that these earthly moments will come to an end, what lasting impression do I want to leave on my daughter and son? This morning could I have covered her messy room and buried glasses with a grace filled attitude? I was certainly grumbling. To love earnestly means that my energy is burning brightly; some translation use the word fervently.

So where is all our energy spent, is it in noticing all the negatives in our lives, or the hurts others have caused or is it in giving thanks for all that we’ve been given, and that we don’t have to share this journey alone? Do we celebrate the fact that our cups overflow, and our bellies are full. Do we notice that we have warm clothes and a pillow to lay our weary head?

Celebrate each other, and be filled with hospitality towards one another as you spend time with family.

Out of love springs humility. Through grace I develop awareness of my generous God, then the slights experienced, or my daughter’s lost glasses are minor in comparison! Besides, I seem to remember a brown-haired girl thirty-two years ago who buried her glasses under her stuffed animals a time or two.

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