Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Created to be His Helpmeet, Chapter 3

A Thankful Spirit

What God says:
"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. " (Colossians 3:15)
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." (Philippians 4:6)

My thoughts:
This has been a hard week. A really hard week. While I have had times of enjoyment, of sharing giggling jokes with my husband, of laughing at and delighting in Little Man's accomplishments, I have had had other times of downness that have been very dark. And some of the down times were reasonable, I think. But now it is time for me to move on, rejoicing in what God has given me as I overflow with thanksgiving.

This chapter was a particular encouragement to me this week. I have been challenged again to look at the world through thankful eyes. I looked up the Bible verses that have the word "thanksgiving" in them. Many of the times it is used, it is used in the context of an offering of thanksgiving. While we don't live under the same Old Testament sacrificial system, I think this is instructive. Living a life of thankfulness often takes time, effort, and sometimes even sacrifice. Giving thanks is an act of worship.

A favorite quotation from this chapter:
"Joy begins with thankfulness. Quite often our attitudes hang in the balance; by making a conscious choice, we can tip our souls into dark moods of complaining, or into thankfulness and praise."

Practical goals for this week:
~Remember things that I'm thankful for in my husband each day (BTW, he's making that very easy right now!)
~When I find myself feeling down and moody, remember to look at the things for which I am thankful and not dwell on the irksome side of life.
~Keep an attitude of worship (prayer, encouragement to others, music, thanksgiving, serving others, all can be worship to God). As one of my friends says: "Worship is a lifestyle."

1 comment:

Raise Them Up said...

What a neat quote! How true. I'm glad you are sharing the book with us. :)

Thank you, too, for pointing me in the right direction about the sparrow. As it turns out, I think he is the American Tree Sparrow. :)

By the way, when I open you home page now, it maxes out my processor. The only thing I see that could be doing that is the snow globe at the bottom. Is that new? When I close your site, I'm back to normal. Just curious.