Posts Tagged ‘Thankfulness’

Wondering What to Give Jesus for His Birthday?

Tuesday, December 6th, 2011

The following is from Matthew 25:31-40.  Jesus is teaching, and as he often does, he is doing so by using parables.  This passage is from the parable of the sheep and the goats.

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne.  All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 

He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,  I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?  When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?  When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”

In December of 2005 I was in Naples, Florida enjoying a golf trip with a group of friends.  We would rise early, go on a prayer and fellowship walk on the beach, grab breakfast, go play golf, grab dinner, then just hang out, fellowship, and wait for the next day to get up and do the same thing all over again.  it was a great trip!

But that is not not what I remember most about that trip.  If you recall, on August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina pushed ashore near New Orleans. We know now that Hurricane Katrina is the costliest  natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States.  Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall. At least 1,836 people died in the actual hurricane and in the subsequent floods, making it the deadliest U.S. hurricane since the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane; total property damage was estimated at $81 billion nearly triple the damage wrought by Hurricane Andrew in 1992.  The most significant number of deaths occurred in New Orleans, Louisiana, which flooded as the levee system catastrophically failed, in many cases hours after the storm had moved inland. Eventually 80% of the city and large tracts of neighboring parishes became flooded, and the flood waters lingered for weeks.  I am sure many of us still have mental pictures in our mind of the destruction and of the tens of thousands of people wandering the streets after their homes had been destroyed or literally washed away.

Now flash forward to December of 2005.  I am in Naples Florida, staying in a nice condo, walking on the beach each morning, not worrying about my next meal, playing golf, and enjoying all the comforts and pleasures that Naples.  I wasn’t even thinking about Hurricane Katrina or the people of New Orleans and coastal areas of Louisiana and Mississippi.  That is until one morning on one of our prayer walks.

That particular morning God decide to speak to in a profound an life changing way.  As we walked along the beach, and as gazed west across the Gulf of Mexico toward New Orleans, God brought the circumstances there to mind and I began to have this dialog with Him.  I started to question why I was so fortunate to be where I was both literally (very comfortable in Naples) and metaphorically (healthy, wealthy, and with no real worries in life).  Why was I where I was, while those in New Orleans had lost everything (homes,belongings, and even loved ones) and were wandering the streets or living in make shift shelters not knowing what their future was.  Why am I blessed with plenty while others are not, and why am I not suffering great loss and hardship, while others are?  There was no good, reasonable answer. But, as I wrestled with God about this, he led me to the scripture above.  And while the scripture did not answer the question, (I have determined that I will never know the answer to the question) it did give me very clear direction about what I am to do because I am fortunate to be blessed by the God of the universe.

I knew from that day forward that one of my callings in life and one of the gifts God has blessed me with is to give; give of my finances, my time, and my talents to help those less fortunate.

It was really powerful too, because it was right at Christmas time and God spoke to me and said “It is my son Jesus’ birthday. Now you know what he wants most for his birthday; he told you in the words he spoke in that passage…“Truly I tell you, whatever you do for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you do for me.”

I have never felt so much freedom, joy, peace and happiness as when I am serving and giving to others.  I encourage you to consider my story and the words of Jesus this Christmas, and give Jesus the the gift he most desires!  I know that, when you do, you will be Happy at Work and in Life!

Merry Christmas and God’s Peace!

Key To Happiness And Goodness

Monday, November 15th, 2010

As I continue to study, research and discuss with others the concept of happiness and what it really takes to be happy, I discover more and more information, data, and feed back that supports the notion that the key to happiness and being content is significantly and directly linked to our degree of thankfulness or gratitude.  I hope you will listen to this short video on this topic by Dennis Prager, and let me know what your thoughts are.

Happy Life and Career; plan the work and work the plan

Saturday, October 31st, 2009

You may have heard the saying “plan the work and work the plan”.  It is a great reminder that, in order to experience success, it helps to have a vision and a plan for what you hope to accomplish, to remian focused and committed to your plan, and to be purposeful and intentional in working toward accomplishing the plan.

This adage is most commonly applied in business, but I believe we shoud all consider applying it within our families.  Our families need a vision, a mssion, and a plan.  A good place to start is to establish your family values, a set of guiding principles that help steer eveyone as they makes decsions about what you do, what you say, who you select as friends, and how you spend your money and time.  Below are some examples of family values that I have collected from freinds that will give you some ideas and help get you jump started.  You can develop your own (as a family); make it fun, let eveyone participate and contribute, and make sure you have consensus before finalizing.  Post them on the refrigerator, on the family bulletin board, and on bathroom mirrors so they are consistently top-of-mind with everyone, and use them when making decisions, and to mentor, coach and discipline your kids.  Good luck and remember to walk in love!

Family Values:

  1. We will love honor and obey God in all that we think, speak, and do
  2. We will, in humility, love, respect, and serve each other and those around us
  3. We first listen, then think, then speak
  4. We try our best in everything we do
  5. We look for the good in every situation and maintain an attitude of thankfulness
  6. We will forgive and make every effort to live at peace with everyone
  7. We take every opportunity to share God’s love and the hope we have in Jesus
  8. We make memories together
  9. We keep our family time as a high priority
  10. We nurture a generous heart by living simply and sharing with those in need
  11. We invest ourselves in building God’e kingdom

A Cheerful Heart

Wednesday, June 24th, 2009

Maintaining a cheerful heart is very important to being happy in life and at work. It is often not so much about our circumstances, but how we respond in the midst of those circumstances. Another way to put it might be that what we achieve is not nearly as important as what we overcome. And, it takes the right spirit of thankfulness, attitude of gratitude, and cheerful heart to overcome many of life’s toughest circumstances. The questions then becomes where does this strong yet peaceful spirit come from. It comes from a personal relationship with Jesus!

“The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes”…Paslm 19:8

With this joy in our hearts and light in our eyes, we can “Serve the LORD with gladness”….Psalm 100:2

When somebody is eighty-four years of age and is still able to do just a little bit of the work she loves, that is a great privilege,” said the inimitable Corrie ten Boom before adding, no doubt with a smile, “but I am able to do so much!” According to her coworker, Pam Rosewell, Corrie was continually thankful to God for every opportunity to serve Him, and she went about her task with an enthusiasm hard to equal. “How she enjoyed life,” Pam later recalled, “…and what a sense of humor she had! We spent a lot of time laughing; she was very young in spirit.”

“He who is of a merry heart has a continual feast.”…Proverbs 15:15

“A cheerful heart is good medicine”…Proverbs 17:22

Every day has its share of burdens, and many of us have aches and pains. But a cheerful heart is as irrepressible as a cork in water. A joyful person just cannot be held down. What a privilege to serve the Lord with gladness and to use our gifts for His glory, doing so with a merry heart. We can moan and complain about life or we can keep life in perspective and enjoy it. Paul learned the secret of contentment, and so can we. That choice is yours and mine.

The future is glorious. The best is yet to be, and you and I have the privilege to help hasten the coming of Jesus…..Corrie ten Boom

Facing Uncertainty

Tuesday, June 16th, 2009

“When he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Matthew 8:23-26

James MacDonald writes: Why didn’t somebody tell me earlier in my life that I can’t fix everything? I thought that with due diligence, everything can get resolved. If there were things up ahead that concerned me, I could just make a plan to solve them. In time, I could have it all figured out and then set the automatic “good life” pilot and let it take over.

It’s only more recently that I have grasped that life will never be “together” this side of eternity. It’s hard to accept sometimes that perfect is only for heaven.

There will always be people problems. There will always be financial challenges. There will always be a home burden, or a crisis of some kind. Every day I live in this world, there will always be some uncertainty ringing my doorbell.

So much for my assumption that if you just worked hard enough, eventually everything would be sorted out, categorized, and put neatly on the shelf. I have never gotten to that day and what’s more, I now know it’s never coming.

In Matthew 8:23-24, we land in Jesus’ life on a day that perfectly illustrates the imperfections of human existence. “When he got into the boat, His disciplines followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm.” In the original language, the two words great storm can be translated to mega and seismic. As in, And behold, there arose a mega seismic on the sea, so that the boat was consumed by the waves. It’s worth remembering that this description comes from Matthew, one of the disciples who wasn’t a fisherman. He had the terrified layman’s perspective on this storm!

I have a few questions about that whole scene:

1. Did Jesus not check the Weather Channel? He totally knew that storm was coming yet He led them right into it. Get in the boat, boys. He knowingly took them into harm’s way.
2. Could Jesus have stopped the storm before it started? Sure He could have but He let the storm come.
3. So is it true to say that He wanted the storm? I think we could surmise that He was actually looking forward to how He was going to use the storm in the disciples’ lives.

I believe it is important for all of us, including me to understand that sometimes Jesus disguises exciting opportunities for personal growth as difficult circumstances. We would choose to avoid trials at all costs, but Jesus sees the bigger picture. Sometimes we just need to trust God and get out of the boat…especially if we want to walk on the water and be happy in life and at work!

28638: If You Want to Walk on Water, You"ve Got to Get Out of the Boat If You Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat
By John Ortberg / Zondervan

Far too many of us have put our faith in a casual Christianity that never compels us to leave our comfort zones. But, deep within our hearts we know that Christ has not called us to comfort, but to an exciting, sacrificial and overwhelmingly fulfilling faith. In If You’re Going to Walk on Water John Ortberg teaches us how to step out of the “boat” of casual Christianity so that we can faithfully follow the Lord who is calling us out onto the risky, exciting waters of the high seas. Let Pastor Ortberg teach you how to leave your comfort zone for a remarkable life of faith.

What Causes Happiness?

Thursday, April 23rd, 2009

What causes happiness? The answer is simple “Thankfulness is the key to contentment”.

Try this…start out every day listing 5 things you are thankful for. You will be amazed at how your attitude and perspective will change. Here’s an example of how it works. As you wake, you might let God know that you are thankful for the ability to draw breath and enjoy another day on earth with those you love. As you step out of bed, you thank Him for your health including sight, hearing, strength, mobility, sound mind, etc. You continue by saying thanks for having a roof over your head for protection from the elements. As you turn on the water to brush your teeth, shave, and shower you express your thanks for having clean running water; acknowledging that there are many other who don’t enjoy that luxury. Your thankfulness continues as you get dressed realizing that there are many who only have one change of clothes, as you sit to enjoy a healthy breakfast and know that thousands upon thousands across the world will not have a meal today, as you say good bye to your family and think about those who have lost or are separated from their loved ones, and as you jump into your car to drive to work and it hits you that many do not have a car or a job. I think you get the idea.

So much of our unhappiness is because we chose to dwell on that which makes us unhappy. Instead be thankful for all you have to be thankful for; it will make you happier!

Philippians 4:6-8 says it this way…

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”