Thankful or Just Saying What is Expected?

Sounds a bit cynical doesn't it?  But think about it, how often do we see those that complain about everything list their '30 Days Of Thankfulness'?  Are we as Christians guilty of that?  Do we step up and say what is expected whether it be in November or some other time, all the while our actions are speaking a much more negative tone?  I am ashamed to admit I have been guilty. 


Yet the Bible tells us to Rejoice in the Lord, it tells us that His grace is sufficient, it proclaims that He will meet our needs.  Still we may stay in the 'gloom, despair and agony on me' group because the devil doesn't want us to see those promises for what they contain.  His blood is sufficient - it does not matter what the sin or the problem - this isn't a hope, it is His promise.  But just like every gift He gives you must accept it for it to work in your life.  He will meet our needs, oh may we learn the difference between a need and a want!  We are a generation that WANTS a lot, and most of it is not a need.  We want a shiny new car, even when the car we have works well.  We want more money to buy more things.  We want more things to spend our time on, neglecting the most important aspects of our life, our family.  We want money to buy for our children rather than giving them the time they need to grow and learn the importance of love. 


Have you been guilty?  I have.  I can make excuses all day but the truth is when those things happen it is because I have gotten my eyes off God and on things.  They become the idols of the day.  As Christians we often condemn the 'idols' of false religion, yet we have our own, our tv, our phone, our games (football, basketball, golf), our 'me time' that cause us to lose sight of the path the Savior wants us to take.


I fail, I fail often, I let the past or the present become overwhelming and I take my eyes off the path He wants for me.  But what I'm learning daily is that He forgives often as well.  There is no 'magic' number of failures that make Him say 'nope, you have exceeded your limit today, I can't forgive this'.  He doesn't want us to fail, yet He is there when we do.


And the sooner we turn to Him and ask forgiveness, the sooner we can see His deliverance.  I need His forgiveness every single day.  I don't wake up saying "I'm going to sin or I'm going to fail" each day yet my flesh is weak and I do.  The most amazing thing to me is how He knew that and loved me anyway.  He saw every slip, every fall, every tear and He stretched out His arms on an old rugged cross.


I have no ability to understand that kind of love.  I am so thankful for it.  I fail as a Christian, I fail as a mother, I failed as a daughter, I have failed in everything I have ever attempted. Yet He loves me.  He wants me to succeed, but His love is not based on my success.  Once I accepted Jesus as my Savior, His blood painted me a success in God's eyes.  Lord, help me to become the person You see me as through the blood!

What I Wish My Friends Knew

So today's blog is a bit different.  It is something that I battle with every day.  In many ways this battle reminds me of our spiritual battle because 1) it is relentless, 2) it attacks at the worst time, 3) it wears on us physically and mentally and 4) it is a war we must resolve to fight daily.  If you know me well, you have seen many of these days.  Thank you for hanging in with me.  But today I want you to be aware not just for me but for others that battle this invisible disease called Fibromyalgia. 

When I say I’m having a great day – I mean it but it could change in a moment.  There are days I wake up and almost forget I have it.  Those days the Oils and meds keep the symptoms at bay and I enjoy life.  But that can change before a day is over.  I can wake up and feel great, but a change in weather or temp, moving wrong or doing something that triggers, stress is a big trigger, it can turn things wrong in a second.

I don’t like not being able to do things or having to cancel plans.  But my body and mind don’t always play well together.  It happens.  For me stress can cause pain and also cause panic attacks.  Those make plans go out the window.

When I say I’m fine or ok – I mean, I managed to get out of bed and at least I am up and trying to do what needs to be done.  I may have fibro fog (causing me to forget things that I should know), I may move slow, I may not do the things I once did.  It is not because I am lazy or don’t have the desire, it is because my body refuses to do what I tell it to.

When I say I’m here or I’m making it – it means I’m a hair away from going home and going back to bed.  My nerve endings are on fire and even my clothes touching me hurts.  I love you and I love hugs, but they are a mixed blessing.  On one hand they show me you care, on the other hand, they send pain screaming through my body, so if I don’t hug, please understand.

I’ve heard of (and tried) most ‘fixes’ for fibro.  Essential oils really help me, I love them, they have made my flares less painful and sometimes reduce the time I have them but it isn’t a cure, at least not for me.  Exercise – it is good for you, but I challenge you during a really bad fibro flare to do much of it.  If you can, you are a stronger person that me.  Eating better helps it too but at least for me it is not a cure.

Just as the diseases that you can see, react differently on different people, so does fibro.  Meds, oils and other ‘cures’ will react differently on different folks.  Trust me, if like the oils, they help, I will continue to use them but they lessen the symptoms, not cure the problem.  I wish they would.

You often feel isolated, you can’t do the things others do, you look well but you aren’t.  On days you do have a great day, you do more, which often leads those that don’t understand to think you are faking when you are in great pain.  ‘You did all that stuff yesterday, why can’t you do this little thing today?’  On days you feel great, you also tend to overdo trying to catch up on the things you missed.  You hesitate to sign up for anything because who knows what ‘that day’ will bring.

When I don’t make an event or activity – I am so disappointed, emotions with fibro can be ‘over the top’ and you feel like the world crashes when you have to stop because of the pain.  So please don’t try to make me feel guilty for missing it.  I already feel bad enough.  I miss church, I miss work, I miss family events, all because my body is putting out pain signals to all my nerve endings. 

I wish people could understand but I also know for them to understand they would need to feel what I feel and I would not wish that on my worst enemy.  But if you read this and you are my friend or you know someone who has fibro, please be patient.  Please know that just as you can’t see our pain, you can’t see how much we desire to do the things we miss.  You can’t see the times we do push too hard to keep from disappointing someone and pay for it with our body and mind.  Most of all, don’t write us off because we can’t do it all.  We will do what we can and we want to be a part.

I’m thankful that my God knows and understands, I’m thankful that He gives grace and many days He gives strength that I know I didn’t have.  I’m thankful that He doesn’t write us off but He is longsuffering with our troubles. 

More Choices

This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it.  I admit it, I don't feel like rejoicing.  But I will rejoice because in spite of my feelings, God is good.  He is faithful, He is the giver of life and the Redeemer of my soul  So I will rejoice.


I used to think/feel that I had to feel the emotions to do the rejoicing.  Yet I've learned that many times the opposite is true.  I have to rejoice to begin feeling like rejoicing.  Rejoicing is just like worship in that it is a choice.  In our current, feel good society, we often don't understand that it isn't about how we feel.  It is good to feel the Holy Spirit and to have Him gently wash over you with a wonderful feeling of peace and joy.


But there are the days, like today for me, when I look at the current circumstances in my life and I say 'I just need to praise God anyway'.  Thanking God and rejoicing or mentioned numerous times in the scripture but in none of those mentions do you find it saying 'rejoice if you feel like it' or 'thank God because everything is awesome'.  It says to rejoice because the Lord made this day.  It may be a day of tears, it may be a day of heartache but we are still to rejoice.




We aren't told to thank God FOR everything but rather we are told IN everything give thanks.  In the trial, in the grieving, in the uncertainty, in whatever happens thank God because He deserves our thanks.  Recently, it has been for me about thanking Him IN the trials, IN the confusion, IN the pain.  But I am still thankful that He holds my future in His hands.


I will rejoice because He is worthy.  I choose to rejoice.  I choose to trust Him.  I choose to wait for His direction.  I have not always made these choices and I've seen the heartbreak it can bring.  I choose life in Christ because it is the only life that can sustain me.


What do you choose today?  Are you overwhelmed?  Tired? Depressed? Worn out?  Choose Jesus, He is the answer for each of those problems.