Archive for the ‘Gratitude’ Category

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Life With God Is Life Grounded In Gratitude

July 14, 2014

Gratitude, the attitude of being grateful for something, is a way of life. It’s also something to pause occasionally to focus on. It’s been on my mind lately.

I’ve had many life changes over my adult years. Three in the last 18 months. Well, maybe four.

People could look and say how bad it is. Twice I’ve walked away from jobs that paid a very good salary. I undertook a ministry that was far from my mind at the time.

Yet, I’m sitting here in the early morning on my patio with the birds and squirrels (well, yes, even the ants) and feel grateful for all the experiences I’ve had. They have all formed me, and they’ve afforded opportunities that still amaze me.

On occasion I’ll be so enthused that I’m sure someone else may think that I’m conceited or something. But I live in amazement that a country boy with less education than I should have had has the opportunities that I have.

And, I live in gratitude.

Searching my Bible this morning (isn’t digital great!) I found a passage discussing the solitary life of David revealed in the Psalms and how he was close to God and lived in gratitude for all he had.

I’m using the Life With God Study Bible from the Renovare Institute. In the discussion, the writer quotes Richard Foster and Thomas Merton. In this case, Merton said, “Gratitude is the heart of the solitary life as it is the heart of the Christian life.”

Jesus was always interested in the state of our hearts. Where is our heart? Lately for me, basking in gratitude.

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Finding Energy Amidst Dysfunction

May 27, 2014

For reasons I fail to fathom, God has placed a number of dysfunctional people into my life over the past few years. I’m not sure what’s going on there. One thing is true–relating with dysfunctional people drain my energy.

The essence of our being is energy. We need to keep our energy up to function effectively.

What to do when our energy sags? For sure, our practice of Spiritual Disciplines is deeply affected by our energy level.

The first thing is to be aware of our energy level. Do you feel the ebb and flow of your energy level?

Notice what you eat. When I eat a heavy meal in the evening, my evening studies or work are shot. Too much fat in the morning breakfast can bog you down for the entire day. There is a saying in German that is a play on words that translates to English, “Man is what he eats.”

When you notice energy lagging during the day, get up. Take a short walk. Get outside. The best way to work if you do thought work is to work in 25-45 minute bursts of concentration followed by a short break.

Meditation is a good energy booster. Sit back, close your eyes, focus on breathing. It’s a great way to refocus.

Many famous people have sworn by afternoon naps. A few years ago the concept of “power napping” became popular.

Keeping the body fit and healthy is a foundation for generating energy.

Thinking about things we are grateful about refocuses our mind and generates energy.

Then watch our attitudes. As we think, so we become. Where are our thoughts? Change our thoughts and attitudes, change our energy level.

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Gratitude Even When You Don’t Feel It

April 29, 2014

Some days, I just don’t feel grateful.

A long, long time ago when I first got into supervision in manufacturing, my boss told me that it would not be technical problems that ate your time and energy. It would be people problems. And it’s true. Everywhere I look recently, it seems that there are people problems blocking my path. Have several now.

I try to teach people about the value of mindfulness. When I sat in my chair this morning to meditate on this post, my thoughts went everywhere. No focus. No mindfulness. I’d come back to the present and then suddenly realize I was off thinking about something else.

There is a recurring to-do item in my Nozbe Getting Things Done planner (affiliate link) to make a list of people and things for which I’m grateful. I often ignore it.

That makes it even more important to my mental/emotional/spiritual well being to stop and contemplate all the blessings which deserve gratitude.

  • People who’ve come into my life
  • A meaningful ministry that can bring spiritual growth to many
  • Choices that led to a simple lifestyle that reduces financial worry
  • The ability to think and write
  • The ability to listen to God when He metaphorically kicks me in the pants and tells me to get over emotional despair
  • Opportunities beyond which I could never even dream as a kid in a very small town in a very rural area

Thanks for listening. What’s your list? Even just writing that list brought to mind many thoughts and prayers for each item. It’s good to make yourself stop in the midst of mental and spiritual distraction and make a list.

Now to go tackle those people problems.

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Pay It Forward

April 9, 2014

There was a couple that I knew at a restaurant that I frequent. Got the idea that I’d pick up their check. Too late. They picked up mine.

They paid it forward.

Next time I picked up the check for some people I knew. Then again for a random group. Just told the server to tell them that someone was paying forward.

We had a pastor who would pay for the next person in line at the gas station.

I read about a guy who travels even more often than I. He always stops at the shoeshine stand whether he needs it or not and pays with a $20–no change.

I tip the housekeepers in hotels. They have a crummy job at low wages. I’ve heard about the condition many people leave behind. And I really appreciate their service. I don’t leave a lot of money (probably should leave a little more), but one day I came back to my room to pick up something and the housekeeper was down the hall. She thanked me profusely. It was just the recognition of doing a good job, I think.

Sometimes I send a gift card for a night out to someone at work who has performed extra work or has just been outstanding in some way and could really use the recognition of a job well done.

I think that I still can’t embed videos on this version of WordPress (I must remember to upgrade). But when I saw this video it brought a tear to my eye. I presume that it’s real–it was forwarded by a couple of people that I trust.

At any rate, watch this Best Shift Ever episode of Prank It Forward and enjoy.

Do you ever pay it forward?

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Anticipation and Stress

December 10, 2013

Advent. Anticipation. Anxiety.

Were you ever about to do something, and then the thought hits “how did I ever get myself into this situation?”

Maybe it was when you were about to get into the car to attempt the world’s largest roller coaster? Or making a big speech in front of a large crowd? Or getting into your car in anticipation of a family Christmas gathering with weather coming in?

Often anticipation and anxiety go together. Maybe that is one reasons psychologists always talk about the weeks leading up to Christmas as one of the most stressful times of the year.

Maybe it’s not so much about celebrating Jesus’ coming into the world as much as all the family stuff, office parties, buying presents, sending cards, other gatherings, need to be cheerful, and so on. We certainly know how to stress ourselves at this time of year.

There are practices that humans have developed to counter these stresses. Mindfulness means paying attention to only the present moment–what’s around you, what your state is, your task at hand. Consciously regulating your breathing whether lying, seated or walking helps bring you into a conscious state of mind.

I don’t teach Yoga as a religion, but as a physical practice and for developing the state of mind of being in the present moment.

Another practice is one that Bill Hybels teaches at Willow Creek Community Church–15 minutes in your chair every morning reading the Bible and contemplating. Gets your day off to a more focused start.

Two more practices are complementary. One is to practice gratitude thanking God for all the things you are grateful for. The other is to practice forgiveness–forgiving others for perceived slights and recognizing your own need for forgiveness for the things you have done to others.

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Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life

September 13, 2013

I almost always meet the nicest people. This week I have been traveling to conferences. Two days in San Antonio and then two in New Orleans. I’m at the Courtyard by Marriott by the convention center in New Orleans right now. The woman who runs the restaurant is a jewel of a person. Just like everyone I’ve met at Courtyards.

Wednesday evening I arrived in town with enough time to check in and then get over to the conference I’m attending. Got back to the Courtyard not having had dinner. She had just closed up the restaurant. But she could get me a glass of wine and rustled up some pita chips and hummus. Just what I needed. I sat in the lounge area yesterday from about 4 pm until almost 9 working. Had dinner and a little wine. She was just the nicest person with everyone.

I’ve met the greatest gate agents in airports, sales clerks, people I do business with. The guy I sat beside on the way from SAT to MSY (San Antonio to New Orleans for those who don’t speak “airline.” Great conversation.

There is a story that I’m told came through Carl Sandburg about a farmer who was asked by a couple of strangers about the type of people who lived around there. He asked them what sort of people there were where they were from. One person replied negatively, the other positively. He told them each, “I suppose you’ll find the same sort of people here.” It’s all in your thinking.

This blog post from Leo about changing your thinking started me thinking. I have had a lot of challenges and changes this summer. Quit a job that paid well in order to gain peace of mind and in order to be creative again. Started a new business. Wound up joining another business to turn it around. Took on a new ministry at church. Then my doctor thought I had some major heart problems, but after 6 weeks of some uncertainty and testing, discovered not much was going on that we didn’t already know about. (I feel great, by the way. Thanks for asking.)

What Leo said in his blog post about being grateful resonated. I found that I intentionally connected with God more often than the preceding few months. I found that in pausing daily to remember all the things I’m grateful for, I gained perspective. I found that by encouraging my natural attitude to believe the best of people, greet people with a smile, be kind all contributed to meeting the nicest people–and finding great joy and peace.

My advice–pause, look at all the things for which you should be grateful, check your thinking and change as necessary.

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Showing Gratitude

June 27, 2013

Thank you.

How often do you say that? How often should you say that? To others? To God?

After another trip and rather than the expense of another night in the hotel and that I’d rather be home, I took another late night flight. Late night flights connecting through the east coast are a certain formula for schedule disaster.

My plane in New Orleans was late arriving and therefore late departing. And therefore late arriving in Washington, D.C. After a long run through a maze designed by an engineer imported from the Spanish Inquisition, there was a train ride. Followed by yet another maze. But…I arrived at the gate area just as the gate agent was announcing boarding would begin. My Group 1 boarding pass plus now being first in line meant I could get to my seat and begin relaxing. Thank you.

(We won’t talk about the 20 minutes we sat at the gate in Washington waiting for the ground crew to get a set of headphones that worked so that they could push us back. Or the 30 minutes we waited in Dayton for the ground crew to arrive to guide us to the gate. With “Bubba” across the aisle from me getting  agitated. Hey, I got home by 1 am instead of 12:15, but I got home.)

Andy Stanley talks about keeping a set of note cards on your desk. When someone does something cool, send a handwritten note. With specifics. Don’t just scribble “thanks,” but say “Thank you for coming early and starting the coffee. The entire staff appreciated it.”

We have many people in our lives to acknowledge with a Thank You. Do it. Daily. Sometimes circumstances are not all that good on the surface, but there are reasons to be thankful. Look for those reasons and rejoice.

 

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What’s Your Big Thing for 2013?

February 7, 2013

Andy Stanley recently spoke on “what’s your big thing for 2013.” For the past year or so, I’ve been increasingly sensing a call for change. Seems like so much of my reading has been evolving in that direction. Especially Henry Cloud’s “Necessary Endings.”

There are things I want to create and new ideas to explore–both within the writing I’ve been doing here, which I wish to expand and in the profession that pays my bills. Not to mention I’ve had on my heart a sense of needing a new ministry of some sort.

So, last month I decided that it was time. After 10 years with the magazine I helped start, it was time to change. I needed a new focus and time to create. So, I have “retired” from active management. I’ll be pursuing some new ideas–some of which I hope will pay my bills 😉

A friend kept advising me to pray intentionally for people to enter my life. Amazingly, within 24 hours three people called me with ideas! So, I teach you all to pray in this site, then I do it myself. Teach the teacher.

I can now devote a little larger part of the day to developing this publication. Notice right away that I finally got around to mapping my domain name to the site. You can still do the “faithventure.wordpress.com” thing, but I now have a standalone name on the Web, “faith-venture.com”.

Now–onward to actually writing the book I’ve been outlining in my head for a year. And more conversations with all of you. That’s my big thing for 2013. What about you?

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Wisdom Sayings Are A Guide For the Heart

January 17, 2013

“Happiness is something that multiplies when it is divided.”

A friend posted on Facebook yesterday. She “tagged” me (whatever that means). But it made me check it out. Then translate it.

This is an example of a Wisdom saying. It along the order of “Love grows when you give it away.” They are easy to say and forget. But they really should be pondered.

Jesus was fond of Wisdom sayings. He quoted Proverbs extensively. James (author of the general letter) also was in the Wisdom tradition. As it happens, I’m reading in Hebrews right now (end of chapter 3). That author says “Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind.”

You must “have” happiness in order to divide it (among others). Show it in your life. Envy and selfish ambition? Impediments to happiness. I have always found a smile is helpful even when I don’t feel like smiling (say at an airport when my flight is cancelled).

In this era of such divisiveness and hate in our society, we need to remember these Wisdom sayings. Not only remember, but live into them. Even when we fail (as I do far too often), we just need to refresh these and bring them into our lives afresh.

So, thanks for reminding me, “Happiness is something that multiplies when it is divided.” Smile at someone today.

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Gratitude for the Season

December 21, 2012

I’m grateful that I’m up this morning, that the newspaper was at the door, that other people are around (yes, my wife even got up an hour early today)–wasn’t the world supposed to come to an end today? Or as one cartoon put it, maybe it’s just the Mayans who came to an end.

It is the winter solstice and it came in with the first day of winter weather. But I like snow. So I’m grateful for even that.

I was going through some recent notes and saw one I made a month or so ago–entitlement is the enemy of gratitude. As I was contemplating that and Matthew Chapter 2 this morning staring at our Christmas tree, I thought of all the people who believe they are entitled to receiving lots of presents in a few days. How many are grateful for friends and family who give those gifts? Or grateful to live in a rich and free society that can provide for them?

The magi, called wise men in English translations, were trained in seeing signs in astronomical events. They saw one such event and figured out the meaning. They traveled most likely from Persia (note that they were not Jewish) to find a baby who would be king. When they found him, they gave gifts.

Matthew says they had great joy. Joy is the flip side of gratitude this season. Giving a gift is done out of the pure joy of giving. If it’s an obligation or given to ungrateful people, it is just a chore. But given with just the pure joy of giving, now that’s a Spiritual practice.

And receiving? Just receive with gratitude that someone was thinking about you and cared enough to give.

Jesus was (and still is) a gift. To us. Just accept the gift with gratitude. Then share the gift. That’s legal–in fact, expected. With joy. That’s really all you need.

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