A Life of Gratitude

The names Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego typically go hand-in-hand with the image of a fiery furnace. However, I recently noticed a significant story about these men that I had never paid attention to before.  In Daniel 2 King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that he desperately wanted someone to explain to him. He called the astrologers, sorcerers, magicians, and enchanters but none of them could help him. The king was so angry, he ordered that every wise man in Babylon be killed. Because of this order, soldiers were sent to kill Daniel and his friends because they were known to be wise. Daniel handled the situation with composure and calmness, requesting that the king give him the opportunity to explain the meaning of the dream. The king allowed it. Daniel 2:17-19 (NIV) says, " Then Daniel went home and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah what had happened.   He urged them to ask the God of heaven to show them His mercy by telling them the secret, so they would not be...

One of my favorite Christmas decorations is a nativity scene made in Italy in the 1940's. It belonged to my Great Grandmother, was passed down to my mother many years ago, and has since become part of the collection of decor my family puts out each December.  Knowing how old it is, and the sentimental value it holds, tempts me to make it an "adult hands only" decoration, but years ago I decided to allow my children to be "hands-on" with all of our nativity sets. It's a simple idea but I have always wanted to them to know that Jesus is never off limits to them.  So, with each of my four children, our nativity sets have been played with, and I've often found them in various interesting arrangements. A few days ago, I noticed the sweetest scene my daughter had set up with the figures. All of them, even the camels, cows, and sheep, we're placed in a circle surrounding Jesus. As soon as I saw this display, a thought entered my mind. Especially at Christma...

During Sunday's church service, I found myself kneeling at the altar with tears streaming down my face. As I poured my heart out to God about some difficult situations in my life, I began to feel guilty for begging God for help instead of worshipping Him. I started to scold myself for crying out to God instead of singing His praises, when I heard that sweet, still, small voice say, "Tears are worship, too."  As I've thought about those words, I was reminded of the story Jesus told in Luke 7:37-38. The Passion Translation tells it this way,  " In the neighborhood there was an immoral woman of the streets, known to all to be a prostitute. When she heard that Jesus was at Simeon’s house, she took an exquisite flask made from alabaster, filled  it with the most expensive perfume, went right into the home of the Jewish religious leader, and in front of all the guests, she knelt at the feet of Jesus.  Broken and weeping, she covered his feet with the tears that fell fr...

Several years ago, I was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disorder called Ankylosing Spondylitis. As part of my treatment plan, I receive infusion therapy every six weeks. There have been many times over the years when my insurance has denied paying for the infusion for various reasons. Each time that happens, it causes a lot of issues for me physically including a very serious, painful eye condition that can lead to blindness.  On Thursday I received a letter in the mail from my insurance company saying they were no longer paying for my infusions. Immediate panic set in because my appointment was scheduled for today, Monday. That gave me one business day to figure out how to keep my appointment from being cancelled. One business day is typically not nearly enough time to get insurance to do anything. I began preparing myself for the possibility of not being able to get my infusion and therefore, enduring the painful results of that.  Late Thursday night I decided to stop fret...

This morning, I came downstairs and discovered my English Bulldog had been sick in the night. As a result, he was lying in a huge mess inside his crate. I felt so bad for him! I immediately let him out of the crate, began washing my pup, and cleaning up the mess. It was so bad that I had to take his crate outside and throw his bed away. As I was cleaning, I noticed my almost one-year-old dog cowering in fear. He was ashamed and afraid because of what he had done. I wasn't mad at him, and it broke my heart to watch him cower in fear. He doesn't normally cower because he doesn't have a reason to fear us. In fact, that puppy is perhaps the most loved, spoiled dog in the world! The fear he felt seemed almost instinctual, not something we've instilled.  As I scrubbed the floor and assured my dog that I wasn't angry at him, it occurred to me that we often respond the same way when we find ourselves sitting in a huge mess we've created. Regardless of what caused the si...

Each day before my family begins homeschooling, we spend time reading a family devotional and praying over various things. One morning I requested prayer over an upcoming weekend healing retreat, hosted by Not Forgotten Ministries twice a year. I asked for protection over the volunteers and the participants. I explained that the enemy always tries to distract, deter, and destroy before a retreat. My kids remembered specifically a time when I broke my foot just hours before leaving for  the retreat. We also discussed other attacks of the enemy our family and those who attend the retreat have experienced.   Evan, my twelve-year-old son, volunteered to pray over our retreat. As he prayed, he said, “God, please put Your angels around everyone going to the retreat. We know You don’t put holes in Your angels so with them all around, nothing can get through and nothing can touch anyone coming.” I was so touched by his prayer and his faith.  Adults often pray with a little “g...