A Life of Gratitude

  John 17: 11-19 (TPT) Jesus traveled on toward Jerusalem and passed through the border region between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered one village, ten men approached him, but they kept their distance, for they were lepers. They shouted to him, “Mighty Lord, our wonderful Master! Won’t you have mercy on us and heal us?” When Jesus stopped to look at them, he spoke these words: “Go to be examined by the Jewish priests.” They set off, and they were healed while walking along the way. One of them, a foreigner from Samaria, when he discovered that he was completely healed, turned back to find Jesus, shouting out joyous praises and glorifying God. When he found Jesus, he fell down at his feet and thanked him over and over, saying to him, “You are the Messiah.” This man was a Samaritan. “So where are the other nine?” Jesus asked. “Weren’t there ten who were healed? They all refused to return to give thanks and give glory to God except you, a foreigner from Samaria?” Then Jesus said to...

   I've been using the same Bible since 2000 when my church gifted it to me as a high school graduation gift. Well, to be honest, I didn't open it for several of those years, but it's been used almost daily for the past 15 years or so. I've been replacing my Bible because this one has meant so much to me. It is literally falling apart and been taped together too many times to count, but it also has so many little notes in it, high-lighted verses, and dates of when I've prayed specific vereses and my prayers were answered.  I found out that a new Bible I've had "my eye on" was on sale for only $10 (normally $60!) so I decided it was time to make the change. I've had the new Bible for a few weeks but hadn't been able to make the switch yet. This morning, I took my old Bible out of my bag and replaced it with the new one. I knew I had been delaying making the switch but I had no idea how this would affect me.  I looked at my old Bible, so tattered...

My daughter often says she has a question for me but typcially, it isn't an actual question. Lately I've been trying to teach her what is and what is not a question. So this morning, while driving in the car, she said, "Mom, I have just one answer for you."  I responded by saying, "Ok, tell me." She said, "If you pray and God doesn't answer your prayer right away, do you think you should still trust Him?" I was delightfully surprised by her "answer" and said, "Yes, I think we should."  Then she replied excitedly, "That's right, you should always trust God because He knows things we don't know." My heart smiled with joy because that's a hard truth for a five year old to grasp for herself, let alone share with others, but I was also touched by her words because they were a reminder that I needed to hear.  I don't question God's willingness to hear my prayers or His ability to come through for me, ...