With a Thankful Heart

     This is Thanksgiving week and I am so very blessed.  God has been good to me and very generous in so many ways.  I am thankful for my faith, for Jesus Christ as my Savior who went to the cross for me.  I am thankful for my family: my husband, children, grand babies, extended family and church family.  I am blessed with material goods and plenty to eat, a home to live in and more than I deserve.  I am also thankful for the ability to put words and thoughts on paper which I pray are encouraging and a blessing to others.  Additionally I am thankful for friends and this is where my focus will rest, for the remainder of my thoughts.

     There are plenty of beautiful quotes about friendship from which I could choose.  The truth is, however, I prefer to say simply, my cup overflows with people in my life who hold me in their hearts with support and encouragement, in a variety of different levels of shameless love.  

     Friendship is a bond which requires an exchange of emotion, and if left to grow can become a tribute to a very special kind of relationship.  There are those who I don't know well, yet find we have a particular exquisite connection.   While there are others whom I have known a very long time, and also find we share a very special, enduring relationship.  Sometimes people come into your life who leave a memorable mark on your life even though they are there for only a season.

     I completely believe God places people in our lives that we really need at a given time, or we are placed in someone's life to meet a need.  I have been on both sides of the fence, and I am grateful for both circumstances. 

     I saw this quote recently and couldn’t help but smile:  “It's not what you gather, but what you scatter that tells what kind of life you have lived.” -Helen Walton.   How true this is.  All our worldly goods will one day be gone.  When we leave this life we take nothing with us but what we leave behind is so very important.  That old expression, “you reap what you sow,” follows us even after we are gone.

     Do you ever ask yourself, “How will people remember me when I’m gone?”  Have you sown the seeds of true friendship?  Do people want to be around you?  Are you a good neighbor?  Do you look for the good in a person before noting any bad?   Do you try to please and think of your friend’s need?  Do you attempt, if you have the means, to meet the need of your friend?

     This list of questions could go on forever.  I’d like to think when I offer kindness, it will be returned.  I’m hopeful when I pass from this world people will smile and think of me as being kind; as being a friend who was honest, loyal and committed to each friendship in which I find myself.

     I want to conclude these thoughts by adding an important element in my life for which I am grateful, largely due to my writing.  For each person who reads my work, whether I know you outside my writing circle or not, I am thankful for you.  Because of you, my friend, and God’s grace, I can share a little piece of who I am each week through my blog or through larger bodies of work.  Thank you for the opportunity to express myself this way.  You give my life purpose and meaning.  I am extremely grateful.

     I wish each of you a wonderful, blessed, Happy Thanksgiving!

(The picture included comes from a church service my husband and I attended Sunday evening where the congregation was invited to light a candle for something for which they were thankful.  This is just the table.  There were a good many more!)

My Dearest Friend

            Thanksgiving is only a little over a week away and it’s been interesting to see the variety of posts people have put on face book about the different things they are thankful for.  It seems each day the person participating in the exercise adds something else specific for which he/she is grateful.  

            I am thankful for many things, but this week and next I want to express my thankfulness for friends.  It’s funny, my first thought was that friends come at all levels and that is certainly true.  But when I think of my very best friend, I have to say it’s Jesus, my Lord and Savior.

               There are those who may

laugh or scoff at the very idea, but I will tell you without this particular friend, life would be totally and completely useless; futile and without purpose.

             A true friend comes at great cost, requiring as much giving as taking.  It requires taking initiative to find ways to encourage, displaying kindness, and leaving yourself vulnerable to hurt or disappointment.  It seems no matter how wonderful our friends are, human nature has a way of reminding us of just that:  we are human!  

            That said, the seeds of deception, racial separations, political lines, status levels or moral ills seem to invade the space we claim as our own.  Each person is susceptible to the dangers of the weaknesses we all have.  There are no boundaries for such experiences.  It is part of this life we live here on earth.  We all have tendencies, even when we don’t recognize it, to put people in a “box.”  Our feelings and prejudices are sometimes apparent to others before we recognize them.  Sometimes we project these feelings subtly while other times our words leap out of our mouths at just the wrong time!  It doesn’t have to be deliberate.  Often we’ve been conditioned to feel a certain way and separate and divide out of habit.

            I think that might be one reason I consider Jesus my dearest friend.  First and foremost, the cost of his friendship includes His death on a cross.  He gave the greatest sacrifice anyone could give: his very life for my sins although he knew no sin.  He demonstrated kindness throughout his ministry and he gave us His word for guidance and encouragement.  He was (or is) the perfect role model.  He doesn’t care what color my skin is, what culture I come from, whether I am rich or poor, what kind of work I do or whether I am Republican or Democrat or something in between.  What He cares about is my heart!  Do I love Him and put Him first before everyone and everything else?  Do I consider him my “dearest friend?”

One element of friendship with The Lord which defies human comparison is hurt and disappointment.  Because we are human, we hurt and get hurt.  It doesn’t have to be deliberate, but often we can’t live up to the expectations of others.  We are frail, often narrow minded and can only function on and through our human-ness.  Jesus doesn’t disappoint and can be counted on steadfastly, no matter what the situation.  Additionally, He doesn’t deceive.  What is written in His Word is truth and can be trusted and relied on as the perfect instruction manual for my life.  

As I began this writing, I will end it.  I have much for which to be thankful.  God is my power and my strength and He makes my way perfect, even when I don’t understand.  (Taken from 2 Samuel 22:33)  I can count on this at true and unfailing.  Jesus is my Perfect Friend!

I hope you have a great pre-Thanksgiving week as you reflect on all your blessings.

Choosing a Good Book

           I had an interesting revelation this morning.  Someone wrote, “Jesus was a reader.”  He read the scriptures the Father had given his people.  I had never thought of that!  There are times when I would enjoy nothing more than curling up with a good book.  Now that said, everyone has their own opinion of what constitutes a “good book.”  I generally feel guilty when I do take the time to sit and read a while because there is a long list of “stuff” waiting on me to be completed.

Last night in church the Pastor was talking about how Christianity has been around for over two thousand years, yet the Bible, as we know it, has only been available about 350 years.  Before the Reformation, people were read to.  Most people were illiterate and paper was an issue as was printing.  The Bibles which were available were hand written and belonged to the elite.  It wasn’t until the 1380’s when John Wycliffe began producing hand written Bible manuscripts so more people could have their own copy.

What really strikes me though is, when the church first started there was such fervency to share the New Gospel.  People wanted to share and others wanted to hear.  When it came time to share scriptures it required someone to read the material.  Despite this handicap, many lives were transformed when they chose to follow Jesus.  We have the written Word, often in a variety of translations and I would suggest that most of us can barely claim that the Bible is a book we would choose to curl up with and read as a “good book.”  I admit I would fall in that category. 

I love the challenge of studying the Word and am involved in several different studies.  But to just sit down on a day like we had recently: dreary and damp, a good book reading day, I probably would look first to my shelf of other non-fiction books and then if none of those struck me, pick up a fiction one. 

What do you suppose the saints in heaven will say to those of us who have the Word and choose not to read it when we reach the Golden Shore?  Do you think they will ask “why?”  We are so blessed and don’t even realize it!  We have before us “God’s love letters” to us!  Would you re-read a love letter sent from your beloved more than once?  I know I have.  Why is it so difficult to look at God’s Word in that manner? 

There are countless gems to be uncovered and truths to guide us in daily living.  Why do we choose to put off picking up the Bible to read when it is the very essence of God?  I challenge you this week to choose a book of the Bible and read it through.  Read it to know God.  Read it to learn about Jesus, our Lord and Savior.  Read it to hear what The Lord has to say to you personally.

 http://search.mywebsearch.com/mywebsearch/AJimage.jhtml? (site for picture of Bible used)

Leisure Time

            I have written before about my many interests.  I enjoy reading, quilting, chatting, my family, traveling and what seems like a ridiculously long list of more!  Added to these things I enjoy, is the list of “to-do” that often seems longer than my “fun” stuff.  After all, I am a mother and even though my children are grown, motherhood doesn’t stop.  I am a grandmother who loves “doing” for the grand babies.  I am a wife who tends to the needs of her husband, as well as, taking care of the domestic duties that never seem to go away, both in the house; and in the summer and fall, preserving those wondrous summer gifts from the garden.  Of course, there is the laundry, cooking and more.  The point is, by the end of most days, I am very tired and my lists are not nearly completed!  I move several items to the next day and then the next.  

            Admittedly, I don’t “work” outside the home and I know there are many women who do.  I applaud them.  I do, however, try to keep up with my writing.  This is what God has called me to do, as I wrote about last week.  It is my responsibility to put on paper the thoughts of my heart that will help and encourage others.  But where does that leave my time?  There are only 24 hours in the day, and I’ll admit sleep is a necessary element of my life.  I spoke with a man today who functioned on about three hours a night.  Me?  Well, I can’t operate like that!  I need (emphasize the need!) about seven hours.  So how do I find the time to spend with the Lord?

            Jesus was a busy man.  He traveled, healed the sick, taught and was about his Father’s business.  But he took “time” to be with those he knew and loved.  He went to the wedding in Cana.  He had supper in the home of Zacchaeus, visited with Mary and Martha and his friend Lazarus, and shared endless hours with his disciples.  But more important than this, Jesus spent time with the Father.

            What made Jesus’ time with the Father so important?  Jesus knew, even though he was God’s son, he was also a man.  Men need to draw strength from others to do well, no matter what his calling.  If Jesus needed to have a relationship with his Father; to spend time with someone he knew as well as he knew himself, isn’t the implication even greater that we need this time?

            We fill our lives with so many things to do; we forget we are defined by how we live our lives or by what we don’t do.  When we forget or neglect to draw strength from our Lord and Savior, our Rock, Fortress and Shelter, what we “do” loses meaning.  We rob ourselves of energy and abilities, not to mention blessings, while our successes risk losing their worth and importance because we attempt to do it on our own away from God. 

            Leisure time is a gift in our world’s economy.  That said, “leisure time” is often defined in perspective.  What one person does for the sheer joy of the activity, others would consider stressful work!  I believe “leisure time” would be defined as spending time being with or doing things which brings you to a place of low stress and a place where our minds, bodies and spirits can rest.  

How do you spend your “leisure time?”  Do you make a conscious decision to allow yourself to “regroup” in an environment of encouragement?  Are there specific people you choose to share your life with who are supportive, yet challenge you to do your best when you are tackling a project?  Do you make deliberate effort to spend time with the Father every single day, to draw from his strength and glean his guidance?  I challenge you to consider these questions as you confront life this week.