Washing in praise

     COLD SHOWER TODAY!!
     Okay, that's an exaggeration... it was a just barely lukewarm shower.  But, good grief, when you're chilly and jump into the shower expecting clouds of steam and hot water to greet you and warm you up in an instant, well, let's just say it felt ice cold.
     My first thought, I'm embarrassed to say, was of grumpiness and not gratitude. Which child, I was just starting to ponder (with annoyance), was the one who obviously took an exceedingly long shower this morning and used up all the hot water?
     But here's the thing about this purposefully choosing thankfulness everyday: it was only just for a second!  Now that's progress!
     Because only a moment after my initial irritation, the Lord immediately reminded me of what a blessing it is to be able to take a shower.  To have at least sort of, almost, luke-warm water.  To have water. To have soap and shampoo.  To have clean towels.  To have clothes to put on.  To have a home in which to go grab a hot mug of tea.
      I'm sure any of those dear folks without power in NY or NJ would trade places with us in an instant, no matter the temperature of our water.   So shame on me for even thinking of complaining.
    "Thou that hast given so much to me; give me one thing more: a grateful heart."  George Herbert.
    Even as I showered, I couldn't help but think of the words of Charles Spurgeon: "Wash your face every morning in a bath of praise."
    So... Thank You thank You thank You thank You, Lord!  Cold shower or hot, You are worthy of all our worship, and You enable us daily to wash in a bath of Your praise and thanksgiving.
    And thank You that through the Lord Jesus, we are truly cleansed of all our sins and all our shame.  Remind us as we wash today to praise You for outward and inward cleansing.... and for hot water, if we have it.
    To God be the glory.
     p.s. Thank You, Lord, for the gift of our son, Preyer, who turns 16 today!  If he used up all the hot water, that is absolutely fine.  He is so totally worth it.
     p.p.s. Please clear the roads when he gets his license.

Heightened by the dreary

     This picture doesn't even begin to do it justice!  But it's a rainy, chilly fall day... and I'm remembering anew that dark, damp days always seem to heighten the beauty of fall leaves.  Why is that, I wonder?  No idea, but it's true.  The reds and oranges and yellows of the trees pop when they have a grey, monotonous, dreary background.  Sure, they still look breath-taking on beautiful, sunny days... but somehow, their beauty is magnified on depressing, dark days.
     Maybe it's just a living word picture from God reminding us that in the darkness His light shines brightest.
     And we would not truly know what gratitude is if we didn't experience heartache and disappointments in life.  Everything in life becomes infinitely more precious when sorrow shuffles our lives around and takes away many of those things we took for granted.  And then our sight is cleared and we understand the beauty and joy of the simple.
     If we truly realized the wonder behind the stars dancing across the inky black sky at night, we'd be overcome with gratitude.  Or the bright warmth of the sun.  Or the sound of a loved one's laughter.  But they are just so everyday, so readily available, so a part of our lives that they become almost like wallpaper.  We fail to see them.  Fail to truly see them and appreciate the astounding wonder of each given by the hand of an extraordinarily generous, creative, loving Creator.
     I will never again see a wash of pink splashed across the sky in the early morning in quite the same way again.  Or the vivid oranges of the fall trees.  Or the sound of birds serenading me in the wee hours.  Or the blessed stillness of holding my Bible on my lap while curled up on the sofa in the pre-dawn hours with our sweet old dog, Moses, snoring at my feet.
     No, hours and days and weeks waiting in a hospital room have heightened my joy and wonder at the beauty all around me... and of the simplest blessings in life that I never even realized I possessed.
     How on earth could I have missed them before?  How could I have failed to repeat "Thank You!" over and over again for such an extravagance, such a surfeit of blessings?
     But I do now.
     Thank You for hugs.  Thank You for sisters and brothers.  Thank You for hot baths. Thank You for cozy fall days.  Thank You for hot tea.  Thank You for friends.  Thank You for Bible study.  Thank You for freedom to run errands.  Thank You for the mess of children.  Thank You for the voices of those I love.  Thank You for music.
     And thank You for the beauty of fall leaves on a chilly, dark day reminding us again that You bring perspective out of pain, worship out of waiting, and glory out of gloom.
      For "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." (John 1:5)  In fact, the darkness only succeeds in making the light shine brighter.
      So today, we thank You, Lord, that when You allow sorrow, You will bring surprising joy and beauty out of it.... "a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair." (Is.61:3)
     And in the meantime, give us eyes to truly see and hearts that thank... especially in the dreary.  To God be the glory.
   

     "

Thanks in hardship

     From today's Daily Light:
          "We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed--always carrying around in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.  Therefore, we do not lose heart.  Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.  For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen."  2 Cor. 4:8-10,16-18

     Paul just says it all, doesn't he?  Might we all meditate on these words today and consider that God is moving and active and using all affliction, all pain, all hardship, all difficulty that we--or those that we love--for a "far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory."  What a cause for rejoicing even in the midst of suffering and sorrow.  The pain is temporary; the glory eternal.
     The cross always precedes the crown.
     I have heard it said so many times: "Never doubt in the dark what you learned in the light."  Might we trust in God's eternal Word and in the unseen this day, and choose to give thanks even in hardship.  For He is worthy.
     And this is not our home.  But heaven is coming!  And until then, He is with us and for us, everyday, every way--renewing, redeeming, restoring... resurrecting.  
     To God be the glory.

   

Oxygen for the soul

     Just thought I would include today an excerpt I just heard from an interview on Revive our Hearts with a woman, Kate McCord, who has written a book entitled, The Land of the Blue Burkas, about her time as a foreign aid worker in Afghanistan.  Fascinating and beautiful to hear about these women and their incredible challenges and their courage.  But one of the things she talked about was teaching, largely just by example, about the practice of thanksgiving.  Here's what she said:

...she [one of her Afghan friends] learned from me the practice of thanksgiving. What I mean by that is to just step back and say, “Okay, I’m in a bad mood right now. Let me look around and thank God for everything He’s given me.” Maybe you start with the tree and the wind and the roof over your head. Then I thank God for my family, and I thank God for my healthy son and my healthy daughter. And she began doing this.

I didn’t know she was doing it, but I knew that she and her husband weren’t fighting as much. Over several months, I found out that every day she was practicing this thanksgiving. And what she said to a group of Afghan women—not to me; I just happened to be there—“This is a great thing to do. I used to be angry with my husband all the time, and we used to fight all the time, and I would stay mad at him, and I was never patient with my children. And then I started giving thanks every day, and now I’m calmer. I’m happier. My husband and I laugh together. Our children are happier.”  I just wept. I thought, “Yes. That’s discipleship. That’s people coming to know God and His ways, and it changing their lives.”

     I (this is me again!) should add, this is in light of the unbelievable difficulties women face in this nation.  As Kate had shared earlier: "In America this manifests itself in, “Well, God doesn’t love me, clearly, because He didn’t give me an excellent, American life." In Afghanistan it manifests itself by, “Well, clearly God doesn’t love me or see me because I’m a woman. Because I’m in this horrible situation, God is far from me. God doesn’t care about me.”

     Kate closed by saying that "gratitude or thankfulness became the means for keeping my heart and mind sane in a very difficult place."  And that's true wherever we live, whatever we face. "The oppression that's around us, or the frustrations, the things  that we can't accomplish weigh on us, and they wear us down. [Amen to that!]  Our problems wear us down, and often with very, very good reason.  But when we step back and we practice thanksgiving, or we practice praise, we're reminded of the blessings we have, and we're able to breathe again.  I don't know any other way to say it.  We're just able to breathe again."  

     "It's oxygen for the soul."  

      Isn't that so true?  I have found that to be the case in my life over and over again--thanksgiving and praise are the bridge from our troubles and sorrows and frustrations to the other side where we can breathe deeply the air of God's grace and goodness.  It frees us of ourselves and our constricting fears and provides "oxygen for the soul."  

     I've quoted her many times, but I love Amy Carmichael's statement: "I sing the doxology and the devil flees."  For me, it's blast some great Christian music and sing at the top of my lungs. And start counting the blessings.  Start thanking, even when I don't feel like it... especially when I don't feel like it.  And what can I say?... it's exactly as Kate McCord put it, "I can breathe again."  The fresh breath of His grace and strength and love infuses and frees my heart.  

     So today, choose to thank and praise Him, whether you feel like it or not.  Just begin--even if it's just thanking God for that hot coffee or that hot shower or that hot bagel.  And before you know it, you'll be breathing deep into the God of all provision and power.  To God be the glory. 

Today... and thankful

    Late yesterday afternoon, I was running a few errands and suddenly thought to look at my car's clock--it was about 5 p.m.  Exactly 11 weeks ago at that very time, four precious girls were lying by the side of the road after the accident, and life had changed forever.
    The funny thing is, most of those changes have been for infinite good--we can already see that.  Even this soon after the accident, it is clear God allowed it for greater good and His greater glory.  Sure, there has been a lot of pain and uncertainty and heartache and fear.  The girls are still dealing with a lot.  But, boy, there has just been so much good for so many people--folks coming to know Jesus, witnessing the power of miraculously answered prayer, strengthening of the faith of many, appreciating what is truly important--gaining a proper perspective about life, realizing the priceless gift of family and friends, and being thankful.
     O the transformational power of gratitude!  All I can say is, thank You, Jesus!  "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose." (Rom.8:28)  Amen, Paul!  Even the hardest things in our lives can be the means to greater, deeper joy, for as Warren Wiersbe writes, "the bumps are what we climb on."
      But isn't it wonderful that we don't know the future?  Seriously, we tend to think we'd be better off if we knew what was coming, but I think that would be nothing but a huge burden.  We would fret and worry and dread and would break under the load of all that fear.  If we had known ahead of time about this accident and it's aftermath, we would have said, "No way.  No way can we get through that.  That will be horrific."
      But that's not what happened. God just carried us all the way, day by day, hour by hour, step by step.  Friends and family just stepped in and picked us up and helped bear the burden every single day.  It was truly remarkable.  Humbling.  It was as if each day, when it all became too hard, too heavy to bear, there the Lord would be, undergirding and strengthening and encouraging.  And there our beloved friends and family would be, calling and texting and cooking and driving and cleaning and loving... and praying.  And praying.  And praying.   And all I can say is thank you thank you thank you.
     But today, I just want to share one thing for which to be thankful: that we don't need to bear tomorrow's burden today.  Stop worrying about what will happen if....  Stop fretting and wringing your hands over how on earth you will handle this if...  
     Trust God to give you what you need tomorrow, when you need it.  Like that manna in the wilderness.  Day by day.  Day by day.  "Give us this day our daily bread."
     "No man ever sank under the burden of the day.  It is when tomorrow's burden is added to the burden of today, that the weight is more than a man can bear. Never load yourselves so.  If you find yourselves loaded,  at least remember this: is is your doing, and not God's.  He begs you to leave the future to Him and mind the present."  (George Macdonald).
     Trust Him with tomorrow, but thank Him for today.  And keep thanking and thanking... and watch that worry recede as the worship overwhelms.
      By the way, that errand I was running?  It was to drop off some water for a senior breakfast that all four of those precious girls will be going to next week.   They will all graduate on time.  Who would have thought?  Well, God.  He knew all along.... and smiled.  Because only He knows the future and holds every single day in His perfect, powerful hands.  So we can rest in that.  In Him.  And be thankful.
     To God be the glory.

Thankful for dogs

          Moses, very early one morning, in a place he is NOT supposed to be:

     Yesterday I was up early typing away and having some time with the Lord, when I realized Moses was not resting at my feet as usual.  So I went looking for him... and found him resting comfortably on the sofa in the living room.  hmm.  Do you notice the sheepish look on his face?
      He knows sitting on the furniture is most definitely not allowed, but in his advanced old age, he has discovered the living room as an out of the way place to take advantage of a nice soft bed to cradle his achy bones.  Had my husband discovered him, he would have jumped down immediately and run to his bed under our kitchen table.  When I discovered him, well, you can see the results.  He just looked at me as if to say, "Well, what can you do? I'm old and tired and this pillow feels mighty fine."
     How could I get mad at him?  No way.  I just cut off the lights again after snapping his photo and let him rest comfortably for a few more minutes.  He is, after all, 12--which is ancient for a lab--and I don't know how much longer we will have the joy of his presence in our lives. Bad dog training... but great love.
     Today, such a simple reminder: thank the Lord for the gift of His sweet consolations in our lives--especially pets.  Well, especially dogs.  I really do love cats, too, but seriously, we all know dogs adore us... cats tolerate us.  I love the old saying: "Dogs believe they are human; cats believe they are God."  Now that being said, I do love cats, and we still really miss wonderful next door neighbor's equally wonderful cats, Cody and Digger.  So, thank You Lord for cats!
     And for birds, gerbils, fish (we've gone through a few of those around here), lizards and snakes (okay, that's a stretch but obviously some people love them), rabbits, and guinea pigs.
      And pet sea monkeys.  Yes, that was our very first pet.  When our children were begging for a dog, and we felt we were just too busy to properly love and care for a dog then, we got them some pet sea monkeys.  Our son even wrote about those microscopic sea monkeys when everyone at his class had to write about their favorite pet.  Truly pathetic. That was when we realized it was time to get a real pet.  So we got a fish: Jesse was his name.  They found that equally disappointing.  But Jesse hung in there for years, and in our book, he counted as a pet.
       Until the glorious Christmas we surprised the children with Moses. And can I just say, he has been nothing but love and joy and pleasure from the first moment the Lord brought him into our lives.  Boy, there is simply nothing like a dog.  Unconditional love, continual companionship. Work, sure, but worth every moment of it.  Gilda Radner once said: "I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love.  For me they are the role models for being alive."  It's true--you can learn a lot from a dog.  But that's for another day.
     Today, thank You Lord for Moses and for all he has meant for our family... and thank You for all dogs.  Truly a gift from the hand of our loving Father who cares even about such things as dogs... and cats... and birds... and the mute companions who love His children.  That's just the kind of good and great God we serve.  To God be the glory.
 

Nutcrackers... and the Warrior Baby

Anybody ready for Christmas?  Our youngest child certainly is!  On November 1st, I walked into his room and this is what I saw:

     He had no sooner finished organizing his Halloween candy than he apparently realized it was time to go into the attic and start getting ready for Christmas.  He loves nutcrackers, and this is the lovely display of his organizational skills on the shelf in his bedroom.  So Target is not the only place that starts decorating for Christmas at Halloween.
     In fact, when I commented on his getting ready for Christmas a wee bit early, he looked at me in amazement and exclaimed, "Well, Mom, it is already November!"  Well, duh, everybody knows you are waaaaay behind if you haven't done your Christmas shopping by july and your menu, cards, and decorations ready by september.  Silly me.
      If you could see our nutcrackers up close, you would assume by their "well-used" appearance that they had cracked a whale of a lot of nuts.  Of course, none of them has ever even seen a nut. But all of our nutcrackers are banged up, dented, missing arms or swords or various appendages. This is because our boys loved to have "nutcracker wars."  Yes, in the true spirit of Christmas, they would line up  various nutcrackers in the living room and have them fire away or swing away or, I guess, chomp away.  Later, I'd walk by the empty living room and nutcrackers would be strewn all over the floor, some lying face down in an apparent advent blood bath.
     This did not contribute to an orderly home... and no one has ever called us to grace the pages of the Southern Living Christmas edition.  And we now have one sorry looking collection of battered nutcrackers.
      But some day, when our house is finally orderly and clean and peaceful,  I know that I will look at those mutilated, but well-loved, nutcrackers and cry.
     And remember... and be thankful for the privilege and the joy of raising these 5 priceless, irreplaceable souls.  And of celebrating year after year the joyous coming of the Lord Jesus into the world as a baby.  Almighty God as man wrapped in an infant's flesh. O may we never get over the wonder of that.  As our dear friend David Dwight called Him: "The Warrior Baby."  An infant come to battle satan and our sins.
     Maybe nutcracker wars are not such a bad idea after all.
     So today, let's choose to be thankful for messes and imperfections and the silly, offbeat joys of life.  For banged up nutcrackers or banged up houses or banged up expectations. And for the people that make the messes... and make the music that will sing in our memories.
     But most of all, rejoice in our Warrior Baby who came to redeem His own... and is coming again.  "For all that has been, thanks.  For all that will be, yes!" Dag Hammerskjold   Yes, Lord Jesus, come.  To God be the glory.