I HAVE NOTHING TO BE THANKFUL FOR

I pray this is not your mindset today.  But is there someone you know or know of who is discouraged, disappointed, sinking in despair while it seems everyone around them is counting their blessings?  As a Life Coach I see many people who are so burdened down with the circumstances of their life that they can't find anything to be thankful for ... they've lost their hope.

It's hard to be thankful with a broken heart...

with an empty wallet...

or sitting across from an empty chair at the table.

This year there will be two empty chairs at our table. Yes, I've shed some tears this week .. but I have also added to my "Things I'm Thankful For" list. 

I can be thankful because God has healed my broken heart ... and I know He's there to heal it if it breaks again.

He's provided for my every need when my wallet was empty. He is Jehovah Jireh - my Provider ... and I know His provision is unending.

He holds me close and whispers "Peace" when I weep over the empty chairs at our Thanksgiving table ... and my heart is assured that I will see my precious mother and aunt again.

There are so many, especially with the holidays approaching, who feel there is nothing in their life to be thankful for.  Who can you reach out to with a touch, a smile, a word of encouragement?  If we are truly thankful for what God has done for and given to us, why not "pay it forward" by offering hope to the hopeless, comfort to the brokenhearted, friendship to the lonely? 

And before you know it, you'll discover you're living life with Purpose and Joy! 

SINGING TO THE WALL

I've been reading Vikki Burke's new book, "Some Days You Dance" , and can hardly put it down.  In the first chapter she tells the story of her friend's little granddaughter who had always been so happy to sing and dance for anyone who asked .. most of the time she didn't even need to be asked to perform.  She was always glad to oblige with joyous abandon.  Then at a family gathering, her grandmother asked her to sing the newest song she had learned and the girl hung her head shyly and refused!  After much coaxing and pleading, she finally agreed to sing only for her grandmother, in another room away from the rest of the family.  In a room down the hall, with the door closed, she turned her back to her grandmother and, facing the wall, sang her song in a very soft voice.  At some point since the last family get-together, she had lost that freedom to just do what had always come so naturally for her .. to use the gifts and talents she had been given without worrying about making a mistake, or what others might think of her.  Meanwhile, in the other room, her three-year-old cousin was happily entertaining the family with her own God-given gifts in complete abandon.

This made me wonder ... when did I start singing to the wall?

What was it that stole my freedom to follow my natural inclination to sing .. to speak into the lives of others with confidence .. to teach .. to write .. to make a difference? 

I made a mistake.
I saw someone who was more accomplished than me.
Someone laughed at me.
Someone told me I couldn't do it ... and I believed them.

I'm a Life Coach, so I do speak into people's lives .. I minister .. I write (OK .. I'm not prolific but I'm working on that) .. I even sing .. I make a difference.  But not with the total abandon, confidence, joy and freedom that God intended when He created His plan for my life.

I've been singing to the wall. 

I have had to plow through past hurts, mistakes, disappointments and self-doubt .. all "weeds" that slowly choked out my joy, purpose and freedom .. but I'm learning to remind myself that,

 "..there is no accusing voice nagging those who are united to Jesus Christ,

that is those whose lives are directed by the Spirit

rather than by old attitudes and patterns"

(Romans 8:1 BCJ).

 

It's not been an overnight transformation .. it's taking hard work, determination and immersing myself in the Word to get rid of those "nagging voices" and "old attitudes and patterns."  It's a journey .. one that is teaching me to live my life with purpose and joy!

 

A SEASON OF THANKSGIVING

This is my favorite time of year. The big yellow school buses are back on the road, scarecrows & pumpkins sitting atop bales of hay adorn porches, and in the stores, there’s an odd mix of fierce looking black spiders, smiling pilgrims and somewhat frightened looking turkeys, and jolly old St. Nick sitting amidst cobwebs, cornucopias and Christmas wrapping paper.

                            I just love it!!

There’s a hint of Fall in the air …

A few dry leaves scamper playfully across the drive in response to a sudden wind burst…

After a summer of wearing flip-flops, I’m enjoying my new fuzzy socks.…

And here I sit by an open window with a mug of Hazelnut coffee, looking out at the early evening stars,  comforted by the lingering smell of my mother’s bath powder as I sit wrapped in her soft robe remembering this time last year …

Things will be very different this year without her -- but yes …

                          I still love it!

Halloween is behind us (especially those “fun size” Snickers we “shared” with the kids) and now I can focus on my list of what I am  thankful for this year.  Have you started your list?  It can be as detailed or as general as you want … but make your list.  Put it in a place where you’ll see it every day ..              

     add to it .. and watch it grow!

Maybe this will help you get started …

Who helped you through a difficult time this year?

Who or what brought joy into your life?

What wonderful new memory do you have?

What do you have that you could never put a price on?

How have you been able to bless others?

As you review the past year, in what areas have you grown?

As I contemplate my own answers to these questions, I can see that, even though this year has had some dark days, I still have so MUCH to be thankful for!

What’s on YOUR list?

                             Hugs and blessings,

                          Deb