Gratitude

From death to life…..

“In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life;” Romans 6:11-13

I wasn’t going to listen to Romans this morning on the way to work. I thought…..I listened to this last week. I have heard it all before…..But I forgot one very important thing about God’s word. It has staying power, the power of life in it. It never fails to bring life to the hearer. As I listened to the words of Paul again, speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, I began to get chills up and down my arms.

I was hearing it against the backdrop of everything we have been through these past many months

I got a picture in my mind of impassioned Paul, speaking in front of a courtroom, striding back and forth. One moment Prosecutor of sin, the next brilliant public Defender of the faith, (as if it needed any defending.)

As I listened to the first 6 Chapters the words flowed over me and I reflected on the past 3 days…..that’s where the chills came in. We can go through anything, my friends, because we are a people who have been brought from death to life. That’s how we roll.

That is the reason for the hope that lies within us. That’s the thing that makes it possible to rise up in the morning and do it all again, and with an attitude of hope that no circumstance or person can ever stamp out. That’s the brilliant backdrop, the reality that we can’t see with our eyes, but that we feel with every fiber of our being.

Each one of us knows the truth. We were built to last. Though our bodies are perishing, our God stamp……our spirit, our soul will live on. And one day, we will rise, as He rose, with new bodies. Bodies that can live in God’s world, with Him forever. What a tremendous hope!

 “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” 1 John 3:2-3

And He is with us now. As I look back on the past few months, I cannot deny God’s hand at work….we have talked about it, Elaine and I. I have stood beside her, helping her to navigate this particular valley of death. That’s what it has felt like anyway.

Dealing with all the stress of a Dad with dementia, one minute angry and accusatory, the next minute apologetic….

His move into a rest home……..

Her Mom’s move in with us…….

Learning to live under the same roof with Alzheimers and everything that goes with it……

The emptying out of their house, which we did ourselves, with the help of some very helpful “angels” to cart off some of the biggest items, finishing only just last Tuesday.

Moving everything left into storage.

And finally, the sale of their home…..I can only say that God has been glorified through it all, because we know the truth of these words……”I will never leave you or forsake you……and He hasn’t…..and He won’t.

And in between all these lines there is the everyday life, the toughest part. Where the nitty-gritty battles are fought day in and day out. The fatigue and stress of living with someone who has lived their whole life through a prism of negativity. The life you escaped from.

I look back in disbelief at what we did……the three of us.

I look ahead with hope, because He showed us again that He will never leave us.

Praying Always……

“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—” Ephesians 6:18

“Prayer, and only prayer, restores my vision to one that more resembles God’s. i awake from blindness to see that wealth lurks as a terrible danger, not a goal worth striving for; that value depends not on race or status but on the image of God every person bears; that no amount of effort to improve physical beauty has much relevance for the world beyond.” Philip Yancey

I was on my break the other day at work, and decided to sit in my car a bit and listen to the radio. I was just in time for David Jeremiah’s Turning Point which I used to listen to all the time. He was talking about prayer and reading from one of Philip Yancey’s books. In it, he described a man, a desperate alcoholic who prayed and prayed to be released from his terrible cravings, and yet every morning his first thought was not God but Jack Daniels. At one point in his process of prayer he realized that it was God’s mercy that kept the desire there. He realized that the prayer was changing him from the inside out.

Ever prayed for something for so long that you wondered whether it was doing any good at all? I know I have. But then I realize something else. Maybe that change in myself or someone else is not happening as fast as I think it should, but while I am praying about it, something else is changing.

I am drawing near to God……..my faith is not weakened but strengthened. My frustrations in what I feel are unanswered prayers draw me to the Word of Life……and that in turn gives me the peace I need to wait……because I know in the waiting, something very powerful is happening.

And be assured, that thing you’re praying for will happen when the time is right……

I remain confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the LORD. Psalm 27:13,14
I join with many today in the Gratitude Community…….#700-710
Thankful list: Hanging onto cool mornings for a bit longer, answered prayer about the sale of a home, green offerings from the garden, snatched times of peace away, continued good health, air-conditioner on borrowed time that still rumbles to life, good health of my parents at 81,82, beautiful Arizona sunsets, laughter, always laughter that has continued even through stressfulness of caretaking…..friends who pray.

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"I Don’t Think I Can Do This"

I don’t think I can do this……

Sometimes that’s all you can pray. That’s what my prayer was this morning. But there is nothing wrong with praying that way. Actually, that is what our prayer should be every day. Because as soon as we think we can do it, that is, anything without Him. We are done for.

All the great men and women history down through the ages have either thought that, or prayed that.

“But Lord,” Gideon replied, “how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!”

“But Moses said, “Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.” Here is the Lord’s reply after Moses insisted that he was not eloquent enough to speak to the people: The LORD said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”

Moses went, and God graciously allowed Aaron to go along, as his mouthpiece……..

And Jesus didn’t waltz His way to the cross, He agonized over it……When He prayed to let the cup pass in the garden that night, that was an I don’t think I can do this prayer. But He did it for the joy set before Him. He had the end-result in His sights.

And as I reflect on what every soldier going into battle must have felt like today, I add this gratitude to my list:

Freedom……

I am thankful today for every person all through the years and up to this very day, every soldier fighting for our freedom and liberty.

For every gut-wrenching, “I don’t think I can do this” prayer they prayed…..

For every tear shed for the ones they left behind, both then now.

I say, Thank you for doing it for me, for us, for our freedom.

Because of them, I can stand on my two legs, walk, run, breathe the free air,….and live, work and worship without fear.

My list has grown to #700…………..and counting.

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Gratitude is Counter Cultural

“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Colossians 3:20

I went on a walk last night, just before the last bit of light was snatched out of the sky. My mood was on the somber side. As I walked, however, I was keenly aware of one thing. That it was still cool. Something in my soul jumped up and said……”Remember this, remember this……” For soon, it will be so stifling hot we won’t be able to walk outside without suffocating.

I found myself at the community pool just as the stars came out……both pools were empty, both the inside one and the outside one. I missed my niece terribly just then. She loves to go swimming more than anything in the world. I could see her in my mind and hear her voice and I felt the regret of knowing all that I have missed with her being one state away.

At any given time in this life there are things to feel sad about. But living this way…..this way of looking back is not what God wants us to do. We have a forward thinking God. When we are depressed, we are off balance. Our vision is skewed. We think of how things were, and compare them to how things are now. When we fear that things will get worse, we assume we know what the future holds, but only God knows that. When I think like that I am playing God.

This is dangerous thinking because then, I forget to be thankful for all those things we can praise Him for right now.
 
I was given a great gift growing up. I was taught it by my folks, who thought it was a value to be passed on, and the best way I can repay them is to pass it on to others. I see this photo of my Mom’s table and I smile. I see in my own table, my own home a reflection of the joy within it. With each and every item on her table, there is a story……
 
The kerosene lamp that she has always had on her table 
 
The robin that has a special meaning of hope in the midst of sorrow
 
The mug from a favorite place, the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite
 
My own prayer journal
 
In a world that says to always seek bigger, better, and more than what you have. I am so grateful for what I do have. For the love that resides in my home, the peace, the smile that greets me……. 
 
I am rich and blessed beyond measure.

Gratitude Still Intact

Shining behind everything this life can put us through is a fierce and undying gratitude because we know God has already given us much more than we deserve.

Sometimes the circumstances of life just tend to deflate you. Today, sitting in prayer I felt emptied out, emotionally and spiritually flat. I stuttered, I stammered, I stopped. The creative energy flow valve was shut off somehow. Caretaking does that. Sometimes taking care of someone else, can literally take the life right out of you.

But this is what is amazing about living the God centered life. Gratitude simply won’t die. We know what we have been saved from…..everything that this life can throw at you can’t make a dent in that…..not for very long anyway. Sometimes that surprises me. The unexpected hope that flowers despite everything blooms in the form of Gratitude…..

Seeking inspiration this morning, I opened the Word which never fails. I read

“As the deer pants for streams of water,

so my soul pants for you, my God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?
My tears have been my food day and night,
while people say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
These things I remember as I pour out my soul:

The words, I remember stood out. Gratitude is all about remembering……We have a living gratitude for all that God has done for us that wells up within us even in the worst of circumstances.

By this I don’t mean that we walk around with a fake smile all day, a false front that everyone sees through anyway. No, I mean that even if we are so mad we can spit nails one minute, there is something, rather Someone, that keeps us from going over the edge. Someone that holds us back from total despair. Someone that keeps us thankful at the end of the day, and hopeful at the start.

Satan was working on me this morning. At prayer, and then when I sat down to the computer and didn’t see the pictures I had loaded. I shut everything down, slammed the laptop shut all the while……gratitude still intact, gratitude still intact….NOT. Then Elaine reminded me that she had set up two accounts, one for her and one for me. My little fit was wasted. They were there all the time! I sheepishly sat down to blog

Gratitude once again, intact.

Holding out and holding up.

My soul is downcast within me;

therefore I will remember you……..Psalm 42:6

Continued good health, beautiful Arizona weather, blooming cactus, the gift of laughter through everything, encouragement from the Word, a best friend who appreciates everything I do, good food, enough money to pay bills, new computers that work, the blessing of good neighbors…..#688-698

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picture taken in my  Mom’s backyard

Thankful for Positive People

“Forgiveness is unlocking the door to set someone free and realizing you were the prisoner!” Max Lucado

I am very thankful today for all the people in my life who have been positive. From my earliest memories I can recall hearing my Mom sing in the mornings, up early before anyone else, starting the day in a good mood. We never had to worry about approaching her……I realize now, what an incredible gift that is. My best friend says they never dared approach their Mom unless she had her two cups of coffee in the morning.

Both her parents continually saw the worst in everything and everybody. Unfortunately, they still do. She never felt like she could share anything with them. Whatever she did was met with either cynicism or criticism! The amazing thing is, she remembers always waking up in a good mood. Even her Mom says, “You were always a happy kid.”

No matter what is going on in her life, she always has a smile and a word of encouragement for others. And these days, there is much in her life that would keep her in bed all day. I am in awe of that.

All my life I have been surrounded with people whe have made the choice to face each day with hope, gratitude and expectation. They know that every day is a good day simply because they get another chance! I am realizing this is not the case for many many people…..How rich I am, how blessed! In turn, the best way I can repay God is to give that gift to others…..I pray that I will, with God’s grace.

The best thing I can do to honor God today is to wake up positive. No matter the circumstances!

So today I salute all of you positive people out there…..You know who you are!

Tomorrow I hope to have some photos to share. Since my computer crashed, I haven’t been able to get them to transfer from my computer to blogger very effectively.

Until then, I am continuing the Gratitude Count in my heart’s tally today along with Ann and many others. May the Lord bless you and make His face to shine on you today….Lori

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Patience

This…….plus……this

Will hopefully result in some photos, as soon as I can manage to read the manual and get them loaded on the computer……

With prayers and some reading, I hope to have them up here soon.

Thank you for being patient. I sure had a blast with this camera, my first real grown up camera.


Now if I can just learn to use it!

“For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.” Romans 8: 24, 25

Joining Ann and all others in continuing the Gratitude Count today, among those I count as precious in my bouquet of memories brought back from home are these……

Being able to join my family in church for the first Easter in a long, long time. The first song raised the roof and the little impatient one sat through the whole service……that was a miracle in itself. She was enthralled by the large woman in purple with a streak of purple in her hair that belted out an incredible song.

Taking pictures with my Dad, just he and I, walking downtown, riding around town finding just the right light at twilight…..

Conversations with dear friends…….

Seeing my sixth grade teacher whom I hadn’t seen in years……I was amazed she knew me right away!

Dyeing Easter eggs that for some reason turned out only two colors……the glitter made it work.

Enjoying time with Mom, holding her hand and going to a Christian Women’s Luncheon with her…..the bonus was I won the doorprize she wanted and I happily gave it to her. That was a God thing!

Going to breakfast with my brother and seeing my Arizona neighbor there…..a pleasant surprise!

A special answered prayer…….

And then coming back to my Arizona home is always a wonderful thing, I appreciate so much the sacrifice it took just now for me to go. What a wonderful friend I have…….#679-687

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God’s Place of Rest

“These are the words of God, the God of Israel, to you, Baruch. You say, ‘These are bad times for me! It’s one thing after another. God is piling on the pain. I’m worn out and there’s no end in sight.’ Jeremiah 45:2 The Message

“Just how much more does God expect me to take?”

You feel out of control, like one of those plate spinners……one false move and they all come crashing down. “I’ve got it, I’ve got it!” you say…..but you know that just under the surface lurks an erupting volcano. You feel like any little remark can set you off. When you pass a Dunkin Donuts or In-N-Out Burger you feel the drive-through sweeping you in like the pull of the tides. (Or in my case, the local Walgreens for a bag of Whopper Malted Eggs)

Tears come easily, and so does unexpected anger. This is sometimes what caregiving feels like.

But God’s place of rest is there in the midst of it. He is ready and waiting to do a work in you and me, but only if we release it to Him. He longs to take our burden, but He knows that sometimes He has to “pile it on” so that we will have no choice but to dump it at His feet.

We don’t have to take it all on……..He will.

It is so hard to tell someone that.
Someone who is trying so hard, dealing with so much.
It feels like one more thing they have to do.

It feels like we are saying, “Just tie a knot and hang on, sister…..”

Except that they aren’t just any old words, they are God’s words, and His words are backed by His promises.

“Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him.With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation.” Psalm 91:14-16

Lord, I pray for everyone today who feels overwhelmed and beaten up by the world. I pray that they will trust You with their every burden and care, and they will find that place of rest for their souls that you have promised them in Your word. Hide them under your mighty wings today, as the mother eagle shelters her young and give them the faith they need to release everything to You, knowing that You will give them peace in exchange. Amen

Great music in church yesterday, moments of refreshment and peace, little joys of flowers in the desert, singing into the phone and making someone smile, a good night’s sleep, a refreshing rain on the roof, unexpected moments of exhilaration, a great lunch at Chilies, 39 dollars from coinstar I didn’t expect I had, a time of peace at Starbucks while blogging…..
#668-#678

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A walk through the weeds…….

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:2

We humans can turn on a dime. Yesterday I was counting blessings, participating in the One Thousand Gifts over at Ann’s, thinking positive, counting blooms and blessings. Today on my walk, it seemed all I could count were weeds! I saw the brown trees this years freeze destroyed. I saw weeds in several yards…..My mind was like a ticker tape of negativity……”Why doesn’t the park enforce their own rules?” and “Why do we even have a home owner’s association?” I went on like this halfway around the perimeter until something strange happened. I got ticked at myself.

Something happens when you really start to count gifts. It changes how you think, and you no longer want to think the other way, the old way. We talk about paradigm shifts a lot at work. That is what happens in your mind when you cross over to living a life in gratitude to God, when you keep count. It not only changes your thinking, it changes your life.

It is a new determination you have……not to give in. So I walked on determined not to see the weeds or the brown trees this morning. I told myself and God that I was not going home until I started seeing beauty and blessings. I am kind of stubborn that way. Do you suppose that was God’s plan for me today?

This is what I saw…….A dove nesting in a spiny cactus……..groups of quail walking across the road. A bunny eating the veggies someone had left out. I heard the cry of a cactus wren, I call them all “Renny” for the one who lived in the cactus next door. Here is the thought that came to me…….These little desert creatures scurry about very happy to be what they are. They don’t pay attention to the weeds unless they can find something useful about them. If they can’t eat them, or use them for shelter they ignore them.

That was my lesson today.

I just had to laugh last night, as I picked up Elaine’s Mom from the nursing home where she had just visited her husband of 60 years, “That man is the most negative person on the planet, he finds absolutely no good in anything.” What?? This from a woman who is equally negative about anything and everything. Once, the three of us were walking along on an impossibly beautiful sapphire blue sky day. Elaine made a comment about how beautiful the sky was, and her Mom said caustically, “Well, Elaine the sky is always blue.” We still joke about it.

Like she says…….”Where did I come from?” She learned to count blessings a long time ago, against all the odds. Despite her surroundings, despite the people who raised her.

Yes, Lord……despite our circumstances, surroundings……..we can be positive, it is possible, if we let the counting, and God renew our minds.

Photo credits: Public Domain Pictures
Weeds by Andrew Schmidt
Dandelions by Petr Kratochvil

The List Can Wait…..

You can’t always get away and sit by a restful stream in the mountains……
but you can always find a moment to kick back and be like a cat.

put the list aside for later……sometimes later is okay.
Sometimes the time is right…..
A little slice in the day.
Just make room.
Sydney approved of my plan…..He said it was a very good one.
He even settled down to let me read a bit!
 Sometimes letting yourself break away for just a few precious moments, makes the day a little celebration all it’s own. Cats have mastered this……
I am learning from them.
Keeping count in my heart today, in gratitude for all these moments. I don’t want to let them just slip by unnoticed because they will never come back. I am determined to learn to live in the present.
I want to shrink the amount of time I look back unless it is to treasure a memory.
And minimize the time I look forward, unless it is with my eyes firmly fixed on God.
Who holds all the future.
Celebrating thanks today for every moment I have been given thus far……

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all pics taken with iphone