In EVERYTHING – Give Thanks

I stopped by a friend’s home a few days ago. Understandably, she is distraught because her high-school-senior-son is missing out on his final year of baseball, as well as missing out on his Senior Prom. And she went on to feel sorry for those college students who are delayed in their graduations and other friends who are having to cancel or postpone their weddings. I get it. It’s a difficult and disappointing time for so many.

I responded to her by telling her about my morning “aha”. I know this is TMI (too much information), but it’s my truth. I say: “I am sitting on my toilet this morning. I am pooping. I say to God: ‘Thank you so much for my system working so good. Thank you for this toilet. Thank you for the water in this toilet. Thank you for this bathroom that has a door on it and it’s indoors. Thank you for water to drink. Thank you for my home. Thank you for my lights. Thank you for technology. Thank you for YOU, God – Who promises to never leave me or forsake me.’”

She got the picture. And, so do you. It’s expressing gratitude for what we do have. It’s seeing the bigger picture that this all will pass and we’ll be telling our grandchildren about the 2020 pandemic. We will talk about the faithfulness of God Who brought us through while telling them about those who got very sick and many who lost their lives. This time will go down in the history books.

Yes, we are inconvenienced. Yes, we are missing spending times with friends and family. Yes, we miss going to church and concerts and sports games and restaurants and previously planned events. Yes, we want to go back to “business as usual”. Yes, we want our “normal” to be normal again.

But, instead of what we don’t have or what we don’t get to do – let’s consider what we do have. So, what to do when we don’t know what to do? We count our blessings – even name them one by one. I mean it. Since you’re at home with your kiddos – why not play the “I am so blessed” game. “You have one minute to tell us what you’re thankful for!” I did the exercise. I gave myself one minute, using my phone app. Ready! Set! Go!

I heard my dishwasher running. I wrote down "dishwasher". My eyes went to my piano that Papa played, I play, and our grandson plays. I wrote down "piano". I was seeing -- I wrote down "my eyes", and hearing -- "my ears"; I was sitting in a comfy chair -- "my furniture"; I saw my computer -- I wrote down "computer and internet". I glanced over at my refrigerator -- I wrote down "refrigerator".

When we express gratitude, rather than being bugged and annoyed by this time when we can’t do anything about it in the natural, we can express to God how thankful we are for what we do have. A grateful heart sees each day as a gift. Thankful people focus less on what they lack and more on the privileges and blessings they have. The grateful heart is like a magnet that collects reasons for gratitude -- for the paper clip to hold those pages together; for the milk in our cereal; for the song that soothes us; for the clock we hear ticking; for the light that turns on; for the car that takes us to the OPEN grocery store. Thank you, Lord!

May this time of uncertainty and inconvenience, become a time of really being thankful people for what we do have. May we choose gratitude as a habit that we choose daily as a way of life – even after this crisis is over. May we be overwhelmed with the beauty and abundance of all God has given us!

Lord, Please Make Me a Fountain – Not a Drain

I had an “aha” moment as I was adding water to the base of my children’s fountain. In these hot temperatures, the water evaporates quickly so it requires an occasional fill-up. I started thinking about how to be an unstoppable fountain of life and not a drain. Putting it into “people terms” – it’s striving to be a life-giver -- a positive encourager instead of a negative drainer.

I'm sure you can think of a few negative people who can take an intended joyful time and turn it into a draining time. They have difficulty finding the good in anything. We love them, but if we hang around them for very long, we sense our own joy draining. No doubt, they may have had some really negative stuff happen in their lives and it has impacted their heart and soul. We all have a past that tries to bind us, or maybe a present that insists on weighing us down and even a future that shows no glimmer of hope. But, no matter what – there is always the Source of Hope Who dwells within us if we are believers in our God of Hope. And, we want that for them, too!

We can’t always change our circumstances or our past, but we can change how we view our life as it moves forward. If we find ourselves facing life with dread, then I’d like to offer you a few of my personal habits that have served me well and kept my fountain overflowing instead of draining life out of me, as well as those in my sphere of influence.

~ Be positive. It can be a work-out, but when we do, it becomes second nature and it creates a fountain of life to others.

~ Count your blessings. Start right here to find your happy place. We woke up this morning. We were able to get up out of bed on our own. We have a place to live. We have food to eat. We have God Who loves us so much. Keep in mind there is always someone who has a much tougher time than we do!

~ Be hopeful. Hope is a wondrous thing. I’m passionate about this one because “Hope deferred makes the heart sick” (Proverbs 13.12). We all need to reach down inside for our child-like anticipation for the future. It's possible with God because He provides a hope that makes the heart healthy and filled with joy. God has our best interests at heart. God wants good things for us, plans to prosper us, and not harm us. Sometimes we slip-up or the world throws us a curve-ball, but it doesn’t change who He is. He is always good, and always desires good for us. That is always and forever a reason to have HOPE! Let's blow up that HOPE balloon and let it fly!

~ Surround yourself with positivity. We become those who we hang around if we let them. Sit with an incessant complainer and before long it’s natural to gravitate to their side and we are complaining about this and that, too. Hang out with life-givers and our fountain starts to overflow with life!

~ Encourage others. Who wants to be a drain that depletes others of their God-given inherent joy? Not me! I want to be a fountain-of-life encourager who speaks life. Positive words empower and energize others. Let’s fill up the fountain within us so it has a never-ending spring of Living Water flowing to those around us. God knows they may be going down for the last time in murky waters of unbelief and negativity. God may be sending out a 9-1-1 call for you and I to be His emergency "springs of living water" provider.

John 7:37-38 "Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”

Staying Positive in a Negative World

After grocery shopping, I was stopped by a televsion reporter to ask me what I thought about the added traffic in our area -- just immediately North of our subdivision. Initially, I was reluctant to comment, but I could see I needed to speak a positive word in what could be a negative news report. She signaled her camera man and the interview began. (I sure wish I had freshened my lipstick before the camera started -- LOL!)

My subdivision is in West Tulsa, where it's been a relatively quiet area of town, but then, just North of us, two new shopping areas have been built. Now there's a vast array of restaurants, retail stores, large anchor stores, many services, financial and medical facilities, plus a 12-screen theater, so, this little "sleepy hollow" is now hopping.....and so is the traffic. It continues to increase with the popularity of all the many retail establishments that are available here.

This reporter was looking for negativity by the questions she asked, but she chose the wrong gal -- I'm from Dallas and this small amount of traffic pales in comparison. I told her that indeed the traffic had increased, but no problem to us. It's worth having all these amazing amenities so close by. And, for us, it means the property value of our homes has increased and we're close to where our shopping needs are met in a few minutes.

I responded to the reporter's questions for about 5 minutes with only optimism and so when my grandkids and I watched the 10 pm news to see what was aired, they were jumping up and down and laughing so hard to see their Nana on TV (they had seen the whole interview come down as they watched it from our car). And, we weren't surprised to only see a small snippet of what I said. I get that a lot of folks watch the news for controversial stories -- but I sure wish they'd report the positive stuff rather than so much negative.

Negativity breeds negativity. What should we do when we live in that world but want to stay positive? I'm so thankful that I purpose to look for the good in just about everything and here's what I do:

1) I protect myself from negative news. And in this political head bed, we DO need protection. While I want to stay up on current events, sometimes a headline is sufficient to grasp new developments.

2. I control the number of negative people in my life. I often spend time counseling and hearing people's problems. Some days are filled with more uplifting reports than others. However, I can carefully select how much time I spend with those who are intent on being negative. My frame of mind and my attitude is dependent on what I allow into my mind -- good or bad.

3. I love to listen to uplifting Christian music in my car and home. With just a click on an app on my phone, I can be transported to a place of joy, peace, and thanksgiving.

4. I practice gratitude. Appreciating life and its many blessings puts me in a cheery mood that really helps when I'm in traffic or standing in a long line at a store. That gratitude makes me want to encourage others -- calling or emailing them with an encouraging word. Random acts of kindess goes a long way in turning a negative world into a positive one.

5. I pray randomly all day: "Thank you, God, for that green light. Thank you, God for that parking space." And whether it's in traffic or a line at the store -- I use that time as a reminder to have a little conversation with THE ONE who isn't surprised by the delays. No doubt, it's a part of His Master Plan.

There's blessings and beauty everywhere -- it's possible to stay positive in a negative world when we look for it.

"And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise." Philippians 4:8

Count Your Blessings -- Name Them One By One

On a recent flight, I read Michael J. Fox's take on "Coping with Adversity". He said "It was only when I could accept the fact that I had Parkinson's disease that I began to think, 'What haven't I lost?' I haven't lost my enthusiasm. I haven't lost my intelligence. I haven't lost my passion for life, my love of my family, my curiosity."

I love that -- when adversity comes -- it's easy to throw in the towel and give up, and ask the questions "Why me?" It's easy to throw a pity party and invite all our friends to it (we post it on FB, we text message, we make phone calls, we email and we carry that "woe is me" attitude with us everywhere we go). Michael J. Fox refused to be defeated. He got it. He counted his blessings. And that's what we need to do when disappointment comes knocking on our door. Yes, it hurts. Yes, it's embarassing. Yes, it causes us to have to take many steps back and have to start over again. But, like Michael J. Fox, if we'll refuse to be defeated, and we look at what we have, instead of what we've lost or don't have -- we'll rebound with "I may be taking a step back -- but get ready... I'm preparing for my comeback!"

Don't we want that to be the legacy we leave to those who are following behind us? Don't we want them to say "She/He never gave up. They gave their all -- when their all was all they had to give! They never knew the word "quit". They never knew failure -- because they kept trying."
I'm refusing the temptation to complain about anything.....rather, I'm counting my blessings right now....and naming them one by one! And, by the way, YOU are one of my treasured blessings!