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We should always have an appreciation for each new day that we are lucky
enough to have. So many times we get distracted with the busyness of life
and instead of seeing the blessing of today, we rush through it without
noticing the beauty that surrounds us in it. That is why I believe we
should slow down and smell the proverbial roses. Let us appreciate the
simple things that we take for granted. Let us stop our hurried motions
and simply give thanks to God for this moment in time. Let us recognize
how fortunate we are and how much we've been given. Let us give thanks
for our health, for our children, family, spouse, job, home and the list
can continue on. Don't forget your blessings, but rather be determined to
acknowledge them and show your appreciation for them every chance you have.
(Psalm 118:24) (Matthew 6:27-34)
I wholeheartedly believe that a thankful heart will be a blessed heart.
When we are thankful for the simple things and don't take them for granted,
we are acknowledging with our words, our thoughts and our actions that we
are highly favored and that God has given us much more than we deserve. Be
encouraged to see your life with refreshed eyes. I want you to literally
count the blessings in your life and then imagine your life without any one
of those things. Would you miss them? Would you have wished you acted
differently when you did have them? Sometimes we just need a little
perspective so that we can recognize how fortunate we really are.
(Psalm 35:18) (Psalm 34:1-3) (Ephesians 1:3-4)
I encourage you again to slow down and let your love be made known. When
you do, your heart will be filled with gratitude and thanksgiving and you
will be reminded of how much you have to live for.
I hope this message encourages and challenges your heart to be thankful in
every circumstance of life and see the blessing that each new day offers us.
WHEN EVERYTHING IS A MIRACLE
Marlin Perkins, long-time host of television's “Wild Kingdom,” spent most
of his life trying to put people on a first-name basis with animals. His
wife Carol wanted to marry him so badly that she never let on that she did
not fully share his passion for wildlife.
Soon after their marriage they went to central Africa. She tried valiantly
not to complain during the long expedition, but one night she was
exhausted. She said she wasn't hungry and just wanted to go to bed. So
she went to her bed and reached for her pillow, when out from underneath
crawled a huge lizard that ran up her stomach and down her arm.
Carol started to scream and couldn't stop. She was so tired of being brave.
Marlin came running, and after he saw that Carol wasn't hurt, he put his
arm around her and said, “Honey, think of how lucky you were to see him up close.”
I'm with Carol. I would find it difficult to appreciate the experience.
But I am enthralled by Marlin's awe and enthusiasm for all things alive.
He was able to marvel at the wonder of creatures and never lost his passion
for animals. All living things, in their own way, were beautiful and
splendid to this irrepressible lover of creation.
You may not choose to share your bed with a lizard, but do you find this
world an exciting and wondrous place? Do you marvel at nature's handiwork?
Do you want to “see it up close”? Does a spectacular sunset, the smell of
seawater, that first spring flower, or the soft fall of snow soothe your
soul? In short, are you excited about life and this magnificent world in
which we live?
That amazing man Albert Einstein once said, “There are only two ways to
live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as
though everything is a miracle.” But only one is the way of joy.
By Steve Goodier
Read and meditate on these scriptures:
Romans 12:15-18 “Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that
weep. Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but
condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.
Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of
all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with
all men.”
Philippians 2:3-7 “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in
lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not
every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the
form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made Himself
of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in
the likeness of men.”
Galatians 6:2-4 “Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of
Christ. For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he
deceiveth himself. But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he
have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.”
Hebrews 13:1-2 “Let brotherly love continue. Be not forgetful to entertain
strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”
All of these scriptures can be found in the King James Version Bible.
Today’s Selected Poem: EIGHT GIFTS
Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/inpoem171.htm
Today’s Selected Testimony: KAREN SMITH'S TESTIMONY
Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/testimony125.htm
In Christ’s Service,
Dwayne Savaya
God’s Work Ministry |
