God is the Source

Happy Thanksgiving! This is my favorite holiday. I love the food, the season, the emphasis on giving thanks and being with friends and family. I also got engaged right before Thanksgiving…many moons ago. :)

I think for every Thanksgiving that I’ve spent with my parents, after we eat my dad will introduce the same game, whether it’s just family or we’ve invited friends. It’s an alphabet thankfulness game where one person says something to be thankful for starting with ‘A.’ The next person repeats the ‘A’ thing from person one and adds something for ‘B.’ You move through the alphabet until you have something for every letter. ‘X’ can get tricky but it’s fun to see how creative people can be! This repetition forces you to pay attention and stretches those brain muscles after a full meal.

But it’s not just reciting things we’re thankful for; it’s an acknowledgment of Who those things are from: God. At the beginning of each round, you say, “God is the source of all good things and I’m thankful for….”

Gratitude is a characteristic lacking in society today. People believe they are entitled to everything but don’t need to be thankful for anything. As much as independence can be a good trait, when we are so independent as to think the world revolves around us, we forget we are nothing. All things — big and little — come from our gracious Lord. He is the source of everything, and may we take time to truly be thankful.

Photo by Simon Maage on Unsplash

The Small Gift of Gratitude

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Yes, I love the food and time with family and football games. But I especially love the focus on stopping and being grateful.

Gratitude is one of the simplest joys you can add to your life. It doesn’t cost a thing — except maybe your pride — and truly adds to your life. Studies have shown grateful people are more happy and more optimistic. And it’s a nice change to be looking outward in our selfish culture. Unfortunately, sometimes we miss the joy of gratitude because we’re focused on the wrong things.

When we think about what we are thankful for, we tend to think of big picture things: health, a new house, a promotion, etc. And while those are definitely things to be thankful for, if don’t experience any “big” moments in our year, we can overlook some incredible small blessings if we aren’t careful.

My kids are wonderful at pointing me to the small blessings, even if they don’t realize it. They see the world through a different lens than I do and their perspective can be refreshing. My daughter was noticing the clouds move through the sky today and remarked how they looked like God was pushing them along. I love that. God being sovereign over His creation, moving the clouds that will create the storms that will bring the rain and snow we need. Small blessing.

My oldest daughter made a purse and I asked if she was keeping it or gifting it. “I’m giving it to a friend,” she replied. I’m so thankful my kids have friends that are good influences, kind, helpful, fun, and encouraging. None of them are perfect, but they are all working and learning and growing together in Christ. Small blessing.

I could go on…pink sunsets, the heater under my desk, music, birds at my feeder, books, sweet memories with friends, laughter, the smell of cinnamon, bread fresh from the oven, snow.

It really doesn’t take long before our gratitude stretches across pages. But only if we have eyes open to appreciate the simplest, smallest of things.

I hope you have a happy Thanksgiving and may gratitude become a way of life.

Photo by Stephanie Klepacki on Unsplash

Taking Time to Pray

If I’m being honest, prayer is one of the hardest things for me.

It should be one of the easiest, but making consistent time to sit undistracted and pray can be a challenge. However, having a consistent prayer life is one of the most important disciplines we need to cultivate.

As with many things in life, we often think until we’re ready to do it “perfectly” we shouldn’t do it. The perfect time to sit uninterrupted, the perfect notebook to write requests in. But the truth is, there will not be a perfect moment or setup. We need to just begin! Here are a few things I’ve found helpful as I try to make a habit of prayer.

Make a list

Lists are helpful in many areas of life and prayer is no different. I have found it easier to stay focused and not get distracted when I have a list of prayer requests I can focus on. As I hear of needs from family and friends, I write them down and keep the paper or notebook within easy grabbing distance.

Give thanks

Days can be dark and discouraging. At times it’s difficult to find the words to pray, even with a list. At moments like this, I begin with thankfulness. Reciting the good things God has done for me or provided helps encourage me to bring more before him and also refocuses my mind.

Routine

They say it takes 59-70 days to create a new habit. Something I have found helpful in many disciplines of life is to attach the new habit to a certain time of day or regular activity. I try to begin and end my days with prayer. Before I fall asleep, I think back on that day and ask forgiveness, praise God, bring requests and burdens. Anything about that day that pops into my mind. In the morning before I get out of bed, I give my day over to God, ask for help in certain activities, etc. Here’s another blog post I wrote about attaching prayer to something else as a reminder to pray.

evaluate the day

I realized there were moments in everyday that I was wasting. I was scrolling on my phone, sitting at my desk wondering what I should be doing, researching things I didn’t plan to buy. And I decided when I caught myself doing some mindless task that didn’t need doing, I would pray.

Often the biggest challenge to prayer is our own attitudes. We don’t want to take the time or we think it has to involve closing eyes, kneeling, etc. The truth is, prayer is for every hour of every day. This is what I Thess. 5:17 is talking about when the Bible says, “Pray without ceasing.” God knows we have tasks that need to be done. He’s not saying we need to kneel at our beds 24/7. But wherever we are, we can come before him in prayer.

How will you incorporate prayer into your daily life?

Photo by Sixteen Miles Out on Unsplash