When I was a little boy in church, we sang an old hymn called "Count Your Blessings." I think that is a good way to start your week on a Monday when it is tough to get out of bed, to find motivation, or to recover from the hangover you got as a result of preaching or serving this weekend at church. God has given each of us innumerable gifts. We did not earn them. He freely gave them as an overflow of His love and grace. Consider just a few of the wonderful things He has lavished on us:
1. Health - If you can walk, talk, see, hear, reason, and think, then you are blessed.
2. Water - If you have access to clean drinking water today, then you are extremely blessed by God, considering nearly half the world's population may not have, or has no access to, water that is free from deadly diseases or bacteria.
3. Family - Sure, your family is not perfect (you are a part of it). Yet your spouse, your parents, your children, and even your siblings are a gift of God's grace that you can live your life with and learn from and lean on.
4. Friends - If you have just one real, true and trusted friend that you can pick up a phone and call for encouragement, then you are rich.
5. The Bible - When I am filled with fear and anxiety, the Word of God lifts my spirits faster than any other option, including a song on the radio or an article online.
6. Church - I am not talking about the building you drive to on Sunday. I am talking about the people of God, your community, the family that you belong to, who is there to help you, instruct you, give you courage and strength.
7. Jesus Christ - If you know Christ, then you have eternal, abundant life. Live like it!
So count them, over and over again. You are blessed!
Comments
August 23 2010
Craig Clark
HOOAH!
August 23 2010
Cindy & Mike Davis
I could not help but remember my Father-in-Law when I saw “Count Your Many Blessings” today…He had alzheimers and one day he simply could not remember how to put one foot in front of the other to walk. Mike & I supported him by getting in front of him and behind him and we said, “okay Papa let’s walk”, he said “okay”...nothing, we said “okay papa lets walk”, he said “okay”..once again nothing. So we began to gently pull and gently push until his feet began to move and as we walked him back to his bed he sang “Count Your Many Blessings name them one by one”, then he sang “Just A Closer Walk With Thee”—how sweet his testimony was. He could not remember how to walk but his walk with Jesus had been so sweet that although he sufferred memory loss the Holy word and songs were so deeply impressed upon his heart….what a great testimony:)
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