Preparation

WOW! Last week you helped Faith Notes set a record; more non-subscribers received Faith Notes than ever before, because of your forwarding efforts. What a great beginning to 2009.

Jim pulled me down close and in a desperate, worried voice he whispered, “Is God going to zap me? I’m not sure I’m good enough.”

We talked a long time about God and love and grace and forgiveness. It was our last conversation; 48 hours later Jim punched his transfer from this life to the next.

But, the conversation has lingered in my mind. Since that day I’ve had numerous discussions about what God is like and if any body’s good enough. One friend put it this way, “It seems to me that God just sits up there in heaven and punishes the people who are already having a tough time on this earth.” Another told me, “I think God is power and he uses his power to dominate others. Just look at he Old Testament. He was always angry at somebody, usually his own people.” A stranger at Starbucks added, “And, how about those Ten Commandments… they’re impossible requirements, no wonder he never blesses anyone. No one is good enough.”

“So, where is the good news?”

In the verses before the Ten Commandments, before he gives any commandments, he introduces himself as the God who loves Israel. He wants the best for them. God didn’t sit in heaven making a list of all the things he knows humans beings like to do and then outlawing them. But, he knows us really well. He made us.

My response, “I think God is saying I am the God who loves you. I’m on your side. I got you out of slavery. I’m the best deal you’ve got going. Trust me. Don’t steal. Don’t lie. Don’t abandon me. Don’t commit adultery, because if you do, it will unleash destructive power that will slowly overshadow you, destroying you, your families and your society. Trust me. Don’t be stupid.”

Truth is, from the beginning God has known that we have to see love, to know what it’s like…. So he sent Jesus to live here and show us how to love and forgive.

Remember, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whosoever would believe in him would have eternal life…” (right now) Then he added, “I didn’t come to condemn the world I came to save it.” Good News!

We are followers of Jesus and Jesus invested in people… all kinds of ordinary people. They followed him day and night. They gathered on the hillside to listen and marvel—the oppressed, the sick, the outcast, the losers, the lonely and the powerless. They had been denied dignity, value, and hope. He looked into the eyes of friends and strangers alike and announced, “The kingdom of God belongs to YOU!”

They were blessed, not because of their condition, but in spite of it. The discounted and excluded were shocked and stunned. “What did he say?” “Did you hear that?”

Rather than telling them how they’d failed, he declared: “You are the salt of the earth.”

“But Jesus, we’ve been told we are the scum of the earth.”

“You are the light of the world.”

That’s the God I follow. My God is the God of love and grace and forgiveness. And Jesus, he came to show us how to live… right here, right now, not just someday in heaven.

He was and is God’s big show!

Inspiration

Robert looked over the assembly before he stood to deliver the sermon. As he scanned the crowd he opened his heart for the nudge of the Spirit. His eyes focused on a young woman almost hidden near the back of the auditorium.

When it was time to stand and preach, Robert searched the crowd and publicly recognized a few friends. Then he zeroed in on that stranger in the back of the crowd. Pointing a finger in her direction he asked her to stand.

Who would dare embarrass that poor woman? Robert would.

When she stood, Robert asked, “I’m so glad you’re here. God has nudged me to connect with you. He asked me, ‘Do you know her past?’”

The poor woman dropped her head and nearly walked out, but then Robert finished, “No, Lord I don’t know her past.”

God responded, “Neither do I!” (My God chooses to forget.)

Her eyes lifted, her heart emptied. Right there in that crowd, she was transformed. The God of love took the first step… and she was ready for the next.

The Good News Kingdom is here, now! Live like it.

Motivation

If Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount today, who would he speak to? “God bless you who are lonely, redundant, underpaid, infertile, displaced, unemployed, abused—God’s Kingdom belongs to you.” In the past the blind got to see, the lame stood and walked, the outcast lepers were healed and welcomed, and the deaf heard the good news. How about today?

Stand up for the good news this week. God is the most misunderstood being in our culture… Why don’t you put in a good word for him?

It’s still his show!

Preparation

Within our current cultural climate you can depend on one undeniable prediction—2009 will be a year of change. President-elect Obama’s campaign focused on this very prediction. He was able to point people in the direction of hope, despite future uncertainty. But the campaign is over; now is the time for truth---for reality.

Change is not just invading our culture; it’s landed inside us. I’m not talking about the old familiar life-change stuff; this invasion knocks us off center, threatens our assumptions, and destroys our comfort zones. Clouds of doubt, apprehension, and isolation darken the sky. Our silent cry is, “God, where are you? It seems like everything is broken. I’m running out of options. I’m trapped and alone.”

We can deal with comfortable, manageable, and predictable change, but this is uncomfortable, out of our control, and unpredictable. You might call 2009: the change invasion. Broken families, shattered marriages, foreclosed houses, lay-offs, drug abuse, distrust, lost dreams, business failures, and moral bankruptcies have overrun the neighborhood. We could handle one at a time, but as this year begins, the changes are coming in waves.

It’s not time to re-invent ourselves, it’s time to re-assess ourselves. Take a “big picture snap-shot” and you will discover a spiritual truth, we are not alone and lost; we are in-between, in transition. God is in control…He has planned our journey, using waves of changes to open our eyes. Remember, “See, I am doing something new, don’t you see it?”

Keep your eyes focused on the transition…the emerging new story of life on the other side where everything is new.

Now you’re in-between, in transition. Get used to it and look for the door…it’s there, sometimes obscured, but always there.

It’s a transition door; it’s your vision from God. Jesus said, “I see what you've done. Now see what I've done. I've opened a door before you that no one can slam shut.” (Revelation 3:8a The Message)

This is not a time to re-shape, or re-invent yourself; it’s a time to follow Jesus, to live like we believe his words. The transition door is not locked or slammed shut, it is wide open… but to walk though it requires change…it’s not just a moment in time, it’s the way of the future, an adventure of faith.

Inspiration

The movie versions of the familiar old stories tend to be re-written and re-framed. One of the revised tales is that of Chicken Little. Although there are various versions, the one before the movie had a clear message.

When an acorn dropped on the head of Henny Penny, she is overwhelmed with panic. “The sky is falling! The sky is falling!” she exclaims. “I must go warn the king.”

So Henny Penny runs toward the palace, telling everyone she meets along the way about her distressing discovery. Before long a large group of frightened animals are following her to warn the king.

The group grows more and more concerned each time the story is told; so when they meet a fox along the way, they are blinded to the danger and follow him on a “shortcut” to the palace. He leads them into his den and to their death.

I guess for them the sky was falling.

Motivation

The question: “Are you dealing with a stray acorn, a wave of acorns or do you see God’s transition door?”

This is a good week to begin a journal for 2009. Take the time to muse a bit. Stake your future on Jesus and his open door. Your perspective will change. Think about it. What difference does this “open door” awareness make in our life? How does that perspective impact your courage, your willingness to risk, and your view of the future?

With a transition perspective, when an acorn drops on your head, which are you more likely to do: try to fix it, run from it, grow bitter, blame God, flounder alone in the deep; or, will you stand on faith, listen for God’s voice, and walk though HIS door, and enter the adventure of transition?

Remember, it’s not random change you are going through; it’s God empowered transition… into what God has planned for the next chapter of your life.

Preparation

It’s time for the “Best of 2008” stories. The papers and magazines are filled with reviews and analysis, but today I’ve got a “best of” list that is totally unique. Based on times the faithFeature stories were listened to on the website FaithTeam.org, here is the top 5 for 2008: (in order)

1. I'm just Bob:
2. Adoption Confirmation:
3. Prayer on the plane:
4. Rusty was there:
5. She refused to turn loose of her purse:

See what you think! Click here to listen for yourself.

This year has been blessed by God’s surprising presence and power:

* I2eye daily inspirational faith-spots have been on KLUV 98.7 since April of 2008.
* Subscriptions to Faith Notes have more than doubled (we now have hundreds of new subscribers because a friend forwarded and recommended this faith coaching message).
* The number of financial donors increased four-times over 2007.
* This was the year we prayed for God to send us a surprise donor who would give $25,000 by the first of August; and God made it happen.
* PrayerPoints with LB Lyon are now reaching listeners in 4 states.
* Email feedback is growing every week. God is showing up 24/7.

Do you see them? God’s fingerprints!

So, what’s next? A faith step!

During church on Sunday we saw a short video… Click here to watch

The mall is empty… there is no one to help… no one has a phone… they cry out for help, but they only hear the echo of their own voices. But they are not trapped in an elevator or in a flooding water chamber; they are stopped on an escalator… All they have to do is take a step… just a step… then another and another and surprise! Escalators without power turn into effective stairs. Just take a step.

There you have it… our ministry resolution for 2009. The adventure continues… and we are going to stand tall and take the next step.

Pray for us as we launch the second full year of Faith Coaching Network. I feel like I have Issachar blood in me. You remember these guys; they were valued on King David’s team because “They knew what Israel should do, and they knew the right time to do it.” With so much uncertainty swirling around us… I know what to do… and I know this is the time to do it.
So, as the year begins please pray for us.

Inspiration

Years ago Lyn and I were members of a West Texas church that had a major flaw in the sanctuary design. The nursery was behind the pulpit, which meant that if you had a crying baby, you had to walk down to the front of the building to get to the nursery area.

One Sunday morning, a toddler behind us was having a tough morning. Nothing was going right, and the corrective whispers were getting more and more distracting.

Finally Glenn, the father, grabbed up the youngster tucked her under his arm like a football, with her bottom up and heading hanging out facing the audience as he hurried to the nursery exit door. Just before they reached the door, the little girl stopped crying, lifted her head, looked out at the crowd, and said in a loud voice, “Pease, pray for me….”

If I remember correctly, the preacher who had already stopped preaching, took a moment and said, “Would you bow with me?

Motivation

Please pray for us.

This is your year for promise, for faith steps. So, if you really want to keep your New Year’s resolutions, remember that crying toddler. Take care of the resolutions quickly and pray about them publicly.

Let’s pray for each other. 2009 is going to be a year of great faith steps, some of them planned and some of them unplanned. Even if everything in your life seems to come to a standstill, God is eagerly waiting for you to take that first step. You may stumble a bit, but the step of faith is what God is waiting to see. He’s watching for that little step. He wants to know what’s in your heart.

So does God have a resolution for 2009? Yes, God wants to know what’s in our hearts… so every crisis, every struggle, every failure is a journey inside the heart…he is testing our hearts…. So step up and step out.

Together we will experience the fingerprints of God and live to tell the stories of his power and might in this generation and the generations to come.

Imagine you are writing a script for Back to the Future IV. For this new adventure you plan to take Marty and Doc back to Bethlehem, in Judea, 4 BC (they can adjust the exact date once they get there).

After the appropriate set-up you send the Delorean time machine to the hill country of Judah. It lands just west of Bethlehem on what was then called the "Patriarchal Highway."

The little village seems very dirty and a tad ordinary, nothing like the mysterious oasis-town pictured on Christmas cards. It had been a long time since Samuel anointed David there. And Micah’s prediction that the Messiah would be born there had definitely lost its punch.

Just as your story introduces Marty and Doc to a surprised group of shepherds, HIS story takes over. The light was blinding, but at the same time illuminating. Every eye was drawn heavenward. What seemed like an endless number of angels crowded the sky and one began to speak. His voice was thunderous, and demanding, but strangely inviting. “Don’t be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy… for there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."

Then the crowd of angels cried out, “Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth to all who God favors.” Was God invading earth and bringing peace…real inner peace?

The birth of the baby Jesus begins God’s invasion story, and with God’s invasion comes peace, not the illusion of peace, or the prayer for peace, but the gift of peace. But only empty hands can accept the gift. Surrender your story, your expectations, and enter God’s story. You’ll experience peace beyond imagination...unexplainable peace.

Leave your story in the field, hanging in the air, and open the gift only God can give, the gift you can accept or refuse. You can refuse his unexpected gift, or you can be forever changed by it.

After the announcement of peace, one shepherd complains that nothing has changed, that his sheep are still in danger, and they still wander off. He is still cold and hungry and lonely. Another shepherd explains that he is able to arrive just when danger threatens, and he has found a new coat and shared food with friends. After all, he is a shepherd for God now; everything has changed.

Jesus brought peace, but only this last shepherd was changed by it. His eyes saw a new world and a new story for his life. All his struggles became fresh opportunities for God to show up, so the shepherd could relax and watch God in action. The first shepherd is still miserable.

The gift of God’s peace doesn’t mean everything will work out; it doesn’t mean the shepherd won’t experience heartaches or tragedies. However, it’s God story now, and the shepherd will have inner peace either way.

Inspiration

Decades ago, J. B. Phillips wrote a short story that deserves to be told this time of the year. It begins like this…

Once upon a time a very young angel was being shown round the splendors and glories of the universes by a senior and experienced angel. To tell the truth, the little angel was beginning to be tired and a little bored. He had been shown whirling galaxies and blazing suns, infinite distances in the deathly cold of inter-stellar space, and to his mind there seemed to be an awful lot of it all. Finally he was shown the galaxy of which our planetary system is but a small part. As the two of them drew near to the star which we call our sun and to its circling planets, the senior angel pointed to a small and rather insignificant sphere turning very slowly on its axis. It looked as dull as a dirty tennis-ball to the little angel, whose mind was filled with the size and glory of what he had seen.

“I want you to watch that one particularly,” said the senior angel, pointing with his finger.

“Well, it looks very small and rather dirty to me,” said the little angel. “What's special about that one?”

“That,” replied his senior, solemnly, “is the Visited Planet.”

“Visited?” said the little one. “You don't mean visited by --------?

“Indeed I do. That ball, which I have no doubt looks to you small and insignificant and not perhaps over-clean, has been visited by our young Prince of Glory.” And at these words he bowed his head reverently.

“But how?” queried the younger one. “Do you mean that our great and glorious Prince, with all these wonders and splendors of His Creation, and millions more that I'm sure I haven't seen yet, went down in Person to this fifth-rate little ball? Why should He do a thing like that?”

“It isn't for us,” said his senior a little stiffly, “to question His 'why's', except that I must point out to you that He is not impressed by size and numbers, as you seem to be. But that He really went I know, and all of us in Heaven who know anything know that. As to why He became one of them - how else do you suppose could He visit them?”

The little angel’s face wrinkled in disgust.

“Do you mean to tell me,” he said, “that He stooped so low as to become one of those creeping, crawling creatures of that floating ball?”

“I do, and I don't think He would like you to call them 'creeping, crawling creatures' in that tone of voice. For, strange as it may seem to us, He loves them. He went down to visit them to lift them up to become like Him.”

The little angel looked blank. Such a thought was almost beyond his comprehension.

Motivation

Faith means the visit changed everything.

His story must replace your story or you will never find peace; it will always be just beyond your reach. When you accept the gift, your life is bought-out and bailed-out by Jesus.

Accepting the gift transports you from your version of the future to your place in God’s future. So, take a deep breath. Thank God for Jesus. Take a deep breath. Accept the gift of peace, regardless of where you are or what you’re going through.

Listen for the angels. Ge is still visiting and still giving peace…the peace that comes by letting God write your future.

Oh, come let us adore HIM, Christ the Lord.”

Preparation

I sat in the audience watching my buddy, Tyler, transform Scrooge into a man with a message—actually into an “everyman” with a message. How timely the message of Dickens’ Christmas Carol is for this culture. Ultimately, Dickens shows us a transformed man, a granddad we all wish we had, and a man we can all become.

Tiny Tim’s closing line is more than a memorable epitaph; it’s a prophecy: “God bless us every one.“ He’s already done it. But it takes faith to experience it. Because of the blessing, we can be more than what we’ve been. We have the power to be transformed, to live beyond our circumstances, to give, to love, to bless in spite of yourselves.

Or, we can refuse the blessing and live in misery, like early Scrooge, squeezed and squirming.

The blessing is not meant to be horded, hidden away. It has to be unwrapped and lived in the present. Only then do we discover the transforming power of uncontainable joy.

Tis the season to show those around us how to live the better version of ourselves. Are your ready?

We are going to discover the joy hidden inside the generous spirit. We are going to unwrap that holy blessing. We are going to love and give and celebrate the wonder of the greatest gift; the power to change before it’s too late.

Regardless of the economic times, the personal struggles, the rejections, the loneliness, we are going to live each day transformed…a better version of ourselves. The Good Book lays it on the line, “Be transformed, by the renewing of your mind.” In other words, get over the past, change the present, and find peace in your future. It’s a gift, but you have to unwrap it.

There is a little Scrooge in all of us. And, it’s not too late to change the future. After all, there is always a need for more love and forgiveness and kindness.

Inspiration

Charles Dickens was born in Portsmouth, England, in 1812, but he spent his first ten years in Chatham. Then in 1822 he moved to London, where his parents pretended to lead an upper-class lifestyle. Their four-room home was cramped, creditors called frequently trying to collect payments, but Dickens’ parents continued to party anyway.

Instead of going to school, for twelve hours a day, six days a week, Dickens pasted labels to bottles of shoe polish at the rat-infested, dilapidated Warren’s Blacking factory. He was ridiculed and harassed and shamed by the stigma of working in such filthy, low-class surroundings.

When his father was arrested for nonpayment of a debt, Dickens’ mother and younger siblings moved into prison with his father, leaving the twelve-year-old alone on the outside to continue working. Lonely, scared, and abandoned, Dickens lived in a run-down neighborhood close to the prison so that he could visit his family.

Young Charles never got over the time he spent at Warren’s and his mother’s calloused betrayal.

But, once he experienced the power of the blessing, he used this own experience as a background for the story that revived the spirit of Christmas in all of England.

Dickens put his story inside the Christmas Carol and named himself Scrooge. In the opening stave of A Christmas Carol Dickens describes Ebenezer Scrooge:

Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grind-stone, Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, shriveled his cheek, stiffened his gait; made his eyes red, his thin lips blue and spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice. A frosty rime was on his head, and on his eyebrows, and his wiry chin.

External heat and cold had little influence on Scrooge. No warmth could warm, no wintry weather chill him. No wind that blew was bitterer than he.

As the story goes, he had to get unusual heat to warm his cold, hardened heart. However once the promise was made, transformation experienced, a new version of Scrooge was blessed to be a blessing.

Motivation

It’s never too late for change and transformation. God has placed the longing for love and forgiveness in all of us.

He created us with the power to choose. In fact no one can do your choosing for you, it’s up to you.

Then comes the kicker, God really enjoys transforming us, changing us into better people. HE keeps blessing us with the power to live a better version of ourselves.

So look for God’s transforming power in every challenge, every surprise, and every misstep of the season. If he can bless a man like Scrooge, he can bless you and me.

“Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling… come home, come home.”

Preparation

There IS a “Secret Santa.” Perhaps you’ve heard of him. I got an email from him last year after I shared the following story.

This real guy walked into the local thrift store and stepped in front of a fella who tried his best to move out of the way. “I’m Secret Santa and I want you to have this,” the stranger said as he handed his victim 2 hundred-dollar bills. “Merry Christmas!”

This anonymous Santa is a businessman from Kansas City. His plan is to cross the country, going into dozens of thrift stores, laundromats and bus stations, and walk up to hundreds of strangers who seem like they could use a Franklin or two and light up their lives.

By Christmas this stranger will have given out $75,000.

“Is this for real?” the victim asked.

“It's for real, buddy,” Santa said.

“And I can keep it?”

“It's yours and you can keep it.”

“God bless you. I was down to my last 20 cents.”

The current Secret Santa made a promise to Mr. Stewart, the original Secret Santa, that he would keep the Santa thing alive. Mr. Stewart had invested the last 25 years of his life giving away more than a million dollars—one Franklin at a time.

I think there really is a secret Santa in each of us—It’s just a matter of letting him out. God put the spirit of giving in us long before anyone heard of Santa.

Inspiration

Larry had been out of work for months, and in early October his home went into foreclosure. He withdrew $300 from an ATM to use as a deposit on a rent house and put the ATM receipt in his shirt pocket.

With everything happening around him, he forgot the withdrawal. A couple weeks later the bank sent a letter reporting over $1000 in bounced checks along with the NSF fees charged by the bank.

Embarrassed by it all, Larry and his wife kept it to themselves. Both took on part-time jobs. And with Christmas just around the corner, they decided this year would be something small for the girls and nothing for each other. They felt alone and powerless.

It was their secret.

Then in mid December Larry found a $400 check in his church mailbox with a note, “From Your Friends. Merry Christmas.”

A couple weeks later, on Christmas Eve, the family was watching TV when the doorbell rang. Outside on the porch they found sacks of groceries, a complete Christmas dinner, dresses for the girls, and a shirt and tie for Larry.

“To this day,” Larry says, “we don’t know who made 3 dresses, and gave us so much at Christmas. It was a defining moment when God reminded us that HE provides.”

Motivation

You don't have to have a million dollars to be a blessing to others. But it would be a great secret calling. There are people all around us who need a bite to eat, a cup of coffee, a smile, a conversation, a kind word, a blessing, a prayer, a gentle lift. Do you see them? You've still got time.

You have something very valuable inside you...a treasure...the calling to make a difference in someone this week. God has put it on you... to give to someone in secret.

Don't waste your time wishing for Santa to come to your house, make a secret trip to a house that needs what you have. Ask God to put you in the path of just the right person this week, the one who needs a visit from secret Santa and then discover the joy of the secret.

Don't just wish it, do it.

Preparation

Take a moment for some gentle spiritual prodding. Right now, in today’s market, what’s your faith worth?

You could begin this assessment by listing the features of your faith:

* You believe there is one God, creator of this world and everything in it.
* You believe this creator-God sent his voice (his Word) to this earth in human skin to show the creation how to live and to rescue them from their own self-destruction.
* You believe God’s Holy Spirit is ever-present and living inside you.
* You gather with other believers on a regular basis to confirm your faith.
* You verbally defend your faith when necessary.
* You read your Bible as an act of faith.
* You pray to God as expected.
* You do good when asked, speak the truth when possible, forgive when necessary, and treat others the way you would like to be treated.
* You try your best to live within these requirements.
* You keep doubts hidden, stay close to your comfort zone, and refuse to put a voice to questions that would challenge the features of your faith.

In many ways, the book is closed… the decision made. This is the way it has been and always will be and someday, if you keep the faith, you will be rewarded.

Does that sound like your faith?

There is another way to evaluate your faith. This method looks past the features to the benefits of faith. What difference does your faith make in your life and the lives of those around you?
Because of your faith:

* You have experienced first hand the power of grace and forgiveness and love.
* You can see the future in others before they can see it in themselves.
* You no longer have a need to live in fear because the father-God knows your name. You’re in his family.
* You have experienced the joy of giving and serving.
* You live with purpose and passion.
* You look for ways to honor God and make him proud.
* You are ready to risk all you have, in order to make God look good.
* You hear his voice, even when the distractions are all around.

So the question, rephrased, is still lingering: When you make a faith audit, do you look for features (the facts, the specifications? Or, are you lost in the celebration of benefits?

The features are compelling, but boundless life is found in the benefits.

Inspiration

Consider this parable:
One day, the owner of a jewelry store watched one of his salespeople talking to an older gentleman about a bracelet the customer had seen in the window.

The price was only $400, so the man said, "I’ll take it."

The storeowner continued watching them from across the store until the sales person placed his gift-wrapped box into a bag and thanked the customer for coming in.

Seeing that he was about to leave, the owner walked over to gentleman and said, "I see that you bought the marvelous jade bracelet in the window. Is it for her birthday or your anniversary?"

The gentleman said that it was to be a gift for his wife on their wedding anniversary. "I guarantee she’s going to love it," replied the owner. "That’s really a very special bracelet, and I can promise you that none of her friends has ever seen anything like it. Before you leave, let me show you a necklace that goes just perfectly with it. Maybe some day you’ll want to add it to the bracelet."

The customer followed the storeowner over to a showcase, where he dramatically presented an $8,500 necklace over his arm, saying, "If you ever want to take her breath away and see her cry, just give her this."

Five minutes later, the gentleman walked out the door with a second package in the bag. He bought the necklace immediately because the storeowner promised a value worth more than money… the benefits-not the necklace.

There is a postscript to this story.

A few days after the sale, the owner received a note from the gentleman’s wife. "I only wish you could have seen his face when I gasped and began to cry. When I saw how startled he was, my husband told me what you had said that made him buy the necklace, and then we both laughed and laughed and laughed until we had to sit on the floor. Thank you for making this the happiest anniversary any two people have ever had." Then she added: "Harry has promised me that he will never again shop at any jewelry store but yours."

Motivation

So, have you experienced the benefits of faith? Or are you still studying the features?

Get out of the shallows, into the deep. This is the perfect time of the year to look for Jesus, for people who need his mercy, his grace, and his forgiveness…and give what they need.

Experience the authentic worth and priceless value of transformational faith.

Live like God keeps his promises and take their breath away.

Preparation

The family gathered around the Thanksgiving table and began sharing the things they were thankful for. The youngest sat there patiently listening. Then finally it was his turn. He looked at that big old turkey on the platter by his dad and said, “I’m thankful I wasn’t born with feathers!” His words will be remembered for a lifetime.

What will it take for this year to be the best Thanksgiving ever?

In the midst of debt, recession, unemployment, the mortgage crisis, and a pervasive nationwide lack of confidence, what have we to be thankful for? Lots of things!

Thankfulness isn’t something that happens to you because you have lots of stuff and everything works; it’s something you do in spite of your stuff and the gravity of your situation. It’s a spiritual decision…a statement of faith, not just a reason for a turkey dinner. Practicing gratitude is a workout for the soul.

Over the last few days I have asked my network of friends to tell me what they are thankful for. I received nearly a hundred responses.

LB said, “I'm thankful God gives more than second chances.”

“I'm thankful that God is giving me new vision,” offered Clyde. “He is showing me more than I ever imagined or dreamed. He has allowed me to see that houses, cars, bank accounts, etc. are just things that typically get in the way of the really important things.”

“No matter where I am,” Dax responded, “I am always thankful for my family, my friends, and my God. Basically the ones that never give up on me no matter how much I screw things up.”

Theta summed up the most popular response, “I am so thankful for God's grace!”

I was blessed by all the responses and honored that so many shared their heart, but I was especially moved by Karen’s response:

“I'm thankful that God showed me a path through my pettiness. I was assigned "birthday duty" for the one person in the office that I’ve never gotten along with. The task was simple; collect the money from our co-workers, get the gift/card, and wrap it all up. I didn't want to do it. I fought against it, complained about it, and put it off as long as I could.

“I wanted to get a really mean "over the hill" card, but I didn't. I wanted to pawn the job off on someone else, but I didn't. I wanted to spend as little time as possible on her, but I didn’t. God wouldn’t let me.

“God even prompted me to get her a Starbucks card after I had used up all the collected funds.

“When we presented her with the gift cards in a tiny little purse that I was jealously saving for a really special person, she beamed and our relationship leaped to a totally new level.

“After 15 years of butting heads with her, I found God changing it all in the blink of an eye, and I was left amazed and thankful.”

Inspiration

It happened in Dallas. Tracy Orr was at the public auction to watch strangers bid on her home. She had purchased the house in 2004 for $80,000 but lost her job shortly afterwards, fell behind in the payments, and finally lost the house.

For Tracy it was a day of tears. Everyone in the room was a stranger to her, till she met Marilyn Mock. Marilyn happened to be sitting by Tracy and become a willing listener to Tracy’s story.

Before the day was over Marilyn had submitted the winning bid on Tracey’s house ($30,000) and sold it back to Tracy.

“She didn't even see a picture of the house," said Tracy. “She said I could stay in the house and make payments to her instead of a bank.”

That day Marilyn gave Tracy more that a place to live; she gave her a vision of grace and a reason for thanksgiving.

Motivation

Take a moment to consider and reconsider what you have to be thankful for… then tell someone.

Begin a new tradition. In the middle of food and family and friends try this: Hand out cards. Tell everyone to write down something he or she is thankful for… but don’t sign the card. Put all the cards in a bowl. Pull them out one by one, read them, and try to guess who wrote each one. It’s thanksgiving with a little WOW attached.