Yesterday Beau and I sat in our church with our beloved church family and enjoyed another beautiful sermon from Pastor Harms. He touched on the topic of gratitude which got me thinking afterwards. Everyone is grateful for something. Everyone has blessings, but what should we do with our gratitude. To God, we send prayers, to friends we send notes and hugs but isn't there more. After all, sometimes we say thank you when we don't even mean it. Actions often speak louder than words so I'm thinking that is the way to go. The Bible says Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him, Colossians 3:17.
I'm so grateful for my family, my husband, my children, and the wonderful friends the Lord has added to my family along the way. I would love to spend everyday doing things to show my gratitude for all of these people, making calls, buying gifts, etc , but I still have to cook, change diapers, clean the house , run errands, homeschool etc. God said every word or deed though right? I resolve today to clean this house for my family as if I'm preparing for Jesus to sit around our table tonight. I will cook our simple meals today , nourishing these children he blessed me with, showing Him my gratitude for them as you would take care of something special you have borrowed from a friend. I will treat each friendship i have with importance attempting to show His love back as I have received it from Him through them. I'm certain I will forget to act in gratitude from time to time, but I will try to walk in His footsteps. I will attempt to show my gratitude for these blessings in every word or deed as often as I can. It is the least I can do. I am not perfect and will require some reminding, but I can trust God to take care of that!
This week I lost a special person. Certainly it is not just my loss, but a loss to everyone who knew her. I am sad, I have shed tears, but i am grateful. Grateful she walks today with the Lord in a whole and healthy body. Grateful so many others will do the same because of her. I can no longer show her gratitude for the lessons she taught me and my children. Never again will I be able to send her a thank you note or flash her a smile, however I can share what she has taught me. I will show my gratitude for her life every time I share one of her lessons with a child, and every time I think of her example and make a better decision. She was a gift, a wonderful gift!!
James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change
Wow Courtney I really liked how you said you would clean the house as if Jesus was going to come to dinner! I'm going to go try and show my gratitude the same way.
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