Tagged: thanksgiving

@audreycfrank He sent from on high, He took me; He drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy, And from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.  They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my stay. He brought me forth also into a broad place; He rescued me, because He delighted in me.  Psalm 18:16-19, a thanksgiving psalm of David after God delivered him from all his enemies. I once watched someone drowning. I was a little girl, standing on the lake shore. A woman paddled out to the deep and began to bob up and down. I did not understand at first that she was sinking, until she began… 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