We’ve spent the last couple of weeks on how we can go deeper in being “thankful” to God.  The focus has been on what God has done or what God has given to us. I hope that these blogs have stirred some ideas and thoughts to help us in the all important spiritual practice of … Continue reading Thank You for You!

The other day, the words to an old Matt Redman song was stuck in my head: Jesus Christ, I think upon your sacrifice, You became nothing, poured out to death Many times, I've wondered at Your gift of life And I'm in that place once again. Once again I look upon the Cross where You … Continue reading Thank You for Saving Me

As we head into Thanksgiving week, I want to adjust the focus of our “thankful” series to those specific things that God has done for all of us. While the blessings of God are particular to our situation, God has universally done wonderful things for all of us. Our first look is that God created … Continue reading Thank You for Creating Me!

As many of you know, my wife, Letty, teaches Kindergarteners. With these “young-uns” one has to come up with quick, memorable statements to help them adjust their thinking (what the Bible calls “renewal of the mind”). When a 5 year old has difficulty when getting a blue balloon instead of a red one or has … Continue reading You Get What You Get, So Be Thankful for It

A friend shared with me an experience he had on a remodeling job. On the surface it looked like one big hassle: he would have to travel a couple hundred miles, live on the job site for a week, and do some difficult remodeling work. But because he had done work with this family before, … Continue reading Recognizing gifts from the Father

I love the stories of the patriarchs in Genesis (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph). To me, they are real life redemption stories. Yes, they go through a lot of drama and they make a lot of stupid mistakes (although not that much different from some of the stupid things we do nowadays). But they hang … Continue reading Thanking God when it’s hard

We’ve been talking about thanksgiving as a lifestyle, not just a November holiday, over the past couple of weeks. Having an attitude of gratitude is central to Whole Life Worship. Without it, we lose sight of the grace of God. Without it, we cannot worship God from our hearts. Without it, our minds cannot be … Continue reading Giving God an opening

Back in 1977, Johnny Paycheck (interesting name, huh?) came up with a hit song, “Take This Job and Shove It.” Four years later this inspired the movie of the same name. But more than a song and a movie, the idea that we are all entitled to the “dream job” permeated into the very fabric … Continue reading Thanking God for our jobs

Today my mom and sister called with some hard news: my Grandma (my Mom’s mom) had a stroke and she will most likely not be alive a week from now. She is 95 and is in the latter stages of Alzheimer’s. Her quality of life these past few years have not been good. She’s ready … Continue reading Thanks for the memories

I was waiting for a red light the other day and I could not think of one thing to be thankful for. As you know, I’ve adopted a new practice of giving thanks whenever I get stuck at a red light as a way to help me slow down and put God at the forefront … Continue reading Thankful for what we have