Posted in Bible study, Devotion, For Such A Time As This, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, LGG Study, Prayer Starters, Quiet Time

Celebration

From the Journal, For Such A Time As This, p185/by Love God Greatly

Read: Esther 9:11-22 and SOAP: Psalm 71:24

All day long my tongue will also tell about your justice,
for those who want to harm me will be embarrassed and ashamed.

Psalm 71:24

From the time I was a little girl, I have treasured the extended family gatherings. The food was wonderful, but the stories were the best part. Tales of those long gone, stories that brought both laughter and tears, and sometimes discussions about which way it really happened kept me drawn like a moth to a flame. Many of the stories remain etched in my mind, but the story of my dad’s leg getting infected with gangrene when he was a young boy is one of the top ten. It happened after a bike accident and became serious very quickly. While I don’t recall all of the details, I do remember this: someone in the family started a prayer chain for my father, and his leg, the doctor thought would have to come off, began to heal during the night, and eventually, except for the scar, recovered fully.

My grandmother’s story always included how they all celebrated then, and I can tell you that every time the story was told in my presence, there was testifying and rejoicing over God’s goodness and the power of prayer. I realize that the celebration of the Jews was on a much larger scale, namely their miraculous deliverance from the decreed annihilation, and the power they were given over their enemies, but the purpose of a yearly celebration brought about a time to tell the story again and again so that generation after generation would know the goodness and faithfulness of God. Oh, friends, may we daily look for the fingerprints of God in and around our lives and the lives of others, and may we be faithful to remember and quick to tell others what God has done.

Enjoy today’s journal entry by Love God Greatly –

Posted in From the Insideout, God is good, Quiet Time

Perspective

THE FOLLOWING ARE EXCERPTS FROM ANN VOSKAMP’S ONE THOUSAND GIFTS

There is a way to live the big of giving thanks in all things.
It is this: to give thanks in this one small thing.The moments will add up

If gratitude is an antidote for anxiety…
and giving thanks is a real cure for stress—
why relegate thanksgiving to a holiday *when giving thanks can revolutionize our whole lives?*

So I just keep doing this, recording the gifts, gather the moments of His grace like manna.

Because joy is always a function of gratitude — and gratitude is always a function of perspective. – And if we are going to change our lives, we’re going to have to change the way we see.

This recording our gratitudes, this looking for blessings everywherethis counting of gifts — this is what changes what we are looking for. *This is what changes our perspective.*

Thanksgiving is the lens God means for us to see joy all year round.

Because Thanksgiving is more than holiday—

So wherever you are, count your blessings, collect gifts, count it all joy.

Because it’s the brave who focus on all things good and all things beautiful, who give thanks for it & discover joy even in the here and now —- they are the change agents who bring fullest Light to all the world.

YOUR TURN: WHAT GOOD AND BEAUTIFUL THINGS ARE YOU FOCUSING ON TODAY? WHAT JOYS CAN YOU GIVE THANKS FOR AND BRING LIGHT TO THE WORLD AROUND YOU?