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Monday, 13 November 2017
1 Thessalonians 5:15 See that no one repays evil for evil; on the contrary, always try to do good to each other, indeed, to everyone.
“Gratitude is a sentiment we'd all do well to cultivate, according to positive psychologists, mental health clinicians and researchers who seek to help everyone create more joy in life. Feeling thankful and expressing that thanks makes you happier and heartier—not hokier.” * The God who created us seems, given what the apostle Paul wrote, to have anticipated this growing body of research by a few thousand years!
• A handbook for Bible translators noted, “In some languages it is strange to direct anyone to be joyful, since…joy is regarded as being dependent upon outside circumstances over which one has no control. The implication of Paul’s words is that real joy depends on one’s relation to God, which is permanent and unchanging.” ** When have you found that you can be grateful for God’s love and God’s promises even in life’s toughest moments?
• How much do the positive qualities of life Paul listed in this passage (e.g. rejoicing, praying, being thankful) appeal to you? How can you nurture an inner appetite for the good? In what ways do you find that choosing to nurture anger or complaint (about yourself, others or life/God) reduces your appetite for the good things God offers?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, I’m grateful you didn’t call me to give thanks FOR every situation. Even giving thanks IN every situation is often a challenge. Keep growing that capacity in me. Amen.
* From Lauren Aaronson, “Make a Gratitude Adjustment.” Psychology Today, March 1, 2006, found at www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200603/make-gratitude-adjustment.
** Paul Ellingworth and Eugene A. Nida, A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians. New York: United Bible Societies, 1976, p. 121.
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Melanie Hill
Melanie Hill is the Guest Connections Program Director at Resurrection.
It seems like it happens earlier every year. Christmas.
This year it arrived on November 1 as I ran into our local Target with my kids to pick up a few things. Just the night before we had been out trick-or-treating and the very next day we walked into a winter wonderland with aisle after aisle dripping in red and green.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I am guilty of being an early Christmas decorator. My tree is usually up before Thanksgiving. I started listening to Christmas music the second week of October. (Just a song here and there – I promise.)
It’s not the early decorating I mind so much. No, it’s the case of the “gimmies” and “I must have’s” that it starts to produce in my kids. They were ready to start giving me their list of demands... I mean... Christmas “wish lists” right then and there. It was then that I decided I must stop this Christmas from coming – but how? Well maybe not Christmas, but you get the point.
Like many well-intentioned moms, I started scouring Pinterest for ideas on how to teach my kids about gratitude. I settled on the idea of a gratitude jar. Now, before you get too excited it’s really just a left-over mason jar I had lying around the house filled with some scraps of paper with gratitude prompts, quotes and verses. Pretty simple really. It lives in the center of our kitchen table and each night as we sit down to dinner we each pull out a slip of paper and read what is on it. If it has a question, we answer it. If it has a verse or quote about gratitude we talk about it.
At first, I wasn’t sure how this was going to go over with my family, but I soon found to my delight that my kids love doing it. They even do it in the morning if we have time.
After the first week I started to notice some changes in my kids. For one thing, their morning prayers before school changed. Each day we pick someone to say a blessing for the family before we head to school. Usually it goes something like this, “Thank you for this wonderful day. Please help us to have a good day at school. Amen.” Not bad, but it doesn’t vary a whole lot from day to day and person to person. Until last week. I started to hear my kids thanking God for the beautiful colors we were seeing in the trees and for our neighbors who had let us borrow their rake to pick up leaves. Their prayers started to become more personal and layered with gratitude.
And I noticed something else too. I started to become more grateful. Like most things in life, I started this new tradition for my kids to teach them a lesson about gratitude and I ended up learning just as much as they are. Maybe more.
I want to encourage you to find one way this week to be grateful. For you it might be using the gratitude journal that you picked up at church this past weekend. Maybe it’s setting an alarm to remind you to be grateful. Maybe it’s writing one thank you card every day for a week (and mailing them!).
I don’t know what will work best for you, but look to see where you can create gratitude as part of your rhythm of life. For my family it’s at dinner time and it is making all the difference. Now to go put up that tree
16 Always be joyful. 17 Pray regularly. 18 In everything give thanks, for this is what God wants from you who are united with the Messiah Yeshua.
---“Gratitude is a sentiment we'd all do well to cultivate, according to positive psychologists, mental health clinicians and researchers who seek to help everyone create more joy in life. Feeling thankful and expressing that thanks makes you happier and heartier—not hokier.” * The God who created us seems, given what the apostle Paul wrote, to have anticipated this growing body of research by a few thousand years!
• A handbook for Bible translators noted, “In some languages it is strange to direct anyone to be joyful, since…joy is regarded as being dependent upon outside circumstances over which one has no control. The implication of Paul’s words is that real joy depends on one’s relation to God, which is permanent and unchanging.” ** When have you found that you can be grateful for God’s love and God’s promises even in life’s toughest moments?
• How much do the positive qualities of life Paul listed in this passage (e.g. rejoicing, praying, being thankful) appeal to you? How can you nurture an inner appetite for the good? In what ways do you find that choosing to nurture anger or complaint (about yourself, others or life/God) reduces your appetite for the good things God offers?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, I’m grateful you didn’t call me to give thanks FOR every situation. Even giving thanks IN every situation is often a challenge. Keep growing that capacity in me. Amen.
* From Lauren Aaronson, “Make a Gratitude Adjustment.” Psychology Today, March 1, 2006, found at www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200603/make-gratitude-adjustment.
** Paul Ellingworth and Eugene A. Nida, A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians. New York: United Bible Societies, 1976, p. 121.
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Melanie HillMelanie Hill is the Guest Connections Program Director at Resurrection.
It seems like it happens earlier every year. Christmas.
This year it arrived on November 1 as I ran into our local Target with my kids to pick up a few things. Just the night before we had been out trick-or-treating and the very next day we walked into a winter wonderland with aisle after aisle dripping in red and green.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I am guilty of being an early Christmas decorator. My tree is usually up before Thanksgiving. I started listening to Christmas music the second week of October. (Just a song here and there – I promise.)
It’s not the early decorating I mind so much. No, it’s the case of the “gimmies” and “I must have’s” that it starts to produce in my kids. They were ready to start giving me their list of demands... I mean... Christmas “wish lists” right then and there. It was then that I decided I must stop this Christmas from coming – but how? Well maybe not Christmas, but you get the point.
Like many well-intentioned moms, I started scouring Pinterest for ideas on how to teach my kids about gratitude. I settled on the idea of a gratitude jar. Now, before you get too excited it’s really just a left-over mason jar I had lying around the house filled with some scraps of paper with gratitude prompts, quotes and verses. Pretty simple really. It lives in the center of our kitchen table and each night as we sit down to dinner we each pull out a slip of paper and read what is on it. If it has a question, we answer it. If it has a verse or quote about gratitude we talk about it.
After the first week I started to notice some changes in my kids. For one thing, their morning prayers before school changed. Each day we pick someone to say a blessing for the family before we head to school. Usually it goes something like this, “Thank you for this wonderful day. Please help us to have a good day at school. Amen.” Not bad, but it doesn’t vary a whole lot from day to day and person to person. Until last week. I started to hear my kids thanking God for the beautiful colors we were seeing in the trees and for our neighbors who had let us borrow their rake to pick up leaves. Their prayers started to become more personal and layered with gratitude.
And I noticed something else too. I started to become more grateful. Like most things in life, I started this new tradition for my kids to teach them a lesson about gratitude and I ended up learning just as much as they are. Maybe more.
I want to encourage you to find one way this week to be grateful. For you it might be using the gratitude journal that you picked up at church this past weekend. Maybe it’s setting an alarm to remind you to be grateful. Maybe it’s writing one thank you card every day for a week (and mailing them!).
I don’t know what will work best for you, but look to see where you can create gratitude as part of your rhythm of life. For my family it’s at dinner time and it is making all the difference. Now to go put up that tree
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"Jesus appreciated gratitude"
Tuesday, 14 November 2017
"Jesus appreciated gratitude"
Tuesday, 14 November 2017
Luke 17:11 On his way to Yerushalayim, Yeshua passed along the border country between Shomron and the Galil. 12 As he entered one of the villages, ten men afflicted with tzara‘at met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out, “Yeshua! Rabbi! Have pity on us!” 14 On seeing them, he said, “Go and let the cohanim examine you!” And as they went, they were cleansed. 15 One of them, as soon as he noticed that he had been healed, returned shouting praises to God, 16 and fell on his face at Yeshua’s feet to thank him. Now he was from Shomron. 17 Yeshua said, “Weren’t ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Was no one found coming back to give glory to God except this foreigner?” 19 And to the man from Shomron he said, “Get up, you may go; your trust has saved you.”
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In Jesus’ day, “leper” meant a person with one of a variety of visible skin diseases. People thought all lepers were highly contagious, so they feared and shunned them. Jesus healed a group of ten such men—rejected and outcast due to their visible skin diseases. We see how isolated these sufferers were. They raised their voices and called to Jesus while “keeping their distance from
him.” But of the ten, only one Samaritan came back to say, “thank you.”
• All ten were “cleansed.” When the Samaritan came back to express gratitude, Jesus used a stronger word that can even mean “made whole” or “saved,” saying, “Your faith has healed you” (verse 19). Pastor Bruce Larson wrote, “The other nine were merely cleansed. If
ingratitude is more deadly than leprosy, they were in worse shape than before. Only one came back and was made whole.” * What blocks gratitude in your life? What helps you remember to thank God every day?
• When one healed man returned to give thanks, Jesus asked, “Where are the other nine?” The text didn’t tell us. Use your imagination and your knowledge of human nature: where do you think they might have been? If you had been one of the ten, which do you think is more likely:
* Bruce Larson, The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Volume 26: Luke. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1993, p. 250.
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In Jesus’ day, “leper” meant a person with one of a variety of visible skin diseases. People thought all lepers were highly contagious, so they feared and shunned them. Jesus healed a group of ten such men—rejected and outcast due to their visible skin diseases. We see how isolated these sufferers were. They raised their voices and called to Jesus while “keeping their distance from
him.” But of the ten, only one Samaritan came back to say, “thank you.”
• All ten were “cleansed.” When the Samaritan came back to express gratitude, Jesus used a stronger word that can even mean “made whole” or “saved,” saying, “Your faith has healed you” (verse 19). Pastor Bruce Larson wrote, “The other nine were merely cleansed. If
ingratitude is more deadly than leprosy, they were in worse shape than before. Only one came back and was made whole.” * What blocks gratitude in your life? What helps you remember to thank God every day?
• When one healed man returned to give thanks, Jesus asked, “Where are the other nine?” The text didn’t tell us. Use your imagination and your knowledge of human nature: where do you think they might have been? If you had been one of the ten, which do you think is more likely:
that you’d have returned to express your gratitude, or gone about your business?
Prayer: Dear Jesus, you even cared about people everyone else avoided. Which means that no matter what my problems, you care about me, too. And for that I thank you deeply. Amen.* Bruce Larson, The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Volume 26: Luke. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1993, p. 250.
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"Jesus himself often expressed gratitude"
Wednesday, 15 November 2017
"Jesus himself often expressed gratitude"
Wednesday, 15 November 2017
Mark 8:1 It was during that time that another large crowd gathered, and they had nothing to eat. Yeshua called his talmidim to him and said to them, 2 “I feel sorry for these people, because they have been with me three days, and now they have nothing to eat. 3 If I send them off to their homes hungry, they will collapse on the way; some of them have come a long distance.” 4 His talmidim said to him, “How can anyone find enough bread to satisfy these people in a remote place like this?” 5 “How many loaves do you have?” he asked them. They answered, “Seven.” 6 He then told the crowd to sit down on the ground, took the seven loaves, made a b’rakhah, broke the loaves and gave them to his talmidim to serve to the people. 7 They also had a few fish; making a b’rakhah over them he also ordered these to be served. 8 The people ate their fill; and the talmidim took up the leftover pieces, seven large basketsful., Luke 22:
The creator of the world, the ruler of the universe, chose to “become flesh” and live on earth as a human being (cf. John 1:14). Would you expect such a being to have the ultimate attitude of “entitlement,” to demand everything that was his by right? Well, we know Jesus didn’t do that. As he gave us a model of what it means to be fully human, the gospels showed that his healthy human life included giving thanks in many different settings.
• The Greek root of the word “Eucharist” meant “to give thanks.” As you read Luke 22:14-19, picture Jesus eating with his disciples, with the cross just ahead. On what realities do you think he focused to be able to “give thanks” at that moment? In what ways can you include the healing, strengthening power of gratitude in your prayers, even in hard times?
• Do you think Jesus’ reasons for praying were different from your reasons for prayer? Why do you believe Jesus prayed at all, and didn’t just say, “I’m the son of God—I can handle this on my own”? If you had been one of the first disciples, what difference, if any, do you imagine you would have noticed in Jesus after he had been praying?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, at one point, praying, you said, “Thank you for hearing me. I know you always hear me.” Help me share that confidence, and say “thank you” for it more often in my own prayers. Amen.
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14 When the time came, Yeshua and the emissaries reclined at the table, 15 and he said to them, “I have really wanted so much to celebrate this Seder with you before I die! 16 For I tell you, it is certain that I will not celebrate it again until it is given its full meaning in the Kingdom of God.”
17 Then, taking a cup of wine, he made the b’rakhah and said, “Take this and share it among yourselves. 18 For I tell you that from now on, I will not drink the ‘fruit of the vine’ until the Kingdom of God comes.” 19 Also, taking a piece of matzah, he made the b’rakhah, broke it, gave it to them and said, “This is my body, which is being given for you; do this in memory of me.”
, John 11:35 Yeshua cried; 36 so the Judeans there said, “See how he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “He opened the blind man’s eyes. Couldn’t he have kept this one from dying?”
38 Yeshua, again deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying in front of the entrance. 39 Yeshua said, “Take the stone away!” Marta, the sister of the dead man, said to Yeshua, “By now his body must smell, for it has been four days since he died!” 40 Yeshua said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you keep trusting, you will see the glory of God?” 41 So they removed the stone. Yeshua looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I myself know that you always hear me, but I say this because of the crowd standing around, so that they may believe that you have sent me.”
---The creator of the world, the ruler of the universe, chose to “become flesh” and live on earth as a human being (cf. John 1:14). Would you expect such a being to have the ultimate attitude of “entitlement,” to demand everything that was his by right? Well, we know Jesus didn’t do that. As he gave us a model of what it means to be fully human, the gospels showed that his healthy human life included giving thanks in many different settings.
• The Greek root of the word “Eucharist” meant “to give thanks.” As you read Luke 22:14-19, picture Jesus eating with his disciples, with the cross just ahead. On what realities do you think he focused to be able to “give thanks” at that moment? In what ways can you include the healing, strengthening power of gratitude in your prayers, even in hard times?
• Do you think Jesus’ reasons for praying were different from your reasons for prayer? Why do you believe Jesus prayed at all, and didn’t just say, “I’m the son of God—I can handle this on my own”? If you had been one of the first disciples, what difference, if any, do you imagine you would have noticed in Jesus after he had been praying?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, at one point, praying, you said, “Thank you for hearing me. I know you always hear me.” Help me share that confidence, and say “thank you” for it more often in my own prayers. Amen.
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"Gratitude keeps spiritual life from being choked out"
Thursday, 16 November 2017
"Gratitude keeps spiritual life from being choked out"
Thursday, 16 November 2017
Luke 8:4 After a large crowd had gathered from the people who kept coming to him from town after town, Yeshua told this parable: 5 “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he sowed, some fell along the path and was stepped on, and the birds flying around ate it up. 6 Some fell on rock; and after it sprouted, it dried up from lack of moisture. 7 Some fell in the midst of thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. 8 But some fell into rich soil, and grew, and produced a hundred times as much as had been sown.” After saying this, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear with, let him hear!”, 11 “The parable is this: the seed is God’s message. 12 The ones along the path are those who hear, but then the Adversary comes and takes the message out of their hearts, in order to keep them from being saved by trusting it. 13 The ones on rock are those who, when they hear the word, accept it with joy; but these have no root — they go on trusting for awhile; but when a time of testing comes, they apostatize. 14 As for what fell in the midst of thorns these are the ones who hear; but as they go along, worries and wealth and life’s gratifications crowd in and choke them, so that their fruit never matures. 15 But what fell in rich soil — these are the ones who, when they hear the message, hold onto it with a good, receptive heart; and by persevering, they bring forth a harvest.
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The image of growing seeds Jesus used to illustrate spiritual growth made sense, not only to people in the farming area around the Sea of Galilee where he told this story, but to any of us who’ve ever tried to garden or grow a lawn. Even good seed, Jesus said, can’t grow strong in poor or untended soil. Living as God’s wishes us to means cultivating an open, “good soil” heart. When we do that, “concerns, riches, and pleasures of life” won’t be able to crowd out the good fruit God is at work to bear in us. (You can read Jesus’ more detailed teaching about how life’s concerns impede spiritual growth in Matthew 6:25-34(Matthew 6:
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The image of growing seeds Jesus used to illustrate spiritual growth made sense, not only to people in the farming area around the Sea of Galilee where he told this story, but to any of us who’ve ever tried to garden or grow a lawn. Even good seed, Jesus said, can’t grow strong in poor or untended soil. Living as God’s wishes us to means cultivating an open, “good soil” heart. When we do that, “concerns, riches, and pleasures of life” won’t be able to crowd out the good fruit God is at work to bear in us. (You can read Jesus’ more detailed teaching about how life’s concerns impede spiritual growth in Matthew 6:25-34(Matthew 6:
25 “Therefore, I tell you, don’t worry about your life — what you will eat or drink; or about your body — what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds flying about! They neither plant nor harvest, nor do they gather food into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they are? 27 Can any of you by worrying add a single hour to his life?
28 “And why be anxious about clothing? Think about the fields of wild irises, and how they grow. They neither work nor spin thread, 29 yet I tell you that not even Shlomo in all his glory was clothed as beautifully as one of these. 30 If this is how God clothes grass in the field — which is here today and gone tomorrow, thrown in an oven — won’t he much more clothe you? What little trust you have!
31 “So don’t be anxious, asking, ‘What will we eat?,’ ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘How will we be clothed?’ 32 For it is the pagans who set their hearts on all these things. Your heavenly Father knows you need them all. 33 But seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Don’t worry about tomorrow — tomorrow will worry about itself! Today has enough tsuris already!
).)
• Jesus knew some people (the hard-packed path) never even start to respond to God’s message. But some, he said, start, but their growth is “choked by the concerns, riches, and pleasures of life, and their fruit never matures.” As one Christian counselor wrote, “People and circumstances can have more than one aspect–and this applies to both the good and bad. We can choose not only to see (or fear) the bad but also to look at and appreciate the good.” * How can you allow God to direct your vision so that life’s concerns don’t choke your spiritual growth?
• What wishes and concerns most often compete with God’s kingdom to be the top priority in your life? What key choices have made your heart more open to God’s work in cultivating a “good soil” spirit? What shifts in attitudes, actions and values would move you further in the direction of being “good soil” for God’s Word to grow in?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, I’m grateful that some days it’s easy to sense your power guiding and growing me. Other days a dozen urgent things seem to try to choke you out of my life. Help me learn how to “weed” those days, to keep my faith life growing strong. Amen.
* From an article about gratitude posted at https://seattlechristiancounseling.com/articles/positive-psychology-gratitude.
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• What wishes and concerns most often compete with God’s kingdom to be the top priority in your life? What key choices have made your heart more open to God’s work in cultivating a “good soil” spirit? What shifts in attitudes, actions and values would move you further in the direction of being “good soil” for God’s Word to grow in?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, I’m grateful that some days it’s easy to sense your power guiding and growing me. Other days a dozen urgent things seem to try to choke you out of my life. Help me learn how to “weed” those days, to keep my faith life growing strong. Amen.
* From an article about gratitude posted at https://seattlechristiancounseling.com/articles/positive-psychology-gratitude.
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"Gratitude for 'food and clothing' fosters contentment"
Friday, 17 November 2017
"Gratitude for 'food and clothing' fosters contentment"
Friday, 17 November 2017
1 Timothy 6:6 Now true religion does bring great riches, but only to those who are content with what they have. 7 For we have brought nothing into the world; and we can take nothing out of it; 8 so if we have food and clothing, we will be satisfied with these. 9 Furthermore, those whose goal is to be rich fall into temptation; they get trapped in many foolish and hurtful ambitions which plunge them into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all the evils; because of this craving, some people have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves to the heart with many pains.
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Too often, the news (particularly financial news) is full of words like “worry,” “uncertainty,” and “fear.” Yet the traveling preacher and craftsman (Acts 18:1-4) who wrote these verses had little money and no retirement plan (in a human sense, at least). His words about “being happy with what you already have” might make us think he’d read this research: “Gratitude turns your attention to what you do have instead of what you don't, Philip Watkins, an Eastern Washington University psychologist, suggests…. People who recognize the blessings they have tend to think they'll get happiness from things like fulfilling relationships—which, research shows, are the real sources of satisfaction.” *
• How rich (or poor) are you, by the measure these verses suggest? If your “contentment quotient” is strong, how did it get that way? If your quotient is lower, ask God to help you raise it. Research suggests strongly that using your gratitude journal is one good way to do that. In a culture flooded with messages meant to make you want “more,” how can you avoid both pride and shame related to your material “success”?
• Have you at times in your life felt trapped in “the rat race”? Do you now? What is godly contentment worth to you (or, if you don’t have it, what would it be worth to you)? How can the principle Paul stated in verse 7 help you to move toward greater gratitude, contentment and peace?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, I admit—too often, I don’t want to be happy with food and clothing. Help me blunt the constant thirst for “more,” and learn the peace and gratitude that you offer me. Amen.
* From Lauren Aaronson, “Make a Gratitude Adjustment.” Psychology Today, March 1, 2006, found at www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200603/make-gratitude-adjustment.
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Too often, the news (particularly financial news) is full of words like “worry,” “uncertainty,” and “fear.” Yet the traveling preacher and craftsman (Acts 18:1-4) who wrote these verses had little money and no retirement plan (in a human sense, at least). His words about “being happy with what you already have” might make us think he’d read this research: “Gratitude turns your attention to what you do have instead of what you don't, Philip Watkins, an Eastern Washington University psychologist, suggests…. People who recognize the blessings they have tend to think they'll get happiness from things like fulfilling relationships—which, research shows, are the real sources of satisfaction.” *
• How rich (or poor) are you, by the measure these verses suggest? If your “contentment quotient” is strong, how did it get that way? If your quotient is lower, ask God to help you raise it. Research suggests strongly that using your gratitude journal is one good way to do that. In a culture flooded with messages meant to make you want “more,” how can you avoid both pride and shame related to your material “success”?
• Have you at times in your life felt trapped in “the rat race”? Do you now? What is godly contentment worth to you (or, if you don’t have it, what would it be worth to you)? How can the principle Paul stated in verse 7 help you to move toward greater gratitude, contentment and peace?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, I admit—too often, I don’t want to be happy with food and clothing. Help me blunt the constant thirst for “more,” and learn the peace and gratitude that you offer me. Amen.
* From Lauren Aaronson, “Make a Gratitude Adjustment.” Psychology Today, March 1, 2006, found at www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200603/make-gratitude-adjustment.
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"Gratitude for God’s works is always in order"
Saturday, 18 November 2017
"Gratitude for God’s works is always in order"
Saturday, 18 November 2017
Psalm 92:1 (0) A psalm. A song for Shabbat:
This week, we’ve looked at some of the psychological research that is confirming what the psalmist wrote long ago: “It is good to give thanks to the LORD.” Here’s one more bit of research related to the gratitude journals Resurrection is giving us: “Take just a few minutes each day to jot down things that make you thankful, from the generosity of friends to the food on your table or the right to vote…. List-keepers sleep better, exercise more and gain a general contentment that may counteract stress and contribute to overall health.” * The ultimate source of joy in Psalm 92 was God’s loyal love and faithfulness, realities that are always with us if we just recognize them.
• In verse 2, the psalmist spoke of expressing gratitude to God in the morning and at nighttime. In what ways have you, or will you, build recognizing and expressing gratitude into your habit patterns, so that you don’t always have to try to remember to do it? Spend some time today praying about choices you can make to incorporate gratitude more fully into your daily practices as a Christ follower.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, you made me for praise and gratitude. When I’m tempted to grump my way through a day, remind me of your ever-present love and faithfulness—and help me to be grateful for them. Amen.
* From Lauren Aaronson, “Make a Gratitude Adjustment.” Psychology Today, March 1, 2006, found at www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200603/make-gratitude-adjustment.
Family Activity: Create a family giving chain. Cut several sheets of colored construction paper into strips. Every week, give each family member one strip of paper. Have each person write his or her name on the paper strip and one way he or she served or gave to others that week. In addition to giving of time and energy, also include ways your family is giving money to church and others. Form the first slip into a circle and staple or tape the ends together, then add to that circle by connecting the strips together to create a chain. At the end of each month, review the acts of giving your family has shared in. Thank God for the privilege of giving to God and to others.---
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Prayer Requests – cor.org/prayer
Prayers for Peace & Comfort for:
•Roger and Kay Novak and family on the death of their son Jeffrey Novak, 11/4
•Ted Chael and Mike Chael and families on the death of their brother David Thomas Chael, 11/4
•Katherine Carlson and family on the death of her sister Joan Cuthbertson, 11/3
•Tammy Worley and family on the death of her son Justin Taylor Worley, 11/2
• Jim Poplau and family on the death of his sister Kristy Poplau, 11/2
• Marsha Murray and family on the death of her husband Mike Murray, 11/1
•Family and friends of Arlene Shuler on her death, 10/31
•Susan Yoakum and family on the death of her husband Steve Yoakum, 10/30
•Kristin Hadel and family on the death of her father Robert E. “Bob” Shanklin, 10/30
•Family and friends of Blanchie Coolidge on her death, 10/30
• Linda Collins and family on the death of her mother Wilda Lawhorn, 10/28---
2 (1) It is good to give thanks to Adonai
and sing praises to your name, ‘Elyon,
3 (2) to tell in the morning about your grace
and at night about your faithfulness,
4 (3) to the music of a ten-stringed [harp] and a lute,
with the melody sounding on a lyre.
5 (4) For, Adonai, what you do makes me happy;
I take joy in what your hands have made.
6 (5) How great are your deeds, Adonai!
How very deep your thoughts!
---This week, we’ve looked at some of the psychological research that is confirming what the psalmist wrote long ago: “It is good to give thanks to the LORD.” Here’s one more bit of research related to the gratitude journals Resurrection is giving us: “Take just a few minutes each day to jot down things that make you thankful, from the generosity of friends to the food on your table or the right to vote…. List-keepers sleep better, exercise more and gain a general contentment that may counteract stress and contribute to overall health.” * The ultimate source of joy in Psalm 92 was God’s loyal love and faithfulness, realities that are always with us if we just recognize them.
• In verse 2, the psalmist spoke of expressing gratitude to God in the morning and at nighttime. In what ways have you, or will you, build recognizing and expressing gratitude into your habit patterns, so that you don’t always have to try to remember to do it? Spend some time today praying about choices you can make to incorporate gratitude more fully into your daily practices as a Christ follower.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, you made me for praise and gratitude. When I’m tempted to grump my way through a day, remind me of your ever-present love and faithfulness—and help me to be grateful for them. Amen.
* From Lauren Aaronson, “Make a Gratitude Adjustment.” Psychology Today, March 1, 2006, found at www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200603/make-gratitude-adjustment.
Family Activity: Create a family giving chain. Cut several sheets of colored construction paper into strips. Every week, give each family member one strip of paper. Have each person write his or her name on the paper strip and one way he or she served or gave to others that week. In addition to giving of time and energy, also include ways your family is giving money to church and others. Form the first slip into a circle and staple or tape the ends together, then add to that circle by connecting the strips together to create a chain. At the end of each month, review the acts of giving your family has shared in. Thank God for the privilege of giving to God and to others.---
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Prayer Requests – cor.org/prayer
Prayers for Peace & Comfort for:
•Roger and Kay Novak and family on the death of their son Jeffrey Novak, 11/4
•Ted Chael and Mike Chael and families on the death of their brother David Thomas Chael, 11/4
•Katherine Carlson and family on the death of her sister Joan Cuthbertson, 11/3
•Tammy Worley and family on the death of her son Justin Taylor Worley, 11/2
• Jim Poplau and family on the death of his sister Kristy Poplau, 11/2
• Marsha Murray and family on the death of her husband Mike Murray, 11/1
•Family and friends of Arlene Shuler on her death, 10/31
•Susan Yoakum and family on the death of her husband Steve Yoakum, 10/30
•Kristin Hadel and family on the death of her father Robert E. “Bob” Shanklin, 10/30
•Family and friends of Blanchie Coolidge on her death, 10/30
• Linda Collins and family on the death of her mother Wilda Lawhorn, 10/28---
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©2017 Church of the Resurrection. All Rights Reserved.
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224, United States
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©2017 Church of the Resurrection. All Rights Reserved.
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224, United States
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