Tag: gratitude (Page 1 of 3)

Soul Food with a Helping of Gratitude

October 31, 2019 /

It’s November! And with it comes Thanksgiving – the holiday many people say is their favorite because it’s simple. Family, football, a festive feast day, and no frenetic search for the perfect gifts.

No, it’s not great for everyone, I know. I don’t want to diminish the pain of those who are going through this holiday for the first time with someone missing from their table, or are in the midst of circumstances that are very difficult. Be gentle with yourself. Tell your people what you need. Maybe go back and read this post on a “sacrifice of praise” from a few years ago.

Some of us might need a little perspective shift. You may want to check out this post on what Thanksgiving looks like from where someone else is sitting.

If you want some prompts to help you keep a focus on gratitude this month, here you go!

  1. Write a note to someone you’re grateful for.
  2. Host a Friendsgiving gathering.
  3. Post a picture of one place you’re grateful for.
  4. Post a verse or quote on gratitude that is meaningful to you.
  5. Bake goodies and deliver as a thank you to people who don’t usually get recognized – like the janitor at your kids’ school.
  6. Give a shout out to a favorite Instagram feed and why you appreciate it. Share one of their pictures.
  7. What’s a favorite comfort food you’re thankful for? Make and invite someone to share.
  8. Share a Thanksgiving story with pictures.
  9. What helps create a comforting atmosphere that you’re grateful for?
  10. Post a picture of family members you’re grateful for.

I’ll be posting my responses to these on Instagram and I’d LOVE to see you do it too! Just use the hashtag #everydaygraces (Did you know you can follow hashtags? You can, and I will be following!)

You guys who know me, know that one of the things I LOVE is meaningful questions around the table! Here’s a fun resource I like that you might consider for Thanksgiving dinner! It’s called “Untie Your Story” – questions on cloth you cut apart and tie around the napkins at your table.

Some fun Instagram posts for the day after Halloween…

Gotta love Letterfolk!

Happy Weekending friends!

5 Soul Food Questions for Autumn

October 11, 2019 /
  1. What are you thankful for?

We have been traveling a LOT this fall and I am so grateful for all our experiences, but you know what I am most thankful for? In each place we visited it was like God had a divine appointment for us – an important conversation that we didn’t expect – with someone who needed encouragement, or wisdom or just a listening ear. I am so thankful for these sacred moments and the sense of God’s presence in the midst.

I also could not stop taking pictures of the trees up in northern Minnesota!! So grateful for fall beauty!

Can you even stand how gorgeous this is??

I’m all about gathering people and connecting – whether around a bonfire, a table, or on a walk, and Fall is the perfect time for this, right??

2. Who are you going to gather around your table (or bonfire, or pumpkin patch, or trail?)

For one dinner I’m hosting, I mailed the invites on postcards from the place we honeymooned. I asked the people coming to bring a side dish representative of where they honeymooned or traveled on a recent trip. Someone who went to Door County, Wisconsin recently is bringing a cherry pie. Since we were in France in September, I’m making a French Wine and Mustard Chicken recipe.

3. What are you going to cook/bake/or have others make?

Here are a couple of super easy recipes I’ve been making on repeat.

Yummy Buns

  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1 ts. salt
  • 1 ts. pepper
  • 1 ts. cumin
  • 1 ts. mustard powder
  • 1/2 ts. smoked paprika
  • 2 c. diced onions 91 whole)
  • 3-4 cloves garlic minced (I use minced garlic from a bottle)
  • 1 10 oz. can Ro-tel tomatoes (I use mild, but you can go spicy if you want)
  • 12 slices cheddar cheese
  • 12 Hawaiian slider buns

Glaze for topping:

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 2 TB brown sugar
  • 1 TB Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 TB mustard
  • 1 TB sesame seeds

Pumpkin Dump Cake

Bottom:

  • 1 pkg. yellow cake mix (SET ASIDE ONE CUP DRY FOR TOPPING – I always forget this part)
  • 1/2 cup melted butter
  • 1 egg

Mix and pat in bottom of greased 9×13 pan

Filling:

  • 1lb can Pumpking pie mix (Not just plain pumpkin)
  • 1 small can evaporated milk
  • 2 eggs

Mix and pour over bottom

Topping:

  • 1 cup yellow cake mix saved from above
  • 1 ts. cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup margarine cut into the mixture with sharp knife

Crumble topping over filling and bake @350 45 minutes. Don’t over-cook. (I’ve had the bottom get too done. It’s supposed to be just barely set.) Serve with ice cream FTW!

4. What will you talk about?

Let’s face it. I can be a bit much for some people with my enthusiastic question-asking! I don’t want to always have an “agenda”, but keeping some good questions in mind can make the difference between a fun evening, and one that is both fun and meaningful. Here are a few to get you started:

I love this question from Letterfolk who I follow on Instagram

And some that I like to ask:

  • What’s been the most surprising thing to you about __________? (marriage, parenthood, your job, retirement, your recent trip…)
  • What do you need most from God in this season of your life?
  • What’s one funny story from your wedding or honeymoon?
  • Share about a favorite meal you had – was it the food, the location, the conversation, or the people you shared it with that meant the most?

5. How are you connecting with or serving people different from you?

Maybe make some cookies and share then with someone of a different political party or religion?

I’d love to hear from you! How would you answer any one of these 5 questions? Share in the comments!

I’d love to have you join me over on Instagram! Come say “Hey!” and have a great weekend!

Taking the Long Way

October 6, 2019 /

It’s still zero dark thirty as I walk through my neighborhood to coffee, but I can tell it’s cloudy. No stars. No moon. It’s a blustery 48 degrees and I’m not dressed for the changing season.

I usually take the “long way”, weaving through the lovely back streets, but today my hands are becoming numb. I cut out of the neighborhood for a more direct route to the warm Starbucks with lights beckoning me through the darkness.

As I walk, I think of the Israelites in the wilderness. How much would they have loved to turn on a GPS and take a shortcut to the Promised Land?

How often did they think, “God parted the Red Sea for us! Why not provide a highway and a Maserati?” Ok, maybe not that exact sentiment, but something within the realm of their imagination, right?

How often would you like to do that too? Maybe your wilderness is singleness, or infertility, or joblessness, or health issues, or more month than money.

Yeah, we can see the benefits of the “long way” for the Israelites –

  • They learned deep, daily dependence on God.
  • They saw His faithfulness and goodness even when their circumstances didn’t change.
  • They experienced the value of community.
  • They learned the consequences of disobedience.

But maybe you’re feeling really cranky today and you’re tired of looking for the blessings. You may feel like you’re making excuses for God. That’s honest.

via GIPHY

Maybe today you need permission to lament. (Psalm 5:1-3, Psalm 6:3)

Maybe you need to hear that God is patient and sees you and hears you no matter how rebellious you feel. (Genesis 13:16, Psalm 40:1, 2 Peter 3:9)

Maybe you just need your weariness and pain to be validated. (Psalm 119:28, Psalm 34:18)

It’s ok. God is big and gracious and patient.

But he brought his people out like a flock; he led them like sheep through the wilderness.

Psalm 78:52

What has helped you in your wilderness? Share in comments! And I’d love to have you join me over on Instagram! Come say “Hey!”

A Game to Stretch Spiritual Muscles

August 12, 2019 /

Ok, I’ll admit it…I’m not sure how many people are reading blog posts in August. I feel like I may be throwing words out into a void. So today I’ve edited and am reposting some thoughts from years ago. You can prove me wrong if you actually read this by posting a thought in the comments!

Spiritual practices are usually kind of like workouts at the gym, right?

They’re supposed to stretch the spiritual muscles that need stretching…to practice what you hope will one day come naturally.

Like you run a mile on the treadmill so that if one day you’re being chased by a bear you won’t collapse in a heap after 15 yards.

But that can sound a little…intense, so a couple weeks ago I decided to make a little game for myself.  

In our family we LOVE games, especially games with points.  (In case you’re worried about my theology, I know discipleship isn’t a game and it is about grace and cooperating with God’s work in our lives.  Just give this a chance! :))

I decided to see how many times I could genuinely affirm different people during the day.  I chose to give myself extra credit points for specific compliments that weren’t appearance related and for words of affirmation directed at strangers.

Maggie’s response when I told her about my game?  “Mom, you’re weird. Kind. But weird.”

I told her I didn’t think she was being very affirming.

I continued this practice over the week and it has been a rich discipline that has helped me notice things with gratitude…notice God’s gifts to me.

Some of the most fun moments of affirmation:

▪ Asking to speak to a customer service rep’s supervisor on the phone because she had been so helpful and I wanted to be sure she was recognized. (She was so shocked I wondered if anyone EVER says anything positive to Customer Service folks)

▪ Texting a young man with a reminder that I see God in him and he is a man of integrity in hard situations.

▪ Writing a note to a man who had been let go from his job, affirming the value he had brought to the organization

▪ Introducing myself and thanking a mentally challenged young man for the great job he was doing cleaning the health club.

Anyway, it’s been so much fun and has stretched my “gratitude muscles”

We’re bombarded with so much information that sometimes we need to just try ONE THING and see how it goes.  Maybe give this one a go and see what you think!

OR suggest a different spiritual experiment!  I’d love to hear your ideas!

Let me know what happens!

5 Practices to Combat Yard-sticking, Part 2

February 13, 2018 /

We all want to feel significant. Am I right??  We want to be -ER or -EST.

But when the only way we get our validation is through “yard-sticking” (being better or best), rather through God’s unconditional delight in us we’re sunk.

I compare, and I think “Ahhhh! I’m better than that!” and pride sneaks in. Or I compare and I think, “Oh, I’ll never be as good as ______” and I forget my worth in Jesus. Pride or Insecurity are the dangers of focusing on -er and -est.

This is an on-going struggle, kind of like whack-a-mole, needing constant attention because the yardstick will pop up over and over.

The other day I wrote about the first 3 practices that I’ve tried in combatting the tendency to yardstick. Here are the final 2. What would you add?

4. Practice gratitude.

Everything God created is good, and to be received with thanks. 1Timothy 4:4 MSG

Stop and make a list of the gifts, talents, and opportunities God has given you, thanking Him for the “good works He planned for you long ago”. Even things that seem like limitations may be used for God’s glory. Think of Peter and Paul in jail and their witness.

5. Embrace the discipline of genuine affirmation that comes from a place of abundance not scarcity.

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. Ephesians 4:29

Sometimes, especially when someone else is getting a boatload of attention, it’s hard to be affirming. We can choke on our words because we think “It’s not FAIR!” But when we can be authentic and specific I believe it will strengthen our confidence in God as a God of abundance and not scarcity.

 

One caveat…I do believe that there are times when we’re called to protect our soul from people who somehow Satan seems to consistently use to reinforce the lie of “not good enough”.  This doesn’t mean they are bad people at all, but I unfollow and unsubscribe those who bring out shame or anxiety in me. Boundaries can be a blessing.

None of this is easy. What thoughts would you add?

 

 

Soul Food When You’re Depressed With Politics (or life in general)

March 18, 2016 /

Hey friends, I don’t know about you, but around here it’s been quite a downer of a week. It just seems that all the news from both friends and the world at large, is H.E.A.V.Y.

Sure, sometimes the appropriate response is a sarcastic “Your problems are soooo real!”

giphy

We need safe places to be real about our mess, but we also need to balance our pain with the discipline of genuine gratitude.

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thes. 5:18

So, after a week of ugly politics, continued war, hard diagnoses, hurting marriages, and loss on many fronts, here’s some stuff I’m thankful for. Continue reading

How to Write the Perfect Note

November 2, 2015 /

Ok, the title of this post might be a tad misleading. Technically speaking, I do NOT know how to write a perfect note.

And don’t forget one of my life verses: “Where words are many, sin is not absent.” So there’s that…

However, writing notes to people is a powerful ministry. I think we can all learn from each other.

I’m betting you, like me, have a drawer of “keepers” – notes that have been especially timely, impactful, or encouraging.

IMG_2044

Like a squirrel with a stash of nuts he saves for the long winter nights, we may treasure and re-read these nuggets when we need a little encouragement, especially in dark, cold seasons.

What is it that gives special notes such value in your mind?

As I read back over my “stash” here are some of the elements I notice about people who write great notes: Continue reading

Faith

February 16, 2015 /

Faith is a funny thing.  It shows up in hospital rooms and in the desperate “Help!” silently prayed in the midst of a tense conversation.  It seems to hover in the beauty of forests and night skies, punctuated with hallelujah’s.   It peeks around the corner where single moms struggle to survive and shows up brave where “I forgive you’s” are offered.  It’s whispered on the lips of soldiers dying in foreign countries, far from their moms.

But this week, as we attend both a family wedding and the funeral of a dear friend, it strikes me that faith surprises us most when we stop to look at life and see it in a multitude of “thank you’s”. Continue reading

Three Questions to Ask Yourself When You’re Waiting

February 2, 2015 /

“Waiting is our destiny as creatures who cannot by themselves bring about what they hope for. We wait in the darkness for a flame we cannot light; we wait in fear for a happy ending we cannot write. We wait for a not yet that feels like a not ever. Waiting is the hardest work of hope.” Lewis Smedes

The other day a young mom asked if we could meet for coffee.  I had no idea what she wanted to talk about so when she said, “I want to ask what you’ve learned about waiting.” I’m sure my expression must have conveyed the incredulity I felt.  I wanted to say, “What??! Waiting  is one of my WORST things!

Couldn’t you ask about Gilmore Girls trivia or how to hone spy skills so you’re ready in case the CIA calls?  Those are my good things!

But no, it was waiting she was struggling with.  At least I could empathize because I’ve done a lot of it.

I remember the time I got trapped in my OBGYN’s exam room, sitting in my lovely paper gown on a table for an hour “And NO PHONE!” to call and remind someone I was there. Tiptoeing paper-garbed to the front desk did not seem to be a reasonable choice, and I thought as soon as I got dressed the Dr. would show up.

Even if not stuck in a Dr.’s office, most of us are waiting for something.  Waiting for a job or a baby or a husband or healing or whatever.

Turns out a lot of us can relate to not being good “wait-ers”.  The Today Show talked about a recent study that said: Continue reading

4 Habits of Happy People

January 21, 2015 /

The Huffington post had a fascinating article recently called 7 Habits of Unhappy People.  In it the author quotes Psychology Today research that states “40 percent of our capacity for happiness is within our power to change.”

Looking at those negative habits, I’ve been thinking about the habits that lead to happiness, or rather, I’d say joy, because I see joy as independent of circumstances.  Anyway, potato, potahto…

Here’s what I’ve come up with: Continue reading

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