Where do you see God’s faithfulness and mercy in your life and marriage? (Week 12)

January 8, 2010 by admin · 2 Comments
Filed under: 50 fridays, Marriage

If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, “thank you,” that would suffice. – Meister Eckhart, 14th century German theologian

Where do you see God’s faithfulness and mercy in your life and marriage? What things are you thankful for?

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23 (ESV)

Every [new year], I find myself reflecting on the words of the old hymn, “Great is Thy Faithfulness”, that was inspired by the passage above. If you don’t know the words, you will find them at the bottom of this challenge. [A new year] provides a natural opportunity for us to pause and to remember God’s steadfast love, unceasing mercies, and great faithfulness. As we consider His great faithfulness, we naturally respond with gratitude, praise and thanksgiving.

Or do we?

Grab your Bible and turn to Luke 17:11-19 and read the story of Jesus healing the ten lepers. In our busy lives, it’s easy to be like “the nine” who enjoy God’s blessing of healing, but don’t stop to say “thank you”. It’s equally easy to do that with our spouses. We enjoy so much of what we get, yet at times we don’t stop to simply say thanks.

Take advantage of this upcoming holiday to be intentional in expressing your gratitude to your spouse, to those you love and to the One who loved you so much that He chose to die rather than live without you.

Take advantage of this [new year] to be intentional in expressing your gratitude to your spouse, to those you love and to the One who loved you so much that He chose to die rather than live without you.

Jeff Helton
Marriage and Family Pastor
+ Fellowship Bible Church
+ 50 Fridays Challenge

Great is Thy Faithfulness

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not; As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Tags: blessings, faithfulness, gratitude, praise, thankful

Give Thanks in all Circumstances

November 24, 2009 by admin · 2 Comments
Filed under: Family, Finance, My Hands Are Clean

This will probably be my only post this week ~ between my “day job,”my new business and the holidays, this week is pretty packed. But I’ll do my best to stay in touch!

As we near Thanksgiving, we all begin thinking about what we are thankful for…our family, our friends, our jobs, our warm homes filled with love… But what about the other things that have happened this year that weren’t so warm and fuzzy? Have you ever stopped to think about 2009’s trials and tribulations and give thanks for those?

C.S. Lewis said, “We ought to give thanks for all fortune; if it is “good” because it is good, if “bad” because it works in us patience, humility, and the contempt of this world and the hope of our eternal country.”

I had a ROUGH year this year. I was laid off from my job in January (3 months after giving birth to my second child) and fell into a deep depression. My marriage struggled (and that’s an understatement), my children suffered, and I finally sought both marriage counseling and psychiatric help. Nothing really worked.

So finally, I turned to God for help. The passage we discussed at the first church service I attended was this: “Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thess 5:16-18) It was like the pastor was speaking directly to me; that God was telling me to have faith. And so I did.

I rallied. We put our kids back in daycare so I could focus on finding a job. I learned new things and “marketed” myself to potential employers with intensity. “Let’s not get tired of doing what is good, for at the right time we will reap a harvest – if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9) And in God’s faithfulness, I landed a job in a month’s time.

If it weren’t for 6 months of complete hell, I wouldn’t have found my way back to God. And so I am THANKFUL for God’s faithfulness and love, even when I wasn’t faithful or obedient. I wasn’t sure I would get out alive; and now here I am, much happier than I was at this time last year. Because now I understand that when God takes something from your grasp, He is not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something better.

And yet, I have some “warm and fuzzy” things to be thankful for too:

A stronger, happier marriage (see “A Total Money Makeover Saved My Marriage”)
Two beautiful daughters, growing strong in God’s grace
A new personal goal to be generous with my time, talent and treasure
A new business (I’m a “mompreneur”!) which will help me attain my goal ~ 10% of all sales will go to different charities throughout the year (November = Operation Shower)

But most of all, I am thankful for the struggle I endured during the first 6-7 months of 2009. Without it, I wouldn’t be where I am today.

May God bless you this holiday season!

Tags: blessings, clean hands sign, giving thanks, goals, Operation Shower, Thanksgiving

I Love You All The Way to the Moon

November 2, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Family

Today I was reminded this past week of how lucky I am to have 2 happy, healthy, beautiful little girls. I was out of town last week looking forward to a great conference (I was part of the team running it). A business acquaintance that I’ve known for years was set to be there and I was looking forward to seeing an old friend. When he didn’t show up, I found out that when he landed in Las Vegas, he had a message from his wife telling him to return home to New Jersey immediately – they just found out their 4-year-old daughter has a brain tumor.

As humans, we get so busy that we take life for granted. Our children disobey and frustrate us and we argue over silly things with our spouse. We forget to take a moment each day to thank God for the many blessings in our lives.

I don’t know any details about this little girl’s diagnosis, but I’m asking everyone to say a prayer for this family. The thought of losing a child is unbearable to me; and yet, God gave his Son’s life to save ours. What an amazing gift…

My favorite book to read to my children is “Guess How Much I Love You”. And if there’s one thing I hope my children always know in their hearts, it’s that I love them all the way to the moon…and back.

Tags: blessings, books, children