Tagged: gratitude

O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven or on earth, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart…You spoke with your mouth, and with your hand have fulfilled it this day. Now therefore, O Lord, keep… what you have promised to him saying, “You shall not lack…” (2 Chronicles 6:14-16). I am thinking deeply these days about how my Father gives us a job to do, then promises He will help us do it, then with His own hand completes it.  Covered Glory, releasing in just two days on August 20, is such a promise kept. Like Solomon after the completion of the temple, I have set my heart toward… Read More

@audreycfrank I would rather go on my grumpy way, most days. I hate to admit it. But seeing the world as a to-do list, annoying and pressuring, is much more natural some days than seeing it as a gift to be opened carefully, thoughtfully, joyfully. I confess I am an ingrate who has been given more than she deserves, loved with a love that I never earned. I have every reason to be thankful every moment. Maybe I am the only one for whom thanksgiving is a learned, intentional behavior. Busyness blinds me to what matters all too often. [tweet_box design="default" float="none"]The truth is, #thanksgiving interrupts our busyness for something better.[/tweet_box] One day I woke up an hour before the rest of the family to… Read More

@audreycfrank There is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God. (1 Samuel 2:2) Gratitude reveals much about who a person is and who or what she relies upon. Our identities are established upon so many things: who our parents were, where we grew up, what job we have, what relationships we have. Thanksgiving, or lack of, often flows directly out of these foundational aspects of our identity. Hannah’s story in 1 Samuel 1 and 2 reads like a case study on the matter. In Hannah’s world, the identity of a woman was largely based on whether or not she was a mother. Bearing a child, preferably a son, was paramount to womanhood and fulfillment.… Read More