T-H-A-N-K-S

I am thinking and writing about thanking people this week....and have appreciated the kind feedback from a few of you about the posts. Thanks so much for taking the time to comment - it is an encouragement -  and for reading the blog.

Being the creative writer I am (not!) I came up with an acronym to help us do thanking better.... 

Thank God....each morning and night and anytime in between. He is the One to whom we have the most to be thankful for, so don't allow Him to be the One who misses out on well-deserved thanks. He's also the One who can help us pay more attention to 'thanks opportunities' throughout the day, so ask Him for help to do that too.

Have a goal of 5 "thank you"s a day. Ann Voskamp from A Holy Experience talks about thanking your husband 4 times a day, so those of us who are married only have to look for 1 other 'thanks' to utter each day...right? I say 'wrong' and reckon 4 'thank-yous' to our husband = 1 out of the 5 (but then I have never been good at maths!) Anyway, get creative with the thanks. It could be face-to-face, or via phone or a text or an email or a card or aerial sign writing or....

Attitude of gratitude - develop one. When we are wide-eyed with wonder at the good stuff in our lives, it makes saying thanks easier.

Notice what people are doing and acknowledge it. We get so busy...so self-focussed...so tired...that we sometimes miss the gifts we are given throughout the day. So make the effort to see the small stuff too. Things like....

• a friend who calls to say hello ('Hey...thanks for the call. Good to hear your voice.') 
• your son taking out the bin ('I appreciate your help honey...thanks.')
• the parcel delivery man ('This is hard work in the heat...thanks!')

Kind words are not easily forgotten but sadly, they are not often used. Be different in this world that says 'Get what you can, your way and too bad about the rest.'

Set the example for others, especially your kids. I am really conscious with this in raising Little j and so I say to him as we leave the grocery shop, "Say good bye to the lady and 'thanks for helping us'." Yesterday I thanked the video shop lady like this too....and she looked at me funny, but I don't care. The library lady liked it! And so did the postman.

Feel free to develop your own acronym....and if you do...let me know what it is...thanks!

24 hours to help

Hi readers.

Crystal from MoneySavingMom is doing something pretty amazing. For every person who changes their computer homepage to Yahoo for 2 days, she is making a $1 donation to Compassion. Seems like they're up to over $600 already and that's on top of the $10 000 Yahoo gave to Compassion last week. Yay!

If you'd like to be a part of the giving, all you have to do is visit this MSM post. Crystal has easy to follow instructions for changing the home page and "voila"....you have helped children in crisis.

Please consider.

Rocks and God...or God Rocks!

 

We had a little bit of fun on our block yesterday...slip sliding in the mud and light showers as we picked up rocks! (Yes truly! I consider that fun!)

But it was about more than actually DOING that. For me, there was a lot of symbolism in the rocks, the land and the process of working with both.

Joshua 4 tells the story of what the Israelites were to do when they finally crossed the Jordan River into the Promised Land, after 40 years of desert-wandering. Pick up rocks and then put them down again! But wait, there's more! The rocks were to be set up as a marker, a memorial that the children would see and ask about. And when they did, the answer they were to give was to tell them about what God had done so that they would know God is powerful and fear Him.

We now have 4 piles of rocks on our property, but sometime soon, we are going to make a small pile a feature on one of our boundaries. We want to make a marker that says to our children...This is a God-given blessing. Our God is powerful and faithful. He is our protector and provider. He has done a great thing in giving us this land and He did it in an amazing way. The home we will establish here will be one that fears God and our family will follow Him. He is awesome and good and worthy of our praise.


I am reminded too, that as we head through the week before Christmas, we should have our eyes open to see the markers that show us what this special season is all about. And we should have our mouths open to tell our children about God...who He is and what He has done.

What markers/memorials are most special to you and remind you often that God is great and good and gracious?

50 words

10 weeks to go:)

As I head down the home straight of reading through the Bible in a year, I came across this little gem...again. Considering the gazillion words I have read throughout the year, it's clever that someone came up with these 50 as a summary of God's Word. Not bad I reckon. 

What was bad was when I presented this to the kids in my Biblical Studies class and only a handful could tell me the stories associated with these themes. And that's at a Christian school. 

So please...if you have kids....teach them His word. Remember Deuteronomy 6.

The Bible in 50 Words God made, Adam bit,  Noah arked, Abraham split,  Joseph ruled, Jacob fooled,  bush talked, Moses balked,  Pharaoh plagued, people walked,  sea divided, tablets guided,  promise landed, Saul freaked, David peeked, prophets warned, Jesus born, God walked, love talked,  hate crucified, hope died,  Love rose, Spirit flamed,  Word spread,  God remained. BTW...what's your favourite verse? story? in the Bible. Comment and let us know 'what' and 'why'...thanks. Mine????ummm....Love Psalm 121...and the fruit of the Spirit list in Galatians and Joseph's story is amazing.

Listen to the Lyrics #1

Steven Curtis Chapman: ‘CINDERELLA’

In May 2008 a tragedy of epic proportions hit the family of Christian singer/song-writer Steven Curtis Chapman. Steve and his wife Mary Beth lost their 5 year old daughter, Maria Sue. She was killed in their driveway after being hit by a car driven by her big brother. This terrible accident drove the lyrics of Steve’s hit ‘Cinderella’ to a new level. In the song he sings…

So I will dance with Cinderella

While she is here in my arms

'Cause I know something the prince never knew

Oh, I will dance with Cinderella

I don't want to miss even one song

'Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight

And she'll be gone

As Steve and his family were celebrating the engagement of his eldest daughter Emily, they were saying ‘good-bye’ to their youngest daughter. Both Cinderella’s were leaving the care of their parents to enter a new future and destiny. But in the midst of change and grief, Steve realized the truth of parenthood. We have only a small amount of time with our children  - valuable time that we need to enjoy, make the most of and cherish. Make sure you take time to today to input love into the lives of your children.

'Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight

And they'll be gone 

Find this song on itunes or www.youtube.com