Life's Little Frustrations

Have you ever known people who never said "please,"

Or "excuse me" after a yawn or a sneeze,

Or "thank you" for anything that you might do

Just accepting your kindness as what they are due?

Thanksgiving

Philippians 4:6 Living Bible,  "Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs and DON'T FORGET TO THANK HIM FOR HIS ANSWERS."  (Words in all caps are for emphasis.)

      We have just celebrated a national thanksgiving holiday when we focused on how blessed we are, as we do once a year.  However, in a sense, every day should be Thanksgiving Day when we take time to be mindful of just how good God is to us.

      Not only do we owe God our gratitude, but having grateful hearts can be very important for our health and well being.  In an article entitled "Habits of Healthy, Happy Women" in the December 2012 issue of "Good Housekeeping" magazine Sarah Mahoney states,  "In case you missed the news that reflecting on your blessings is like Miracle-Gro for your mental health, a new English study reports that keeping a daily gratitude list reduces anxiety as well as therapy does."

      The incomparable Charles Spurgeon writes about the attitude of gratitude in these poetic words,  "Earth should be a temple filled with the songs of grateful saints, and every day should be a censer smoking with the sweet incense of thanksgiving."

      Lamentation 3:23 reminds us that God's mercies to us are new every morning, and for that reason our prayers of praise and gratitude should flow to heaven's King every day of the year!

Thank You, Father, for all Your goodness to us.  Amen.

Life's Little Frustrations

You take him to the table and put him in his seat.
You offer him fruits and veggies, bread and milk and meat.
You try to bribe him with the promise of having something sweet,
But sometimes your little darling will just refuse to eat!

Faithfulness

    If you could pick one character quality to have in a spouse, another family member, or a friend, what would be your number one choice?  Mine would be faithfulness, dependability, someone I could count on, who would be there for me through thick and thin, someone who has my back.  This would of necessity be a person of integrity and truthfulness.  People who lack integrity are by nature undependable.
    Faithfulness is one of God's loveliest attributes.  We know we can always depend upon him, that He will never lie to us or forget us or leave us.  Hebrews 10:23 says,  "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful."  Psalm 33:4 tells us,  "For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does."  And I Corinthian 1:9 adds,  "God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful."  There are many other verses in Scripture which underline the faithfulness, the dependability, the trustworthiness of the God we love and worship.  How blessed we are to have such a heavenly Father.
    I Corinthian 4:2 instructs us,  "Moreover, it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful."  God has entrusted us with the task of revealing His character to the world by the way we live and with spreading the word of His goodness and grace to the people around us.  We may not be wealthy or powerful or brilliant or super talented--some of these things may be beyond our reach--but God has given each one of us some abilities, a spiritual gift or gifts, some material resources, and a certain amount of influence in the circle of our acquaintances.  We can all use the resources God has entrusted into our care to serve Him and help further His kingdom.  We can all be faithful.

Father, may You find me faithful, and may I always rely upon Your faithfulness to me by trusting You.  Amen.

Life's Little Frustrations

If you are grumpy, and I'm grumpy too,

Then I am acting just like you,

And that's a tempting thing to do.

We want to get even, and that's so true.

But I need to give you a big old smile

And lighten your load, whatever your trial.

Showing Kindness

Ephesians 4:32,  "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."

I Thessalonians 5:15,  "Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else."

      One reason for exercising kindness and patience with others is the fact that we usually don't have a clue as to what is on their plates, no idea of the battles they are fighting.  Surely we would not want our behavior to be the final straw that pushes someone to the brink of despair.  And everybody can use a good dose of old fashioned encouragement at any time.

      I was in the check out line at the grocery store the other day, and the lady who was checking groceries chastised me for putting my purse on the conveyer belt although the belt was not turned on.  After the groceries had been processed, she fussed at me again in a very grumpy voice for laying my money on the conveyer belt while I was counting it out, saying,  "It's going to get caught under there!", and I snapped back, in a very grumpy voice, "How can it get caught?  The belt isn't even running?"  All of a sudden there were two grumpies. 

    And Grumpy Number Two--me--resolved then and there never to go through Grumpy Number One's check out line again!  So there!  What a human response.  My old sin nature had booted the Holy Spirit off the control center of my life and had taken over.

      Once I had confessed my poor response to God and asked the Holy Spirit to take control of my life again, I started wondering just what struggles that check out lady might be having.  I could have lightened her load a bit by patience, kindness, and a big smile.  I hope next time I won't miss the chance to lift someone else's spirits.

Father, may I treat everyone I meet this week, and always, with kindness, patience, and compassion.  Thank You for Your kindness, patience, and compassion for me.  Amen.