{"id":34962,"date":"2023-02-03T03:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-03T11:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/?p=34962"},"modified":"2023-01-31T17:42:28","modified_gmt":"2023-02-01T01:42:28","slug":"february-3-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/2023\/02\/03\/february-3-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"February 3, 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Something To Be Thankful For<\/strong><\/h2>\n

“Let the peace of God rule in your hearts…and be thankful.”<\/em>\u00a0Colossians 3:15<\/p>\n

I don’t make new year’s resolutions, but I do try to be sensitive to the Lord’s voice if He is wanting to say something to me for the year ahead. I’ve sensed a theme in my daily quiet times.\u00a0I read this quote from Sarah Young: “A thankful attitude opens windows of heaven through which spiritual blessings fall freely.” (Genny\u2014sorry\u2014she didn\u2019t give a book reference but I suppose it\u2019s one of the books from Sarah Young\u2019s series) I love the visual imagery of that\u2014windows flying open as we lift up praise and thankfulness…and blessings flowing out like a river…cascading down upon us.<\/p>\n

Being encouraged to be thankful is by no means a new thought to me.\u00a0It was a “tool” God put into my hands these last eight years while battling cancer and caring for Floyd in his illness. Time and time again the Lord spoke to me that worship and thankfulness would be a lifeline of strength and power to get me through all the hard things.\u00a0I clung to that lifeline, and purposed in my heart every single day to be thankful for even the smallest details in my life.\u00a0The more thankful I was, the more joy and strength I had.\u00a0It was a wonderful gift!<\/p>\n

I’m feeling challenged to make a fresh commitment to thankfulness.\u00a0Many of the things I’m facing are new and different, but the same principle applies.\u00a0One thing that we are having is load shedding, where the electricity goes off in 2\u00bd hour blocks anywhere from one to four times a day.\u00a0It’s frustrating, and it’s hard to plan your day as the load shedding times change frequently. I confess that my normal response is irritation. I feel I’m to look for things to be thankful for rather than being irritated.\u00a0I’m going to work on that!<\/p>\n

Learning to be thankful in whatever comes our way changes everything!\u00a0I remember times of standing by Floyd’s bed with tears flowing while I thanked the Lord for His goodness and faithfulness.\u00a0Comfort came as I thanked and worshiped the Lord.<\/p>\n

There were times during my chemo treatments that I was so weak and my mouth so full of sores that I couldn’t even speak out my thankfulness\u2014so I thought<\/em> it. I remember feeling the Lord so close, and His encouragement was so tangible.\u00a0I felt fresh strength to keep going in the battle.<\/p>\n

I’m convinced, and my experiences of recent years have taught me, that there is always, always, ALWAYS something to be thankful for.\u00a0We just need to still our hearts and listen to the Spirit reminding us!<\/p>\n

There are an abundance of verses about being thankful.\u00a0Clearly it was what was on God’s heart for us!\u00a0Praising God turns our trials and burdens into blessings.\u00a0Only God could have organized that!<\/p>\n

P.S.\u00a0 As I was reflecting on having a heart of thankfulness, I received the following from\u00a0Slavic Ministries quoting\u00a0a woman named Maia in Ukraine:<\/p>\n

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“Kyiv is a city that may have no electricity but always has pistachio latte because of power generators busily buzzing in front of coffee shops.<\/p>\n

\u201cKyiv is a city that may have no electricity and water supply for days, but its residents are clean and well-groomed because they leave bedroom lights on at night to wake up and take a shower as soon as the power is back.<\/p>\n

\u201cKyiv is a city that may have no electricity, water, or heat for a few days, but the girls would always have their nails done. Because they want to feel beautiful and because the manicurists have portable battery-powered lamps.<\/p>\n

\u201cKyiv is a city that may have no electricity, no water, no heat, or no cell phone service, but it always has fresh bread. And there’s plenty of food at the store. And you can pay with your card. And there are garbage trucks picking up garbage. There is snowplowing machinery working during a snowfall. Even though the traffic lights might not work, there seem to be fewer traffic accidents than usual.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne day, the history books will tell about a nation that not only had its warriors defeat the barbarians but also had its civilians manage to remain civilized in the artificial barbaric conditions brought upon them. They managed to maintain their usual civilized lifestyle as much as possible. I don’t know how. It’s a miracle.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Lord, we have plenty of reasons to be thankful to You, even in great difficulty. Remind us to pray for those who are living with terrible hardship in such times as these. Amen.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

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