Gratitude Archive

I was sad this morning when I had a really good friend tell me he was having difficulties liking someone that I know well. He said he heard a story about her and it caused him to not like her. I was heartbroken because he began telling a situation this friend of mine was in and I soon began to realize it was misconstrued. He didn’t realize that I was actually present at the event that was conveyed to him incorrectly. 75% of his facts weren’t correct. I was there! This made me begin thinking about how much credence we put on others words before we know if they are true or not.

I have worked very hard to remind myself and live this bible verse.

Ephesians 4:29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

I have also been very frustrated that many people I know are opting out of getting a Covid vaccination. I hear over and over, “I’m not getting it because I heard it only lessens your symptoms if you get Covid and doesn’t protect you.” UGH! I have been volunteering at our local Covid vaccination clinics to help get everyone vaccinated. I am tired. I have been working months at the clinics and our firefighters are working tirelessly to fulfill requests. The only way to halt the corona virus and it’s variants is to get as many people vaccinated as possible.

People complain of being isolated yet won’t get the vaccine. I try to direct them to the CDC information on how the vaccine works so they understand it does boost immunity, not lessen symptoms. The following information is provided by the CDC.

How COVID-19 Vaccines Work
COVID-19 vaccines help our bodies develop immunity to the virus that causes COVID-19 without us having to get the illness. Different types of vaccines work in different ways to offer protection. But with all types of vaccines, the body is left with a supply of “memory” T-lymphocytes as well as B-lymphocytes that will remember how to fight that virus in the future.

It typically takes a few weeks after vaccination for the body to produce T-lymphocytes and B-lymphocytes. Therefore, it is possible that a person could be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 just before or just after vaccination and then get sick because the vaccine did not have enough time to provide protection.

Sometimes after vaccination, the process of building immunity can cause symptoms, such as fever. These symptoms are normal and are signs that the body is building immunity.

I normally don’t come to you without the utmost positive attitude and I just feel so strongly to try to reach out and help communicate truth over “other people’s words”. I care for and love my community and humanity. Wearing a mask and vaccinating is not just for our protection, it is for others to be protected. Jesus taught us to love one another and this is a simple way to act like Jesus taught.

John 13:34-35 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Philippians 2:4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

I care about you. I want you to be healthy. We have had too many Covid deaths not to think of others. We have too many still dying because we don’t fully understand how people succumb to Covid 19. I don’t want my family to become ill and know a vaccine was available. Follow God’s Word and care for others by protecting them.

Exodus 15:26 Saying, “If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, your healer.”

You know I once heard that giving thanks should be a lifestyle instead of an action.  I have to agree. I am a gratitude coach with a ministry to show God’s love by practicing gratitude.   This can apply to the way I eat (either healthy, organic foods or poorly with processed foods) and what are my core values (do I practice the Word of God or look out only for myself).  I strongly believe this should forever be a part of our lives to live the best life possible.

I decided when I started my ministry on gratitude three years ago that every morning I would mentally write God a thank you note.  Now many of you may say that is just praying but I disagree, it’s different.

So when I write a thank you note to God it would go something like this.

Dear Father,

I want to thank you sincerely for your love and support with my ministry.  You have given me the opportunity to spread hope in Your name and meet many people I would have never crossed paths with.  Thank you again for your kindness. 

Truly, LoLo

Or maybe this note.

My Heavenly Father,

I come to you today in gratitude.  My dad has cancer again and I know You are guiding this journey with your love and compassion.  Thank you for gifting my dad with the best cancer team to give him the most successful treatment and quality of life.  We wouldn’t be able to do this without you, so thank you.

Lovingly, LoLo

It is short and to the point, different from a prayer.  I think of a true handwritten thank you note and convert it to verbal words.  It can compliment prayer.  I have so many reasons to write God His note every day.

God is a kind and loving Father and I want to thank Him.  It is who He is, so I want to thank Him in other ways than in prayer.

2 Corinthians 9:11: “You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.”

It seems to me that many people go to our Father when we are in crisis or desperate for help.  I have been guilty of this when I attempt to to run my own life before asking God what His plan is and I mess everything up.  I am always broken when I come to this point and He always gives me peace and forgiveness.  This is why I think it is so important to mentally write that gratitude note to God daily.  It’s even better if you write the note in a journal to look back on if you are having a day you can’t find gratitude.  Gratitude releases dopamine in you brain which makes you happy.  This is another benefit of practicing gratitude.

We are also commanded to practice gratitude and to give thanks in the Bible.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Psalm 107:1 “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!”

Philippians 4:6-7 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Psalm 95:2 “Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!”

You may remember the old saying, ” You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.” ?  I never forget it because it simply means, the kinder you are the more others will see Jesus in you.  We are kinder when we practicing gratitude.  Think about what your thank you note for God would be and then send it.

All my love and gratitude for you-LoLo

 

Oh my goodness, another historical event in happening! Texas is under snow and ice, millions without power, temperatures at 0 degrees, grocery stores out of food, and this just starts the list. This may be our current conditions and as I sit here worrying about my parents without power in their 70s and my daughter, son-in-law, and grandson out of their house because of no power I still see God’s work and love.

Today is a dark and very cold day with intermittent power in Texas, rolling outages have finally begun since they have been able to stabilize our electric grid after 72 hours of millions without power. This is the first day my parents have had more than 75 minutes of power boosted into their house every six hours. Two nights ago their house was 43 degrees inside as the laid in bed bundle up in layers of clothes and blankets. Every six hours they would have all the lights come on in their house and they would dash from bed to heat up food, use the bathroom, charge their phones, and pray it would stay on long enough to warm their house to 60 degrees before it would go out again.

Today is the first time my husband and I could attempt to venture out to get them some groceries and physically check on them. Yes I had been texting them every few hours during this time but I wanted my dad to conserve his phone battery in case they needed to call 911. My mom’s phone went dead and couldn’t get recharged in the short amount of time the power was on to hold a charge. Today was the day we were going to go out because tomorrow is expected to be treacherous again.

I needed to know what condition the roads were in before going out. I was raised in Illinois and can drive on snow and ice but the thing people don’t understand about Texas is we don’t have snow removal equipment like the north uses. We very rarely need to plow or de-ice roads so our money isn’t concentrated there. I went to Facebook to ask if anyone had been out and how the road conditions were. Most commented fine in their opinion. I took their word for it.

My phone received a text after posting this and it was one of my good friend. “What do you need? We are out and maybe we can help.” I responded I needed a few grocery items for my parents without electric since they are both diabetic and my dad is receiving chemotherapy treatments. She responded, “We will get them for you and drop them off at your house. We are going to Kroger’s too.” God’s work in action and happening through my friend!

Within an hour’s time, my sweet friend showed up with everything my parents had requested. My friend didn’t have to take the time to do this for me. She could have just answered the street condition question and moved on to her duties, but she didn’t. She and her husband took the time to care for another in need. Just as Jesus taught us to love one another and serve our brothers and sisters, here they were doing as He taught.

My friend’s husband mentioned to be very careful on the roads because others were driving carelessly and there was ice under the snow that looked like clear areas or tracks to drive in on the roads. We took heed in this warning.

As we crept down the road, my husband confirmed we would be driving slow and very cautiously. The trip to my parents usually takes 10-12 minutes today took closer to 30 minutes, still a short time but the trip back was very different.

We arrived at my parents house to the good news that their power was back on even if for a short time they had their routine down of what needs to happen during the 75 minutes of power. The better news is it came on around 8 am and it was now 10:30. The house was by no means warm but it wasn’t the normal 53 degrees it had been the last two days. It was almost 60. God’s work is good! Although everyone is upset about this power event happening, I am grateful God is overseeing the power companies working to get this corrected.

It warmed my heart to see my parents dressed and in their kitchen receiving the groceries we were delivering. They look somewhat rested, put together, and pretty much normal. This is important because I haven’t slept the last few nights knowing they were only getting small amounts of power to stay warm. I kept thinking about the woman’s post I read on social media that said, “I live alone, I have no power, and I don’t want to fall asleep because I might not wake up.” I feel now I can sleep tonight after physically seeing that my parents were okay.

We left my parent’s house to journey back home and all was well until we turned a corner and pulled into deep snow causing our car to get stuck. My husband “rocked” the car, at least that’s what we called it in Illinois where you move the care forward and backwards to try to loosen the snow and make ruts for traction. This didn’t work, we were getting more stuck in the snow. I told him to put our hazard light on so people wouldn’t hit us. It’s a very gray day with no sunshine with not the best visibility. As soon as our hazard lights went on a car immediately stopped to help us. God’s work in action once again.

The gentleman got out of his car and offered to help push us just as Wes was able to reverse and loose the snow so we could move over a lane to a clearer traffic pattern. I will never forget this man’s face. He was an angel in our time of need. Again, this person could have continued driving assuming we would get unstuck but he didn’t. He got out of his SUV, coat unzipped, no gloves, no hat and cared enough to help another.

As we got home and walked into our house our clocks were flashing. We had lost power while we were gone. It appears it was a rolling outage and the power was back on. God’s work in action! God knew we were out helping my parents so he allowed us to be without power while not at home. Wes and I have been in an area that hasn’t lost power, only by the blessing of God. I recognize this blessing differently now. When the grid was struggling Monday morning, we lowered our thermostats to 63 degrees to try to help. I unplugged all appliances and surge protectors with many plugs dangling out of them. I haven’t done any loads of laundry or run my dishwasher since Monday I pray this small amount is God’s work in me and helping in some way.

Please continue to pray for the state of Texas and those suffering this week that God will warm us up, keep us safe, and protect all our first-responders and electric workers getting us functional again. May God bless you today. All my love and gratitude-LoLo.

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/weather/2021/02/15/one-down-one-to-go-another-winter-storm-could-dump-5-more-inches-of-snow-on-dallas-fort-worth/

When I was a small girl, there was a TV show called “Love American Style”. Why this popped into my head I have no clue since it aired 1969-1973 and I was very small. I became familiar with it in reruns as a teenager. It told many short stories about love in a one hour time slot. Away, I digress.

This show popped in my mind with a different twist, “Love Bible Style”. I decided to research the types of love that are in the Bible and learn about them. Surely there was only a few right? Wrong, I came across six good examples of Biblical love that we can utilize every day in our lives to live a better life in God’s love.

Let’s look at the first love, Philia love. This is a love between good friends and family members. This love is not romantic but based on shared beliefs and values. This is referred to as “brotherly love”. Jesus taught us that we would know other Christians by their love for one another. Remember as Christians we are one big family so this love doesn’t mean immediate family it means God’s family.

John 13:34-35 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.   By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Next, let’s look at Philautia love. This is the love you have for yourself. This love can be healthy or unhealthy depending on how you view yourself. This love is essential for all relationships so if you are not kind in your love for yourself, you cannot be kind in your relationships. God made us and makes us with imperfections. That is His design. When we learn to look in the mirror and say, “Father, I know You made me in Your image (His characteristics) and I love myself for who You want me to be, not who I want to be.” . Yes, we can pick ourselves apart physically and emotionally but God doesn’t want us wasting time on that, He want us to love who we are. He also wants us to care for our bodies and treat our bodies with respect. Eating healthy foods, exercising, limiting alcohol, not smoking or vaping are a few examples of how to care for our temples God blessed us with.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

Then we have Storge love. The easiest way for me to explain this love is when a baby is born and the parents have an immediate bond with the baby. This love grows through memories and life experiences the family goes through together throughout the years.

Exodus 20:12 Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

Eros love is a primal love. This is a passionate love displayed through physical affection. This love is a desire for another person’s physical body and driven by hormones. We see several examples of this type of love in the Bible with bad endings, Kind David and Bathsheba as well as Sampson and Delilah.

2 Samuel 11:2-4
One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her.

I do want to mention that Eros love is important in a marriage in a marital bed as God designed. This is a love that enhances a marriage and intimacy between a husband and wife.

Pragma Love is a unique love that matures over many years. It the uniqueness of “standing in love” through all things. This love strengthens the relationship and can be found in sustained marriages and friendships. Think about Abraham and Sarah and the many years they tried for a child and then at the age of 100 and 90 respectively, God blessed them with a son. They waited patiently on God’s promise and stood in their marriage. This is pragma love.

Genesis 21:2 And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him.

Agape love is unconditional love given no matter the circumstance. This is where forgiveness comes in. You may have been a victim of physical or emotional abuse yet you offer love. This is a tough process but can be learned. Agape is the highest level of love to offer. It’s given without any expectations of receiving anything in return.

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

In closing this blog, I want to emphasize that to have good relationships you must start with your relationship with yourself and our Heavenly Father. Build this relationship first fully and the other relationships will follow in success. Mix Eros love (passion) and pragma love (enduring) together for a balanced marriage. Mix Philia (brotherly love) and Storge love (emotional connection) for a good friendship. Most importantly, always remember this:

John 1:48 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

Everything is centered in God which is centered in LOVE-LoLo