A few ideas for being thankful...
It's lunch time. I have a minute to post, and I was thinking about being thankful, and "returning thanks"... Do we really return thanks, or mumble some thoughts?
We really are an INCREDIBLY blessed people. From electricity to fresh water to a place to sleep in peace... we are so selfish. How can we be more thankful with what we have? I had a few ideas.
1) Eat something you don't like for seven consecutive days. Practice, at each meal, being thankful for at least having that to eat. At the end of the week, I bet you will not take that peanut butter sandwich for granted... and you may develop a liking for the item at hand.
2) Stand in the cold pouring rain without a raincoat. Water soaks to the core. Wind causes discomfort. Get familliar with that sensation, and get to know what it feels like. Stay out long enough to start to shiver, then stay a little longer. Then, when you do get back inside, contemplate that some don't have an "inside" to retreat to. Thank God for the warm blanket that removes the chills, the soft towels that dry, the clothes on you to keep you warm in the cold winds and the dry walls that keep you from living that way 24-7.
3) Don't spend a single penny for two weeks. Sounds easy. You can stockpile, and make sure you are provided for with meals and shelter. Pre-pay your bills. Get ready, and do all you have to. Then put away your cards... your check book... your dollar bills. Then try to live life. No Pepsi from the vending machine. Careful with your gas usage, as it has to last the entire time. No eating out, or ordering pizza. Unexpected expenses? I hope you've found enough pennies on the sidewalk. Practice being thankful for every penny and dime you find. Some don't even have that much. By the end of that time, you will find that you appreciate the right to spend God's provision on yourself... and perhaps you'll learn what you can and can't live without.
4) Hold your spouse and listen to their heart beat. Day in and day out, people lose their loved ones. Those hearts have stopped beating, and their lives have ended. With each thump, whisper in your heart "Thanks" to God. That heartbeat was a blessing to you.
5) Turn off the lights in your house and use candles for a week. The gift of technology is really a blessing. We take the technology around us for granted. I'm typing on a computer, listening to an MP3 player, under florescent lights, in an air-conditioned building. Do you realize all of the technologies that this requires? Purposely live your life at home for seven days with minimal technology. Start simply by living without lights. Don't unplug the refrigerator, or go so drastic as to cause a health hazard to you. Just give up things that can light a room. (i.e. TV, Computer, etc) Sounds simple, doesn't it. Praise God for allowing you to live where you have electric lights. During the darkness, praise God that in the morning, the darkness will end. Those who are blind don't have that option.
We are a comfortable, evil, mindless, uncaring, unfeeling, spineless and thankless generation who rely on themselves more than God. We worship self, and what can be done for us, instead of what we can do. We need to understand that what we do in a day is what will be what is remembered of us in the age to come.
What did you do with your day yesterday? When you turn on the AC or heater, are you thankful for the privelege of having it? When you give thanks for food, do you mumble a few random thoughts, or are you truly thankful?
This is my confession to the world... I am not. I am that comfortable generation. Father, change my heart. Challenge me to live differently to be thankful for all you have given me. My time. My money. My heart. Make them yours.
We really are an INCREDIBLY blessed people. From electricity to fresh water to a place to sleep in peace... we are so selfish. How can we be more thankful with what we have? I had a few ideas.
1) Eat something you don't like for seven consecutive days. Practice, at each meal, being thankful for at least having that to eat. At the end of the week, I bet you will not take that peanut butter sandwich for granted... and you may develop a liking for the item at hand.
2) Stand in the cold pouring rain without a raincoat. Water soaks to the core. Wind causes discomfort. Get familliar with that sensation, and get to know what it feels like. Stay out long enough to start to shiver, then stay a little longer. Then, when you do get back inside, contemplate that some don't have an "inside" to retreat to. Thank God for the warm blanket that removes the chills, the soft towels that dry, the clothes on you to keep you warm in the cold winds and the dry walls that keep you from living that way 24-7.
3) Don't spend a single penny for two weeks. Sounds easy. You can stockpile, and make sure you are provided for with meals and shelter. Pre-pay your bills. Get ready, and do all you have to. Then put away your cards... your check book... your dollar bills. Then try to live life. No Pepsi from the vending machine. Careful with your gas usage, as it has to last the entire time. No eating out, or ordering pizza. Unexpected expenses? I hope you've found enough pennies on the sidewalk. Practice being thankful for every penny and dime you find. Some don't even have that much. By the end of that time, you will find that you appreciate the right to spend God's provision on yourself... and perhaps you'll learn what you can and can't live without.
4) Hold your spouse and listen to their heart beat. Day in and day out, people lose their loved ones. Those hearts have stopped beating, and their lives have ended. With each thump, whisper in your heart "Thanks" to God. That heartbeat was a blessing to you.
5) Turn off the lights in your house and use candles for a week. The gift of technology is really a blessing. We take the technology around us for granted. I'm typing on a computer, listening to an MP3 player, under florescent lights, in an air-conditioned building. Do you realize all of the technologies that this requires? Purposely live your life at home for seven days with minimal technology. Start simply by living without lights. Don't unplug the refrigerator, or go so drastic as to cause a health hazard to you. Just give up things that can light a room. (i.e. TV, Computer, etc) Sounds simple, doesn't it. Praise God for allowing you to live where you have electric lights. During the darkness, praise God that in the morning, the darkness will end. Those who are blind don't have that option.
We are a comfortable, evil, mindless, uncaring, unfeeling, spineless and thankless generation who rely on themselves more than God. We worship self, and what can be done for us, instead of what we can do. We need to understand that what we do in a day is what will be what is remembered of us in the age to come.
What did you do with your day yesterday? When you turn on the AC or heater, are you thankful for the privelege of having it? When you give thanks for food, do you mumble a few random thoughts, or are you truly thankful?
This is my confession to the world... I am not. I am that comfortable generation. Father, change my heart. Challenge me to live differently to be thankful for all you have given me. My time. My money. My heart. Make them yours.
posted by Jerry Hanel @ 10/14/2005 10:04:00 AM
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