Invited

“Invited to dance, invited to sing, invited to celebrate...you’re invited to take time to enjoy life.”

Loren Thornburg

There are many invitations this time of the year. To parties, to get togethers with friends and family, and to many different gatherings and functions. There are also other kinds of invitations. Invitations to spend money here, spend time there, to be busy with this or occupied with that. An invitation is a request inviting someone to go somewhere or do something. Sometimes things get neglected with so many other invitations at the forefront. So in the midst of so many other invitations let me invite you to take time. Take time to be thankful, take time to rest, take time to enjoy, take time to take in all that this season of celebrating brings. The more I face hard things in my life the more I see my need to enjoy and celebrate every chance that I get. Don’t miss it...take time...you’re invited.

“… “Who needs a doctor: the healthy of the sick? I’m here inviting outsiders, not insiders--an invitation to a changed life, changed inside and out.””

Luke 5:31-32 MSG

Jesus had an open invitation. He was always inviting people to join Him. In this story in Luke He is surrounded at a dinner party by many that the Pharisees thought unworthy of their time, yet Jesus saw them as first to be invited. This is an invitation to something more than dinner, more than a good time, more than an evening, but to a lifetime of LIFE with Him. It starts with dinner, it starts with an invitation to gather, but the greater invitation that Jesus gives is to a changed life from the inside out. In this time of celebrating He is inviting us to Him. We are invited to join in the celebration of the gift of His birth that doesn’t stop with His birth but only begins there. And you’re invited. We all have places that we feel like the outsider yet Jesus came to invite you. Yes, you’re invited! Come join Him!!

It's a Gift

“Take it for gifted not for granted”

Loren Thornburg

Granted has many uses and meanings. One of those is the common phrase of ‘taking something for granted,’ meaning we fail to appreciate someone or something that is familiar or obvious (Oxford). It’s a common phrase in part because it’s very common that we do that. We miss it, we don’t see the full worth of the good things that are in our lives. We become accustomed to having certain things and begin to feel entitled, forgetting that they are a gift. Your family is a gift, your friends are a gift, your provision is a gift, your life is a gift, today is a gift. So many times we don’t know the full worth of our gifts until they are taken away. Don’t wait for that to happen. See your gifts now, as what they really are, for their full worth, in their full weight. You have been gifted, don’t take it for granted.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.”

Ephesians 2:8 ESV

THE gift of God. God has given us many gifts, many great gifts, yet salvation is referred to here in Ephesians as the gift of God. Part of what makes a gift truly a gift is that you have been given it without doing something in return. God has given us the ultimate gift in true gift form for it is “not your own doing.” You did nothing to earn it. That’s why it’s called grace. It’s God’s favor by no merit of your own but simply, solely and truly His favor on your life to give you eternal life. At times in our faith we get glimpses of how more than great this gift is, yet so many times we forget. It becomes so familiar, so common, so obvious that it loses it’s weight in our lives. Ask God to remind you of His gift, THE gift of salvation. He did it for you. He gave you THE gift. Let that take your heart to joy and thanksgiving.

Receive Your Calling

“You’ve been called...it’s true

You’ve been called...you can

You’ve been called...grab hold

You’ve been called...so go”

Loren Thornburg

Everyone has a calling. Yes, that means you! We all have different callings. Often we think of callings as our jobs or vocation which is a part of it, but there is more. Calling is more than just what we do, but who we are. You may be called to be a leader but this can be leading a household, leading a group of friends, leading in the workplace, or leading with the job title. Regardless of the job title a leader is called to lead. Now we may be called to a specific vocation like to be doctors and lawyers but even still we are called to be that in different ways because we are each different and unique. There is no set way, no set rules, except that you have to receive it. No one else can fulfill it quite like you have been called to. So you must embrace first that you have been called, that you can because you’ve been called, and go then go with it. You’ve been called...so go.

“Are you called to be a speaker? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Are you called to help others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies through Jesus Christ. All glory and power belong to him forever and ever. Amen.” 1 Peter 4:11 NLT

God is calling you. Even in the midst of not knowing your calling He is calling you. He is calling you to be you in the places He has placed you right now. A new season may be coming but right now He has called you. What is He calling you to in this place? Whatever it is, do it as though He were doing it through you...because He is. Do it as though He is giving you all you need to do it...because He is. Whether He is calling you to step out into something big and scary or calling you to wait and rest, He is calling you to that place and will provide you with all you need, so let Him. Receive your calling as if God Himself were calling you...since He is. Since He is calling you, since He is doing it, since He is giving you all you need then give Him the glory. Give glory where glory belongs. All glory and power belong to Him, the One who is calling you.

Purpose Now

“There is pain now but there is purpose now.”

Loren Thornburg

You have purpose now. Even if you’ve made a huge mistake, even if you find yourself in the middle of divorce, even if you’re in the midst of sadness, even if you don’t have a job, even if you’re single, even if you’re lonely in the absence of people you love, even if your world seems to be falling apart, even if nothing major is going on, even there you have purpose still, even now you have purpose. Pain and purpose can coexist. However, sometimes it seems as if they are oil and vinegar at polar opposites. Pain seems so often to bring confusion and disillusion which are not words often used in a time where we see purpose. Our attention gets focused on the pain, unable to see past it. However, our not seeing purpose does not keep it from us. It’s like walking with your headphones on where all you can hear is your music unable to hear the sounds of your surroundings. It can be so hard to see past the pain to the purpose that is going on deeper beyond the surface. Regardless of the headphones of pain you find yourself in there is still purpose in where you are and where you are going. You still have purpose beyond the pain. You have purpose now.

“So if you are suffering according to God’s will, keep on doing what is right and trust yourself to the God who made you, for he will never fail you.”

1 Peter 3:15 NLT

Peter is writing to encourage the people in their persecution and the pain of the persecution that makes it easy to give up in their faith. Although we may not face the same persecution, the struggle to see past our situation to our God still remains for us today. Thus, we can take the same encouragement that Peter spoke many years ago. Even now God will never fail you. He made you. Who better to trust you with then the One who made you and therefore knows you? He not only knows who you are and what is going on in your life but He knows your heart, your thoughts, your dreams, your desires. He made you on purpose for a purpose even now. You have purpose now. You can trust Him now. He will never fail you, not even now.

Covered isn't Clean

“Don’t just cover it, clean it.”

Loren Thornburg

To drink out of a dirty jar you first must clean it. I wouldn’t just fill the dirty jar with clean water thinking it would cover up the dirtiness. Similarly, to heal a dirty wound you couldn’t just put a bandaid over it. Although that might protect it from additional infection it would only keep the current infectious elements closed up for further infection. Yet we try to do this with our lives. We just put a bandaid over the wound or try to get clean water from a dirty jar. We want to just cover it up rather than deal with the dirt, the wound, and what is causing the infection. Sometimes we even use things that are good to cover it up, but good isn’t best and covered isn’t always clean. This is true of our hearts and minds. Unless we get rid of the hurt and lies you will never be the clean and free as you were intended to be. The problem with only covering is that it doesn’t go away. It comes up and out in different ways and eventually it can grow to something bigger than a bandaid can cover. So deal with it from the inside out.

“What you’re after is truth from the inside out. Enter me, then; conceive a new true life.”

Psalm 51:6 MSG

God is after truth from the inside out. He can see past whatever we try to use to cover things up and He is not impressed nor is He fooled. He not only desires that we proclaim what is true but also that we confess and get rid of that which is not true. It’s good to have that which is true on our lips and in our thoughts, but it is better when those things dwell in our depths as well. The only way to do that is to let Jesus come in, to enter us, and fill us from the inside out. He loves to do this. When we confess the lies and things we are holding onto which are not true He has more room to enter with all His truth and new life. Let His truth reign from the inside out.

Worth the Wait

“Short cuts only cut short the joy of the destination.”

Loren Thornburg

Many times in my impatience of a long line of cars and foreseeing having to wait I take the more appealing shorter line of cars going a different direction, thinking it will be quicker, but very rarely is this the case. Usually in my unwillingness to wait for a moment in that place I end up taking longer to get to my destination. After doing this recently I was reminded that I do the same things in life. My unwillingness to wait and my anxiousness to have things settled take me the long way to the place I want to be. There are many things that we are waiting for...a job, a promotion, a spouse, restoration, healing, resolution, and on and on. It can be so tempting in our frustration with the slowness of the process to find ways to cut it short and take it into our own hands. We take a job that isn’t a good fit, we cheat our way to promotion, we date someone we know isn’t right, we give up on our dreams and relationships. It may work for a while but we have traded in something more for something less because we were not willing to wait. When we are willing to wait we find the fullness of that which we have been waiting for. We find that which is real and good and lasting because we were willing to wait for the real thing. Wait for it...it’s worth the wait.

“Be still and rest in the Lord; wait for Him and patiently lean yourself upon Him; fret not yourself because of Him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked devices to pass.”

Psalm 37:7 AMP

The Lord is always worth the wait. Yet, in the midst of waiting I can’t say that I always agree with His timing, but what I find later is that He moves at just the right time, in just the right way. Not only will it be worth the wait but He is a God worth waiting on. It just takes much patience. It’s so easy for me to look around and see people who have that which I want. Then I become quick to question God and His timing, wondering why I don’t have that thing that they have that I’ve been wanting and waiting and asking for, looking at all the reasons I deserve and desire that thing. Yet so often what I thought I wanted pales in comparison to what God has for me. As you are waiting for your dreams and desires wait foremost on the Lord. Lean yourself upon Him...He is always worth the wait.

Back to Front

“Sometimes the best way to move forward is to go back...back to the joy of why you first began.”

Loren Thornburg

We get lost. Lost in the work, lost in the motions, lost in the details, so lost that we forget why we even began. It’s that feeling when you enter a room knowing you came for a reason but unsure of why. When that happens to me I have to go back to the room I started in to remember why I went to the other room in the first place. Similarly we have to do that with our lives. We have to go back to where we started to know why we got started. Often our dreams are filled with many steps between starting and living it and it’s easy to get lost in the middle if we are not willing to go back to why we began. We have to bring the joy of that dream to the front of our minds and let that joy push us forward. For when joy is lost so is our strength to continue. Go back and let the joy that started you keep you going.

“The joy of the Lord is our strength”

Nehemiah 8:10

God is constantly calling us back. Back to Him! For He knows that in coming back to Him we will find all that we need. God knows exactly what we need and when we need it. He knows we need the strength that comes in His joy. This strength is not so much our own being strong as it is a place of safety, refuge and protection. It is the joy of the Lord that brings us protection that allows us to be strengthened. This joy is different from just being happy but a deep, sustainable gladness that moves us to rejoicing, not changed by circumstances, but found within regardless of what happens. There are many reasons to be discouraged and dismayed yet only one that can bring us joy in the midst of these and that is the Lord. So it is by our Lord and our joy in Him that we find the place of strength to endure in the midst of hardship. Just as Nehemiah encouraged the people into joy so hear his words encouraging you. There is joy in the Lord and it gives great strength!

Present but Unseen

“There is more to the story than what you see, more to the picture than what appears, there is more going on than we know, look beyond, there is more.”

Loren Thornburg

Behind the scenes of a play there is so much going on. From set changes, to lights, to costumes, to direction; there are many people who are a big part in making the play happen that the audience never sees. Similarly is you look at the human body there is so much going on inside our bodies that we can’t see without the help of instruments and technology. Our bodies would not be what they are on the outside without all that is going on inside. We can’t see all that is really going on in our bodies, yet often in life we think that we do. We look at a situation and think we know all that is going on, we judge by appearance, or we get annoyed with people because of how they act. I’m sure we’ve all been on the receiving end of this thinking, ‘if they only knew what was really going on.’ Still there is more to our own stories than what we can see. People who have impacted and changed us in ways we haven’t seen, circumstances that have protected us in ways we didn’t know and thoughts and feelings that are shaping us in ways we aren’t aware of. Take time to look past what you’ve seen. You might find there is more to your story.

“Behold, I go forward but He is not there, and backward, but I do not perceive Him; on the left hand when He is working, I do not behold Him; He turns to the right hand, but I do not see Him, but He knows the way I take; when He has tried me, I shall come out as gold.”

Job 23:8-10 ESV

There is always more to the story with God. Even in the devastations that Job faced God was present and working. So often in our lives we feel much like Job looking around seeing only hardship not perceiving God even in our looking for Him. Yet He is working and not just from a distance, but in our midst. Not only is He there, and not only is He working for our behalf, but He knows the way to lead us even without us seeing Him that will lead us to come out as gold. He knows how to turn our lives into shining stories. So if you are looking forward and you don’t see Him, looking backward and not perceiving Him, looking left and right and feeling He is not there know that He is working, know that He knows your way and your ways, and know that He shall bring you through and out as gold.

Too Important Not To

“Too important not to believe

Too important not to hope

Too important not to risk

Too important to miss

Love is.”

Loren Thornburg

You wouldn’t drive somewhere new without getting directions, or run without putting shoes on, or ride a bike without air in the tires. Those things are too important not to do. Yet why do we try to find joy in life without Love as our center? Sometimes I think we forget what is really too important not to do. The fear in our hearts and the things on our lists become more important than the people in our lives. Love really is the most important thing. It is too important to miss...but we do. We miss it through the other things that seem more important. Family is too important not to spend time with, friends are too important not to risk with, marriages are too important not to sacrifice on, relationships are too important not to believe in, and Love is too important not to hope in. Life is too important not to.

“Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come fearlessly into God’s presence, assured of his glad welcome.”

Ephesians 3:12 NLT

God gladly welcomes us! Not because we have it all together but because He loves us just as we are. Now this is a lot to try to wrap our minds around because this is not how our world works. It looks different, feels different and tells us different. Yet this is true...You are welcomed into God’s presence. He loves you and loves for you to be with Him and of that you can be sure. This truth is too important not to trust. In spite of anything that tells you otherwise, makes it hard to believe, or fears that keep you at a distance, it’s too important to miss. For it is in this truth, in this love, in this assuredness that we can Love others and invite them into this same Love that frees us, saves us, loves us. So now let us believe in His unbelievable love for us because it’s too important not to.

Glad to be Sad

“When we are sad we can be thankful, for we have had something in our lives with such meaning that it is worth being sad about.”
Loren Thornburg

Leaving is hard as is being left. I have been on both ends. Now I find myself on the leaving end as I get ready to leave for Colorado. There have been many goodbyes and tears of sadness. Although for many it is ‘see ya later’ there is also a grieving in the midst of change. I am reminded how hard it is to leave, but also at the same time so thankful that I have invested into and been invested into in ways that make it hard to leave. The sadness is a reminder of how meaningful my time here has been. And so although I am sad I am also glad that I have been given the opportunity to be a part of something that is worth being sad about. May you too in the midst of your sadness see the gladness. The reason for your sadness is that it has been that meaningful to you. So we can be glad that we have something so meaningful that it demands our sadness.

“For the mountains may depart and the hills disappear, but even then I will remain loyal to you.”

Isaiah 54:10

Isaiah 54 is all about the compassion of the Lord for those who mourn. This is not just a compassion that feels sorry for you but one that is seen. A compassion that leads our God to action. He is not just on the sidelines wishing things were different for us but He is with us, on our side, rebuilding our lives from the shame and grief that they were once known by into something beautiful. This is why we can trust Him when He says that in the midst of things falling apart He will remain loyal. He will be there with us making us into something new! So in the midst of our sadness we truly can find reason to be thankful for God is doing something new in us. Until we can see it we can trust Him, the loyal God, who is on our side.

First Things First

“Crawl before you walk; Walk before you run

First things must come first; Otherwise you’ll end up with none”

Loren Thornburg

As we watch college football and the high caliber athletes it’s hard to think that at one point they could only do the basics and that at times even with their advanced skills that they still go back to the basics. As a coach I see firsthand the importance of the fundamentals. The athletes I work with are constantly wanting to move on to more advanced skills such as throwing different kinds of pitches not understanding that it would do them no good to learn those skills without the foundational skills on which to build upon. I find I do the same thing in life wanting to be farther ahead missing the importance of where I’m at as a building block to where I’m going. Even at times in things I may be more advanced in there are times when I need to go back to the basics, to reinforce my foundation to make all that I have built upon even stronger. First things must come first.

“And a voice came from heaven saying, “You are my beloved Son, and I am fully pleased with you.””

Mark 1:11 NLT

Jesus, in all of His divinity, still was told of who He was by our Father. He was Loved and He belonged to Him as His Son. The Father was pleased with Him and this is where His ministry began. It began with this truth and went out from there. It was out of this truth that Jesus was able to go and do all the Father had planned for Him. This love came first for Jesus and must for us as well. Before we do we must first be. We must first know that we are loved, so loved by our Father, we are His child, we belong to Him and He is fully pleased with us for being nothing more than His. For out of not just knowing this, but being in this we can freely go and do all He has planned for us. It is in this security that we find the solution to many of our concerns. I find Him responding to most of my concerns with, “I love you” because it is in this truth that I find what I need to overcome. He longs to speak this to you too, so hear Him now...I love you and am fully pleased with you.

Navigating Life

“We all need help, we all need direction, we all need...and that’s okay.”

Loren Thornburg

The more I drive in this age of GPS (global positioning system) and Map Quest Directions the more I realize how helpful those things can be. I save so much time with the help of directions to guide my way and a GPS to navigate. It makes me wonder why we don’t do this more with our lives. Directions gives us by definition the “course that must be taken to reach a destination.” So why would we try to go it alone when we not only could benefit from help but we need help. Now this is not to neglect another important lessons when it comes to these navigational tools is that you have to think for yourself. That doesn’t mean do it all yourself but to factor the suggestions in with your own knowledge of what you know and what makes sense for you.

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”

John 14:26 ESV

Navigation is a process more than a thing. By definition it is the “process or activity of accurately ascertaining one’s position and planning one’s route.” We who have asked for Jesus have the best navigation system you could ever want or need. We have the Holy Spirit. He is the Ultimate GPS for He reroutes us when we are off track in life, recalculates how we can get back on track, and always leads us to the correct destination even when it doesn’t make sense. He can be trusted! He is our Helper, always present, always willing, always pointing us to the Father. Those are directions that I want to follow! I need only ask for the Spirit to help, pay attention to the way the Spirit is leading me, and follow where He is pointing me.

Let Truth be True

“Let reality be real in your life. Let truth be true in your life. Let hope be hopeful in your life. It’s already true...live like it.”

Loren Thornburg

Have you ever noticed how so often we can see so much good in others that we can’t see in ourselves? It’s so much easier to see gifts in someone else than to see them in ourselves. I’m sure we have all been in position to not be able to understand how someone could not see the greatness that we see in them. Yet at the same time those things can be true of ourselves, that we don’t see in us the things that others see. I don’t have it all figured out but what I do know is that there are some things that are truth. Truth is defined as a fact of belief that is accepted as true. So if it’s true that we have worth, we have gifts, we have value then why not start living like it!! You have worth! You have gifts to offer! You have value!! That is truth so what is keeping you from living like that is true! It’s not true for everyone except for you! You are not the exception! You are part of the reality!! Let that Truth be true...even in your life!

“Brothers, what the Holy Spirit predicted through David in Scripture about Judas had to come true…”

Acts 1:16 GWT

The Scriptures had to come true and they still have to come true. Just as when the Holy

Spirit predicted what would happen with Judas came true, so do all of the promises of God. Those have come true because the Scripture has to come true, it has to fulfill and complete that which it set forth to do. So when it says the Lord is Faithful that means that the Lord has to be faithful! When it says the Lord has plans and purposes for your life that means this has to come true, for the Lord does indeed have plans and purposes for your life. Just as we seen other predictions come true so we see that the Scriptures have to come true. So often I live like these truths are debatable or subject to be untrue, when the reality is that they are already TRUTH. They are already true for me to live like they are true. Don’t miss what’s already true...You have worth, You have value, You are Loved by God!! It’s already true whether you live it or not...so why not live like it?!

Dare to Hope

“There is a risk, there is always a risk, but hope is worth the risk.”

Loren Thornburg

Risk is a scary thing because it means there is a chance for injury or loss. We become face to face with exposure to pain and hurt which are things we try to avoid at all cost. Hope is a risk. It is a risk to believe that what you want or desire can actually come true and that things will turn out for the best. Often it seems easier not to hope or to have high expectations. If we keep them low we also keep from being let down. The problem in doing this is that we miss out on much. We miss out on the life in hoping. For while there may be loss if things don’t work out as we hoped, we may get hurt, there may be pain, yet the greater loss is not to have hope. It is in hoping, in believing that we find life!! And let us not forget that the other side of risk is that there is a chance for great reward, great joy, and great life!! There is a chance that our desires will come true. Take the chance...dare to hope.

“The thought of my suffering and homelessness is bitter beyond words...Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The unfailing love of the Lord never ends!”

Lamentations 3:19-22 NLT

Now if anyone saw reason to stop hoping it was Jeremiah. After destruction of Jerusalem and it’s people that he tried to warn for years of this fate if they did not repent Jeremiah laments among the ruins of the city through the book of Lamentations. Yet, even after all that he experienced and all that he saw, one destruction after another, he still dared to hope. I can’t help but be challenged to have the same Hope as Jeremiah in the places in my life that look like ruins. His kind of hope was not in things of this world but in the one true LORD whose unfailing love never ends. We have a guarantee that God’s love never fails and never ends, but as Jeremiah and you and I can attest to that doesn’t mean there won’t be ruins in our lives. So the risk remains...to dare to hope in the midst of things that don’t look hopeful. We can because the promise remains...His Love will never end. We can because that promise means that even when it looks bad God’s love is at work accomplishing all of its purposes beyond what we see. So, let us dare to hope by remembering we have a God who loves and can’t stop loving no matter what!!

Known in the Unknown

“As you walk through the unknown trust the known.”

Loren Thornburg

The unknown can bring all sorts of emotions including fear and anxiety. Yet if we look to those we know to go with us, ask those we know for wisdom, and focus our attention on other things that we know to be true the unknown becomes more known. For me, one who is not gifted with directions even the unknown of driving to a new location can bring unsettling emotions. Yet, if I have someone with me who has been there before and is familiar with the destination I am no longer fearful. In addition, if I get directions or have a GPS I am more at ease. I can also remind myself of previous experiences and other things that are true such as, I have driven to new places with success before and if I have trouble there are people I can call for help. The more I look to these resources and things that I know the less anxiety I find. Now, if only driving in unfamiliar territory was the biggest unknown that we face!! However, this principle is true even in the big stuff. For the transition to college, moving across the country, stepping into a new role, changing jobs, or whatever it is that you are facing it still applies. The more we can look to things that we know the less the fear and anxiety can take hold.

“I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me...You will show me the way of life.”

Psalm 16: 8 & 11 NLT

We have a God who we can trust to show us the way of life. No matter where our unknown destination may be Jesus has been there before and is with us for the journey. Jesus is the one you want with you in the car when you don’t know where you’re going. You can ride easy with Him knowing that He has been there before, whatever it is that you are facing. Unfortunately sometimes we forget to look to Him for direction, to look to Him for comfort, to look to Him. For when we do we will not be shaken. He is our known because we KNOW that He is trustworthy, that He will never leave us, that He is good, that He has plans for us, that He will show us the way to life, that He loves us. In knowing that we can trust the unknowns that come our way. Knowing means being aware. The more we can fill our awareness with Jesus the more we can trust the unknown times of our lives. Be aware of what you know...Jesus leads to life!!

Don't Forget to Celebrate

“With all there is to do and the distance there remains to go don’t forget to celebrate how much has been done and the distance already come.”

Loren Thornburg

Celebration is the act of marking one’s pleasure at an event or occasion. We are most familiar with a birthday or holiday celebration and then there is the celebration of a big accomplishment. Yet, what about all the little ones that really aren’t so little?! The habit you’ve been working to break that you saw improvement in, the fear you’ve been having that you found a bit of freedom from, the control that you surrendered a little more of...those are worth celebrating. Sometimes we get so focused on working on things, on growing, on doing things better that we miss the change, the growth, and the small victories that in all actuality are a big deal! For it is those little ones that are necessary for the bigger ones. It is in celebrating that we find hope and encouragement to continue the process. You don’t have to throw a big party, although you could. It could be as simple as remembering and resting in that accomplishment, sharing with friends and making a toast, or doing something fun. There are a number of ways to celebrate but each of them is an act of remembering the distance that you’ve come and the big deal that it is!! Let’s celebrate!!

“All praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the source of every mercy and the God who comforts us.”

2 Corinthians 1:3 NLT

It is God at the center of everything. The more we stop to remember the things in our lives that we have to celebrate, the more we can praise Him! The more we see how we have been blessed, been changed, and been redeemed the more we see His hand of mercy and comfort in our lives. The more we see the more we celebrate and praise and the more we praise the more we are changed and the more there is to celebrate. It’s a cycle that just can’t stop with God at the center. Whether we see it or not will not change the truth of God being the source, but we change the more we stop to celebrate this truth in our own lives. Remember to celebrate...it’s God at the center, as the source of everything, of all you have to celebrate!!

Reason to Praise

“There is reason to praise, reason to sing, reason to give thanks...let the hard stuff remind you.”

Loren Thornburg

Life is full of lots of really hard stuff. But, right there in the midst of that stuff is reason to praise. Let that stuff be the very reason to praise. Let the cold lead you to thanks for the health that you have had, the thing you lost lead you to praise for the time you were blessed with it, the things you can’t do lead you to sing about the things that you can. This is not to ignore the hard parts of what you are going through, but to find reason to praise in the midst of them. It is to recognize that what you face is hard, but still there is reason to praise. Don’t miss an opportunity to do that. Let the hard stuff be a reminder that you have reason to praise!!

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.”

Psalm 118: 1

The Lord is good!! For those who have seen this, we have forever reason to sing and praise. His love is faithful! It endures forever! If I truly believe that then there is more than enough reason to praise. That doesn’t mean that this is always my first reaction, but it can always be my next. Praise is to express ones gratitude toward. It says nothing about having to feel like praising. The hard part can be remembering that praising is an option in the midst of hard stuff that comes our way. So lets ask the Lord to let the hard stuff trigger us to praise, remind us of the things we have to be thankful for, cause us to sing. Not that there shouldn’t be tears in the midst of sorrow, but there can also be praise. There is reason to praise...let the hard stuff remind you. For no matter what...His faithful love endures forever.