Friday, March 27, 2015

In Which I Keep on Journaling My Conversations with God

'Could it be that no one receives the peace of God without giving thanks to God?  Is thankfulness really but the deep, contented breath of peacefulness?  Is this why God asks us to give thanks even when things look a failure?

Authentic thanks is always for all things, because our God is a God kneading all things into a bread that sustains . . . to bring the sacrifice of thanksgiving means to sacrifice our understanding of what is beneficial and thank God for everything because He is benevolent.  A sacrifice of thanks lays down our perspective and raises hands in praise anyways - always.

A sacrifice is, by definition, not an easy thing - but it is a sacred thing.

There is this: we give thanks to God not because of how we feel but because of who He is.

He who is grateful for little is given much laughter . . . and it's counting the ways He loves, this is what multiplies joy.'
~ Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts Devotional: Reflections on Finding Everyday Graces




Thank You, Lord, for the movement of the seasons.
Always going forward.
  
I can't wait to see what You're going to do. 

I sit back with eyes wide open, faith strong and solid, 
 sometimes tinged with fear, those whiffs of anxiety coming to call.
Yet still ringed with joy.
  
For You are good, You answer prayer, 
You care about those I love and our endless neediness.

So, I give You this day, these last days of March, the unfolding future . . .
 I release my fears and concerns and all those I love into Your keeping.

For, if it is possible, You love them even more than I, 
and You have all power to affect change in their lives,
 to give wisdom and courage and direction,
to bring healing in all the ways that matter. 

You understand the need for hope and faith multiplied.

Where would we go without Jesus?
Who would we be without You, Lord?

These questions have no imaginable answers.

None.






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You'll discover random bits and pieces of my journaling right here.

Sabbath's most refreshing blessings to you, to yours, my friend. 

28 comments:

  1. AND---All God's People said, "AMEN"!

    Blessings, Friend!

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    1. Looks like we were visiting each other right about the same time, lovely friend! May this weekend bring you joy and a delightful sense of His presence ...

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  2. Yes, He is so good. I look forward to what He's going to do next too, Linda. Who can outguess Him? It will be good--we do know that. Have a blessed weekend, friend!

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    1. I love your little question, Lisa ... 'Who can outguess Him?' If we try, we're doomed to fail each and every time.

      And it's energy that would have been better used in praising Him!

      Hope you're having a restful weekend, friend.

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  3. So beautiful! I hope you have been spending lots of time with your Mama!

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    1. Yes, we've been in /out with my parents all week, Sarah. I feel honored to spend time doing life with them ... even when things aren't going exactly the way we would hope.

      We feel His presence. And we laugh alot, too ...

      ;-}

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  4. "For, if it is possible, You love them even more than I........." These lines speak to me today. How often I have to remember these things.

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    1. I guess when we finally get it that God loves the ones we love even more than we do that it becomes easier to release them to Him. Even though we have to do it over and over and ...

      After all, He's the One who taught us how to love in the first place, right?

      Good to see you again, Carol!

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  5. There is such release and joy in reflecting on your day and thanking God for gifting you with all that happened throughout. Taking time to give thanks even when it feels hard is an exercise in love for God.

    I appreciate Ann's words today and your prayer of thanks. Have a weekend filled with thanks for all and may peace fill each day.

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    1. I love unpacking life in my journal. I tell it like it is for me to the One who's the only One who can do anything about the emotions, circumstances, situations, and perplexities.

      And once I'm freed up from what I'm hauling, I can do nothing but praise my Burden-Bearer!

      Thanks for stopping in today, Mary. I hope you're enjoying a cozy afternoon ...

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  6. Hi Linda, Thank God for His Mercies. Lovely Thoughts.
    Enjoy your weekend.

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    1. Amen! His mercies are new every morning. No wonder we love Him so!

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  7. Thank you, also, for this last post re thankfulness. My life has drastically changed since reading "One Thousand Gifts" a few years ago.

    And, I wrote 2 of the monthly letters that went out to our 3 parishes and others in Feb. & March on the subject of thankfulness. We can always express thankfulness because of who God is!!

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    1. Yep, 'One Thousand Gifts' was a game changer for me, too. I'm loving Ann's devotional ... it's probably one of my top 3 favorites ever. {More on that in a few weeks - hint hint!}

      Thanks for emailing me your thoughts. I know alot of people read the blog via email, so it means alot that you took the time to let me know you're there.

      Blessings ...

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  8. Breathing thankfulness if breathing peace into the heart. That is so beautiful and the way you bring that to the seasons, family and your every day life - this is good. Thank you (and I mean it. lol) The beauty of thankfulness is when you do it intentionally then something amazing happens. The other day I was grumping about picking up after everyone AGAIN. When the Holy Spirit checked me. So with everything I picked up I started thanking God for everyone in the house it represented - to include the dog. Ha! I was laughing and enjoying my work after that. See. It is a miracle to add the element of thanksgiving. The sacrifice turns to joy in the very doing of it. Thanks for the reminder my friend. ~Chris~

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    1. Thanks, Chris, for sharing a bit of your experience here. I love this idea of sacrifice morphing into joy, especially as we go about with the most daily of our chores and homekeeping tasks.

      We have so much to be grateful for. To speak of this often is my goal.

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  9. Thanks for giving us this intimate peek into your prayer journal, Linda. I do pray that your anxieties would be lifted and your faith in our Lord would grow rich and deep. Know that you are in my daily prayers--you along with your mama and your sweet adopted grandson. I do hope both of them are doing well. Hugs to you!

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    1. That you've been praying faithfully for so many months is such a cherished gift, Beth. Thank you for lifting up my family to His loving heart. And yes, even when whiffs of anxiety or fear or sadness come to call, it doesn't change the luscious fruit of the Spirit that dwells within.

      And for that grace-filled joy, I am so deeply grateful!

      Have a super week, friend ... I know this is a busy season for you!

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  10. Beautiful, heartfelt, encouraging words, Linda. Praying with you, my friend.

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    1. Don't you just love praying with friends?

      And it was so neat to be in on the conversation with you at Deidra's ... thanks for mentioning that you saw her here!

      ;-}

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  11. Beautiful.. thank you so much for such an uplifting post my friend! God bless you! <3 - www.domesticgeekgirl.com

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  12. Linda,
    What a wonderful prayer...yes, to who else can we go? Thank you so much for this beauty :-)

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    1. Thanks for praying together with me, friend ...

      ;-}

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  13. Thank God indeed for the good times and the bad times. :)

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    1. I'm so grateful He doesn't change even when our circumstances aren't what we would have chosen. What a wonderful Savior!

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  14. I made it my personal goal last year to write 365 thank you notes. I didn't quite make it all the way but I did get very close. :) I thanked people, companies, organizations, some of whom I knew and others I didn't. I really felt like God wanted me to be thankful in all things. Great post.

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    1. Oh, that's just plain COOL! I've never heard of such a life-changing goal before. I can't begin to imagine how many people were impacted by your personally penned words.

      And for sure, He wants us to be thankful in all things.

      Love that you've shared this with us, Pary!

      ;-}

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Welcome to the table, friend!

This is where we gather and hang out. I'd love for you to pull up a chair and jump right into the conversation. Or simply say 'hello.'

l'll be dropping in to visit you sometime soon ...

Linda

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