A Life of Gratitude

Last week our van was stolen in the middle of the day, right in front of a busy bowling alley parking lot. As we realized our van was missing and dealt with all that followed, I experienced an array of feelings. I was angry, frustrated, and worried, but still had a very real feeling of peace and assurance that everything would be ok. Just a couple nights later the police called, telling me to come pick up our van. They said they "caught the thug who stole it" and that he was currently in holding. When I went to pick the van up, the officers said that without a doubt, this man would be going to prison. Not only did he commit grand larceny by stealing our van, but he also used our van to haul a plethora of other items he had stolen out of other cars and homes throughout 5 or 6 counties. They actually found our van while he was actively burglarizing another vehicle. As I drove home that night, I realized, I was literally taking back what the enemy had stolen! Then, it occurred t

Have you ever felt distant from God? If so, you're not alone. I've experienced that feeling and over the past few weeks, several of my friends have expressed feeling that distance as well. Even David, a man after God's own heart, felt distant from the Lord at times. He actually expressed feeling far from God many times, one is recorded in Psalm 71:12 (NIV) which says, " Do not be far   from me, my God;  come quickly, God, to help   me." But David also writes in Psalm 16:8 (NLT), " I know the   Lord   is always with me.  I will not be shaken, for He is right beside me."  So, if David knows that God is always with him, why does he also often feel distant from Him? In David's life and in ours, feeling as though God is far away, could result from many things. Sometimes distance occurs when we're distracted, feeling overwhelmed by life, going through difficult times, not spending time in the Word or in prayer, isolating ourselves from like-minded peop