Posted on

Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart

“Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart” song lyrics and tune have been playing in my head for several days. I want this to speak to the joy of being thankful. Being grateful enhances being thankful.

YouTube: Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart

Beautiful sunsets. Lovely friends. Gracious comments. Happy moments. Butterfly kisses from our littles. Fresh rain. God’s Word. Favorite verses. Gorgeous paintings. Sweet relationships. Happy campers. Lyrical tunes. Tender hugs. Ocean breezes. I could go on and on. Life has an underlying secret beauty. I think it’s called “majesty” or speaks of something majestic. O the wonder of it all.

Have you ever experienced one of those crystal clear moments you capture in your memory? When I was a teen my family was driving through Nevada in the winter. After visiting Harrah’s car show in Reno, we drove through Carson City. Down the road awhile later, looking through the back window of the station wagon, a gorgeous snow-capped mountain could be seen. I was in awe of its majesty so I decided to commit it to memory to imprint the image forever. I can still see the mountain’s grandeur in my mind’s eye.

A happy wonder is when someone gives you a tight embrace that communicates their love for you, and you, your love for them. Yesterday I experienced that kind of hug with someone in my church. I’d not been at my church for several weeks. When you see the people you love and care about and their eyes light up while they talk to you, you can tell they’re glad to see you. Those feelings mean a great deal. One person’s embrace was especially long and warm-tight. Another person’s hug was a close second. Give thanks with a grateful heart.

Today’s post delivered a card that reads “Happy Thanksgiving” from The Abbey of Our Lady of New Clairvaux. The photo is of walnut trees on the monastery’s Vina ranch. I spent 2014 writing, praying, and contemplating at the abbey. Warmth for the monastics resurfaced and the sweetness of the memory kindled a spark in me. I have missed them. The monks pray for the world and love the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord for His mercy endures forever.

Most of all, I am grateful for the gift of our Maker, the Triune God: Giver, Sustainer, Lover, Joy-Giver, Friend, Helper, Forgiver, Healer, Life, Redeemer, Creator and, basically, the reason for everything that matters for now and eternity. We are so fortunate to have a relational God, Who cares about our souls and being. He is Being. He is Life. He is Salvation. God makes every day better.

“Give Thanks” by Don Moen
Give thanks with a grateful heart
Give thanks to the Holy One
Give thanks because He’s given Jesus Christ, His Son

And now let the weak say, “I am strong”
Let the poor say, “I am rich
Because of what the Lord has done for us.”
Posted on

Get Your House in Order

You Just Never Know

This week there was a shooter in Rancho Tehama, a small community where people from my church live and where my teacher friend is a substitute teacher. The shooter went on a rampage, shooting willy-nilly, taking out a couple of neighbors before moving on to the grade school, a total of seven locations in all. My teacher friend was my first thought. Was she safe? (yes)

I told my daughter that anything can happen any day, anywhere.

This year has been a strange one.

Shooting at a church in Texas.

Back to back hurricanes.

Fires in Northern California.

People we know having to evacuate. A friend’s school burned to gray ash. Devastated areas in the wine country looking like a scene in an apocalyptic movie.

Las Vegas massacre.

People dying from cancer, suicide, addictions.

People we know.

Step back a few months and you have the Oroville Dam spillway collapse; the evacuation of Orovillites to my town; 80,000 people sleeping in churches and at the fairgrounds, their futures on-hold. People helping out.

And I thought last year was bad!

Anything can happen.

You may have a date with destiny.

Are you spiritually prepared?

I don’t know about you but I’d rather be well prepared, than ill-prepared.

Have you turned to God and put your faith in Jesus Christ? Have you made your reservation? You may not have tomorrow. Shooters don’t care about your spiritual condition. Hurricanes are no respecter of persons. Disease and cancer rarely give advance warning, it’s your turn.

Do you know my Jesus?

We live in troubling times.

Don’t put it off.

A wise person takes time to prepare. They think about the possibilities.

On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand!

The wise man builds his house upon a rock; that rock is Christ Jesus. The foolish man builds his house upon the sand; that sand is this world and all that is in it. When the rains come pelting down, when the storm appears and then delivers, when the economy crashes and you crash with it, when the shooter shoots and he’s aiming at you, when the fires break out and then consume your home, business, and precious possessions, when the health report says you’ve got six months, you’re terminal, facing the big one; you ask your self, what happens next?

Are you ready?

Every day is a gift from God. He promises only this moment in time. Build your life on Jesus. Only what’s done for Christ will last, the rest is like a sandcastle on the sand. You can’t count on it. It won’t last. Things happen, bad things happen. What is built for self, what is built for our children, what is built for posterity, what is temporary in this life, will wash away; unless it is built on a firm foundation, like a rock, a foundational rock-like substance on the solid ground.

On Christ the solid rock I stand.

That’s it.  The solid rock is permanent and cannot be shaken by circumstance. Truth stands alone and always will stand no matter what may come. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Jesus Christ. He is the gate keeper.  “It is enough that Jesus died, and that he died FOR ME.”

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.” Acts 16:31

I don’t wish to leave this world, I don’t want bad things to happen. But if they do, I know I am ready. My house is in order. My trust is placed on the solid rock, Jesus Christ. I know in Whom I place my trust.

“But I know Whom I have believèd,
And am persuaded that He is able;
To keep that which I’ve committed
Unto Him against that day.”