{Thanks}giving Week: True Thanks?

Nov 25, 2010 | Guest Posts

Sweet potato fluff, you cats are spoilt for content this week! I hope it didn’t just grate you that I used the British spelling of “spoiled.” It sure does roll of the tongue, and the fingertips nicely. As our week of {Thanks}giving, ahem, with a capital T, continues, I thought you might appreciate at least one voice in the chorus that has a little more bass. Or at least baritone.

{Happy Thanksgiving, by the way!!!}

It feels kind of wrong to add the week’s sassy advert to this post, since it is pink and looks like it got hit with an elvish bedazzler, but humour me, will ya?

Neal Alligood, among other things, is a delightful joker and a lover of basketball and Jesus. And, at the top of the list of his credentials, in my opinion, besides loving Jesus, is the fact that he has been on the Price is Right. I just think that’s awesome. Neal keeps the jokes, and the deep thoughts, rolling at Serving Him With Shaky Hands. Don’t ya love that name?

Without further ado, here are a few thoughts about thankfulness, for the first time this week from someone who has never considered whether his handbag and shoes match.

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True Thanks?

So often in our lives, especially at this time of year, we almost feel a tad obliged to spend time “giving thanks” for our things.  My fear is that even during this practice of positive intentions, we often fail to focus on the factors in our lives that should bring “TRUE THANKS”.

My hope/intent/desire is to share a small sampling of these from my own life with you today.

In a shameful personal plug, I invite you to check out another recent post, which included a glimpse of “TRUE THANKS” for the financial freedom found in God’s Economy.

Now back to the task at hand – TRUE THANKS!

I am truly thankful for parents who raised my sister and I in not just simply a “loving” home, but more importantly a GOD-loving home.  For two people who have impressively displayed exactly what it means to live in full reliance upon His will and trust of His ways.  How they powerfully embodied the words found in Proverbs 22:6 of “The Message”: “Point your kids in the right direction— when they’re old they won’t be lost.”

I am truly thankful that they realized the importance of not MAKING every decision for us, but instead showed us the way in which TO MAKE DECISIONS for ourselves.  How to properly weigh the risks & rewards and to contemplate consequences.  Then to be man and woman enough to live with those choices and not be “rescued” from the pain that might be involved.

I am truly thankful for parents who did not spend so much time PROTECTING that they failed in PREPARING us for the journey that would lie ahead.  Indeed I’m even thankful for the punishments (although not so much at the time) that were doled out in efforts to teach those aforementioned truths, that there is pain and consequences sometimes involved with poor decisions made.

I am truly thankful for the lessons I learned about “lightening the load”, living more simply, upon my move from Raleigh to Atlanta.  For being nudged that it was time to sell much of my earthly possessions to free my time, talents, and treasures to be used investing in things of more eternal value.

I am truly thankful for friends and family that helped make my moves, transitions and ministry so much more effective and efficient.  Thankful for new friends who have provided housing, fixed vehicles, cooked meals, welcomed me into their homes to provide for all of my needs in keeping with the promises of my Savior to “ALWAYS BE WITH ME – TO THE VERY END OF THE AGE!”

I am truly thankful to have been blessed through partnerships with awesome organizations here in Atlanta, who have opened my eyes and awakened my senses to the dire needs and concerns of this world, which to this point, I never realized existed.  The plight of pregnant, homeless women; the poverty and destitution of world hunger; the horrific exploitation of children in the sex slave industry, to name a few.  While I am NOT thankful that these evils are taking place in this world – I am most deeply and truly thankful to be shown the HOPE that can be found through the Love of Christ in the midst of despair.

I am truly thankful for the men and women who are tireless servants – who give of their time, talents, energy, efforts, hearts, hurts, family and faith.  These people who have shown me a new way in which it means to live and to love as the Body of Christ.

Which brings me to the factor that I AM MOST TRULY THANKFUL for; the physical BODY OF CHRIST – the body that was formed in the womb of a teenage girl who had been found faithful in following her God, much like my own parents have been.  She would be the one to bring this baby into our world in a manner that we could have never conceived.

It is this exact season of the year that reminds us what TRUE THANKSGIVING is all about – the FREEDOM OF A FAITH IN A FATHER that loved each of us enough to send the gift of His One & Only Son.  This freedom that led pilgrims to a new land, and sustains spiritual aliens who now live in a land not their own – waiting patiently for the day that they raise a song of TRUE THANKS for their eternal, Heavenly Home.

I remain hopeful and prayerful – that we will take this time – these few weeks from Thanksgiving to Christmas, to set the tone for the rest of our years, to understand and be reminded of that for which I, you, WE can and should be TRULY THANKFUL!

What are your causes of TRUE THANKS?

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Neal is probably the coolest guy you will never see on Dancing With the Stars, but that’s okay since back in ’99 he made his debut on The Price is Right. Too bad he was foiled by the price of flatware…oh what could have been! Join Neal’s blogging adventure, Shakyhands, and find out why those hands quake while he strives to serve and speak all around this great globe!

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Thanks so much, Neal, that was really encouraging! Glad you braved the pink-bedazzled advertisement to join us this week! I hope you, dear readers, will take a moment to respond (in your heart, in your head, and with your fingertips in the comments section below!)

xCC

{Thanks}giving Week: The Blessings We Take For Granted

Nov 23, 2010 | Guest Posts

Hi guys and gals! I hope you are enjoying {Thanks}giving Week as much as I am! We’ve got some more great posts for you as the week continues. Whoo-hoo!

My friend Natasha is sharing some thoughts about Thanks with us today. Natasha and I had a blast working in Sports Media Relations at East Carolina University together a wee while back. Go Pirates! She has a wonderful sense of humour, coupled with a zest for life that makes her fun to be around, and the kind of gal who’ll try baking chocolate chip cookies on the dashboard on a hot day. When she’s not busy cheering for ‘Bama’s football team, (Roll, Tide, Roll!) she keeps the laughs rolling at The Chronicles of Nat.

You’ve probably noticed by now that I like letting the guest post-ers introduce themselves. I hope you don’t mind the occasional slight redundancy — I just love how much you can tell about a person by asking them to introduce themselves. Natasha is no exception! I’m gonna stop talking now, here’s Nat.

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The Blessings We Take For Granted are the Greatest Ones of All

We as people and especially those of us who are Americans, often take many of the small blessings in our lives for granted. It’s the abilities we have as humans that we don’t think about very much yet use everyday.

When was the last time, for example, that you woke up and thanked God for your ability to walk from your bed to the shower or the coffee pot?  It’s not something we think about often is it? Those of us with a relative in a wheelchair probably think about it more than others. Walking is such a minute task but helps us in everything we do. Our legs and feet carry us from here to there often without complaining yet at the end of the day when we are thanking God for the blessings he has bestowed upon us we neglect to thank him for the ability he gave us to accomplish the tasks that were set before us that day. The next time you stand up and walk about remember to thank God for that ability, an ability that not all of us have.

When was the last time you listened to your favorite band or musical or the laughter of people around you or the voice of someone you love and stopped to say, “Thank you God for my ability to hear”? I have a great love for music and just this past week I went to a showing of the 25th Anniversary concert of Les Miserables and thought about how awful it would be not to be able to hear music and I thanked God right then and there for giving me the gift of hearing. Music moves me as it does many people, and I cannot imagine life without being able to hear all the wonderful sounds around me. Our sense of hearing allows us to listen for a crying baby during the night or an intruder in the bushes or the laughter and joy of friends. The next time you talk to God thank him for your ability to hear; it’s a privilege not all people are granted.

How long ago did you stop and thank God for the ability to see all of the wonderful creations he placed for us on this earth? I’m sure that you, like me, don’t often think about how wonderful it is that we can see the faces of our loved ones when sitting around the Thanksgiving table or that we can watch the football game after dinner is served. Our sight allows us to see when someone is in need; it allows us the ability to read  – the Bible, billboards as you are driving down the street, emails from friends halfway across the globe, a calendar so we can know what day of the week it is. Think of all the colors your eyes allow you to see, the landscape of the world, the ability to pick out clothes that match. Sight is a blessing from God – thank Him for it the next time you have a chance.

How recently did you thank God for your sense of smell? Have you ever thought how life would be if you couldn’t smell the foods cooking in the kitchen or breathe in the smell of fall in the air? When was the last time you smelled the top of a baby’s head or warm cookies baking in the oven and thanked God for your sense of smell? Smelling allows us to know when something is burning and as a result can save us from dangerous situations. The aroma of clean clothes fresh out of the dryer would be pointless without our sense of smell. Thank God for blessing you with your nose – no matter its shape or size!

The ability to talk is yet another blessing from the Lord that we often take for granted. Our ability to talk gives us a voice to say what’s on our heart, to teach others about Jesus, to sing when we’re driving down the road. Being able to talk allows us to call our friends and family on the phone and talk about nothing or everything. Our voice allows us to yell out across a crowded room to someone we haven’t seen in years or to whisper when telling a secret to a friend. Voices are recognizable, each one is unique, just as we are – use yours for the betterment of this world, to lead people to Christ, to give words of encouragement to a friend in need.

Our hands provide us the ability to do so many things – lift a heavy load, carry a tired baby, type emails to friends and co-workers. Our hands and arms allow us to give a warm embrace to those in need of encouragement or hold the hands of those we love. God provided our hands so that we can work and earn a living. Some people use their hands in the kitchen to chop vegetables, to stir batter, to pull warm dishes from the oven. Some use their hands to plow fields and plant seed and reap the harvest. Others use their hands to make crafts. Our hands are useful to us in so many ways, yet when was the last time we truly thanked God for providing us our hands so that we can do all the things we want to do day in and day out.

Ephesians 5:19b-20 says, “Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The next time you thank God for the large blessings in your life, be sure and thank him for the small ones as well, which when you really think about it are the biggest ones of all.

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Natasha lives in Huntsville, AL, and has known Caroline since before she was a Collie! She works for a defense contractor and also covers high school football and basketball for her hometown newspaper, The Huntsville Times. Her favorite pastime is laughing and hanging out with her dog, The Tide. She has never been married and is currently accepting applications for a boyfriend. You can catch up with all the weirdness that is Natasha’s life on her blog, The Chronicles of Nat. Leave her a comment – she likes to hear what you have to say!

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Thanks so much, Natasha! We do have so, so much more to be thankful for than I think we can ever fully realise! Amen!

xCC

P.S. If I remember I might link up this great guest post with the thankfulness happening over at Chatting at the Sky this Tuesday! If you’re visiting from there and would like to contribute to {Thanks}giving Week, let me know!

{Thanks}giving Week: I Am Thankful She Was Dying

Nov 22, 2010 | Guest Posts

Top of the week to you, friends! I am excited that another voice will be joining the thankful chorus today, as we enjoy {Thanks}giving Week together. Especially because this girl can sing. 🙂

My dear friend Amanda Avery is sharing with us today! She is a sweetie-pie Southerner with a notable affinity for Christmastime. Amanda is remarkably able to speak her mind with wit, humour and honesty. And she blogs at Seriously. {which I must note is the first blog I noticed getting decked out for the holidays this year} so feel free to click over and read some more! I hope her thoughts will inspire you to find reasons to be Thankful in every circumstance.

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Amanda is a regular woman, wife, mommy, and friend who enjoys good coffee, conversations, and laughter.  Amanda’s blog, Seriously., features her regular musings of everyday life in North Carolina.

I Am Thankful She Was Dying

She had a terminal disease.
She was going to die.
She was going to leave me and everyone else behind to be with Jesus and obtain her perfect body.

Everything within me screamed, “Don’t get too close!  Don’t love her too much! Don’t let your heart get broken when this ride comes screeching to a halt!”

However, for once in my life I ignored that bossy lady who resides in my head and followed my heart.

And I am incredibly thankful she was dying.

As callous as that seems, it forced us to get past the niceties very quickly.  No chit chats or shallow conversations about the weather when Death is tapping his feet in anticipation.  Life was too precious, too pressing, too much.

Wanting to squeeze in every opportunity to talk before the disease took her voice.

Always telling her how much I loved her and valued her because there was no guarantee of a “next time.”

She forced me to get out of my little world and let go of my security blanket of pride and to finally embrace living.

She taught me in just a short while what it really meant to love people.

And what it meant to love life.

And what it meant to love and follow Jesus.

And I am forever thankful.

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Thanks so much for sharing those challenging thoughts with us, Amanda! May we find the strength to be Thankful in the midst of even the most difficult circumstances. It seems like those are places where there is so much wisdom to be learned. Wow and Amen.

xCC

{Thanks}giving Week: Uppercase Thanksgiving

Nov 21, 2010 | Guest Posts

I hope you weren’t waiting up all night, just so eager for the first {Thanks}giving post to hit the web. Cos that would mean neither of us got any sleep.

I kid!

In case you’re just joining us, some new voices will be echoing through the halls of this space this week, with thoughts about giving Thanks in unexpected ways, at unexpected moments, perhaps for what are rightly considered the unexpected gifts of Life. Cue sassy advert…

I am excited to introduce you to a dear friend of mine named Pam Lewsey, who has danced with me breathing Edinburgh air, waved goodbye to me from a Johannesburg airport, and blessed me with a shortbread tin that now elegantly holds my measuring cups. She is full of life and her emails are like a fabulous short story that you don’t want to end. And while I could go on for a bit, perhaps let’s shift to her more aptly written introduction, and her wonderful guest post.

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Pam Lewsey was born in a place most people call ‘Where?’. She has travelled widely but doesn’t have much to show for it, aside from a motley bunch of wide-eyed friends and a collection of teapots. She may or may not become famous one day. God is especially fond of her.

Uppercase Thanksgiving

There are very few unexpected situations more unexpected than Life itself. You know, hello, welcome, it’s cold, turn you upside down and slap you on the backside and all that. Ever since then I’ve been expecting unexpected situations and every day I cannot be really sure what’s going to happen, and whether it’s going to happen or Happen, or whether you’ve got it the wrong way around and it’s actually Happening not happening. It’s tough to know, which is why it’s just better to follow God’s advice and then chill out.

There’s a bunch of stuff in Life which is uppercase. That means it’s important. God. Family. Growth. Laughter. Hope. Prayer. Thanksgiving is one of these important things which we have managed to reduce to the lowercase: ‘thanksgiving’. What I mean is, it’s become a chore instead of something as easy and habitual as breathing in and out. Lowercase thanksgiving is the mumbled and self-conscious grace said quickly before the meal. The Uppercase Thanksgiving is, at the end of the meal, a metaphorical Loud Burp which reverberates through the year to come.

Lowercase thanksgiving is about words. It’s about ‘what do you say?’ to your kid and about clapping politely because that’s what’s expected. Uppercase is running to meet your brother at the airport, about hugs, about standing ovations when they’re deserved. It’s about wishing there were two of you so you could handle all the enjoyment you’re getting out of your team winning their match or getting to see a West End show with folk you love. It’s about being so hurt but being glad you have a heart that can feel hurt. It’s about flavour. And music. And wearing bright colours in winter.

And surprising people when you take an interest in whether they should buy an English or an Ashley cucumber in the vegetable aisle.

It’s about having time when people phone you. And about dorky high-fives. It’s about sleeping hard. And trying out phrases in different languages and joining in the laughter. It’s about honest sweat. And diving for that volleyball. It’s about knowing that none of this needs to matter 100 years from now. And loving the rain and the mist because it speaks to the quiet (and sometimes grieving) places in our souls. It’s about using your God-given voice against injustice whenever you have the opportunity, whether you’re given a mic or whether you’re gently explaining to the guy in the bookshop that he can’t close at 5 minutes to 5 when his sign says open till 5. It’s pulling faces in your mirror and enjoying the company of animals. Rocking in a rocking chair, and talking to your plants. And it’s about the secret place where you get a glimpse of God’s sense of humour. It’s about living with your eyes wide angle and seeing and being one photo opportunity per split second.

(I should be a commercials writer. Throw ‘relaxing in Barnard’s Garden Furniture’ in there and the phones won’t stop ringing!)

I read a story about a woman who was rescued from the 7/7 disaster. I can’t remember her exact words but she said she was now living her life to the full to make it worth her rescuers’ efforts. I thought, am I living a life worth Christ’s efforts on the cross? Eish. And we know he did it ‘for the joy set before Him’. For Joy. Enjoying life is an act of gratitude – an act of worship. If you are not enjoying life you are not being his living trophy of Joy, and how can you express words of gratitude if that is the case?

Don’t use empty, obligatory words. They’re a waste of air. Rather use your energy to ask yourself some honest questions – why am I not enjoying my life? Is it my job? My  relationships? The weather? My body? What can I do about it? Do I like church? Do I like God? What can I do about it? Do I need to check my theology? What are my motivations for the stuff I’m doing? Am I addicted? What’s the rush? What can I learn from Creation about the timing of things? Do I often do two things at once and divide the pleasure of one in half? Are my goals in life reachable? Am I depending on other people and activities for the affirmation only God can give me?

As I face up to these and other things, by God’s grace, and recognise my ‘life like grass’ that fades away, stuff gets into perspective and I just get joyful every day. I like being Glad and ‘thank you’ just tumbles off my tongue before I can stop it. Uppercase Thanksgiving is a grateful lifestyle. It’ll set you apart from the pious platitudes of the lowercase.

I’ve had fun writing this! Thanks for reading.

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Thanks so much for sharing your words and your heart with us Pam!! Wowzers! I am left wanting more, and hoping I can learn that Thanksgiving which deserves a capital T! I’ll be coming back to read this again!

xCC