provoked

 

…unto good works.

As I said, the kids decided to pick all the ripe tomatoes before pulling up the plants on Saturday.  They knew I wanted to be done dealing with tomatoes, so they promised that they would do the work.  “You can show us how to can, then go to bed!”  Riiiiight.  ;-) 

As you can see, they did do most of the work.  Wash, core, through the food processor, and into a couple pots on the stove {plus another 4qts of puree in a bucket to cook down later}.

The Cowgirl had determined it would be wise to make pizza sauce so we wouldn’t have to buy sauce at the store for a long time {She’s been studying stewardship for math… and since pizza is her favorite meal...}  We just need a good recipe.  Sooo, last night we looked at my BH&G cook book, the Ball canning guide, the ingredient labels of sauce from the store… and I finally went online and found a few more recipes to consult.  :o  Nothing like keeping it simple.  We tasted often, and we all wept over chopped onions and minced garlic…  Tasting it again today, the Cowgirl decided if we don’t like it on pizza, we could just use it for spaghetti sauce {maybe I added too much sugar to the second batch?}

At any rate, we now have 11.5 pints of pizza/Italian tomato sauce accomplished ~ as well as a lesson in canning.  My shoulder says, ‘Tis Done!

last Saturday {just another day in the life}

 

What is this?  the 21st century?  Well, I’m in at last – complete with a new phone with which to text my kids, hubby, and friends.  As you can imagine… it’s much like a new toy or tool that can help or sidetrack.  Whatever.  Please give me some credit for saying I did not need a smart phone.  Of course I still have another week to decide if I like this one.

 

 

Equipped with my spankin new phone… Saturday morning I woke up and thought I’d start my day by telling texting a friend about some of our Friday evening excitement {How my nephew Andy came for supper, offered his hand to Luci the dog, and she took it.  Literally.  Ouch.} 

Tim came into our room to brush his teeth while I was still busy with my phone.  So he sent me a text:

“Morning”

To which I lovingly replied:

“Kiss”

Which got him immediately talking to me instead of texting.  :D

 

For my Bible reading I chose to look up some verses Tim had shared with the kids as they prepare to head to Boston to learn and to minister.

Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not.

So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.

Luke 17:9-10

These are verses I’ve read before – and often think of when I’m feeling a bit put upon – or even proud of myself for what I’ve accomplished in a day etc.  Reality is I usually just need to get over myself, as they say.  And maybe I {God} knew this was going to be one of those days…

Back to my phone… to call Andy’s mom and let her know that he was still alive to the best of my knowledge, although wounded... but not by an EOD.  ahem.

Treadmill time – really hard to come by during these weeks of driver’s ed.  :-(

Empty the dehumidifier bucket…outside where the water can do my potted flowers some good.

Breakfast, check email, work on an Amazon order, shower, assist the berry pickers with their pay distribution.

We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.

More phone calls re. Andy {He had posted on fb that he couldn’t move his hand!? so his mom was a leetle curious}  as I went to Ames with Daniel & the Cowgirl for their drive time with Mr. B.

Choose joy.

Ames – I needed to stop in at JCP for polos for Daniel & Kate, and the DriveTek location is now at the mall.  Oh look!  It’s Saturday morning – it’s Farmer’s Market day!  I checked it out and found some wunderbar romaine.  We ate most of the huge head for supper {after inwardly laughing at the kind seller who told me to peel off just as many leaves as I needed at a time}   Must remember to buy seed for Jericho romaine for our own garden.

Headed home without the student drivers because Kate & Abby wanted to shop at Kohls and Walmart when they picked them up instead.

Leftover pizza for lunch, dishes, laundry.  Listened to the Popper enjoying Easy Piano Classics.  Texted with the shoppers.

Asked the Cattleman & the Popper to pick strawberries.  Planted more flowers outside, watered plants.  Changed out of my sweaty clothes!  More laundry, more texting {some of the shoppers would like to be done already}.

Washed and processed first bucket of strawberries, more texting re. Sunday’s potluck – Kate’s stromboli from the freezer it is.

We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.

Shoppers finally came home with famished student drivers who haven’t had any lunch.  Showed Kate the polo options from JCP.  More ‘lunch’ dishes, more strawberries.  Got shot by my hubby with his Nerf gun.  :p

Q: What’s for supper, Mom? 

A: Grumpy Mom.

Choose joy?

Sent Kate, Abby & the Cowgirl off to clean the office.  Talked to a friend on the phone about the potluck.

Online banking to restore positive account balances for the shoppers.  Read the Cattleman’s book report, more laundry and boiling water to pour on someone’s strawberry juiced shirt.

We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.

Tim mowed, the Cowgirl practiced piano.  Kate helped get spaghetti on the table for supper.

Choose joy.

Read Daniel’s book report.  Found a requested email addy.  Emailed/texted to request hymn numbers for Sunday {both Kate & Abby scheduled for services}  Listened to them practice offertories.

We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.

More dishes.  Removed chocolate cake from the freezer for Sunday’s dessert.  {Leftover from graduation party.  I can do that.  Cheerfully even.}

Remove a tick, clean someone’s ears with Q-tips.

Family Bible time.  Another chapter of Living Proof.  Discuss.  Send kids to bed.

Laundry.  Empty dehumidifier, this time down the unused shower drain.

Choose joy!

Went to sleep listening to Kate practice piano.

 

Note to self: I did not iron any clothes for Sunday or view the Super Moon. 

P.S.  Sunday morning I did give Daniel his first lesson on how to iron a dress shirt.

get the gratitude attitude

 

 

 Choosing Gratitude: Your Journey to Joy by Nancy Leigh DeMoss

 

Chapter 8:  But Not without Sacrifice

To give thanks to Him for all things, is, indeed, a very difficult duty;

for it includes giving thanks for trials of all kinds;

for suffering and pain; for reproaches; for loneliness.

Yet those who have learned submission will not find it a hard duty.

~Priscilla Maurice

 

Martin Rinkart was a seventeenth-century Lutheran pastor, serving in his German hometown of Eilenberg during the height of the Thirty Years’ War.

Now thank we all our God,

With hearts and hands and voices,

Who wondrous things hath done,

In whom his world rejoices;

Who from our mother’s arms

Hath blessed us on our way

With countless gifts of love,

And still is ours today.

 

I have learned that, regardless of how I may feel, anything that makes me need God is (ultimately, in the truest sense) a blessing. ~ Nancy

 

Chapter 9:  Going Gratitudinal

Gratitude consists in a watchful, minute attention to the particulars of our state, and to the multitude of God’s gifts, taken one by one… And all our whole life is thereby… filled with a gladness, serenity, and peace which only thankful hearts can know.

~ H.E. Manning

 

• Surrender your rights to God
• Commit to a set season of gratitude
• Take stock of your gratitude accounts
• Write thank-you notes
• Do it together, as a Body-building exercise

more from Choosing Gratitude

Choosing Gratitude: Your Journey to Joy by Nancy Leigh DeMoss

Chapter 5: Of Whiners and Worshipers

One thing is indisputable: the chronic mood of looking longingly at what we have not, or thankfully at what we have, realizes two very different types of character.

~ Lucy C. Smith

“It seemed intended by the blessed providence of God that I should be blind all my life, and I thank Him for the dispensation.”  ~ Fanny Crosby

Nancy highlights six differences between grateful people and ungrateful people:

• A grateful person is a humble person, while ingratitude reveals a proud heart.
• A grateful heart is God-centered and others-conscious, while an ungrateful person is self-centered and self-conscious.
• A grateful heart is a full heart, while an unthankful heart is an empty one.
• People with grateful hearts are easily contented, while ungrateful people are subject to bitterness and discontent.
• A grateful heart will be revealed and expressed by thankful words, while an unthankful heart will manifest itself in murmuring and complaining.
• Thankful people are refreshing, life-giving springs, while unthankful people pull others down with them into the stagnant pools of their selfish, demanding, unhappy ways.

Chapter 6: How Can I Say Thanks?

Gratitude is born in hearts that take time to count up past mercies.

~ Charles Jefferson

God’s desire is not just to see us doing grateful things but to see us doing grateful things out of the overflow of a truly grateful heart.

• Speak up
• Sing out
• Kneel down

Privately and Publicly
When and Where ~ The Scripture calls us to all-day, everyday gratitude.

Chapter 7:  Thanks… for Everything

When thou has thanked thy God

For every blessing sent,

What time will then remain

For murmurs or lament?

~ R.C. Trench

“Let us daily praise God for common mercies – common as we frequently call them, and yet so priceless that when deprived of them we are ready to perish.”

~ Charles Spurgeon

Spiritually speaking…

• God’s nearness
• God’s holiness and faithfulness
• God’s mercy
• God’s salvation
• God’s calling

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ

Ephesians 1:3

and the winner is…

I wish I could say ALL of you sweet ladies who entered.  And I think that you will be a winner if you stop to thank God for His many goodnesses in your life.  And if you find the Revive Our Hearts website to be yet another blessing and help in your life.

But as for this book, I only bought ONE to give away today.  So… after putting so many names in a bowl, the Popper assisted me by drawing just one…
        
And the paper says….
 

Amber S.

Amber S. said...

I have heard good things about this Bible study, and I enjoyed going over to the website and doing some "browsing." I did settle in and followed your recommendation to review the "First Things First" transcripts. What a blessing... I'm not done yet, but it is bookmarked, and I will be anxious to get to "O" (-:
Thanks for the great giveaway... what a blessing whether you win or not!

God bless you all!  Thank you for joining in!

If you didn’t win, and would like to look at buying the book  ~ You can find it at the Revive Our Hearts website.  Or for a discount price, look at the previous post with a link to Library and Educational Services.

post #300 ~ It’s a giveaway!

 

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

James 1:17

 

What should it be?

 

House siding, light fixtures, T-Tapp, or butterhorns?

 

No, but I might throw in some chocolates  :-)

 

               

 

One of my favorite things this year has to be this book:

 

 Choosing Gratitude: Your Journey to Joy

 

And I have another copy to give to one of you!

 

To enter this giveaway, please …

• Leave a comment with one thing you are thankful to God for ~ either a Top Ten item, or one of those ‘little things.’

For additional entries, please …

1. Click on the book to go to the Revive Our Hearts website… Listen to a podcast, read a transcript, or find one of her 30-day Challenges AND leave another comment here sharing something from what you heard or read  :-)  ((Sounds like homework, yes?  Okay, this will count for TWO entries))  P.S. ~ I highly recommend her series from January 2007 on “Priorities” ~ Set a timer for 10-15 min, and bookmark it to finish later!  (It’s called “First Things First”)
2. Blog about this giveaway and link to this post.  Leave another comment with a link to your post.
3. Leave another comment telling me which chocolate goody you are most eager to sample from our kitchen.

 

Hmmm, I guess we need a deadline for entries:

11:59:59pm (CST) on Monday, December 27, 2010

(or 12:00am on Tuesday, Dec. 28)

(I believe that’s 8am Tuesday in Pretoria and maybe 5:30pm Tuesday in Adelaide)

 

Lord willing, I will post a winner next Tuesday, and ship the package before 1/1/2011!

 

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

 

I hope you’re becoming more alert to the many reasons you have to be grateful. I remember hearing a friend tell how, while brushing his teeth and meditating on one of the verses in today’s reading (Ephesians 5:20), he was struck by the word “everything.” He was reminded of the importance of thanking God for even those “little things” that we often overlook. It made him pause and be thankful for, well … his toothbrush. And his toothpaste. And, while he was at it, he thanked God for his teeth, for probably the first time in his life…

~ Nancy Leigh DeMoss, Growing in Gratitude

 

Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;

Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

Ephesians 5:19-20

post #297

Here's a heads-up for you.

I wasn't going to wait for "an occasion," but since I saw that I am almost to post number 300... I decided that we will celebrate the big 3-0-0 with a giveaway!  woot woot!

Just in time, Jodi ~ I've added the "SUBSCRIBE" button ~ just for you!

For now, I will only hint that the item I have to share is something I've been raving about for a few months(?)   =)

More details in Post 300!

Meanwhile, have a joyous week of Christmas preparations...

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: 

and the government shall be upon his shoulder: 

and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, 

The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

thankfulness between the lines

I reviewed my blog posts for the month of November yesterday.

And I took notes.  I filled a half-sheet of paper front and back.


I like the daily-ness of Thirty Days of Thanks.  I also like a huge long list in one post.  So here’s mine  :-)

God is Good just because He IS Good!  But He also chooses to bless me with so many seemingly little things, and so I thank Him for…

1. Conny, my cyber-friend who I wish lived next door, who instigated this wonderful meme called Thirty Days of Thanks
   
2. The beautiful bond between my hubby and our girls.  I pray the Lord will continue to guard their hearts.
   
3. The opportunity to participate in the election process for our civil government ~ and that God is Supreme and Sovereign over all!
   
4. Sherry at Large Family Mothering ~ her meaty posts bless and challenge me.
   
5. Our warm house ~ on the chilly days of fall before we Tim fired up the woodstove as well as after.  The house was still 60F on our return from Wisconsin last week when the outside temps had ranged from 20-35F ~ and Tim left the heat OFF for those two days (so it wouldn’t be 100F when we came home)
   
6. Oh, the wood pile.  The beautiful HUGE pile of wood.  And so far, the woods are still open for Tim to find more.
   
7. Food.  Yes, I spend a lot of time cooking/baking in our nice kitchen.  Because I like to eat  :-)  And so does my family.  I’m thankful for the many recipes and good ingredients available to us.
   
8. God is G>R>E>A>T>  Yet He sees and cares for little ol’ me.
   
9. Nancy Leigh DeMoss ~ her ministry at Revive Our Hearts and especially her book, Choosing Gratitude.
   
10. Meal fellowships at church with people I love to fellowship with  ~♥~
    
11. God’s gift of faith and salvation through Jesus Christ ~ Each November I celebrate my spiritual birthday on the same day as my grandma’s physical birthday ~ I am thankful for her prayers for me many years ago!
    
12. My husband’s love for me ~ especially when he intervenes in something like our internet use (and declaring when a fast is needed)
    
13. The continued good reports from the Rettigs in Prague as they follow up after the CFC campaign…. the blessings multiply!
    
14. The opportunity for Tim and Kate to GO to Prague and be involved in the campaign ~ what a blessing for all of us!
    
15. God’s creation which gives us just a glimpse of how GLORIOUS He is!
    
16. My nephew Max and other veterans ~ and those many soldiers still serving in harm’s way.
    
17. The provision of this new house ~ along with it’s many not-so-pleasant lessons.  Such a learning curve adventure.
    
18. Sunshine, time, and the Genie lift for Tim to use while siding the house.
    
19. Rainy days at home for Tim to install closet shelves, doors, etc.  :-)
    
20. Smoothies in our VitaMix.
    
21. Deer hunting in our very own hayfield.  Even though he got away.
    
22. John & Tara ~ what a blessing to be able to visit with them again and hear about their ministry in Sioux City ~ Love you two (three)!
    
23. Help from the Cattleman with mopping our floors ~ the subfloor looks SO good when it’s clean!
    
24. Mrs. Munsen, who is working with Miss MusicBox (and Miss Artist a bit) in such an encouraging way ~ Looking forward to tonight’s violin recital!
    
25. Selling bread and other goodies at my SIL’s antique mall
    
26. Shutterfly’s free photo cards for bloggers ~ Thanks for posting, Amber!
    
27. Jodi (Granola Mom 4 God), giveaway queen in my world at least  :-)  and fun blogger friend who also introduced me to Live Writer.
    
28. (which is great until you don’t hit “save draft” and the surge protector shuts the computer down spontaneously… so I have to retype the other half of this list.  However, getting the computer shut off for me at 10:30 pm was a real blessing in sending me to bed ~ what some might call a mixed blessing?… But God is all good.)
    
29. My mom & dad’s 57th wedding anniversary ~ What a blessing to grow up with their example of faithful love  ♥
    
30. Our chiropractor ~ Thanks for referring us, Dee!
    
31. Our chiropractor’s wonderful receptionist Vickie who treats us like family at every visit  =)
    
32. A haircut at a local salon ~ with reserved birthday cash from my kiddos
    
33. Help from my girls with peeling apples (especially!) as we work together in the kitchen
    
34. Post-harvest field work = better paycheck
    
35. The abundant harvest of squash from the Cattleman’s garden
    
36. Sylvia at CHK Network ~ Her “G” List challenge was a recent blessing
    
37. God’s watch care and provision through the August 2010 floods
    
38. Psalm 30 as Pastor Hartog preached on 11/21 ~ I should be thankful for suffering!  Count it all joy.
    
39. Good news about Amber’s little Matthew
    
40. God’s abundant Goodness, Grace, and Mercy
    
41. Big kids finished their assignments in time to enjoy our Thanksgiving holiday together
    
42. Safety as we attempted to travel on Wednesday before Thanksgiving.  And the wonderful time we had at home instead.
    
43. Clear roads on Thursday when we were able to travel to Wisconsin in time for dinner and good times with family at Mom F’s
    
44. Shopping bargains at Kohl’s on Black Friday with Tim ~ at the reasonable hour of 10am  ;-)
    
45. Wow.  18 years of married life for Tim and me  ♥  And he still loves me!
    
46. God knows.  And He has always loved me!
    
47. Going out to dinner with Tim ~ without cooking supper for the kids first

…and the list can and should go on and on!

To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.

Psalm 30:12

choosing gratitude #13

 

 

 

 Gratitude is the unending anthem of heaven.  Every time we express our thankfulness here on earth,

we join our voices with the grand chorus of gratitude that wells up before the throne of God,

and we prepare ourselves for what we’ll be doing for all eternity.

 

 

And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, Saying,

Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.

Revelation 7:11-12

 

 

Nancy Leigh DeMoss ~ Choosing Gratitude: Your Journey to Joy

These quotes are from the corresponding calendar ~  December 2010.

days of thanks ~ 11/30/2010

My sweet cyber-friend Conny has faithfully hosted 30 Days of Thanks again this year.  And I thought I would be able to participate whole-heartedly with her.  However, it seems life (and surely some Self) has gotten in the way of this good thing.  Somewhat like Michelle, several of my reasons have arms and legs which need clean clothes and stomachs which need filling.  And for a week my hubby lovingly declared an internet fast.  And so it goes.  Life is busy and distracting.  And stressful even.
I am thankful my God knows.  He knows my few strengths and my abundant weaknesses.  He knows my heart’s desires ~ He longs to have them match up with His.  He knows how best to mold me into who He wants me to be.  If I will but let Him.  And so I want to be thankful for difficult days as well as the beautiful.  And I know (if I stop to consider) that others have a greater cross to bear ~ and that each of those trials is designed to draw me closer to the One Who gives me Life.
Lest you think I am in dire straits, let me say that I am just tired and prone to whine when I ought to worship.  My “gratitude quotient” isn’t what it ought to be.  Reading Choosing Gratitude: Your Journey to Joy has been good ~ Now to pursue the 30-day devotional that should prompt more fruit from this new awareness of my need to give thanks to God in all things.  (And would have combined nicely with November’s 30 Days of Thanks, but I wasn’t through the book yet…)

Count it all joy!

My Days of Thanks just aren’t finished yet.  Feel free to poke me if you don’t see me blogging about God-directed gratitude in the weeks to come.  =)

By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.

Hebrews 13:15

choosing gratitude #12

 

 

 

 The grateful heart that springs forth in joy is not acquired in a moment; it is the fruit of a thousand choices. 

It is a godly habit and pattern that over time becomes a new muscle in our spiritual make-up.

 

 

But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory

through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:57

 

 

Nancy Leigh DeMoss ~ Choosing Gratitude: Your Journey to Joy

These quotes are from the corresponding calendar ~  November 2010.

choosing gratitude #11

 

 

 Few things are more becoming in a child of 

    God than a grateful spirit.  By the same token, there

       is probably nothing that makes a person

    more unattractive than the absence of

            a grateful spirit.

 

 

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving,

and into his courts with praise:

be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

Psalm 100:4

 

Nancy Leigh DeMoss ~ Choosing Gratitude: Your Journey to Joy

These quotes are from the corresponding calendar ~  October 2010.

choosing gratitude #10

 As challenging as your situation or your season of life may be, your frame of mind likely has less to do with distressing circumstance than with your need to develop a thankful heart.

Be careful for nothing;

but in every thing by prayer and supplication

with thanksgiving

let your requests be made known unto God.

Philippians 4:6

Nancy Leigh DeMoss ~ Choosing Gratitude: Your Journey to Joy

These quotes are from the corresponding calendar ~  September 2010.

Why Choose Gratitude?

Chapter Four of Choosing Gratitude by Nancy Leigh DeMoss

Gratitude unleashes the freedom to live content in the moment, rather than being anxious about the future or regretting the past.  ~ Ellen Vaughn

• Gratitude is a matter of obedience.

“And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.”

Colossians 3:17

• Gratitude draws us close.

“Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving…”

Psalm 95:2

• Gratitude is a sure path to peace.

“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 4:6-7

• Gratitude is a gauge of the heart.

“Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name…”

Psalm 140:13

• Gratitude is the will of God.

“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

I Thessalonians 5:18

• Gratitude is an evidence of being filled with the Holy Spirit.

See Ephesians 5:18-21

• Gratitude reflects Jesus’ heart.

Jesus had a spirit of gratitude, even in the face of suffering.  Nancy writes, “He gave Himself to God and to the world, not under coercion, but with abandon and… with gratitude, grateful for the privilege of obeying His Father and of fulfilling the mission He had been sent to earth to complete.”

• Gratitude gets us ready for heaven.

“And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty…”

Revelation 11:16-17

No Thanks

Chapter Three from Choosing Gratitude by Nancy Leigh DeMoss

Thankless children we all are, more or less, comprehending but dimly the truth of God’s fathomless love for us.

~Elisabeth Elliot

“Ingratitude is not always a calloused, who-cares shrugging of the shoulders.  Sometimes it’s just fourth or fifth on a list we never get around to following through on.”

Consider the lepers of Luke 17 who met Jesus and begged to be healed by him.

“And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.  And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed?  but where are the nine?” 

Luke 17:15-17

“How often do we neglect to return thanks for a kindness done, a duty performed, or a step saved?”

Nancy explains a 30-day challenge she offers to wives:

1.  For the next thirty days, purpose not to say anything negative about your husband – not to him, and not to anyone else about him.

2.  Every day for the next thirty days, express at least one thing you admire or appreciate about your husband.  Say it to him and to someone else about him.

…and how surprisingly difficult that can be for most of us.  Ingratitude is an easy habit to adopt – and a habit which must be overcome by God’s power.

Read the first chapter of Romans and mark this verse:

“Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”

Romans 1:21

“An ungrateful person is only one step away from getting his or her needs met in illegitimate ways.” ~ Dr. D. James Kennedy

Nancy lists the following as potential instigators of ingratitude:

• Unrealistic expectations
• Forgetfulness
• Entitlement
• Comparison
• Blindness to God’s grace

A man from India came to the US to study.  Paul Tripp asked him what he thought of Americans ~ honestly.

“You have no idea how much you have,

and yet you always complain.”

Ouch.

I am thankful how God has used Nancy Leigh DeMoss to write this book (among others) ~ her ministry is such a blessing to so many people!

Choosing Gratitude #9

When we give in to whining, murmuring, 

and complaining, we embark on a destructive 

slide that can take us down to depths we never 

could have imagined going.  Truly, ingratitude is our  

first step away from God.

Because that, when they knew God, 

they glorified him not as God, 

neither were thankful; 

but became vain in their imaginations, 

and their foolish heart was darkened.

Romans 1:21

Nancy Leigh DeMoss ~ Choosing Gratitude: Your Journey to Joy

These quotes are from the corresponding calendar ~ August 2010.

Choosing Gratitude #8

Revive Our Hearts calendar ~ July 2010 ~

True gratitude is not an incidental 

                          ingredient.  It is one of the chief ways 

that God infuses joy and resilience into the 

daily struggle of life.

Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, 

and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. 

Psalm 95:2

Nancy Leigh DeMoss ~ Choosing Gratitude: Your Journey to Joy

 

 

 

 

 

Choosing Gratitude #7

Revive Our Hearts calendar ~ June 2010 ~

Gratitude is foundational.  And it is

     transformational.  A grateful spirit, rooted in the

         soil of God's goodness and grace, will radically

       impact how you view and respond to everything

                                                                 in your life.

Unto thee, O God, do we give thanks, 

unto thee do we give thanks: 

for that thy name is near 

thy wondrous works declare. 

Psalm 75:1

Nancy Leigh DeMoss ~ Choosing Gratitude: Your Journey to Joy

Choosing Gratitude #6

...from my Revive Our Hearts calendar for May 2010...


 

 A grateful man or woman will be 

             a breath of fresh air in a world contaminated 

                    by bitterness and discontentment.  

         And the person whose gratitude is a by-product of  

                   and a response to the redeeming grace of God 

          will showcase the heart of the gospel in a way that 

is winsome and compelling.

I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, 

that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.

Romans 1:8

Nancy Leigh DeMoss ~ Choosing Gratitude: Your Journey to Joy

Choosing Gratitude #5

From April 2010 Revive Our Hearts calendar ~

A significant degree of your emotional,

mental, physical, and spiritual well-being, as well

as the health and stability of your relationships

with others, will be determined by your

gratitude quotient.

          Rooted and built up in him, and 

                     stablished in the faith, 

              as ye have been taught, 

                          abounding therein with thanksgiving.

Colossians 2:7

~ Choosing Gratitude: Your Journey to Joy by Nancy Leigh DeMoss ~