Gratitude Opens Doors

“Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things…All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.” Psalm 98:1-3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikUovryDh80

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Every morning, upon rising, is a brand new opportunity to say “Thank you” to God for the many blessings He bestows on each and every one of us. Not sure of how blest you are? Well consider this…

It is vitally important to give credit where credit is due as we go about our day. With God, there are no coincidences in this life. Giving God credit for all that is does in our lives through His grace is essential to growing in gratitude. For whatever can we do on our own without Him???

Beginning with waking up in the morning to face each new day, we are so blessed by God. Gratitude to God comes when we recognize and embrace the fact that through Jesus Christ, our Savior and friend, and the power of the Holy Spirit, God showers us with so many blessings each day that we can hardly count them. There is no one else that is so intimately involved in our daily lives; no one else who has the power to save us from ourselves and the world around us.

For most of us, to be able to breath, walk, see, speak and hear upon rising is this just the start of things…All abundant blessings come from God. Sure, we all have free will, but when you place your life in God’s hands each day, He is able to do far more with our lives than we ever could on our own with all the limitations our humanity we have. For the asking, He will help you become a bolder soul, more compassionate, more loving, steady and focused, clean and sober, financially sound, and even go before you to pave the way for you at every turn. He will do it!

Jesus stands in wait for you to call upon His holy name in times of need. If you know Him, you are blessed. If you don’t know Him, you have equal access as those who do. If you seek Him with all your heart, you will find Him and he will change your lot through the power of His blessed grace, also known as undeserved favor. None of us deserves to have Jesus at our side. But it is His sublime compassion and great unconditional love for humanity that brings Him to us again and again for the asking. Seek God with all your heart then wait with confidence for Him to answer your pleas. Rather than answering every prayer exactly as we desire, He will always come through for you according to His Divine Will for you in your life -- for the most benefit to help you grow and flourish.

Even a simple prayer like “Jesus help me” can be enough to get His attention. He already knows each of us personally – our hearts and minds -- in the most intimate ways, and stands in wait for us to simply reach out when we are ready. He love us and loved us profoundly first, though we sometimes are unaware of it, hence the delay in the connection with Him. What feels like reaching out to Jesus for the first time may really be answering His call while reaching for His mighty outstretched hand to us.

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Adele M. Gill  |  Copyright 2016

Words: Building Others Up

^29 “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” Ephesians 4:29

Words. How important are they in the full scope of things? Well, in a word, very important! Words, when used as encouragement, can be used to build up or tear down, and to that end, they are as powerful as a double edged sword!

Words can soothe a broken heart and bring courage, rejuvenation, and strength to those who are hurting or lost along the way. Thy can also lift a person up from the abyss of darkness in their own soul, and help them regain their footing once again. In essence, words have the power to be like aloe for a burdened soul, encouraging them to seek solace and higher ground, which is a win-win for all involved.

Yet when words are bitter or condescending, they can tear down others, and in one fell swoop, the speaker as well. Words of discouragement, words of condemnation, words of hatred and malice are capable of leveling even the bravest soul as they can be truly destructive. Thy also put people at odds, pitting one against the other.

Each of us needs to guard against such negativity, both as one speaking destructive words on occasion, and also on the receiving end. We need to be astute in recognizing our own speaking patterns and quell negativity before it even starts, as well as those of others. We need to guard our mouths and open our hearts whenever in conversation lest it go astray, and, for self-preservation, step away from those who engage in expressed negativity lest we find it is contagious!

All of us have at one time or another felt like we need to have the last word. However, we simply do not. For it is in having the last word that we often step foot into the muck and mire of negativity through our own speech. It is then, at that point, that we must learn to recoil and think carefully about what we will say, when, and to whom. It is better for our health, and the welfare of others, to remain silent than to engage in such negativity.

For some people, pulling down others can easily become a way of life through confrontation, sarcasm and even gossip. Rather, we need to put ourselves aside, and speak life into our relationships to edify other people. We need to lift each other up, so to speak, through our words.

It has been said that kindness begets kindness. That entails reaching out to others with an open hand, ready to grasp theirs in synergy. Indira Ghandi once said, “You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist.” Truer words were never spoken! We need to release all that limits us from becoming encouragers, mediators, and negotiators, paving the way to build relationships and others up rather than tear them down.  We need to embrace each other in new and unprecedented ways that help to nurture each other, rather than to denigrate the goodness in people.

Sometimes we have people in our lives that are negative or that we disagree with. They may seem short-sighted or even cruel in their delivery of their own words. Yet we need to remember that no one is all good or all bad. There is always common ground to be found if we simply take another look beyond our knee jerk reaction. For many times, when we are able to take the higher ground, mayhem, discord and malice melt away, and go by the way side. They become non-existent as we strive to see the best in others, even giving them a pass on important matters. In that way, we are fulfilling our Biblical destiny to “Love one another.”

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Adele M. Gill  Copyright 2016