Matthew 28:20

 

The Heart of Thanksgiving

“Thankful” is probably not the first word that comes to mind when we think of 2020. Life as we know it has been turned upside down for the greater part of this year. In a year where it doesn’t seem like there’s much to be thankful for, I’m reminded that Thanksgiving doesn’t depend on our circumstances. The COVID-19 pandemic has robbed us of many things, but what it cannot eliminate is an attitude of thankfulness.


We may be closer to the true spirit of Thanksgiving this year than we have for many, many years prior. The first Thanksgiving celebrated in America was rooted in battles with famine, illness, and death. Despite these overwhelming obstacles and heartaches, the pilgrims chose to celebrate the blessings they did have. It’s not our circumstances that determine our gratefulness, but rather our attitude. It’s easy to express gratitude sitting around the table over turkey when the times are good. But will we still persevere and count our blessings when the going gets tough?


The apostle Paul instructs in his first letter to the Thessalonians to be thankful in all circumstances. This is the same Paul who was repeatedly shipwrecked, imprisoned, beaten, stoned, and endured countless hardships and persecution. Again, it’s not the circumstances surrounding us but the temperature of our hearts. So as we approach this Thanksgiving, we can still choose to look for the blessings.


Thanksgiving dinners may be smaller or nonexistent this year. Our favorite Christmas traditions may be canceled. We may mourn the absence of friends and family this holiday season. The painful realities of this broken world sting deeply - there’s no denying it. In spite of all this year’s hardships, we can choose a heart of thanksgiving over troubles, blessings over bitterness, and love over loss.

“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV


“Our greatest freedom is the freedom to choose our attitude.” - Viktor Frankl

"Footprints" Poem

Photo via Pinterest

"One night I dreamed a dream.

As I was walking along the beach with my Lord.

Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life.

For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand,

One belonging to me and one to my Lord.

After the last scene of my life flashed before me,

I looked back at the footprints in the sand.

I noticed that at many times along the path of my life,

especially at the very lowest and saddest times,

there was only one set of footprints.

This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it.

"Lord, you said once I decided to follow you,

You'd walk with me all the way.

But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life,

there was only one set of footprints.

I don't understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me."

He whispered, "My precious child, I love you and will never leave you

Never, ever, during your trials and testings.

When you saw only one set of footprints,

It was then that I carried you."

Though published many, many years ago, this beautiful poem still speaks to people today.  I have loved this poem as long as I can remember.  It's so easy to feel we are alone when faced with difficulty, but we must always remember He is still there with us, and it is Him who carries us through.  I hope this poem gives you as much hope as it has given me over the years. 

Thank God for Little Things

Poetry by Helen Steiner Rice is just beautiful.  Her poems so sensitively capture the heart and soul of a believer.  My sister has several books of her poetry and I love reading and rereading my favorites.  Thinking of the "little things" mentioned in the poem below, there are so many little blessings from God that we take for granted or completely fail to recognize.  This poem is so special and I knew I had to share it.
  

                                      

Thank You, God, for little things

that often come our way-

The things we take for granted

but don't mention when we pray-

The unexpected courtesy,

the thoughtful, kindly deed-

A hand reached out to help us

in the time of sudden need-

Oh, make us more aware, dear God,

of little daily graces

That come to us with "sweet surprise"

from never-dreamed-of places.

- From Heart Gifts by Helen Steiner Rice

Quotes by John Bunyan

Below are a few quotes by John Bunyan, author of "The Pilgrim's Progress."  Words are so powerful!

"You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you."

"A man there was, though some called him mad, the more he gave the more he had."

"Pray often, for prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God, and a scourge for satan."

"In times of affliction, we commonly meet with the sweetest experiences of the love of God."

"The School" by Elizabeth Prentiss

This is a great poem by Elizabeth Prentiss.  I love it!



The School

We are all scholars, nothing but scholars,
Little children at school,
Learning our daily lessons,
Subject to law and rule.

Life is the school, and the Master
Is the Man Jesus Christ;
We are His charity scholars,
His the teaching unpriced.

Slowly we learn all His patience
Is hourly put to the test:
But often the slowest and dullest,
He pities, and loves the best.

Still, we sit at the feet of our Master,
Very low at His feet,
Study the lessons He sets us,
Sometimes lessons repeat.

Some of the lessons are pleasant,
Pleasant and easy to learn;
The page of our task-book simple,
Simple and easy to turn.

But anon the reading is painful,
Studied 'mid sighing and tears;
We stammer and falter over it,
Do not learn it for years.

Yet that is no fault of the Master;
All His lessons are good;
Only our childish folly
Leaves them misunderstood.

And still we go on, learning,
And learning to love our school;
Learning to love our Master,
Learning to love His rule.

And by and by, we children
Shall grow into perfect men,
And the loving, patient Master
From school will dismiss us then.

No more tedious lessons,
No more sighing and tears,
But a bound into home immortal,
And blessed, blessed years!

-Elizabeth Prentiss

Quote for Today.....

"Great faith is the product of great fights.  Great testimonies are the outcome of great tests.  Great triumphs can only come out of great trials."

~Smith Wigglesworth

Corrie Ten Boom Quote

"Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God." 

~Corrie Ten Boom

Henry Ford Quote

"To do more for the world more than the world does for you - that is success."

~Henry Ford

"Do Hard Things" by Alex and Brett Harris Review

One afternoon recently, I was flipping through a Christian Book magazine, and noticed a book I had never heard of before.  It was "Do Hard Things" by Alex and Brett Harris.  Intrigued, I decided to look it up on Amazon.  I read the sample provided, and knew I wanted to read it. When it came in the mail a few days later, I was ecstatic to begin reading.  "Do Hard Things" proved to be one of the best books I have ever read.  I loved reading a book from someone who has the same thoughts and views I do about young adults.  Alex and Brett Harris encourage teenagers to rebel - not against parents and other influences - but against our society's low expectations.  This radical way of thinking and living uses the teenage years for good, and things of lasting value.  As Christians, we shouldn't waste the teenage years, but use them for God's glory.  Included below is what the premise of the book is written on, "The Five Kinds of Hard," and a few quotes.  I highly recommend reading this book, and would also recommend encouraging others you know to do the same.

The Five Kinds of Hard:
-Things that are outside your comfort zone
-Things that go beyond what is expected or required
-Things that are too big to accomplish alone
-Things that don't earn an immediate payoff
-Things that challenge the cultural norm

"The teen years are not a vacation from responsibility.  They are the training ground of future leaders who dare to be responsible now."

"Where some might look down on or excuse young adults, God calls us to be examples.  Where our culture might expect little, God expects great things."

"Our trust is not in the greatness of our vision or the strength of our effort, but in the grace and wisdom and goodness of God.  Our reason for rebelling against low expectations in the world around us is that Jesus tells us He has overcome the world and through faith in Him - so can we."

"Complete in Him" a Poem by Elizabeth Prentiss

This is a beautiful poem I love by Elizabeth Prentiss.  Words of wisdom and power!


Complete in Him

Complete in Him! oh, Lord, I flee,
Laden with this great thought, to Thee,
With tears and smiles contending, cry,
Are words like these for such as I?

Complete in Him! No word of mine
Is needed, Lord, to perfect Thine;
Wise Master-Builder, let Thy hand
Fashion the fabric Thou hast planned.

Complete in Him! I nothing bring,
Am an imperfect, useless thing;
But human eyes shall joy to see
What God’s dear hand shall add to me.

Complete in Him! Oh, longed-for day,
When my poor, sinful heart can say,
Naught in myself, for ruin meet,
In Jesus Christ I stand complete.

~ Elizabeth Prentiss 

Andrew Murray Quote

"Do not strive in your own strength; cast yourself at the feet of the Lord Jesus, and wait upon Him in the sure confidence that He is with you, and works in you.  Strive in prayer; let faith fill your heart - so you will be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might."

-Andrew Murray

Mountains of Spices

I recently read the book Mountains of Spices by Hannah Hurnard and loved it!  This is a book report I did on it.

Mountains of Spices by Hannah Hurnard, is the sequel to the allegory Hindsʼ Feet on High Places.  With her new “hindsʼ feet,” Grace and Glory leaps easily from the Valley below to the High Places, where the Shepherd teaches her about the different mountain spices and fruits of the Spirit.

The story takes place in the Valley of Humiliation, where Grace and Glory (formerly Much-Afraid), has recently returned from her journey to the High Places. Over the course of the book, the Shepherd takes her to nine different mountains that are parts of the High Places. They include the Mountain of Pomegranates (love), the Mountain of Camphire (joy), the Mountain of Spikenard (peace), the Mountain of Saffron (longsuffering), the Mountain of Calamus (gentleness), the Mountain of Cinnamon (goodness), the Mountain of Frankincense (faith), the Mountain of Myrrh (meekness), and the Mountain of Aloes (self-control). Each mountain offers a different view of the Valley down below and each has a different lesson for Grace and Glory to learn.

The Fearing relatives are living terrible, destructive lives, and the Shepherd along with Grace and Glory, want desperately to help them. Grace and Glory promises to help show her miserable family the Shepherdʼs love, because as He said to her “for they will not come to me on their own.” After each lesson in the High Places, Grace and Glory leap back down to the Valley below to minister to her family. At first, they are not welcoming of the thought of the Shepherd being King over their lives, but they can tell that Grace and Glory had been forever changed. She persists with her kind actions and good example, and one by one, many of the inhabitants of the Valley of Humiliation enter into the Shepherdʼs service. He gives them new names to represent their change in character and attitude.

Characters:

Grace and Glory: The main character, is the one who influences her Fearing relatives for Christ. She uses her new-found “hindsʼ feet” to leap from the Valley below to the High Places where the Shepherd teaches her about the different mountain spices and the fruits of the Spirit.

The Shepherd: The kind, loving man who rescues the Fearing relatives from themselves. 

Mrs. Valiant: Is the courageous friend of so many in the Valley. She is a strong Christian, very motherly and very kind.

Mercy: Is Mrs. Valiantʼs daughter. She is a nurse, and like her mother, want so very much for everyone to experience the Shepherdʼs love for themselves. 

Joy and Peace: Are Grace-and-Gloryʼs two companions changed from Sorrow and Suffering. They go everywhere Grace-and-Glory goes.

Gloomy: The daughter of Mrs. Dismal Forebodings marries Sir Coward Fearing only to be left a short while afterwards. While confined to the attic, the Shepherd knocks on the door and asks to come in. 

Spiteful: Is Mrs. Dismal Forebodings daughter, and married to Moody. She is given the new name Compassion.

Mrs. Dismal Forebodings: The poor, miserable old lady, who spent all of her time shut up in her cottage, renamed Mrs. Thanksgiving upon entering the Shepherdʼs service. 

Old Lord Fearing: Is the cruel, head of the Fearing clan. He lived his entire life only pleasing himself, and sadly, died without knowing the Shepherd.

Pride: Is the husband of Superiority, and is still crippled from the Shepherd throwing him off the cliff. He and his wife lose everything when the bank in the City of Destruction collapses. It is in that moment of terror that they turn to the Shepherd for help.

Superiority: True to her name, she always liked to be superior to everyone else. She married Pride. 

Bitterness: Is the husband of Murmuring and they are the proprietors of the village inn in the Valley of Humiliation. He secretly visited with the Shepherd when he came to see Spiteful. He leaves with Him and later on hears that the village inn was destroyed by a fire.

Murmuring: Is the wife of Bitterness and the mom of their three kids. She is disgusted to hear that her husband has been talking with the Shepherd and is worried it will ruin their reputation. 

Self-Pity: Is married to Helpless and they have a little boy called “Little Doldrums.” When he is very sick, he asks someone to bring the Shepherd to him so he can talk to Him.

Moody: is married to Spiteful. He was sentenced to a term in prison shortly before Grace-and-Glory returned to the Valley. With Craven Fearʼs help, he enters into the Shepherdʼs service. 

Umbrage: Her attitude caused the young Shepherd, Stedfast, to marry her sister instead of her. She marries Resentment, and they live unhappily with their little girl for many years until the Shepherd intervenes. She is renamed Forgiveness.

Resentment: The Fearing relative who marries Umbrage and makes the poor girlʼs life miserable. He decides to let the Shepherd help them begin again. 

Craven Fear: The bully who was to marry Grace and Glory, renamed Fearless Witness by the Shepherd.

I loved this book! Probably even more than Hindsʼ Feet on High Places (which is saying a lot). It personified unhappy hearts, minds and temperaments, which was very neat. I really enjoyed thinking over what everything represented, and how it can apply to life today. I wanted to hurry and see what the Shepherd was doing in the lives of the Fearings, but at the same time I didnʼt want it to end! I think it also proves that one person, with the help of God, can change a whole town. I would definitely recommend this book to someone.

Two excerpts from the book:

“ My Lord and King,” said Grace and Glory, “what is true love? How can it be recognized?” “I am love,” said the King very clearly. “If you want to see the pattern of true love, look at me, for I am the expression of the law of love on which the universe is founded.”

“You know, Grace and Glory, ʻIt is enough for the disciple to be as his Lord,ʼ and to learn also to overcome evil with good. There is absolutely no experience, however terrible, or heartbreaking, or unjust, or cruel, or evil, which you can meet in the course of your earthly life, that can harm you if you will but let me teach you how to accept it with joy; and to react to it triumphantly as I did myself, with love and forgiveness and with willingness to bear the results of wrong done by others. Every trial, every test, every difficult and seemingly wrong experience through which you may have to pass, is only another opportunity granted to you of conquering an evil thing and bringing out of it something to the lasting praise and glory of God. You sons and daughters of Adam, in all your suffering and sorrow, are the most privileged of all beings, for you are to be perfected through suffering and to become the sons and daughters of God with His power to overcome evil with good. If only you realized your destiny, how you would rejoice at every experience of trial and tribulation, and even in the persecution which comes your way. You would ʻcount it all joy.ʼ You would take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions and distresses for Christʼs sake ʻfor when you are weak, then you learn how to be made strong.ʼ ”

The Tapestry Poem

I found this poem by Corrie Ten Boom and love it!  She is such an inspirational person!

The Tapestry Poem

My life is but a weaving
Between my God and me.
I cannot choose the colors
He weaveth steadily.

Oft' times He weaveth
sorrow;
And I in foolish pride
Forget He sees the upper
And I the underside.

Not 'til the loom is silent
And the shuttles cease to fly
Will God unroll the canvas
And reveal the reason why

The dark threads are as needful
In the weaver's skillful hand
As the threads of gold and silver
In the pattern He has planned.

He knows, He loves, He cares;
Nothing this truth can dim.
He gives the very best to those
Who leave the choice to Him.

~Corrie Ten Boom