A Grateful - and Still - Heart

It is so hard to be still. And because it is hard to be still, it is hard to maintain a constant, grateful heart. But that is what is required of us: God wants us to be still. And he wants us to be thankful - in every circumstance.

In my "Jesus Calling" devotional this morning, that lesson hit home even more with me today. After this past week of having my sweet in-laws in from D.C. for Thanksgiving, I was worn out. I delighted in having them here but having any kind of company with two babies and two animals underfoot all day is exhausting! We made memories, ate great food - all family recipes! - and just had a great week.

This weekend though, I was left depleted with that sadness of a visit ending, and of cooking and cleaning all week. I found myself complaining inside about how tired I was, how weary and FAT I felt from eating all week. And what I discovered was that my griping spirit was not only making Jesus sad but it was making me even more tired.

So last night, Dan and I went to bed early and I focused on just resting. This morning, I took Noah to school, now have Ellyotte down for a nap and I am drinking coffee and just reflecting on the blessings in my life.

Last night as I unwound, I found myself singing the song "Give Thanks" that we used to sing in our youth group:

GIVE THANKS
WITH A GRATEFUL HEART
GIVE THANKS
TO THE HOLY ONE
GIVE THANKS
FOR HE'S GIVEN
JESUS CHRIST, HIS SON

AND NOW LET THE WEAK SAY
I AM STRONG
LET THE POOR SAY
I AM RICH
BECAUSE OF WHAT
THE LORD HAS DONE
FOR US
GIVE THANKS...

Everytime I started thinking something that was not in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I just started singing those lyrics in my head. And then this morning, wouldn't you know I was led to meditate on being still? By being still, we exercise the spirit of thankfulness that we are called to have. It is so difficult to do but what reward comes with a grateful heart!

Just think about the things that we all have to be thankful for: the majority of us have our health, we have a roof over our heads, we have the arms of our families to embrace us at the end of each day, we have jobs, food to eat, friends to bring us joy. I know so many of my friends and loved ones who have lost someone this year - my friends Janelle and Calvin lost their 3 year old Bella (see previous posts) yet despite their loss, they are choosing to delight in the memories of their daughter and with the upcoming birth of their baby, Noah.

And my school friend Ashley and his wife Bethany welcomed twins: their 4th and 5th children, Abby and Bella, on October 30th. Life couldn't have gotten much more joyful for them. Yet, on November 5th, Bethany died suddenly of a coronary dissection brought on post-birth. So Ashley is left with 5 children and a broken heart. Yet, just last night, he sent out a video of his babies decorating the Christmas tree. For those 10 minutes, he chose to be THANKFUL and allow the joy of the season take over his home. Really, what do we all have to gripe about?

What it comes down to is that the love our Father has for us is so much greater than any complaint we might have in our daily lives.

Ephesians 3:18-19: "may (you) have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."


His love is all encompassing and what He requires of us is to BE STILL and to BE THANKFUL. To have that GRATEFUL HEART that we sang about in youth group.

Today I am challenging myself to stop complaining. And when a gripe enters my mind, I will replace it with a thanksgiving - big or small - so that my heart turns into an ever grateful heart. Today I choose to allow the Lord to delight in me as I delight in Him.

Dance at Your Feet

As you all know, my family (most of them) live in Nashville. Ah, my beloved Nashville... anyways, back to my point ;)

I grew up going to Belmont Church in downtown Nashville. At one point, it was the "it" church to go to - the Holy Spirit overflowed from the doors. Through the years, it has had its trials and troubles - as many churches do - and the attendance numbers have dwindled. My family in Nashville no longer attends there but my memories of Sundays worshipping at Belmont are among my most precious.

The singer Kim Hill used to attend there when we did (maybe she still does) and I remember sitting behind her and just being taken to the Throne as I listened to her sing during worship time. I have one of my most favorite songs of hers - and of all time - on the playlist playing now. It is called "You are Still Holy" and each time I hear it, I am so moved.

The words of the chorus are:

And so I come into Your chamber
And I dance at Your feet, Lord
You are my Saviour
And I'm at Your mercy
All that has been in my life
Up 'til now
It belongs to You
You are still holy

Holy, You are still holy
Even though I don't understand Your ways
Sovereign, You will be sovereign
Even when my circumstances don't change

Everyday, it is a challenge to find time to "dance" at my Savior's feet. But how IMPORTANT it is to remember that we are called to do just that. He longs for the time in our day when we will fall at His feet and just be. There are days when I don't even bother finding time to do that - I become so self-consumed. And I know it breaks His heart.

I want to remember every minute of the day that the God I worship now is the same that He was yesterday, and He will remain the same today and forever more. He was the God that Job and Abraham and Moses, etc. worshipped and adored and since the beginning of the Earth, He has remained as sovereign as He was in the beginning. And He loves me just as He did Job, Abraham, Moses, Noah, you name the person and He loves ME just the same. And I have the distinct privilege of being able to "dance at His feet" every minute of every day. We all do. Praise Him.

Thought for Thursday

I don't normally do "daily themed" blog entries, but I think that there are just too many random thoughts running through my very active brain to not share them with you.

My whole life, my mom has taught me and my sister to "plead the blood of Jesus" over ourselves and our families and our daily comings/goings. I mean, I have been doing that since I was about 6 or 7 years old; starting our day or our trips, whatever by pleading the blood of Jesus was just the norm for me.

Just today, I stumbled across one of the most wonderful articles on WHY we are to plead that precious blood over ourselves, our loved ones, our lives. I just couldn't resist sharing this incredible article derived from http://www.bible-knowledge.com/bible-verse-for-terrorist-attacks.html and written by Michael Bradley:
*****************************************
Some of you already know how to Plead the Blood of Jesus over the main areas of your life they want you want God's maximum protection on. In my opinion, Pleading the Blood of Jesus as an offensive weapon is the most powerful form of offensive prayer you can use to get God's maximum protection on you.

However, I did find in my battle verse system one rather long powerful verse that really shows how God the Father can protect His own from heavy attacks from the enemy. I'm going to go ahead and give you this verse in this article, as it will help give you knowledge that God can and will protect His own.

However, to get God's protection on you, there is something that you have to do on your end - and that something is to "pray it on you." You have to "plead" the Blood of Jesus in order to get God to protect you and you have to pray some of these other battle verses on you in order to move God to want to protect you.

Many Christians do not get this type of divine protection on them because they have either never specifically asked God to do it for them or they have never "pled" the blood or "prayed" the battle verses on them to get God to activate His protection on them.

The Bible says in James 4:2: "Yet you do not have because you do not ask." In other words, if you don't ask God to do something specific for you, then He may not do it for you because you simply have not asked Him to do it. Sometimes it is literally that simple!

For those of you who may be afraid of what may be coming down the road - really grab a hold of this powerful battle verse. This verse is very specific in that it will show you that God can give you His maximum protection right in the middle of a war zone.

Each Christian should be doing the following now that we have officially entered into both natural and spiritual warfare:

Plead the Blood of Jesus over your bodies, your houses, your cars, all of your loved ones who don't know how to Plead the Blood on themselves, and over all your office buildings if you are currently employed.
Take the following battle verse, "quote parts of it back to God the Father," and ask Him to give you the protection that this verse is talking about. Tell Him that you will believe in every part of this verse and that you will have full faith and belief to accept the protection that He will give you as promised by this verse. Tell God that you will stand on the wording that is in this verse and that you will have full faith and belief that He will protect you from these types of attacks in the future.

God loves it when you quote His own Word back to Him. This shows Him that you are doing your homework, that you believe in His Word, and that you are also willing to take a strong and powerful stand based upon what His Word is telling you to do.

This is putting your faith into action. God will move mightily on your behalf whenever you put your faith and belief in Him into action. Peter does not walk on water until he puts his faith into action by stepping out of the boat and actually starts to walk on the water. Then the miracle occurs.

Please notice that some of the words in the following battle verse really do apply to our current situation. It says that God will deliver you from "perilous pestilence." It says that we are not to be afraid of the terror by night or the arrows that fly by day.

Not to be afraid of the "pestilence that walks in darkness" could help us in the event of any type of biological attack. This verse also says that God will keep any plague from coming near our houses.

It also says, rather graphically, that God will protect you even though a "thousand may fall at your side." This means that God can protect you right in the middle of an actual attack.

There are plenty of incredible God-stories coming out about how numerous people were directed by God in the two World Trade Centers to get out before the buildings started to crumble. God did protect some of His own right in the middle of that attack - just like this verse says!

This verse also tells us that God will give us His angels to take charge of us. Now here is one big, whopper, mammoth battle verse straight from God the Father Himself. It is Psalm 91:1-16.

Also, look at the first part - Psalm 91:1. We always dial 911 for emergencies. This verse starts out at 91:1 in Psalms. Is the 911 lining up with the 91:1 on this verse? Coincidence?

Also - the first round of attacks occurred on our country on 9/11. Is the date 9/11 lining up with our emergency number of 911? If so, is God trying to tell us that we are in some type of "state of emergency?"

PSALM 91:1-16
Study the wording in this verse very, very carefully. This verse is giving us powerful revelation from God the Father on how far He can go to protect His own - even in the worse battle case scenario you could possibly imagine.

"He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust. Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence.

He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you look, and see the reward of the wicked. Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your habitation, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; for He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.

They shall bear you up in their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone. You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, the young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot. Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation."

Conclusion
There is only one catch to being able to get this kind of divine protection on you. This kind of divine protection will only be for the people who have truly entered into a personal relationship with God the Father. Notice the following words:

1. "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty."

The word "dwells" is implying someone who has established a very good, close, intimate, personal relationship with God - someone who lives and walks with God on a daily basis - not just when an emergency presents itself.

He who lives and walks with God in a close, personal and active relationship will get the benefit of being able to abide under His shadow - which then means being able to be protected by God when the need will arise.

2. The next verse says:

"Because you have made the Lord ... your habitation, no evil shall befall you."

Again, the word "habitation" is implying someone who has established a close personal relationship with the Lord on a daily basis. Live and walk with God in this type of close personal relationship and then no evil will befall you.

3. The next part of the verse says:

"I will set him on high, because he has known My name."

The phrase "known my name" is also implying someone who has entered into a close personal relationship with God. You cannot really know God unless you have established a good, close, personal relationship with Him.
Establish a good, close, personal relationship with God - and then God will set you up on high and out of harm's way.

4. This verse then ends on a very powerful note:

"With long life I will satisfy him."

In other words, God will allow some of you to live a long life - protecting you from a lot of the evil of this world if you will truly enter into a close personal relationship with Him.

Michael Bradley
Bible Teaching, Commentary, and Over 150 Free Articles

Scripture taken from New King James Version.
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2005-2006 by Michael Bradley.