It is going to be a short week here at the “Shadow.” I’m going to post Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and then take Thursday off to do what I have encouraged the church I pastor to do-give thanks.
Here is Post #1 for this Thanksgiving week.
It is not a secret than what is in our heart is what will spill out. Jesus said, “The mouth speaks what is in the heart.” Proverbs tells us that “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” In other words, what is in us will come out.
So…consider this scenario. You are walking along,, let’s say you have a glass of Dr. Pepper Zero in your hand. No lid. No straw. Then you get bumped, and when I say bumped I don’t mean tapped on the shoulder. What will happen to your drink? Most likely it will spill out-all over your hand and possibly onto the floor.
Let’s suppose that drink is you. Life gets tough. Someone bullies you, says something very unkind. Life throws you a curve. What comes out? Well, if we take what Jesus and Proverbs said, there is no question. Anger. Vitriol. Harshness. Jealousy. You get the drift.
But what if, instead of those ugly things, your heart is filled with gratitude to God for all He has given/blessed you with?
Big, big difference.
Thankfulness becomes the overflow of the song in our hearts. Instead of thinking how we got slighted, we focus on what we have.
My challenge for me-and for you-is to rid ourselves of all ingratitude over what we think God hasn’t given us or done for us, and allow gratitude to take up root in our hearts. then the overflow will be…
Good reminder as we enter into this week of Thanksgiving… Sad that we have to be reminded to be Thankful… when we really need and have plenty to be Thankful for 365 days a year (and + 1 on leap year).
I just got done writing a letter to my nephew who I am mentoring. I am thankful to have the opportunity to write a young man and help encourage and motivate him.
I am thankful for second chances (and 3rd and 4th and 5th… and 70 X 7)
So much to be thankful for, so much to look forward to. We can all be knocked down by the bumps of life. Our life can feel like it is spilling over or in the days of glass bottles, shatter on the ground. But God is always there to pick up the pieces and refill us. We just have to remember to keep our eyes on Him.
Thanks once again Bill for a great reminder this morning.
Thanks for the kind words Ryan. You have done exactly what I plan to do over the next couple of days. Write down what I am thankful for in my journal. I don’t want to be guilty of taking God’s goodness for granted.
Great reminder Bill, we need to have a life of gratitude not attitude. We should begin every pray thanking God for all He does, before we ask or think of anything else we want to pray for. If we were thankful that God shares things with us, since everything is His and it’s only shared with us through Him, we would have gratitude instead of attitude.
I totally agree Gail. It makes a big difference on our outlook.