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Tag: being grateful

Be Thankful

https://www.facebook.com/thekimberlyjoy/videos/534653223553750/(THE KIMBERLY JOY SHOW: The Thanksgiving Prayer Challenge)

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE THANKFUL
My personal motto is Know Yourself, Be Yourself, Love Yourself. Knowing who you are in God, being who you are with no apologies and loving who you are wholeheartedly includes being THANKFUL to God! When we’re thankful to God, we don’t take what He has done for us lightly or take Him for granted. We are just as thankful for the small blessings as we are for the big ones. For instance, if my dad gives me a brand new car that I don’t have to pay one dime for and that is, in fact, completely paid for with my name on the title, then that is a big blessing.

In my eyes, it’s a big blessing because currently I don’t have the money to pay for a brand new car in full.

On the other hand, if I’m standing in line at Kroger when I realize I’m $4 short, and if the woman standing behind me offers to cover the rest of my bill, then I would call that a small blessing. I consider it a small blessing because I CAN afford $4. As a matter of fact, that actually happened to me. In that particular incident, I miscalculated how much money I had in my purse. Nevertheless, I didn’t worry about it because I wasn’t in dire need of everything I had placed in my cart. However, the woman still offered to pay for the remaining items.

Although it was only $4, I recognized it was still a blessing from God. Let’s be honest, most people wouldn’t do what she did for me. So, when I got to the car and sat behind the steering wheel, I took a moment to thank the Lord for that unexpected blessing.

HOW OFTEN SHOULD WE THANK GOD?
I Thessalonians 5:18 (King James Version) says:

“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

As the verse states, we are to be thankful in every situation. Yes, EVERY situation! I’ve come to realize we can be thankful even in difficult, uncomfortable situations. For example, about 20 years ago my brother, who was a recent high school graduate at the time, was given permission one night to take our dad’s Cadillac, so he could go out with his friends. Later as he was driving home, he fell asleep at the wheel. When he woke up, he realized the car was crashing into a guardrail. In that moment, he decided to open the car door and jump out. Why did he jump out? I don’t think he even knew at the time. Some might say it was instinct, but I say it was an angel of the Lord protecting him because that same Cadillac wound up getting TOTALED!

When he got to a phone, he called our dad. I remember my brother saying how terrified he was of making that phone call because of the condition of the car. Although he was 18 years old and about to go off to college, he just knew he was in serious trouble. When our dad got the call, he was very angry at first. Needless to say, once he saw how bad the car had been wrecked, his anger was suddenly replaced with relief and thankfulness. He no longer cared about that Cadillac. He was just glad his son was able to walk away from that accident with only a bump on the knee. A fancy car could never compare to the life of his son!

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, the time of year when we get together with family and friends to love on each other and EAT, to laugh and EAT, to play and EAT, to watch football and EAT, to shop and EAT, and then to EAT some more. You get my drift, right?

In addition, this particular holiday serves as a reminder that we are to be thankful for our blessings. Naturally, as believers in Christ, every day should be Thanksgiving for us. However, if we were to be honest, that’s not always the case. Sometimes we get caught up in everyday happenings and neglect to thank God.

WHAT IS THE THANKSGIVING PRAYER CHALLENGE?
I want to present you with The Thanksgiving Prayer Challenge. For one week during your daily prayer time, instead of presenting God with a list of things for Him to do, I challenge you to present God with a list of reasons why you’re thankful. In other words, spend time in prayer just THANKING Him. Although Philippians 4:6 tells us to make our petitions known to God, it also tells us to be thankful. Don’t you like it when those around you just appreciate you? God’s the same way! Let me give you an example.

When I was younger, even in my early 20s, I typically only called my father when I needed something, whether it was money or his help. So, whenever I called, he would say something like, “What’s wrong daughter?” or “What do you need?” And that was the norm for us! It wasn’t until I got older, when I realized that, although our dad is always willing to be there for my brother and me, he still wants to feel loved and appreciated. Sometimes, he wants us to call him just to (as he likes to say) “shoot the breeze”. So, now I make it a point to call my dad JUST BECAUSE, and he absolutely loves it!


So, again I CHALLENGE you! Instead of presenting a To-Do list to God, just spend time thanking Him.

Lord I thank You for saving me!
Lord I thank You for waking me up this morning healthy and in my right mind!
Lord I thank you for loving me, for keeping me, for encouraging me, for guiding my footsteps!

Lord I thank you for my family!
Lord I thank You for saving my loved ones!
I thank You for blessing my parents with long lives and healthy bodies and minds!

I thank You for my nieces and nephews, for being a hedge of protection around them every day, for keeping them from being abused and violated in any way and for them growing up to be successful men and women of God!

Lord I thank You for my job, for my home, for my clothes, for my shoes, for my food, for my car!
I thank You God for not giving up on me when I wanted to give up!
I thank You God for loving me when I didn’t know how to love myself!

Lord I thank You for those who are reading this article right now! Thank You Lord for drawing them closer to You and for meeting every need in their lives!
Lord, I thank You!
Lord, I love You!

THE PRAYER OF SALVATION
If you haven’t accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, you can do so right now. I then encourage you to find a good Bible-believing church that will help you grow in your relationship with the Lord.

Romans 10:9 (NIV) says, “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Please pray the following prayer:

Dear Jesus, I come to You confessing I am a sinner in need of a Savior. I believe You shed Your blood on the cross and died for my sins, were buried and rose again so I could be free! Please forgive me for my sins and the life I have lived. I confess You Jesus as Lord and accept You as my own personal Savior. According to the Word of God, I am now saved! Hallelujah! I AM FREE!

WELCOME TO THE FAMILY OF GOD!!!!!

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Attitude of Gratitude

http://https://youtu.be/kUI9LjJLOvI

Thanksgiving is the time of year in which we are reminded to be thankful or to have—–an Attitude of Gratitude. fb_img_1479491270885-1 Needless to say, as a child of God, I must possess this attitude beyond the holiday season. In fact, it is my daily goal. Although I sometimes fall short, through prayer, praise and reading God’s Word, I find myself becoming more grateful.

It took me years to finally understand that having an Attitude of Gratitude is a choice. I was (and still am) a radical praiser, the one who could be heard all over the sanctuary with my loud voice. I found it easy to forget about my problems and just focus on the Lord whenever I was in the presence of other believers. Besides, I’ve always loved church! img_20161108_113940 Even as a teenager, I enjoyed the music, the singing, the high praise, and powerful preaching. I especially loved witnessing someone accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, get healed, or even delivered. I would cry as if it were me standing at the altar. However, I didn’t always maintain that same attitude of praise once the service ended. Why? I didn’t have what I like to now call an Attitude of Gratitude. I wasn’t continually grateful; instead of appreciating all the blessings I had, I focused on what I didn’t have.

I can recall a time in the 8th grade when one of my classmates asked me a question which left me stunned! We had just returned to the locker room from gym class and were preparing to go on to the next bell, when she asked, “Kim, why are you so mean?” I didn’t know how to answer that question because I didn’t consider myself mean. Looking back on it, I now know that she mistook my lack of gratitude for meanness. For instance, I only smiled if someone gave me a reason to smile. Since I didn’t like everything about myself, I wasted time comparing myself to other people. Because I focused on what I thought were good qualities in others, I failed to see the good qualities I already possessed, those qualities God had place inside of me. SO, I didn’t smile. Now, please understand that I am in no way saying that I was never happy or had a horrible childhood. Not at all! God blessed me with two awesome parents!!! Although they later divorced, they continued to take excellent care of my brother and me. I just didn’t understand, at the time, that I could smile and be happy just because…just because I’m alive…just because God is GOD!!!!

I carried this mindset into adulthood because I still didn’t get it! I was a young woman with two college degrees, a career, a home, a car, and, most importantly, a relationship with God. fb_img_1479488892942 Nevertheless, I would allow myself to have moments of depression because of the one thing I felt like was missing from my life……………A HUSBAND! I’m somewhat embarrassed to admit it now, but it’s the truth! Although I had so many other great blessings, I believed that I couldn’t truly be happy until I had a man in my life. In fact, there were times I REFUSED to be happy! I thought that if I cried long enough and hard enough, that God would grant me my wish (as if God were a “genie in a bottle”). I was foolishly waiting for a man to make me happy when I could just choose to be happy by having an Attitude of Gratitude. My situation reminds me of Adam and Eve in the third chapter of Genesis. They had all those delightful trees at their disposal, but they just HAD to eat from the tree God told them to leave alone. They became so fixated on that ONE tree, that they failed to appreciate the ABUNDANCE God had already given them! forest-63275_640

Fast forwarding to today, currently I don’t make the amount of money I was making before and, that’s okay! It’ll come around again! I understand that God had to take me on a journey, in order to make me into the woman I am now. In other words, God had to humble me! Even though I don’t have as many material things as I once did, I am happier than I’ve ever been! Why? In time I came to learn that, as a child of God, I must have an Attitude of Gratitude. Just praising the Lord in church is not enough; my attitude must always be right. The apostle Paul says in Philippians 4:12, “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” As the scripture explains, God expects us to be grateful in every situation. Now that I choose to maintain an Attitude of Gratitude, I find myself smiling A LOT. I laugh as often as possible, even when no one is watching. fb_img_1479491065226 As Nehemiah 8:10 says, the joy of the Lord is my strength! Moreover, my relationship with God is stronger than ever, which is more important to me than anything or anyone in this world. No one can love me and take care of me like God can!

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