Things I Think…
1. I think this blessing from Kate Bowler is a blessing…
a thanksgiving blessing when
you don’t feel terribly thankful
God, I am struggling to find my way toward gratitude this Thanksgiving.
Help my heart find joy, for you know how much I need it.
come meet us in our needs that weigh so heavily upon us.
“Will you not revive us again,
that your people may rejoice in you?”
—Psalm 85:6
Blessed are we who come to you just as we are,
with our loneliness and loss, our scarcity and sorrow,
and say God, there is just not enough
though we’re not even supposed to say it today,
there is just not enough to go on:
not enough money to pay bills,
not enough jobs, nor safety for those who have them,
not enough wisdom to find solutions,
not enough strength or comfort or connection.
Things are just harder now.
Blessed are we who say, God,
could you come meet us here,
in this place?
This place of need where our feelings don’t match the day?
Blessed are we who hear you saying:
“come to me, all you who are weary and carrying heavy burdens,
and I will give you rest.”
And we come.
And somehow there is rest,
and gladness for tiny, tiny graces.
Blessed are we, the truly thankful.
2. It has been a difficult and exhausting year in many ways…but I have indeed found that gratitude is good spiritual medicine…and a lack of gratitude is poison to the soul…
3. I tell myself to be grateful for small things and I am…then I remind myself that there are no small things…
4. Rosalynn Carter was the epitome of what you would want in a former First Lady, just as husband Jimmy has represented the best of what it means to be an American and a Christian…
5. Just learned that there’s a respiratory virus pandemic here in the PNW…in dogs. Because nothing is normal anymore…
6. The holiday season is upon us and the holiday season is really hard on a lot of people. If you’re one of those folks (like I am) here’s the plan…give what you can and take what you need. Do not measure either…this is the season of grace…
7. You can celebrate and grieve at the same time…in truth, this defines the Christian experience in the world…
8. If you can’t grieve over the Palestinian dead as you do the Israeli casualties, you have a spiritual problem…probably the result of poor theology…
9. The most significant way to give thanks for another person is to pray for them…especially if you wish they stayed home this year…
10. Liam and I give thanks for all of you that have stuck with us and with this site in these difficult times…in heaven, there is going to be a big table and blessed introductions…
The Carters. “By your fruits you shall know them ” — Jesus
Consolation in your post. Thank you.
Beautifully written, Michael. Happy Thanksgiving to you my friend.
bob1,
Exactly…
Donner,
Thank you!
mk,
Happy Thanksgiving! Glad to see you here…
Thank you, Michael! Many years ago I came home fro school the Friday before Thanksgiving as the firefighters were shoveling stuff into a debris box. We were out of our house until right before Christmas. I learned a lot that year -why my parents had insurance, the kindness of strangers, the “joy” of living with my family in a real dive of a motel. We ate Thanksgiving at an all you can eat buffet that year, but my ninth grade self gained some perspective about what was important in life. We were okay, our pets survived the fire, our house could be fixed…Later, when I came to faith in Christ, I realized what a miracle God’s blessings were during that time were.
I’m also thankful for PP and the folks who share here. I wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Linn,
Thank you for being here…have a blessed Thanksgiving!
Without Rosalynn Carter, Jimmy Carter would have been a caricature of who he became.
Kate Bowler is a consistent gift to those of us who struggle onward. I am finding treasured folks in unlikely ways and places.
Vigilance is the word regarding this canine respiratory illness. It seems to be generating a lot of attention.
Housefull of polarized family members tomorrow–praying for the peace of filistia.
fil,
I hope you are recovering well…much love to you and your bride and best wishes for the peace of filistia to prevail…
My dog had the virus last month. Took him a month to shake it.
“… give what you can and take what you need. Do not measure either…this is the season of grace…” AMEN!
Happy Thanksgiving Michael and all the PhxP family.
Happy Thanksgiving, CK!
I was in a local grocery store and a Dollar General when I somewhat understood the gravity and reality of number 7. At the grocery store :Come Sail Away” by Styx played over the loudspeaker.
“I look to the sea, reflections in the waves spark my memory
Some happy, some sad
I think of childhood friends and the dreams we had
We lived happily forever, so the story goes
But somehow we missed out on that pot of gold
But we’ll try best that we can to carry on.”
I never used to like that song until recently. Earlier this year I lost a long time friend. Like my grandfather he always was my biggest fan. We had a lot of good times together. The last time I spoke to him he told me he was dying. I simply replied, “We are dying from the day we are born.” I didn’t think he was serious and I figured he would avert death at least one more time. He did not. As the song played I welled up with tears. I miss him.
Later in the evening I tried to locate some brown sugar. As I was searching the shelves in Dollar General I heard a woman talking on the phone to her boyfriend or husband. She was an aisle or two over from. I never did see who she was.
She was there to pick up a few odds and ends. Her tone of voice changed. I don’t know what he said but her response revealed it was less than positive. It was most likely demeaning. She asked why was he being such an blank button. It was then I was reminded that Thanksgiving is not a good time or a day to be thankful for everyone. For some people it sucks for many different reasons. Deep inside I grieved and prayed for her.
Two different types of grief while being thankful that we are able to entertain our youngest daughter’s good friend for Thanksgiving. We will be entertaining her boyfriend in December.
#8 really reminds us of grief during this season.
All well said. Thanks, Michael.