Count Your Blessings

We've all heard the song:
'Count your blessings,
Name them one by one...'

But some days it's a lot harder to look at things as blessings. We've talked on here before about changing your perspective, focusing on the good instead of the bad but this week let me give you some examples from my last couple of days.

It started Thursday night when I was heading up to bed and my dog decided she wanted to go out again before she settled down. It was cold outside and I was already in my pajamas but rather then let my irritation get the best of me I tried to be thankful that I wasn't asleep yet and I took her outside
.
Then came 3 a.m. when she decided to wake me up again to go outside. This time it was a little
harder to find something to be thankful for but I thanked God that it wasn't raining and it wasn't too cold and I took the time to ask Him to keep me from being grumpy when it was time to get up Friday morning.

6:30 rolls around when a huge gust of wind pulls up some of the roofing and makes quite a racket but I was thankful that there was someone else to get up on the roof and deal with it. At this point I realize we've lost power but there's nothing I can do about it so I went back to sleep, another blessing by the way since I didn't have any trouble falling back asleep.

7:30 and my alarm on my phone goes off, there's still no electricity so I can't start the laundry that needs to be done or work on my computer and after our middle of the night outing the dog is perfectly content to stay in bed for a while which means I got to sleep in!

Finally it's time to get up and guess what... still no power =( but at work Dad had thought ahead and made coffee and put it in a thermos so I still could get a cup of hot coffee despite no electricity. (This, combined with the extra sleep, made it much easier to not be grumpy and was answer to my prayer.) That's about the time I discover that with the roofing coming up earlier some water came in and the floor's partially flooded but never fear because we have the blessing of a mop! And a mop bucket on wheels which makes life so much easier. Plus when the rain came in none of it hit the shelves so none of our products got wet! Thank you Lord!

Next chore was to get the generator running and once Dad was able to do that he set stuff up so we could keep the store running Friday and run the fridge and freezer so we didn't lose any product, he hooked up WiFi so I was still able to get some stuff done and even hooked up the stove so that it didn't get too cold. Although one of my thankful prayers did include the fact it's not winter so even if the stove wasn't running we wouldn't freeze.

Well, it was a little concerning when the power company had no idea what time the lights would be back on and it put everyone's plans for the weekend in jeopardy but then, one of the best blessings of the day, the lights came back on! We didn't have to open the store late or close early, I was able to get home in time to take care of several things that needed done (including my laundry) and no one had to change their plans! That's a blessing!

So yeah, the power was out for 11 hours, the dog was restless and the storm tried to mess up our roof but the power came back on, the dog settled down and slept much better Friday night then she had the night before and the roof stayed in tact. Definitely a lot of blessings from this adventure, including the one where God reminded me to keep focused on the good He was providing and not the crazy circumstances I sometimes find myself in.

Soundtrack

A week or so ago the skies were gray and the rain was coming down, putting a dreary mood on the whole day. That morning I received a text from a good friend talking about how this song made it all a little better for her.

"Do you ever have a hard day and then listen to a song and all is a bit better? Flawless by MercyMe is my song today.

No matter the bumps
No matter the bruises
No matter the scars
Still the truth is
The cross has made
The cross has made you flawless

When I texted her back I told her that my song for the morning that had cheered me up and helped with my day was Just Be Held by Casting Crowns.

Hold it all together
Everybody needs you strong
But life hits you out of nowhere
And barely leaves you holding on

So when you're on your knees and answers seem so far away
You're not alone, stop holding on and just be held
Your world's not falling apart, it's falling into place
I'm on the throne, stop holding on and just be held
Just be held, just be held

Like my friend said, sometimes a song can change your whole perspective on a day. Whether it's the reminder from MercyMe that the Cross has made you flawless or a message from Casting Crowns to focus on Jesus because He is in control. Maybe it's a note of encouragement you need or the first prompting to forgive or reach out. Maybe it's not a song at all. Maybe it's a verse, or a book, or even a rainbow that reminds you of God's promises. God speaks to us in so many different way through so many different sources. We just have to be willing to listen.

Whatever it is and whatever source it comes from find your soundtrack and let God speak to you through it today. 

Pressure

Stop me if you've heard this one before- "It's good to be under pressure; it means you're still in the game." It's a quote from the movie 'Catching Faith'.

This morning I was trying to think about what to write. I thought about the study I've been doing on Mary, the mother of Jesus, the thought-provoking devotional I'd read about fellowship between the Trinity, and my dad's advice about the balance between excitement and anxiety when you're facing something new; but it was this phrase that caught my eye as I ate popcorn and watched this movie on Netflix on my quiet Friday night.

What pressure are you under today? What's going on in your life that's weighing you down? What have you been praying for God to relieve you from?

I don't remember off the top of my head where it is but in the New Testament there's a place where Paul talks about the thorn in his side and how he's prayed for God to remove it but God hasn't.

Paul! An apostle of God! Jesus appeared to him in person on the road to Damascus! He spoke to him personally! And he had a thorn on his side? Unanswered prayer? How is that possible?

Maybe it was because he was teaching Paul something, I don't know but I am sure that God put it in the Bible to teach us something.

Sometimes God's answer is no.

Sometimes He doesn't remove the thorn, He doesn't change the marriage, He doesn't save the house, He doesn't cure the illness or provide the job and we don't understand why. But there's always a reason even when we can't see it.

So when the pressure's on and you feel like you're about to drown, take a deep breath and change your perspective. Remember, "It's good to be under pressure; it means you're still in the game."

My Friend

My mom came across this poem a while back and shared it with me. I'll let D.J. Higgins words speak for themselves and give us all something to think about this week.

MY FRIEND
D.J. Higgins

My friend, I stand in judgement now

​And feel that you’re to blame somehow . . .

On earth I walked with you day by day

​And never did you point The Way.

You know the Lord in truth and glory

​But, never did you tell the story.

My knowledge then was dim;

​You could have led me safe to Him.

Though we lived together on the earth,

​You never told me of the second birth.

And now I stand this day condemned

​Because you failed to mention Him.

You taught me many things, that’s true,

​I called you ‘friend’ and trusted you.

But I learn, now that it’s too late,

​You could have saved me from this fate.

We walked by day and talked by night,

​Still you failed to show me the Light.

You let me live, love, and die,

​You knew I’d never live on High.

Yes, I called you Friend in life.

​And trusted you through joy and strife.

And yet, on coming to the end,

​I cannot, now, call you my friend.

TAWG

Right now I'm reading a great devotional called "Pearls of Great Price" by Joni Eareckson Tada and last week she talked about a statue at John Hopkins that is a statue of Christ. Her story included sitting at Jesus' feet both literally and figuratively and challenged readers to do just that. I read this on a morning when I had a very limited amount of time before work and then a packed day ahead of me and my first thought was 'how am I going to find time to sit at Jesus' feet and rest in his presence on a day like today?'

But that's the thing about our God, He always provides a way.

I have a dog and every morning one of the first things I do is take her for a walk. Normally while we walk I take time to pray for different people in my life but on this day I set that aside for a while to just take a walk with Jesus.

As weird as it sounds I mean what I said. I imagined that the Savior was walking beside me and I talked to Him about my day, about what was going on and I took some time to just ask for strength to get through it.

At the end of the week my friend and I went out for the morning and as I shared this experience with her she told me about when she was involved with Campus Crusade (now called CRU) at college and their emphasis on TAWG- Time Alone With God. They encouraged their students to spend one hour a week, sometime during the week, to just spend time with God, not doing anything else.

That's when it hit me, whether it's an hour or ten minutes while you walk the dog, five minutes in the shower or that thirty seconds you have between strapping your kid in the car seat and getting in the car yourself, take some time with God.

It doesn't matter if you just say, God help me today, or have a whole conversation, just open up that door of communication with the Lord and listen to what He has to say each day.

Thoughts From a Busy Week

It's been a very busy week around here, with lots of work, tons of writing and sickness sneaking in to disrupt life I haven't had a lot of time to think about what I was going to post this week. Then I spent half the day out with a friend running errands and I forgot about even posting until just a little while ago. In fact I was just finishing the dishes and thinking/praying about what to post when I looked down at the sink and noticed that one side of it wasn't draining.

See we have a double sink in our kitchen and sometimes when one side is plugged or already draining the other side won't drain as quickly because of how the pipes are set up. Don't ask me to explain the details, I have no idea how it works. But what occurred to me is that if you look at the right side and say 'hmm... that's not draining' and then you try to fix it on that side it won't do you any good because the problem isn't on that side, it's on the left side of the sink.

Let me put this another way. Say I wake up one morning and wrist is hurting. I may do exercises, try stretching it or try rubbing my wrist but the pain won't go away. I have two choices, I can either keep trying what I'm already doing that's obviously not working or I can look for another cause of the pain instead of just trying to fix the symptom. This search may lead me up to my shoulder or neck where a knot has formed that's causing the pain to travel down to my wrist. Rub out the knot and the pain goes away.

So what's the point of these examples?

It's simple, sometimes things aren't as they seem.

That girl at school who always seems mad at you? Maybe it's not you she's mad at, maybe she's having a hard time at home and she tries to stay angry to keep from crying.

Your friend who yells at you for no reason one day? Maybe they just had something terrible happen and they don't mean to take it out on you but they're so shook up they don't know how to react.

A parent gets overly angry because you didn't take the garbage out? Well what else has gone on in their day to make them so upset?

Or here's one, you feel distant from God and you wonder why He's not listening? Maybe it's not Him who's distant, maybe it's you. Try going back to your Bible and doing some listening yourself.

Anyways that's my thought for the day. Take it, leave it, or look outside the box and come up with your own thoughts. =)

Commune or Communicate?

If you've been in church for any length of time you've heard of communion. Maybe it brings to mind thoughts of tearing off bread and dipping it into a glass of wine, or images of individual cups of grape juice and small crackers. Perhaps you think of an ornate ceremony or a humble offering. Coming to the throne of the Lord in repentance, knowing you don't deserve the forgiveness He offers or approaching in triumph, grateful that He allows you to share in His victory.

Whatever comes to your mind communion is a time when we, as believers, approach the Lord to ask for forgiveness, declare His victory, and reestablish our relationship with Him.

One definition of the word commune is "to communicate intimately".

The definition of communicate is "to convey knowledge of or information about".

Do you see the difference? To commune is to communicate intimately. Just think about that word for a moment, intimately. It's very different then just conveying knowledge and information isn't it? It's the difference between going to God and saying, "Hey, so you know, I'm a sinner" (He already knows that!) and saying, "Lord, I'm a sinner". The first is to communicate information, the second is to acknowledge His place in your life, and your place under His authority once again.

So let's move past communion for a moment and talk about how we approach the Lord on a daily basis.

Do we come to Him with our problems to communicate with him? Telling him about our day and what we need? Or do we come to Him to commune with Him? Sharing about our life and dwelling in His presence?