Gratitude...
Wednesday, August 8, 2007 at 4:00AM 
Greetings, Everyone!
And to my visitors, I say welcome. I post every Wednesday and my sole purpose is to nourish your soul along the way.
Years ago during a holiday dinner, we went around the table and shared about the things we learned from God over the course of that year.
My son Luke was about fourteen at the time. He surprised me with these words, "I've learned that when you're thankful, life is better."
Once when Francis Frangipane was being interviewed on a radio program, he was asked what he thought was the most prevailing problem in our country today. He paused for a moment and then replied, "Ingratitude."
Today we are going to explore the power of thankfulness. God inhabits the praises of His people and we are His people. He draws near to the humbly thankful, and He distances Himself from the grumbly, prideful.
No matter what season life finds us in right now, we have reason for praise, reason to be grateful.
When we lived in our first house where I spent months and months on bedrest, I had a single tree that I looked at every single day. It didn't even belong to us. It was in the yard of a neighbor who lived in the adjacent cul-de-sac.
I love trees and we only had wimpy, little stick trees in our yard. For some reason, I felt like the richest woman in the world when I stared out my window at that top of the giant oak that towered over the neighbor's house top. God put that tree there just for me. I was convinced of that.
One day as I was stuck on my couch, hooked up to my I.V., I looked up at my tree. The beauty and the strength of that tree stopped me in my tracks. Not that I was going anywhere, I was stuck there. But my mind was about to take a hasty turn to self-pity and frustration.
But at that moment, I was filled with awe and wonder. The God who knows my name, put that tree where I would be able to see it every day during my months and months of illness. I opened my mouth and began thanking God out loud. "Lord, I thank you for my tree. It means the world to me. It's so tall, and strong, and lovely. When I look at that tree, I am reminded that You not only care for our needs, You satisfy our desires too. You are a good, good God, and I thank you for so intimately ministering to me today."
Just like that I heard a whisper across my heart, "Someday you'll get to wake up to more trees than you can count. Don't give up hope."
Today we live in a house that backs up to rows and rows of giant oak trees and tall pine trees. Every morning I wake up and I remember what He promised me back during my wilderness times.
Never underestimate the power of gratitude. It's good for the soul and so much more. I believe that when we speak words of thanks, we plant seeds for tomorrow's harvest. When we express our gratitude to God, we are lifted up to a higher and better perspective. When we pray with a heart of thanksgiving, the enemy has to flee because Jesus is so near.
Find your tree today. No matter what you're going through, know that God has paid specific attention to detail when it comes to you and your life. If you look around, you will see it.
Lord, I thank You for loving me. You are my treasure and I am Yours. Fill me up with a new sense of gratitude and perspective. Forgive me for the countless times I have acted like a spoiled child. I am an orphan and You have adopted me. Every good thing in my life is because of You. I trust you to take my sacrifice of praise and make something beautiful with it. I bless Your holy Name. Thank You for being so near today. In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen.
PS ~ My new release just hit the shelves. Alone in Marriage: Encouragement for the Times When it's all up to You", published by Moody Publishers is now available. Make my day and pick up a copy.
Click here to see "Alone in Marriage"...
Until next week...
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