Living a Life of Gratitude

Giving thanks always for everything to God the Father for everything, in the name our Lord Jesus Christ. (italics mine) Ephesians 5:20 ESV English Standard Version 

Last week, I struggled to give a gift to a little child who turned seven. I wrapped it up to make it special and was surprised at my response to his response. He opened the gift and said "I already have something like this before". Yes, right as you guessed it did hurt  but what struck me the most was in the split second  before I thought of the ingratitude he had displayed was the question "Lord is this how it feels when I take things that you do for granted? It sure was not a good feeling.

According to the Oxford Dictionary, Gratitude means “the art of being thankful, readiness to show appreciation for and return the kindness of others”.

I  really like the fact that it is defined as an "art" which means that it can be learnt and improved upon. It is my desire to be a little more grateful each passing day. But most times, this is usually a struggle as it seems easier in the midst of the busyness of life to be weighed down by worries, fear and doubt. Gratitude has a lot to do with attitude which means we can consciously decide to adapt the attitude of gratitude. One definition of “attitude” is a settled way of thinking or feeling. It means that the attitude of gratitude can be adapted and reinforced as we practice it till it becomes a lifestyle.

I erroneously used to think gratitude just meant “being thankful” but the definition above includes a readiness to show appreciation. Sometimes I may be thankful but if I show my appreciation grudgingly or after much coaxing, then I am not really grateful. The last part of the definition is to return the kindness of others. This is in line I believe with the principle of "paying forward”. Another test of my gratitude is what I am giving back and this giving back does not necessarily mean money but maybe being a little bit patient as I teach someone else as a sign that I appreciate the fact that firstly, I am grateful for the time my teachers took to teach me and secondly that I am thankful to God for giving me the ability to understand what was taught.

God wants us to be a people of gratitude and not to take Him or life for granted. He rightly deserves our appreciation but also wants us to show gratitude to the people he has placed in our lives.

Feeling grateful,

Grace Tom-Lawyer

Entries for Lessons from our Fathers

Hi all,
The feedback I got from some people was that they planned to  but did not eventually send an entry last time for Mother's day.Now this is another chance and do not procrastinate.The new blue background change is in honor of  all dads and Father's day which is just around the corner,specifically on Sunday,15 June, 2014.There is not a single person who got here without a dad.Maybe you have not yet bought a present yet or you are just wondering of a special way to honor your dad or the father of your children.
This year,you can do so in words letting him and everyone know how much you learnt from him and we will also be featuring it on this blog starting from June 8th.So this is the time to write, a link will also be available so you can share with all your friends and family to honor your mum with you.The essay is "Lessons I learnt from my Dad/Father".This should be done in no more than 400 words.You can also upload a picture of him.Remember it does not have to be your biological father and we are all waiting to share your lessons with you.

Happy Father's day in advance.
Grace Tom-Lawyer

NB:Entries can be sent directly to justflourish@gmail.com  or using the contact form below.You will receive an acknowledgement and be told the date it will be featured.

God is concerned 2

And Aaron told them everything the Lord had said to Moses…and they believed. And when they heard the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped. Exodus 4:30-31 NIV New International Version

One of the promises of Jesus which we hardly pick in promise boxes is “…. in this world you will have trouble but take heart! I have overcome the world”. John 16:33.Storms are an essential part of our lives. We are either  going through one, have just gone through one or will soon go through one. The children of Israel were also in a storm. They had been in slavery in the land of Egypt for over 400 years and finally they received the above message. Their response of worship to the concern of God is commendable and worthy of emulation.

But I will be the first to admit that worship is not always my response. I confess it is sometimes something between worrying,complaining and an unfounded hopelessness. A closer look at the verse will help us understand how they arrived at their response.

Firstly they heard; what are we hearing and who are we giving our ears to? This is because what we hear will determine what we eventually believe and what we believe will be evidenced by either worshiping or complaining. And in hearing, we have to be selective to make sure that we do not allow the facts to confuse the truth. The fact of their situation was that they were still in slavery but the truth of the matter was that they had a promise of deliverance from a concerned God.

Secondly they believed; they believed the word of God concerning their situation. If we do not take the time to discover what the word of God says concerning an issue, we will not have a basis for believing.         

Finally the people bowed to worship; they were able to bow to worship because they believed. They worshiped him when he had not done anything for them yet. But they had heard enough of him to trust himWe do not worship sometimes because we do not believe or know him. Studying our Bibles on a regular basis will help us know God more.The more we know him, the more we will find it easier to worship him. The reality of the depth of our knowledge is made apparent when we go through storms.

As we mature in the Christian faith, it is imperative that our response to the storms of life is worship on a consistent basis. So these days when I find that my response is not worship, I check to ensure that I have been hearing and believing the right things.

My encouragement this week is that we continue to seek to know God, to go beyond our present circumstances and worship him because of who He is. One of my pastor’s wife put it nicely “He has a track record of a 100% satisfaction guarantee”.

God is concerned and deserves our worship.

Grace Tom-lawyer.

God is Concerned.

 "God saw the children of Israel and God was concerned about them" Exodus 2:25 WEB World English Bible version

"God saw the troubles of the people [sons, children] of Israel, and he was concerned about [took note] of them”. Exodus 2:25 EXB The Expanded Bible version

 Last month as I began to go through the eleventh chapter of Hebrews, I took notice of the deeds that were done by faith and was reminded that it was by faith that Moses kept the Passover. A closer look at the Passover was richly rewarded with great truths that led me to study the call of Moses who was sent as the deliverer in Exodus 3. When God met Moses, He spoke the following words “…I have seen the troubles my people suffered in Egypt, and I have heard their cries when the Egyptian slave masters hurt them. I am concerned about their pain”. Exodus 3:7 NCV New Century Version.The  Passover happened because  of God’s concern.

 You may think that the various events in the world must mean He is not running it. How can there be a God in the midst of all the chaos and all the troubles but the thing about God that gives me comfort is that He is concerned. He was concerned about the plight of his people in Egypt. He remembered his covenant with their forefathers and I am convinced that He has not forgotten his covenant with me. He has said he will never leave us. The concern of God is not passive as we see in his searching for Moses to go and deliver his people. God also was concerned about the fall of man and thus sent Jesus to pay the price so as to redeem us and no matter what we are facing today, my encouragement is that we have a God who is concerned and also concerned about his word and keeping  his promises. In short, God orchestrated circumstances to ensure that the crucifixion of Jesus fell in the Passover week. This Easter as we commemorate the death and resurrection of Jesus the true Passover lamb, let us remember that for the  first Passover that God was concerned enough to train a man for 40 years. So sometimes it may seem to us that nothing is happening but in reality, God is working behind the scenes. One of the beautiful things he said to Moses is “… I have seen the troubles….”, yes God sees it all and He is concerned. I pondered for almost a week thinking about the concern of God for me and I want you to know no matter what you are going through, God is concerned.

Child of a Concerned God,

Grace Tom-Lawyer

P.S:I wrote this post last month but due to numerous travels was unable to post it, it was meant for Easter week but the message is still relevant.