Gratitude Archive

Every day we are becoming more rushed and sleeping less and less. It is a staggering fact that lack of sleep is costing the United States approximately $411 billion in lost productivity. Sleeping less than eight hours per night causes more illness leading to time off work, less focus leading to on the job accidents and workers to be less satisfied with their jobs leading to apathy.

Most people sleep on average 6.5 hours per night. The recommended amount of sleep by most doctors is 7.5 hours to 8 hours nightly. If we can just increase our sleep nightly by 60-90 minutes and practice gratitude before falling asleep we can increase our happiness and productivity. Let me talk a little bit about how we can please God by slowing down and resting.

Psalm 23:1-3 says

1 The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3 he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. 

God is our shepherd. He tells us to lay down and rest. He tells us to take time to rejuvenate our souls to be our best. He wants us to stop being in a hurry. Remember He tells us to observe the Sabbath, which is a day with no work that produces money or relates to our career. The definition of a Sabbath is a day set aside for rest and worship. This is any day you pick to use for praising and thanking God by worshiping, not preforming your money making job and taking care of yourself. I personally teach a class on Sunday afternoons and blog on Sundays so I choose Friday as my Sabbath. I do things that refresh me like reading the Bible, spending time with my family and having reverence for God.

Exodus 31:17 says

¹⁷ It is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.

God has given us a body as a temple for the Holy Spirit and it requires rest and relaxation to allow the Holy Spirit to work effectively through us. God has blessed us with such a beautiful gift of the Holy Spirit it is the least we can do to appreciate this gift and preserve His home within us. I personally abstain from alcohol after having overindulged in the past. I try to eat within my calorie limit and choose healthy options. This may sound very simple but each practice I can make that will maintain my health I am creating a better home for the Holy Spirit residing in me.

Many people unexpectedly find themselves with an illness that leaves them weak and bedridden. Or possibly they lose their job. Sometimes God puts us flat on our back and out of work because we need to slow down and reevaluate our lives. He is telling us we are wasting our life focused on the wrong things. I know when I was focused on making more and more money God took my largest client from me. I believe He was telling me I wasn’t resting enough and my focus was off. I did realize when I slowed down God took care of me and provided for me. I still had work and was able to pay my bills, it was just at a slower pace.

Luke 10:38-42 talks about how Martha was so busy preparing for a meal that see totally missed what Jesus was teaching. Mary stopped preparing to sit at the feet of Jesus not to miss the opportunity before her.

It reads, Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. A woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teachings. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went us to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion that will not be taken from her.”

It is also important to recognize that to give God my best I need my rest. When we don’t rest many times it is because of envy of what others have and trying to attain those things. It may be that we base our worth on work. The more we work the better we feel because we are providing for our families yet neglecting them at the same time. Also we can value achievement as a way to feel more confident about ourselves leaving us exhausted.

Let’s talk about ways to move away from exhaustive nights to more restful nights. The first thing of course would be to more grateful. When you scan your day in your mind and focus on the good things that happened throughout the day you mind will record your day as positive. When your brain records that day as a positive it will remain in your mind as a positive day forever and can never be changed. Being thankful the last thing before going to sleep has been proven to give you a more restful sleep with less interruption. Being grateful is a habit you must develop so practice it every night.

I like to enjoy thinking about what God has already blessed me with not what I don’t have. Currently I have a beautiful ministry that allows me to show God’s love to others. This is so fulfilling and peaceful for me. I have a husband that loves me and offers me a safe and comfortable home. My family is healthy. We are able to pay our monthly bills. I have good friends that are based in Christ. Yes there are things I am sure I would like but when I appreciate my blessings I don’t feel that need for more.

I have also found that by taking that one day of the week off in God’s Name I am so much more content and I get everything done on the other six days. He provides all the time I need to complete my tasks so I can have that seventh day in reverence of Him.

Lastly I have adjusted my values to truly understand what is important. I have God first in my life to live my life for His purpose for me. It seems when I don’t wander from God and stay strong in my faith He always provides for me spiritually, emotionally, financially and with my health. He puts intention in my days giving me purpose and a plan based on what He wants, not what I want. I am happy with that too!

I am the most peaceful and rested I have ever been and it is because I slowed down in God’s Name. I am appreciating the beauty and blessings He is surrounding me with instead of not noticing them. If you need to slow down I pray you get some wisdom from my blog. I pray for each of you reading my blog to feel God’s love and peace in your heart each and every day. All my love, LoLo

Is heaven a place we imagine high in the sky and far away from earth? Is it full of angels, harps and puffy clouds or is it more like what we have on this earth?

Well I definitely would say most people don’t find any comparison to heaven and earth. Most people I would say think that heaven is a very peaceful place and earth is a very chaotic and broken place with flames of hell peeking out of every corner. I hope I can change that view for you!

Let me begin with Revelations 21:1-7

¹Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ² I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴ ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”⁵ He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” ⁶ He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. ⁷ Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.

This passage is so beautiful to me because it explain that when Jesus comes again the peace and beauty of heaven will reside on earth. It talks about heaven lowering down to meet earth and be as it once was.

You know heaven was once on earth when God created the world in Genesis. He made everything perfect. The waters, the sky, nature, the animals were all perfect and worked together in harmony. God walked on the earth instead of being above the earth. Everything was amazing until Adam and Eve introduced sin. That is when we lost our heaven on earth or did we? Sin was now on earth but was the perfect world forever gone?

Yes our world is broken, corrupt, evil and self centered but God’s perfection still exists. I would like to look at a few things that show we still have some heaven here.

Let’s look at childbirth. What an amazing thing childbirth is from conception when millions of sperm are released forced to travel upward against the stream so to speak, to locate the egg and then break through the egg wall. Doesn’t this seem like an impossible feat? When I put this in human tasks it make me think of swimming upstream for ten miles against the current to locate a treasure chest and then find the right combination to unlock the treasure chest to get inside. Physically this would challenge me yet in God’s perfection and planning that egg is fertilized and conception begins. A perfect example of heaven on earth. Only God could create this process and it remains.

Let’s talk about bamboo and its sustainability and perfection. Bamboo is the fastest growing woody plant in the world. It can grow up to four feet in one day and absorbs five times more carbon dioxide and produces 35% more oxygen than a similar group of trees. Bamboo requires no pesticides, very little water and when it is harvested, the plant regenerates itself extremely quickly. Definitely an example of a perfect and heavenly plant here on earth. Again, who but God could build this perfect process?

I wonder if people are wasting their time here on earth seeing the bad and the ugly instead of seeing God’s perfection that exists everyday in our lives. As sit and write this blog I am breathing in fresh air, looking at a beautiful sunrise full of immense colors, drinking water to nourish my body after a long night’s rest. Those are just three things out of hundreds that surround me this morning.

As you move through your days when you see something unkind or unpleasant look at the beauty that is near you and thank God for providing it each and every day.

Now let’s talk about eternal heaven returning to earth. I read a very interesting book called Heaven by Randy Alcorn in which he describes heaven as two places, an intermediate place and an eternal place. The basic way he describes understanding the difference is to compare earth, intermediate heaven and eternal heaven to a flight with a layover. Say you board a plane in Miami (this is earth) and you fly to Dallas (this is intermediate heaven where you go immediately after dying) and then fly to San Francisco your final destination (eternal heaven).

We live every day here on earth which compares to your hometown of Miami. When you die you land in intermediate heaven (Dallas). This is just a stopping place where you will not remain but only stay for a period of time. Christians refer to this stopping place as heaven and is not considered the final destination. The final destination is eternal heaven.

Eternal heaven is described in Revelations 21 that I quoted at the beginning of this blog when heaven returns to earth and is new and perfect again. Those on earth will be judged and those accepting Christ as their Savior and have done God’s works will be joined with those in intermediate heaven (all those that have passed before the New Heaven comes and have been accepted into intermediate heaven). Eternal heaven is when God’s dwelling is back on earth and He dwells amongst His children. There will be no pain and beautiful peace for all. There will be no sin, no sorrow and no evil.

As we move through our days on earth (Miami) we need to see God’s beauty and perfection that still remains. As family and friends pass on we need to remember they are in a lovely place waiting (Dallas) to be joined again with us. In faith and hope we know that someday we will all be living in God’s perfection and walking with Him in eternal heaven.

When my grandma died expectantly when I was 28 I was devastated. I couldn’t accept that I saw her one night and she was gone the very next night. When I was at the funeral home before her visitation and viewing I sat alone with her just holding on to the last time I could look at her. I smelled all the flowers in the room that so many people had sent in her honor. I still remember how full of flowers the room was and how it smelled. I said, “Grandma would have loved this. She loved flowers.” quietly to myself. I went home that night and tossed and turned all night. Once I finally fell asleep my grandma came to me in a dream and said, “Don’t be sad. It is so beautiful where I am. There are so many flowers!” I was so comforted and am so confident that she was telling me about intermediate heaven. The mention of the flowers allowed me to know she heard what I said at the funeral home.

Let’s love one another and focus on the surrounding miracles. I live in peace every day now understanding intermediate heaven and eternal heaven. My love-LoLo

It is believed that adults make somewhere are around 35,000 decisions each day and that boggles my mind!  I know most of these decisions are made out of habit or learned experiences and don’t require any thought.  I want to talk about the decisions that do require thought for instance, will you pay a bill on time, will you share gossip you overheard or how about if the cashier forgets to ring something up, will you tell her?

Each decision you make needs to be centered in what God would want.  I would like to discuss some ways to tell if you are making the correct decision from a sermon I heard Rick Warren preach.  It’s a  great guide to follow.

The most important thing to know about making a decision is there is a set of criteria that needs to be met in order to know that God will approve.  Each criteria has to be met or else the decision is not a good decision.  You can’t agree with some of the criteria and overlook the others because that causes failure.

I think the easiest and more common criteria would be, “Does this decision fall inline with what the Bible teaches?”   You may say that’s obvious but lets think about this.  We do know what the Bible teaches but sometimes our minds want to stretch or bend the scriptures to fit our decision making.  A type of justification for maybe making a decision not fully based in the Bible.  Romans talks about that you must pay your taxes but what if you say, “I am going to pay my taxes but not on the due date.”  You may think you are agreeing with the Bible but you are tweaking what the Bible says to fit your conditions. This is what it says:

“This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor” Romans 13:6–7

Another thing we must use in decision making is, “Will this decision make me more like Jesus?”  Philippines 2:5 says this:

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.

When you remove your personal interest in the decision and think solely on how Jesus made decisions by being kind and selfless we will be rewarded.  I know when I have $20 and I see someone that doesn’t have money for lunch I know that Jesus would buy that person lunch.  I know my initial reaction is, “I only have this $20 to last until payday, what will I do if I give it away?”  When I think of how to be more like Jesus and share that money.  I somehow obtain more money from an unexpected source.  God rewards us for loving one another and sharing.

The next point to consider in the decision is would others approve of my decision.  If you have something you want to do and you are embarrassed to tell your closest friends and family it’s probably not a  good decision.  If you have any “gut feeling” or reservation about the decision its a red flag that it’s not right.  It’s a very simple indicator.

I have talked before abut knowing your S.H.A.P.E (spiritual gifts, heart, abilities, personality & experiences.)  If the decision does not fit into your SHAPE then it’s not a good decision because your SHAPE determines your purpose so it has to fit your SHAPE.  Ephesians 2:10 says:

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Since I have a ministry if I turned away from someone in need it would go against my SHAPE and it would be a bad decision.   God put it in my heart and gave me the gifts to serve Him by helping others that are suffering.  That is part of my SHAPE.

Of course another obvious criteria to look at is the decision complimentary or condemning?  God offers decisions that are a positive compliment or to make something better.   While Satan promotes decisions on condemnation based in being disobedient or for self prospering reasons.  Satan offers suggestions that promote envy, greed, jealousy and other outcomes not fitting for good decision making.  Romans 8:1 says:

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Lastly is does this decision fill me with God’s peace?  I know personally when I follow what I have been taught in the Bible instead of my emotions, God’s peace comes over me instantaneously.  This reassurance helps me to know I have made the right decision and I am focusing on God when I am making my decisions.

It’s like when someone lies and you have to continue lying to defend the incorrectness of the decision.  Bad breeds bad and good breeds good. I once read that your should make decisions that your can confidently explain knowing the decision was well thought out and for the best reasons. Good decisions don’t require explanations or coverups. I read something very similar in the Bible.

2 Timothy 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who doesn’t need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth.

I hope this blog will help you if you have difficulties making decisions.  Many of us make the wrong decisions based on feeling guilty, weakness or for emotional reasons.  I know when you follow these few guidelines decisions will come easier after all 35,000 decisions in one day is a lot!

May you feel God’s blessings constantly and know that I am always praying for you-LoLo

Garth Brooks has a song called “Unanswered Prayers” where he is thanking God for prayers that weren’t answered and he was better off.  I think most people feel there are unanswered prayers but as I continue to study prayer I find out all prayers are answered.  That’s right, God answers all prayers but in different ways.

I think first we need to differentiate between unanswered prayer and delayed prayers.  The definition of unanswered is not answered or responded to.  God responds to all prayers.  The definition of delayed is to postpone or deter.  Now God has a plan for your life that may or may not be aligned with His plan but He hears prayers immediately.  We may interpret that as delayed but definitely not unanswered.

Patience with prayer is imperative.  We know that we are not to make demands on God but to speak to God about our needs and concerns.  We as humans may be impatient or controlling with our prayers but usually it is because we are desperate for an answer.  Desperation does not promote being humble or genuine which is necessary in prayer.  Desperation and controlling is in direct conflict with being patient.  Rick Warren once said, ” God tests me before he blesses me.”  Patience is a test.

I do want to clarify that when I say test, it’s not God seeing how smart I am or what my skills are.  He is seeing how patience I am when I ask for help.  He wants your full submittal, cooperation and trust with His answer.  This may not be the answer you  want but remember it is God’s answer.  God’s answer and timing is always perfect so we must be patient while we are tested.

Another thing I learned from my prayer study is that we want God to remove the symptoms of our problems.  God wants to cure the disease.  As I told you before that in my past I have spent money foolishly and needed help getting out of debt.  I kept thinking that I would have a big sale and could clear my debt but instead my sales were diminishing.  I wanted quick relief from my debt but God wanted me to learn not to waste money.  Once I recognized my spending was a problem just like alcoholism He cured my disease.  He helped me find the money to clear the debt, the strength to cut up my 17 credit cards and think long and hard before making a purchase.  God cured my disease but the enemy tries to weaken my immune system every now and then with temptation and I must turn back to prayer for strength.  God’s cure for my overspending must be taken daily to stay on track.

There are several things I learned about being patience through delayed prayer that I would like to share with you.  One thing to know is that when you are praying persistently for what you need you are focusing your attention of God.  You are communicating with God sincerely about your need.  This removes the control factor we tend to have as a human thinking we can fix everything ourselves.  Focusing and trusting in God makes your outcome clearer and better.

Persistent prayer also helps me grow and learn more about me.  For example when I practice patience while praying for something I learn that I can become calm and quiet to better understand why I am praying for this need.  Back to my example, when I prayed for God to help me with my debt my prayers made me understand my lack of self confidence.  I learned I spent to feel important with material goods.  When I quit spending constantly and giving to others I grew and matured through prayer.

Rick Warren also teaches God’s four answers to prayers.  This clearly shows that God does answer all prayers but we are a catalyst in how He choses to answer.  Let’s look at those answers.

There are prayers that you may feel are unanswered because God said “NO”.  What God is telling you is that what you are praying for or requesting is not right for you.  This may be you are praying for a marriage proposal from your boyfriend but God knows this is not the right man for you.  The answer is no because He  knows the outcome would not be best for you and He has something better planned for you.

Another answer God gives to our prayers is , “GROW”.  This simply means God feels you are not mature enough or ready for what you are praying for.  For example, maybe you are praying for a promotion at work but your don’t receive it.  God is saying that in due time you may receive that promotion but right now you may fail because you don’t have enough experience.  You need to continue to learn and improve before receiving this prayer blessing.

God also answers, “SLOW” when the timing is not right.  I know that after I had my daughter, Lexie I wanted another baby right away.  I didn’t get pregnant because God was telling me to move slow on this request.  He knew my first husband was going down a bad path with methamphetamine without my knowledge and my marriage would fail.  God knew it would be too difficult for me with two small babies.  Not understanding at the time He knew in the long run just one was better for me because of the tough road I had ahead of me.

The final answer we sometimes feel is the best answer is, “GO”.  This means the timing is right, my character is right and it’s full speed ahead.  This is exactly how I felt when I founded Grateful Gratitude.  I asked God to bless me with this ministry and help me to touch others through His Word.  I wanted to give words of encouragement, hugs of hope and the ability to listen to others and ease their suffering.  He answered that prayer wholeheartedly because He knew I was capable and mature enough to handle this ministry.  I continue to ask for His love and support daily.

I hope that my study of prayer has helped to  understand that there are no unanswered prayers.  Prayers that seem unanswered are just delayed prayers.  When I understood this it gave me an awaking of God’s plan for me.  I understood that it is so much easier to know God has a plan for each of us and He wants a beautiful life for all of us.  So now when I pray I say to God that I trust in His plan and if this request is not as He has planned I am ok with that because I know He is going to bless me with something better than I can imagine.

Please know I pray for everyone that reads this blog for peace, contentment and joy through God’s love.  I truly want you to know God’s love fully with a blessed life.

Truly,  LoLo

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.          John 5:14-15

I am so unclear as to how I survived before I understood prayer.  Don’t get me wrong, I am no prayer expert but prayer has truly changed my life.  I learned so many things when studying Rick Warren’s 40 Days of Prayer and changed my prayers.  I would like to share with you some things I discovered in this study and how my prayer improved.

The first thing I learned was the purpose for prayer.  I knew God wanted me to pray to talk to Him and connect more closely to Him.  I learned that was too simple of idea.  It was much more.

The first purpose for prayer is to show my dedication to God.  By showing my dedication to God I am showing God I need Him.  I am also letting Him know that I am counting on Him and I am dedicating myself through prayer to my loving and Heavenly Father.

The second purpose is to communicate with God.  When I communicate with God (and listen with my heart) He is able to help me know His will and plan for my life.  I always remind myself too that if I don’t have the words for prayer God will interpret my tears or thoughts.  He is remarkable at understanding all forms of communication.

Prayer also is an act of supplication.  Now as you know I am no wordsmith so I had to look this word up.  Supplication means to humbly plead to God for my request.  Meaning I pray the same request often to show God this is a serious matter and I am dedicating myself for His help and resolve.

The last purpose for prayer is an act of cooperation.  I want to show God that I am following and cooperating for His will and plan for me.  I am standing in faith and trust.

Now it is also important to pray confidently and Rick also taught steps to take to be confident in prayer. I can pray with confidence for these following reasons.

I know that God is a caring Father.  I know this because of 1 Peter 5:7.

             “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.”

I know God is a constant Father.  We can always rely on Him to stay the same.  This is taught in Malachi 3:6 where it says,

                                        “For I am the Lord, I do not change.”

I know that God is a good and close Father.  I love the worship song “He’s a Good, Good Father”.  There is a line in the song that says, “You are perfect in all Your ways.” which is my favorite line.  It is also shown in 1 Chronicles 16:34.

          “Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.”

I must always remember God is never too busy for me no matter how small my problem is.  He loves to help me with the things I desire.  He is sympathetic to my hurts and pains.  He came to us in the flesh, was betrayed and died on the cross so He knows what emotional and physical hurt feels like.  He felt this so He could know us better in all forms.

Another reason I can pray confidently is because God is competent.  He can handle anything AND everything for us.  He has every possible answer.

You know I once heard the phase, “If it’s big enough to worry about, it’s big enough to pray about!”  I have never forgot about this.  When anxiety creeps into my thoughts I begin to pray.  I few minutes of prayer comforts me and removes the thoughts of anxiety.  Anxiety cannot live where love lives and God is love.

Another very important point is that God is the creator of everyone but He is not the Father of all.  In order to have God as your Heavenly Father it is imperative to accept Jesus Christ as my Savior.  Those that have not accepted Christ have not opened the door to our Father.  Once Jesus is accepted in my life as my Savior I will know the most giving, loving, supportive, forgiving and Almighty Father.  It is said that God love never wears out for me.  Agape love (which God gives us) is selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love and is the highest, most pure form of love.

I think it was also important in Rick’s study to know that God responds to those that are humble.  We are conditioned tobe proud and boastful and God wants the opposite.  He knows of our accomplishments and proud moments.  I should share these moments with Him and not the world.

I must not forget I am to conform to His plan through alignment with Him.  My path has been laid out long before I was born and it is His perfect plan for me if I will just walk it.

I would also like to share with you how to turn to God in prayer in times of extreme despair or need.  The main thing to know is to turn to God.  Don’t rely on your knowledge or abilities, rely on God’s.  It is critical to remember how big God is.  If I stood on a mountain and looked at an ant at the base of the mountain, that ant would be how God sees my problem.  It is tiny to Him because He is so big and magnificent.   Instead of seeing that problem as an ant we see it as Mount Everest because we don’t have God’s perspective.

Also when I am at my weakest I remind myself of what God has already done for me in tough times.  Reminding myself that God has worked miracles in my life comforts me that He can and will help me.  I also remember God’s promises. Those promises of eternal life, protection, forgiveness, peace and so much more.  He offer this to me just through His love.

As you pray admit your faults and shortcomings to God.  We are not perfect in any way and verbally telling Him you recognize this builds your character in prayer.  When you go to God in prayer being you and relaxing in your faith prayer becomes as easy as breathing.  Remember to thank God in advance for His blessings and know He will turn your battles into blessings.

As I close this blog I thank you for allowing me to share what I am constantly learning.  I am so joyful in spending each day in prayer and improving my relationship with Jesus, God and the Holy Spirit that I just want to share everything.   Please do not ever procrastinate prayer.  Turn to God as quickly as you turn to your phone to read the text that just arrived.  Your phone can wait, God must not have to wait for your attention and prayers.  Go to Him first, often and always.  My love-LoLo

This verse sums everything up.

            Philippians 4:6-7

 6 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”