Tag: colossians 4:2

5 Ways to Enhance the Gratitude Capacity of Your Heart and Give Thanks

Jeannie Waters25 Comments on 5 Ways to Enhance the Gratitude Capacity of Your Heart and Give Thanks

 

My friend Karen planned a Friendsgiving celebration for the residents at the healthcare home where her mother lives. We decorated the tables with tall lanterns filled with tiny lights and red, orange, and yellow silk leaves. Then we added stuffed pumpkins and sprinkled candy at each place. During the celebration, the elderly ladies and gentlemen taught me an important lesson.

After participants had listened to a devotion about friendship and played games, they gathered around the tables to share some of their blessings. Their lists included life, family, friends, good memories, sunny days, chocolate cake, and many more.

When I heard wheelchair-bound nursing home residents express thanks for their blessings, I considered my heart’s gratitude capacity. If they can thank God for their blessings while facing adversity, surely I can, too. Then I wondered how Scripture can help us develop an attitude of gratitude when we experience trials or hear distressing news.

Gratitude fills my heart when I enjoy family gatherings, breath-taking mountain views, and vanilla lattes. But I confess, words of thanksgiving often sputter and stall when I face trials.

Recent trials include a stubborn printer with the nerve to die the night before a speaking engagement, even more stubborn plumbing that required a costly repair days before guests arrived, aggravating back pain, and far worse, a friend’s cancer diagnosis.

The grateful hearts of my new wheelchair-bound friends set a Christlike example for me.

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 ESV*

At the conclusion of the activities, we enjoyed ice cream sundaes. The sweet ladies at my table loved the choice of chocolate or caramel syrup and the addition of nuts and cherries. Laughter bubbled from the conversations as we ate.

Then Karen gave each resident a handmade bookmark decorated with fall pictures and a ribbon. She also gave them blank thank you cards and suggested they give the cards to a family member or a facility employee they appreciated.

Miss Maureen, a white-haired saint, grabbed Karen’s hand, pulled her closer, and gave Karen her thank you card. Whispered words brought tears to Karen’s eyes. “Thank you for taking time to bring joy to us. This was such fun. Please come back again.” My misty-eyed friend promised we’d return.

As the sweet residents wheeled from the room, some of them held our hands and told us how much they’d enjoyed the celebration. I suspect our blessings outweighed theirs.

With their kind words echoing in my heart, I pondered the biblical instruction to express thanks in all things. I long to develop an attitude of gratitude—even in challenging times—like I’d observed during the Friendsgiving celebration.

The Bible doesn’t tell us to feel thankful. Instead, it instructs us to give thanks.

Perhaps we should read verses about expressing gratitude daily and ask God to increase our capacity to give thanks—like my new friends modeled for me.

The Bible doesn’t tell us to feel thankful. Instead, it instructs us to give thanks. Share on X

5 Ways to Enhance the Gratitude Capacity of Your Heart and Give Thanks

1. With obedience to God

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Colossians 3:17

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of gods, for his steadfast love endures forever. Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who alone does great wonders, for his steadfast love endures forever.

Psalm 136:1-4

Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 5:20

2. With singing

I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.

Psalm 7:17

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!

Psalm 100:1-2

3. With recognition of His love and peace

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!

Psalm 107:1

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.

Colossians 3:15

4. With prayer

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.

Colossians 4:2

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

5. With awareness of who God is and remembrance of His gifts

The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.

Psalm 28:7

Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.

Psalm 107:8-9

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

James 1:17

The echo of gratitude from my new friends’ words and the verses I found are filling my heart and my words with thanksgiving.

Your Turn

What’s one way to develop a heart of gratitude? How is giving thanks beneficial to our walk with Christ? I look forward to your comments.

*All verses are taken from the ESV.

Another story of gratitude

Click here Gratitude According to Aunt Tommie for a devotion from A Place at His Table: God’s Daily Gifts to Satisfy Your Heart. Marilyn Nutter shared it on her website. You’ll read how my Aunt Tommie shared 6-ounce bottles of Coca-Cola and wise advice about gratitude.

A Place at His Table includes 40 devotions with Table Tips–recipes, easy centerpiece ideas, and celebration suggestions. What a perfect hostess gift!  

   Available at Amazon & at other places where good books are sold.           

 

Eight Strategies for Remembering Prayer Requests

Jeannie Waters32 Comments on Eight Strategies for Remembering Prayer Requests

My Indy 500 day blew past like Dale Earnhardt. I looked at the clock. “Oh no! It’s 3:00. I completely missed my daughter’s exam time.”

I’d always promised to pray for her study time and success on final exams. This time, however, I neglected to fulfill this important responsibility.

Have you ever promised to pray for someone’s broken heart or surgery or job interview and then realized later you’d forgotten? We mean well, but our memories sometimes fail.  

In my teen years, I often voiced prayer needs to Pam, a mentor. She would respond, “Let’s pray now. I don’t want to forget.” Her statement emphasized the responsibility of receiving a request and the importance of lifting it to our heavenly Father.  

The Bible teaches,

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.

Colossians 4:2 ESV

Paul commended fervent prayer,

Epaphras … greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.

Colossians 4:12 ESV

Do you use memory aides or organizational techniques for important responsibilities like prayer? Methods for remembering the needs we notice can help us honor the privilege of communicating with God on behalf of others.

Methods for remembering the needs we notice can help us honor the privilege of communicating with God on behalf of others. Share on X

I hope you can use or adapt one of the strategies below.

Eight Strategies for Remembering Prayer Requests

1. Listen attentively to requests.

Establish eye contact and listen carefully when someone requests prayer. Ask an appropriate question or repeat the need to enhance your memory. When the ladies in my email prayer group read a request, they often ask a clarifying question and inquire later about results. This practice encourages believers and reflects the love of Christ to those who have not yet met Him

2. Seek God’s help.

Ask the Father to remind you of requests and lead you to an applicable Bible verse to use as a prayer springboard. On busy days, we sometimes hear His whisper in our minds and hearts reminding us of the need to pray.

3. Organize an index card file.

A simple file box with index cards and tabs can categorize requests and provide space for recording answers. Some requests are long-term and may require multiple cards. When I used this method of memory prompts, I enjoyed reviewing the cards in the “Answered Prayer” section which demonstrated God’s faithfulness.

4. Create a prayer journal or notebook.

A small loose-leaf binder can house dividers labeled with days of the week or categories like family, neighbors, church, missionaries, urgent, and government leaders. I currently use this system with a tab for each day of the week. Before the first divider, I added sheets labeled “Week of ___” to which I add Monday’s date and requests specific to that week.

5. Use sticky notes.

For urgent situations or daily reminders, affix colorful sticky notes to the refrigerator, a mirror, computer, key chain, or steering wheel. A friend once wrote a reminder note about praying for our family’s concern and placed it on his office shelves. Each time he sat down at his desk, he saw the note and prayed. Assurance that our need was being lifted to the Lord calmed our hearts.

6. Set a timer or a phone alarm.

When requests are time-specific, use of a timer or phone alarm may help. Today, while concentrating on writing, I’m praying for a friend’s health as she travels with airline delays and for family members on a lengthy road trip. My phone alarms cue me to continue prayer support throughout the day.

7. Design a bookmark.

Record a long-term request on a bookmark. Add an appropriate verse and insert it into a book you’re currently reading. You could write the same verse on an additional bookmark and mail it to the person you’re praying for with an encouraging note.

8. Construct a small table tent.

Write prayer reminders on stiff paper, fold tent-style, and place on the coffee table or beside your spot at the dinner table. Change the location from time to time to ensure the tent catches your eye.

When the minutes in your day fly by with race car speed, perhaps one of these strategies will bring prayer requests to mind. Although communication with God requires no system, reminders can keep us on track. Paul said, “We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you” (Colossians 1:3 ESV). What a worthy goal for us!

Your comments encourage me and other readers. How do you remember to pray for the needs of others?

Praying for Back-to-School Joy

Jeannie Waters12 Comments on Praying for Back-to-School Joy

 Will COVID-19, a potential joy thief, rob families and educators of joy in 2020? Which safeguards are trustworthy? Do we have a responsibility in the current school year dilemma? Yes, I believe we do.

Let’s join together in prayer for each student and educator facing a year of uncertainty.

But first, let’s recall happy back-to-school days.

Do memories of a new school year make you smile? Do you recall the smell of new crayons and the joy of seeing friends again? Remembering my own school days and those of my children spark joy.

From the moment our son played on the playground and noticed the bright yellow doors, he was ready to start school. Chocolate brown eyes danced with excitement as he entered Mrs. Tippett’s kindergarten class.

Memories of his first second-grade homework assignment make me laugh. Not understanding that his teacher meant essay, he wrote a summary of his summer activities and titled the paper “My S. A.” (I didn’t say a word knowing it would give his teacher a smile.)

Our daughter, never one for the ordinary, chose either sparkly silver pencils or those with a Strawberry Shortcake motif for her school debut. Ponytail bouncing, she skipped in daily with enthusiasm as she chatted with friends.

My favorite school memory of her was the day she insisted on “taking” her brother for Show-and-Tell! (He obliged her.)

Will the happy back-to-school memory bank be filled this year? At the beginning of this 2020-2021 school year, we see more questions than answers:

  • Online school or in-person?
  • Can kindergarteners understand social distancing?
  • Will teachers get sick?
  • How will working parents manage?
  • What extracurricular activities?

We hear more doubt than certainty. We suspect more fear than joy will capture us. We wonder how effective online education will be.

Yes, this school year will be challenging at best, but I believe each of us can contribute to effective education for all children and joy in learning How?

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.               

Colossians 4:2

As a retired teacher, I remember the energy required for reopening school. Long hours. Little sleep. New requirements. Diverse needs. It’s hard, folks. A blessing—but HARD.  Educators and families need God’s blessings.

Here’s a suggested prayer guide. Please add your own requests.

A Prayer Guide for the 2020-2021 School Year

Pray as you ride by public and private schools and as you see school buses and children in your neighborhood.

Lift up home school students and parents.

Pray for wisdom for board members and advisors.

Ask God to equip educators with stamina, health, joy, and insight into students’ needs.

Pray for students and parents who are fearful as you pray for academic achievement. Pray for joy.

Pray for students with disabilities and for those learning English as a second language.  

Here are groups of people to lift in prayer:

  • students and families
  • teachers, including new teachers
  • paraprofessionals
  • counselors
  • clerical staff
  • bus drivers
  • custodians
  • administrators
  • substitute teachers
  • board members

Without setting foot in a school, we can impact student learning and our community through prayer. Did the start of a new school year bring you joy?

 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Romans 15:13

Image from Pixabay