Spirit & Body

I gave my nephews one hundred index cards to write down what they were grateful for each day. At the end of the hundred days, I would give them one hundred dollars.

I often write a thank you list after an emotionally charged event. It's incredible how this can shift my feelings from disappointment to appreciation. Being thankful is a superpower I want to share with others.

Neuroscience reveals that gratitude rewires our brains to be happier and more content. Experiments at UCLA and UC Davis have measured the effects of appreciation using brain magnetic resonance imaging. The conclusions point to gratitude's positive impact on mental and physical health, self-worth, and relationships. Thank-you really is a magic word.

Thankfulness makes us slow down and pay attention to the important. Rather than chasing after the urgent, we gain perspective on what matters most and live accordingly.

God always looks after our best interests and knows that life will be easier if we remain thankful. He tells us this not because He needs us to be grateful but because we do.

Thankfulness is a powerful means of drawing near to God. It is fundamentally about not taking things for granted. We become more aware of God when we notice His many gifts surrounding us.

Being grateful when life gets complicated challenges us. It's easy to dwell on what is difficult instead of what we have. Focusing on the good stops me from being undone by the bad. Gratitude is progressive; it is the seed of contentment and joy.

Thankfulness redirects our attention from what is wrong in our world to what is right. It initiates satisfaction, enabling us to navigate life with faith and hope.

Thankful people are people who remember, so let's exercise our superpower by writing thank-you notes, prayers, and even index cards.

After my husband left me for another woman, I desperately needed a way to support myself. The Lord opened a door, and I became a secretary at a non-profit organization. I worked well with my first three supervisors for six years and received good annual evaluations and pay raises. Then Nancy became my boss.

At first, it appeared Nancy and I would have a good working relationship. After a while, however, she began neglecting her work and creating problems that she blamed on me.

Nancy wanted to redecorate the office and spent much time looking at paint charts and carpet samples. I tried to do my work, but Nancy expected me to look at the samples with her. She complained as she painted the walls because I wasn’t helping with the painting. Meanwhile, her work went undone.

Nancy and I were the only two employees in the office. Her supervisor was in an office in another city. Nancy lied about my work. Although I had a good working record, Nany eventually had me fired.

Nancy’s supervisor hired one of Nancy’s friends to replace me. Nancy’s betrayal hurt, but with God’s help, I let go of bitterness and forgave.

Christ also knew the pain of betrayal. His heart must have been close to breaking during the Passover meal, knowing that his friend, Judas, would soon betray him. Yet Jesus continued to love and forgive.

Betrayal is painful, but God will help us through those painful times if we permit Him. Perhaps someone has betrayed you—a supervisor, a spouse, a family member.

Be willing to follow Jesus’ example, forgive those who have betrayed you, and accept Jesus as your forever faithful friend.

Despite the promise of a New Year, hope can be elusive. Grief may linger over the death of a loved one. The rigorous demands of a job continue. Finances remain tenuous and bleak. Long-term illness may seem relentless. But there is hope.

Many biblical stories show hope. David felling Goliath with a slingshot. Pairs of animals coming to Noah to board the ark. Daniel surviving a den full of lions. Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego walking unbound and unharmed in the fiery furnace. God parting the Red Sea to make a way for the Israelites and then closing it back over the Egyptians pursuing them. The impenetrable walls crumbling with a shout at Jericho. And God holding back the flood waters of the Jordan so that His people could cross into the Promised Land on dry ground.

God gives all these stories so we can learn how powerful and faithful He is and how He provides for His people as they follow Him.

May we take this encouragement with us into the New Year. Only with God will we have lasting hope.

Pray and ask God to teach and remind you of who He is and how He works. May He be your hope in this year ahead.

"Can I churn the butter, Grandma?"

When we visited my grandparents in the summer, I eagerly awaited my chance to churn butter. It started with Grandpa bringing in pails of foaming milk. Grandma strained it and sat it in the refrigerator until the cream rose to the top. On churning day, she poured the cream into the churn and put the lid down over the plunger. Grandma always reminded me, "Put your hand on this plunger and pump hard."

 After an hour of churning the cream, the butter curds separated from the milk. Grandma scooped out the butter clumps, washed, and shaped them. She then pressed them into a butter mold carved with a design that imprinted a motif on top of the butter. After the butter hardened, she pushed it onto a glass dish. The motif design crowning it celebrated the purity and perfection of the butter.

When we receive Christ as our Savior, Satan's hold on our lives is broken, and our hearts lift toward God in worship. Just as the cream rose to the top of the milk, we are ready for the Spirit of God to mold us into the image of His Son. Just as the plunger beating the cream separates butter curds from the milk, God allows trials and suffering into our lives to separate us from sinful habits and to increase our faith.

God has a plan for us, and suffering breaks our dependence on ourselves and draws us closer to Him. We rejoice in suffering, knowing Christ in His suffering is worthy of our identification with Him. It took time to form the butter, and it takes dedication and continual surrender for God to complete His work in us. God creates a new heart in us and transforms our minds as we study His Word, serve Him, and listen to the Holy Spirit's guidance. When God completes shaping our lives, He puts us into His divine mold. We are pressed into the perfect likeness of Christ and marked with the seal of the Holy Spirit to live eternally in heaven with Him.

Think of ways you see God molding you into the image of His Son.

I have more than my fair share of Christmas ornaments. I’ve also had a few mishaps with them.

The wings on the ceramic angel Love fell off. An ornament that contained a Christmas tree lost its Christmas tree. My favorite crystal star slipped off a limb and shattered. These broken ornaments accumulated during a time when I was broken. Years later, I finally picked up the pieces and fixed what I could. Nothing a bit of glue couldn’t handle.

If only life could be that easy for us. For all the joy Christmas brings, it can also magnify our losses. Death, financial struggles, and strained relationships can leave us feeling broken. Yet God offers hope and healing.

Christ was born to deliver us from our brokenness. We can overcome it. Painful situations may break us, yet God does not design us to stay broken. Jesus was merciful to people—lepers, the blind, the disabled, and even one notorious woman at the well. Christ offers the healing and redemption we desperately need. We celebrate the baby’s birth, yet the man who gave Himself to be broken for our sakes redeems us.

Still, time is often required to push past our pain and embrace God’s restoration. It is even possible to use our broken experiences to help others, which reflects God’s light and fulfills our purpose.

My crystal star hangs once more. Its glaring imperfections no longer bother me. Instead, they are a gentle reminder of God’s ability to mend broken people and get us back where we belong. Though flawed, the crystal still reflects the light around it. And so can we.

If you feel broken, I pray for peace and new hope for you in the coming New Year. I challenge you to allow God’s love to heal and restore you. If you’re feeling festive, show love and empathy for those who may not. We all heal in our own time. As messengers of the gospel, we should also lend an ear to those desperate for understanding. Sometimes, we do the most when we say the least.

Merry Christmas.