Gratitude Lifts Our Attitude

On Wednesday, this picture and a message from FB was posted on my timeline. Seems this was the first photo I ever uploaded from my phone to FB. Obviously, I was in the gratitude mode at this time back then. I hope I never change!

It is a product of our upbringing and circumstances that we are "by nature" either complainers or praisers. Most people would agree that we have a lot to be grateful for. After all, most of us live a lifestyle of conveniences -- comfortable homes, nice clothes, reliable transportation, no shortage of clean water or healthy food. We have access to quality healthcare and education, and basically live a good life with freedom, in safety and security.

It’s easy to take these wonderful blessings for granted and sometimes get into the bad habit of focusing on what we don’t have while millions of people around the world live without the basic necessities of life. I remember our missions trips to South Africa, Belize and Mexico, visiting those who lived in small huts and cardboard dwellings with a minimum of conveniences and witnessing children digging for food and anything worth selling in a city dump. Lord, may I remember them, especially when I even start to complain about ANYTHING!

Just think about the blessings we often overlook -- like getting dressed on our own, driving to work, going to the grocery store, sending emails and text messages, and hundreds of other routine activities of life. It’s where the majority of our time goes, so why not learn to show gratitude for them? Choosing an attitude of gratitude not only honors God…it’s good for us!
No matter what, it's possible to BECOME grateful -- even if it's not our natural "bent", but it does take discipline. It takes practice and doing it over and over again. The reality is that a grateful heart will make way for finding the good in EVERYTHING we encounter. Best of all, it opens the door for blessings. We just have to replace complaints and fault finding, with praise and thanksgiving. I love Nancie Carmody's thought-provoking words that turn complaining to thanksgiving:
I AM THANKFUL
...for the mess to clean after a party because it means I have been surrounded by friends.
...for.the taxes I pay because it means that I'm employed.
...for the clothes that fit a little too snug because it means I have enough to eat.
...for my shadow who watches me work because it means I am out in the sunshine.
...for a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing because it means I have a home.
...for the spot I find at the far end of the parking lot because it means I am capable of walking.
...for my huge heating bill because it means I am warm.
...for all the complaining I hear about our government because it means we have freedom of speech.
...for the lady behind me in church who sings off key because it means that I can hear.
...for the piles of laundry and ironing because it means my loved ones are nearby.
...for the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours because it means that I'm alive.
...for weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day because it means I have been productive.
-- Nancie J. Carmody

Oh, how blessed we are! Thank You, Heavenly Father, for the blessings of You, my friends and family and all the many, many reasons you've given me to be grateful today!

With All These Conveniences……Could I Do Less?

Someone asked me how I could possibly devote so much time to my blog every day – 365 days a year. My response: I know God gave me this mission to be an encourager and a light in the darkness. I promised to fulfill that mission from the get-go. My "ministry" platform just happens to be on social media. What a convenient way of spreading the Good News -- unlike the ways of our forefathers.

It wasn't so convenient last week at our cabin in the woods without easy access to wifi. I wrote my blog during the day and had it ready to go “live” the next morning by 6 am. I was up at my usual 5 am, but unlike at home, so as not to wake the other sleeping family members, I’d creep around using a flashlight, then quietly exit out the front door to my car. I used the flashlight to break up the pitch black darkness. It was eerie – not knowing what might be lurking somewhere in the woods. One thing I knew for sure – the same God Who called me to it, would see me through it. I drove about three miles to where there was decent wifi to post my blog from my phone. I felt victorious each day when it went "live"!

That was such a minuscule inconvenience compared to the Apostle Paul's location in “posting” his writings! He penned or dictated Galatians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Corinthians and Romans, and from his PRISON CELL, he penned or dictated Ephesians, Philemon, Colossians, and Philippians, then, 1 Timothy and Titus, and during his second Roman imprisonment, he wrote 2 Timothy. He probably wrote with a quill pen and parchment if given that “luxury”, but if not, he probably dictated to others from his prison cell window.

How could I not obey the same voice of the Holy Spirit who spoke to Paul? If he could carry out God’s call in conditions beyond comprehension in a cold, dark, damp prison cell -- without a computer, wifi, car, air-conditioned or heated home or office with electricity, a near-by restroom and kitchen stocked with food, running cold or hot water, and the comfort of a cozy bed (Need I say more?), how could I not fulfill this sweet and comfortable mission that God has given me? What a wuss I would be to complain in any way!

I do sense the Holy Spirit's leading each day for writing what I need personally and for what someone else may need to hear to kickstart their day. I know it’s easy to scan through such a wordy FB post or my blog website ( Mypeacezone.com ). But, most importantly, is the message that I convey to hopefully help someone feel so deeply loved by Father God which causes them to love deeper, to rejoice and live in gratitude more. That they begin to live in audacious faith in spite of the storms. That they share with someone else one of the messages that may inspire and motivate them to pursue God with all their hearts.

I will not give up until I’m taken up. I want to run into St. Paul in heaven, applaud him and say “Way to go with all that incredible example of faithfulness of giving us God’s words because they sure made a difference in my life.” And, in some small token of faithfulness, I hope to hear those words from those I might have inspired to finish their race strong – just like St. Paul told us to! How could we do less than give our best to God Who gave His all? 2 Timothy 4:7 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

Technology ROCKS!!!

I get amused when I hear folks talking about the “good old days” when we could leave our doors unlocked, where the worst thing we did in schools was chew gum, where kids played outside using their imaginations, and gas was 23 cents a gallon (or less). But were the good old days -- really that good? Were the good old days that good when tornadoes came without warning because, without technology, no one could see them building ahead of time. And were the good old days that good when it took days to communicate with a loved one because the only communication was "snail mail". Now we can communicate instantaneously by social media and email. In the good old days we had to stop at a pay phone to make a call. We had to carry a camera for photos, and an extra “Palm Pilot” that carried our contacts in it. Now we have cell phones that do it all. I love this photo of “Before and After" photo.

My word for today is TECHNOLOGY: methods, systems, and devices which are the result of scientific knowledge being used for practical purposes.

Yesterday I posted that I had been on a retreat for the weekend. That meant being unplugged from technology. As most know, my personal mission since my husband graduated to heaven 7+ years ago, has been to provide a daily blog and Facebook post (without exception). I do my best to post before 6 am, with the only exceptions being when I’m out of the country or out of cell coverage. I didn’t like those “exceptions”, so I set out for a solution. That’s when I discovered Hootsuite, which is an app that gives me the ability to schedule my Facebook or any other social media platform to post at the specific time I need it to. Now, I use Hootsuite and for my blog, I simply schedule it in my Google App – blogger. So, when a friend, who knew I was on an "unplugged" retreat, asked on my FB post “How do you do this when I know you are on retreat?,” I explained Hootsuite to her. Just maybe you can use that app if the need arises, too!.

Sometimes it’s good to UNPLUG from technology so we can hear more clearly from God, to walk a short distance rather than taking the car, to climb stairs instead of taking the elevator or escalator. Sometimes it’s better to visit someone face-to-face, rather than texting or calling. It's a treat to recall good memories from the past, but being alive in this day and this time, in this generation.....is right when and where God planned for us to be. We are here on purpose and if we embrace the opportunities, the technologies, the possibilities and the experiences of these good new days, they will be the BEST DAYS of our lives.

Thanks be to God for TECHNOLOGY and those incredibly wise and gifted inventors and innovators who used their God-given minds to give us shortcuts and conveniences – especially when we need them the most. And, I'm grateful to get to connect with amazing people like you. Thanks, Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, Henry Ford, Orville and Wilbur Wright, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and to all the other inventors and innovators that made life so much easier for us. Thanks, God, for being the unparalleled Creator of all of us -- Who can give us ideas, creativity and witty inventions on a daily basis. We just have to tap into His wisdom and creativity!

Jesus said “Whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these...." John 14:12. Jesus took His message by donkey or by foot. Today, TECHNOLOGY has taken that same message around the world and the spread of Christianity is nothing short of supernatural. There are still huge segments of the world’s population that have never even heard the name of Jesus. May we pray continually for TECHNOLOGY and INNOVATION that will open doors for ALL to hear the GOOD NEWS so we can say, "Even so, Lord Jesus, COME!"