Heart of a Ready Writer: November 2012

Friday

Zonked and Zzz-less - 30 Days of Thankfulness

Here we are, at the end of another busy week, and I need some sleep. Desperately! Maybe you do as well.

Honestly, a family of four could pack their stuff for a week in the bags under my eyes, right about now.

Family concerns, professional responsibilities, finances, personal issues, and other hot topics can easily send one’s mind awhirl – especially at bedtime. Maybe that’s the only time some of us slow down enough to ponder questions that plague us behind the scenes all day long.

So we stare at ceilings, waiting for sleep to come. It’s not that we’re worry warts, refusing to trust God with the details of our lives. It’s just that our minds are racing themselves in the night.

Yet a little sleep,

a little slumber,

a little folding of the hands to sleep:

(Proverbs 6:10, KJV)

In those wakeful moments, we are faced with a choice.

We can toss and turn and grump and growl. We can try to rouse the snoring one nearby, be he human, canine, or feline. We can urge the night owls next door to turn down their TV or music machines.

Or we can focus on the Father in the quiet of the night, asking for revelation of His heart. Often, in such times, He opens our eyes, at least in the spiritual sense, to insights or greater understanding. Frequently, He nudges us to pray for someone who may need it right then.

Eventually, He quiets us to a slumber that is indeed sweet.

I’m thankful for sleep, which I hope to find one of these nights.

Actually, I’m considerably more grateful for God’s rest, which He promises to those who trust Him.

Whether I sleep or not, I know genuine rest may be found in His presence.

Come to me,

all who labor

and are heavy laden,

and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you,

and learn from me,

for I am gentle and lowly in heart,

and you will find rest for your souls.

For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

(Matthew 11:29-30, CEV).

For what are you thankful?

Image/s:

From Sleeping Beauty by Viktor Vasnetsov

Mid-20th Century

Public Domain Image

Thankful at Thanksgiving

Adapted from public domain artwork

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Yes, I'm Yelling - 30 Days of Thankfulness

Boy, do I hope this image has PhotoShopped. Even so, my heckles are up. As a Christian, I have to say this hurts my heart.

Take a look. This photo’s been all over Facebook and other such sites.

Ouch!

Yes, I am one of those traditional sorts. I’ve been known to holler out “Merry Christmas” throughout the Advent season. I even belt out a “Happy Birthday, Jesus” now and then in December.

That’s what Christmas is all about, the incarnation of the Holy One.

But I find this most unholy.

So we interrupt this season of gratitude, along with this “30 Days of Thankfulness” blog post series, for a moment of righteous indignation.

Aaaaaaaargh!

That is seriously messed up.

Now, I won’t claim to be a good Christian. And I won't point fingers – or Christmas trees. I wouldn’t even begin to guess where this sign might have been found. Maybe it was PhotoShopped, after all.

Perhaps it’s all a bad joke.

But I’d guess my Lord weeps to see such signs. I’d be willing to bet He’d be pleased to see Christmas trees going up in all sorts of homes on the days leading up to His birthday.

And Jesus said unto him,

Forbid him not:

for he that is not against us

is for us.

(Luke 9:50, KJV)

I’m thankful for yelling … when it absolutely must be done.

And I am grateful to God for His grace, which He mercifully lavishes upon any who recognize their need for it.

Oh, and that includes me.

For what are you thankful?

Image/s:

Christmas Trees for Christians?

Widely Circulated Fair Use Photo

Thankful at Thanksgiving

Adapted from public domain artwork

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eXamining eXcellence - 30 Days of Thankfulness

“Nobody’s expert at everything, but everyone’s expert at something.”

I’m not sure where I first heard that, but I have echoed that sentence so often to my children that they now complete the sentence for me in a singsong fashion.

It’s so true.

How grateful I am for the many experts God has placed in my life.

These folks have taught me skills and modeled excellence in countless ways. More than once, these wise and skilled ones have saved me from near disaster or damage, simply because they were available and willing to intervene in due time. Others have prevented potentially humiliating gaffes on my behalf by offering subtle interventions in the nick of time.

Even more, I appreciate those expert individuals who demonstrate excellence for my children, often in ways I cannot. What a blessing it is for fellow followers to fill in for one another.

I’m thankful for eXperts in eXcellence.

Who are the most excellent experts in your life? What have they taught you? And to whom may you serve as a mentor of some sort?

Finally, brethren,

whatever is true,

whatever is honorable,

whatever is right,

whatever is pure,

whatever is lovely,

whatever is of good repute,

if there is any excellence

and if anything worthy of praise,

dwell on these things.

(Philippians 4:8, NASB)

For what are you thankful?

Image/s:

Hand on Shoulder

Stock.xchng Photos

Public Domain Artwork

Thankful at Thanksgiving

Adapted from public domain artwork

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