The Discipline of Thanksgiving

...walk in the Light with Me by practicing the discipline of Thanksgiving. ~ Jesus Calling, April 6 Collins English Dictionary states, "If you refer to an activity or situation as a discipline, you mean that, in order to be successful in it, you need to behave in a strictly controlled way and obey particular rules or standards." Practicing the discipline of Thanksgiving? Behaving in s strictly controlled way of being thankful. Being like Paul who said, "I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances." Jesus, speaking in the selection says to walk with him in the light. Constant awareness of our Higher Power while remaining grateful for all all things, for all around results in successfully living  life. Thank God!

Thanks, God

Dear God Okay, I’ve tried for years… was prescribed diet pills at thirteen, tried intermittent fasting before the term was in use, bought cookbooks by Weight Watchers (times 3), by Metabolic Research Center (times 3), Barbara Kraus’ Calories and Carbohydrates, UNForbidded Favorites, Lean and Luscious, The New Cook Right & eat light cookbook, Butter Busters The Cookbook, and who knows how many more? I drove four hundred miles for a month’s amphetamines, was hypnotized, had a pin in my earlobe, charted multiple times what I’d weigh when… committed to write a book when I’d lost a hundred more pounds… but nothing fixed me. Then I learned of twelve steps beginning with the idea, “I can’t, God can, I think I’ll let God.” And letting God does work. It’s high time I wrote you this Thank You note! So, THANKS!!!!

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ow if Joshua had succeeded in giving them this rest, God would not have spoken about another day of rest still to come. So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world. So let us do our best to enter that rest. But if we disobey God, as the people of Israel did, we will fall. ~ Hebrews 4:8-11 (NLT) As we go through the day we pause, when agitated or doubtful, and ask for the right thought or action. We constantly remind ourselves we are no longer running the show, humbly saying to ourselves many times each day “Thy will be done.” We are then in much less danger of excitement, fear, anger, worry, self-pity, or foolish decisions. We become much more efficient. We do not tire so easily, for we are not burning up energy foolishly as we did when we were trying to arrange life to suit ourselves.~ Alcoholics Anonymous, Pages 87-88

Special rest waits for us, for God’s folk. Special rest in a pause, a reality check on show-running, in trading will-power for the will of God. Danger dissipates, fear dissolves, foot-in-mouth syndrome cured. Special rest rewarded by more energy than ever could be crammed in any minuscule bottle for ransom at cash registers. God, lead me by still waters, restore my soul, fill my cup brimful.

That First Glimmer

…that first glimmer of compassion for myself… ~ Miranda O Confident, you think? You judge me respectable? I grin to myself, relieved to have fooled you, pulled it off. I can certainly tell you my talents, my brags, my aptitudes if only to keep you eyes averted from all the weakness, from ineptness, from incompetence. Mostly, I just hope you’ll look away, see someone else, move along. Why do you think I dress plainly, bland, disparaging bling? But wait. You don’t care. I tell you the worst, and you love me, admit to such atrocities, to being like me… You love me no matter who I am. And comprehending that, I begin to discover it’s not all show… I do have value.

Failing to Discover Peace

Trying to control anyone else can become habitual. But success will never be lasting. The irony is that failing is actually how we discover what peace feels like. ~ Casey, Karen. Each Day a Renewed Beginning (p. 10). Mango Media. Kindle Edition.

When we decide to take on the god-role we fail at the task. But failing really is actually how we discover what peace feels like. May you discover peace this day and during myriad days to come!

Let Your Voice Be Heard

Don’t be silenced by your fears; raise your voice and let the whole world know that the divine has given you a voice. Let your voice be heard. ~ Brooks, Gennifer Benjamin. Bible Sisters (p. 319). Abingdon Press. Kindle Edition. I prefer silence from me, thank you. When "they" told me not to express opinions on matters I might sometime have to,  I knew I'd found my perfect job. But I have a Higher Power and that Power tells me to speak if I know a truth someone else  needs to hear!

God With Me\

But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went away to Arabia, and returned once more to Damascus. Galatians 1:15-17 (NASB)  Returning home we find a place where we can be quiet for an hour, carefully reviewing what we have done. We thank God from the bottom of our heart that we know Him better. (Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 75)

God with me, one-on-one coming back home where I've never been before. God with me, one-on-one. Who would have thought he'd single me out, talk to me, be with me one-on-one. What peace, what love, what serenity, joy, glory. What am I, who am I that God could love me one-on-one? God, I thank you from the bottom of my heart, the depths of my soul, the fulness of me being.

Not Timid

For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. ~ 2 Timothy 1:7 (NIV)

Are you timid? I am by my nature. But that’s not God’s doing. God gives us power, love, and self-discipline. And my proclivity is to deny I have power, shy away from expressing love… even when I feel loving I disbelieve they would choose to talk with me, but rather I wallow in meaningless triviality, avo iding interaction, burying my head in sand. Yet I need not. I can reach out, find companionship, love. For the Spirit God gave us does not make me timid. I have God-given power, love and self-discipline built in, mine for the claiming. I will reach out today to the saints who surround me this All Saints Day!

Finding a Sponsor

To find a sponsor, look for someone who has what you want and ask how he or she is achieving it. Simple enough if you know what you want. Do you need someone old enough to be your parent, a familiar, comfortable affinity? Or is a parent/child feeling the last thing you want? Does their past sound like yours and their present something you could only dream of? Is what they share the kind of wisdom you would welcome hearing often? Sometimes you can’t put it in words; your heart decides and the words just come.

A Little Misguided

We have guided missiles and misguided men. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr. Misguided. Directed toward a path without proper utilization of intention or rational thought. Guidance gone amoc. To behave uncontrollably and disruptively as kids running amok around the house or feelings seeming to be running amok. Our prayers have run amok when we give God His marching orders for the day rather than seeking to know ours from Him.

Song of a Survivor

SONG OF A SURVIVOR The Song of a Survivor Aging isn't fun to think about but it beats other potential paths. Grandchildren two hundred miles away are hard to hug but would read if I texted them about "All Hallows Day" and a cemetery in Mexico I visited on November 1st to see flower-covered graves on the Day of the Dead. When memories of distant places need suffice for trips to exotic places, I could crave unseen sights but rest content singing my song of a survivor.