Thrilling Guest Thursday Reprise {and Moving Day}

Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God.

(Philippians 1:3 NLT)

A little over a year ago, I made a commitment to blog on a regular basis. One of my favorite features has been Thrilling Guest Thursdays! I went back through the archives and gathered the first posts of each guest to thank them personally for sharing of themselves and their journeys with us here at Nourishment for the Soul. Some were one time visitors, who I hope will return again next year, and others have become regulars that we look forward to greeting in this place. Click on the guest name to revisit their words and their hearts. If you would like to find other posts from Thrilling Guest Thursday, just use the handy search gadget at the top right hand side of the blog and plug in "Thrilling Guest Thursday". 

I am thankful for words and this place to feed on them, for readers, for comments, for guests, for blogger and for God giving us the ability to form friendships through words and common journeys. 

Here's the guest list from 2012-2013:

Kelly Greer
Lynn D. Morrissey
The Urban Hermit
Juniper Gillian
Rachelle Parezo
Marijo Blair
Elizabeth Anne May
Jody Lee Collins
Jeanie Kelley
Tracy Flori
Dawn Paoletta (Random Journal Day)
Karen O'Connor


I have decided to move Nourishment for the Soul...you will now find me at kelrohlf.wordpress.com. I was ready for a new look and a new format. Please follow me over there. I will keep the archives up here for now. And I have transferred them to the new place, too. I am looking forward to seeing where God takes us this new church year, as Advent begins on Sunday. See you over at the new place, where we can continue the dialogue about words and the WORD! 

Key: Important, Fundamental {Intuition Diaries}

He will be the sure foundation for your times,

a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge;

the fear of the LORD is the key to this treasure. 

Isaiah 33:6 NIV

Why, the question often asked when there is no evident reason for a particular event. Why did this happen to me? Why did it happen now? Questioning of this nature can become an exercise in frustration. Possibly a better, more important question would be how I can respond to such and such situation.

When I go on a vacation, my expectations are at full throttle. My objective is to get to the destination, so we can relax. Leave behind the cares of daily, routine life. Take a break from asking why all the time. Just rest and take in the new landscape. 

My husband and I left early Monday morning for our long awaited trip to the Erie Canal. We made it to Cleveland with our boat and belongings towing smoothly behind our truck.

Tuesday morning, we got a little lost getting out of Cleveland, but once we got back on track, we were on schedule to be at the marina in Buffalo that evening. We had squeezed through the construction zones, talking about the day ahead and just watching the road pass behind us, when we heard a ka-thump. Les slowed us down and pulled off onto the wide shoulder. I said, what happened. He said, I think we lost a tire.

He carefully climbed out of the driver’s seat to inspect the damage. The report: one of the dual axles was bent and a tire was stripped of its tread. We called a towing agency. But our boat was too tall to put on a truck. They gave us a number for a nearby repair place, twenty miles away. Our options were not looking good. Les removed the tire and we hoped there might be a repair place at a marina in the next town a few miles ahead.

Amazingly, we remained fairly calm through the whole ordeal. (As you can imagine, in these types of situations tempers tend to flare.) We needed some other tools that were locked in the boat. So I went to get the boat keys out of the truck. Um…Les, did you put the keys somewhere else.  Um…no.  I…think we left them at home. Why would we do such a stupid thing? When packing for a big trip we live by checklists, but apparently neither of us thought to put the keys on the list.

We could have spent all day asking why did this happen, but instead for some reason I started thanking God for the things that were good: for the wide shoulder, because we had just left a constricted construction zone, for our son being available to overnight the keys to us and for the nearby marina having a repair shop so we didn't have to drive twenty miles on a broken trailer. Our plans are delayed, but as the repair guy said, “It could have been worse.”

When I was telling my mom about our adventure, she said God was with you. And then I realized that this particular day was not like any other day in life. Things happen. We don’t really know why, but God is with us. He provides what we need in each situation.

This post is the first in a series, I will be calling the Intuition Diaries, where I will confess our blunders and share our adventures on the Erie Canal. (At the end of the day, I jokingly told my husband the reason for our hardship was my fault, because I wanted something interesting to post on the blog . . . *smile*)

picture of the Intuition from a previous adventure

Raiment: Clothes; Garments

Behold, I have caused thine

iniquity to pass from thee,

and I will clothe thee

with change of raiment.

(Zechariah 3:4b KJV)

 

When we come to God with our sin, it is like exchanging filthy garments for fresh clean clothes. The word raiment has a beauty to it. It derives from the word “array,” which means “to set or place in order.” This describes accurately what happens when we come to God in confession.

Array often is associated with richness. Often it used to describe those who clothe themselves with ornate, luxurious robes. Several times in Scripture the metaphor of being clothed is used to describe our condition before God. When we “wear” Jesus, we gain a robe of righteousness, a garment of praise and a beautiful spirit of grace. Not only does God cleanse us from our sin, but He adorns us in His best qualities.

Another way to display God’s goodness in prayer is the practice of thanksgiving. Most people will agree that is easier to give thanks when life is going well, than when it’s full of trials and despair.

In Prayers for People Under Pressure, Jonathan Aitken admits, “ . . . although praying to God when our lives are going topsy-turvy is an almost impossible challenge, we should reflect of the argument for trying to do just that.” And while I agree that it is beneficial to thank God for the difficult things in our lives, as well as the benefits, today it occurred to me that I very rarely thank God for taking away my sin and for forgiving me for my many faults. When I think about it this way, I have something to be thankful for everyday.

When we find it difficult to be thankful, maybe we should pray one of these two prayers from renowned English bards:

 

O Lord, thou hast give so much to me;

give one thing more; a grateful heart. Amen.

(George Herbert, 1593-1633)

 

O Lord, that lends me life,

Lend me a heart replete with thankfulness.

(William Shakespeare, 1564-1616)

Linking up with Soli Deo Gloria Sisterhood

Stay Tuned

The rest of the week, I will be taking a break from blogging in order to celebrate Thanksgiving and prepare for the Advent{ures} ahead. Have a blessed time recalling the goodness of God
in the land of the living.

When I return, let's go on an Advent{ure} together! I will begin a series for the Advent season called . . .

 

 

 Advent{ures}: Let's Go to Bethlehem

When: Sunday, November 25 through Sunday, January 6

 

What: Recollections of the Nativity: Before, During and After

 

Where: Right here at Nourishment for the Soul

 

Why: To Renew Our Spirits

 

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

Luke 2:15 NIV

Grouse: Complain; Grumble

“An inward grouse is a devastating thing.” Amy Carmichael

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise:

be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting;

and his truth endureth to all generations.

Psalm 100:4-5 KJV

Thanksgiving comes but once a year, yet I desire to cultivate a thankful heart the whole year through. It’s not easy. I came down with a whopper of a cold over Thanksgiving break. My tendency is to whine and moan between the fits of coughing. I’ve heard somewhere that it helps to thank God for the bad, as well as the good. But I heard even better advice today. Thank God for his goodness and grace.

This evening I watched The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. The transformation of the Grinch’s heart speaks to me of the transforming grace of Christ. The episode opens with the townspeople singing: "Welcome Christmas"

To welcome Christmas. . . that is what I’d like to do over the next few weeks. Will you join me?

It takes conscious effort to move from grousing to rejoicing. I know this from personal experience. Even this morning, I almost gave in to wallowing in self-pity. “Woe is me, I have a cold.” My plight is not unusual; probably the majority of us will have a cold this winter, as it is called the “common” cold.

Part of my complaint was common; I don’t have time to be sick. I got things to do: cleaning, studying, buying, decorating and apparently now—resting. I chafe against rest. If had pushed myself today, I wouldn’t have had time to reflect on the devastating effects of grumbling. I would have missed out on practicing the art of giving thanks on all occasions. So maybe I didn’t thank God for my cold, but I did thank Him for his goodness in reminding me that rest is an important part of life.

Usually I pick a devotional book that has daily readings for the Advent season. This year I picked up a book, I read earlier this year. It’s called God’s Love Letters to You: A 40-Day Devotional Experience written by Dr. Larry Crabb. Each day focuses on a different book in the Bible. Today was Genesis—a very good place to start—the beginning. Written from the first person perspective of God, the subtitle for today’s reading warms my heart: I Have a Plan: Trust Me. The devotion raises the question of why doesn’t God immediately relieve our pain. It didn’t answer the question, but gave me space to contemplate it. The last sentence offers food for thought: “You must live now in the tension between anguish and hope.” Again, I found no direct answer, but something to mull over. How can I live in this tension? Will I trust God’s plan?

My expectation after Thanksgiving was to gear up for the end of the semester at the highest speed possible, but my health has slowed me down. After a day of resting in God’s presence, reading books and ruminating on God’s words— I give thanks for His grace for this day.

I am ready to welcome Christmas at a pace that embraces the goodness of God.