Tag: thankful in all things

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How do I remain Thankful in all Things?

I wrote a while back about having read Jon Gordon’s book, The Garden. It was a short book that I read on Sunday afternoon sitting by the water at Smith Mountain Lake. As mentioned in this podcast, https://www.thebrianbuffinishow.com/the-garden-with-jon-gordon-225/ Jon wrote this parable like story to help folks deal with the fear and anxiety in their lives. The uncertainty in our world today makes the book even more relevant today.

It has been a month since I read The Garden. Little did I know God would use it to once again. Teaching me to remain thankful in all things and remain positive even when what is going on in the world makes me feel otherwise. I was on a Zoom call the other day with some of my oldest and dearest friends. (Side note- 6 months ago, who had even heard of Zoom? ?) The conversation turned to having an attitude of gratitude and whether it can make a difference. Studies like this one show people that stay positive and optimistic. https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/giving-thanks-can-make-you-happier Studies like this one prove what God has said all along. He wants us to have an abundant life (John 10:10). Psalm 91:2 teaches that even in the midst of trying and difficult times we can say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” In fact, later in the book of John. Jesus says, “He wants His joy to be in each of us so that your joy may be complete.”

I am sure many of you are experiencing your own personal trials and challenges these days. If you have been following along you know my journey through adversity, like what you are facing, has not been easy. We all have to find our own way through it. Here are just a few thoughts on what has helped me.
1) I know that God is with me. As the song, Do it again says, “He has never failed me yet” https://youtu.be/0B_lnQIITxU

2) As Jon Gordon writes in The Garden, I have to fight the distractions of my every day life so that I stay resolved in remaining positive versus succumbing to discouragement.
3) Find ways to be outward focused by serving others. This allows you to break out of just thinking about you and how you wish your circumstances were better.
4) Strive to make every moment matter. Frank Laibach writes, “ Practicing the presence of God is the secret. Paul said “pray without ceasing. In everything make your wants known to God.” As you are led by the Spirit of God you realize you are a child of God“

It is not easy to do. I have recently set up my phone to remind me every 3 hours to “Be Still and know that He is God”. I forget. I get distracted even when I stop to recite The Lord’s Prayer and/or Psalm 23. What I can say is when I do stop and remind myself, my life gains the right perspective and allows me to remain “Thankful in all things”.

My Guillain Barre Syndrome Story can be found at www.caringbridge.org/visit/michaelguthrie You can contact me via email at [email protected]

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What have you learned from the Covid19 Quarantine?

My Quarantine version of Psalm 23 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
As I navigate the lonely paths of Covid19, The Lord will be my guide and His presence is all I need
Whether I think it is needed or not, I will use this time for rest and quiet reflection.
So that my soul can be refreshed
As He guides me where He wants me to be used bring Glory and honor to His name.
Even though I walk
through the valley of people wearing masks
I will fear no evil,
He gives my faith confidence so that I can go or do wherever He feels the need to send me.
Knowing even in self-isolation you are with me and won’t forsake me.
Like the shepherds’ rod and staff, your Word and the Holy Spirit will teach and comfort me.
Even in the midst of my adversity, You will abundantly provide all that I need so that I will it be afraid.
Like an anointing, You will bless and protect me from whatever evil that wants to prey on me.
You will fill me with your spirit so that cup of love you want me to share overflows.
I count and trust on the contentment of your love for as long as I am to live.
This assurance brings joy knowing that I will be welcomed and will forever dwell in the house that you went and prepared for me.


Quarantine is hard. I started writing this Friday. What happened to TGIF? Hello! Who else finds themselves asking, “What does it matter that is the weekend? It is another day just like yesterday and the day before, and the day before.” I then ask God, “in the midst of all that is going on, how am I to remain, “thankful in all things?”
A friend’s family recently spent a week on the eastern shore of Virginia for what I found out was their annual spiritual retreat. I loved the idea of it yet realized, that is something I have never intentionally done for an extended period of time. The key word I realized was intentionally because my circumstances have now provided two recent seasons of spiritual retreat. Last year, Guillain Barre Syndrome stopped me in my tracks physically. http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/michaelguthrieThis year my Covid19 self-isolation due to my GBS compromised immune system has provided another 5 months of elongated down time for introspection of who I am before God. I read Isaiah 40:31 differently this week. “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength.

Notice it says those who WAIT. Webster defines wait this way. “stay where one is or delay action until a particular time or until something else happens” or “a period of time used to indicate that one is eagerly impatient to do something or for something to happen.” I am sure all of us in some way or another are experiencing the angst of waiting. I hear folks say all the time, “if I just knew when this would all be over it would be so much easier to manage”. Yet wait in this verse means something much more. The Barnes bible commentary unpacks it this way. “The word rendered ‘wait upon’ here (from קוה qâvâh), denotes properly to wait, in the sense of expecting. The phrase, ‘to wait on Yahweh,’ means to wait for his help; that is, to trust in him, to put our hope or confidence in him. It is applicable to those who are in circumstances of danger or want, and who look to him for his merciful interposition.“He refers to those who were suffering a long and grievous captivity in Babylon but this phrase is applicable also to all who feel, because of this uncertainty, that they are weak, feeble, guilty, and helpless.” God says wait and trust in Me. Waiting does not mean doing nothing, Barnes continues, “It does not imply inactivity or laziness, it implies merely that our hope of aid and salvation is in him – a feeling that is as consistent with the most strenuous endeavors to secure the object”. “What are you doing while you wait? Will you look back when (please Lord) this is over with a feeling that you used this time of waiting well?

There are so many stories out there of people who have done extraordinary things in periods of time out. Shakespeare wrote King Lear,’ ‘Macbeth’ and ‘Antony and Cleopatra’ as London reeled from the foiled Gunpowder Plot of 1605 and an outbreak of the bubonic plague the following year. Paul wrote the epistles Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon from his Rome prison cell. Isaac Newton discovered gravity during an 18 month quarantine. I recently watched Glenn Lundy http://Www.glennlundy.com interview Joe Buckner who spent time in prison. He shared he had no idea that his journaling during his confinement would turn into 2 books and help him become successful in business.https://yorkathleticsmfg.com/blogs/loversandfighters/beautifully-savage-the-joe-buckner-story

It is up to you. You can succumb to feeling sorry for yourself wishing that things could be different or will you wait on the Lord? When we do, He promises to “lift you up with a renewed strength. Allowing you to soar high on wings like eagles. You will go out ready to serve without growing weary” even if it is from the confines of your home using Zoom, phone or mailed hand written notes. You might even drop curbside pick up things on people’ porches.

Who knows. Maybe you will write a book, a blog people read ?, or invent the next greatest thing. What I can tell you is just commit to making a difference and your part of the world will be better for it. If you do nothing else, the time you spent waiting on the Lord will have been time well spent. It’s not too late. As in another place in Isaiah, wait and listen for “the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And be willing to say, “Here am I. Send me!”

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How do we go about being peacemakers these days?

There are more than 100 verses in the Bible that challenge us to be peacemakers. Jesus in Matthew 5:9 teaches, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.” 1 John says “the world will know we are Christians by how we love one another” Romans 12:18 says, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” If possible is where I want to go today in asking, “how do we go about being a peacemaker these days? Romans 14:19 answers the question. “So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.”

It would be so easy to sit back and not engage people but scripture says we need to pursue peace. Webster explains peace as “seeking to attain or accomplish (an end, object, purpose, etc.).” We all need to be encouraged to be those who yearn to make for peace knowing it depends on us to build up versus tear down others. These days this pursuit seems to be harder as there are so many people wanting to find the wrong in what you say or do. It makes you want to turn back toward your place of comfort to lick your wounds with the defeated attitude of “There is nothing I can do to make a difference.” Bishop Claud Alexander https://biologos.org/people/bishop-claude-alexander says just the opposite when talking about Luke 10:25-37 “Even when others cross the street or turn around because they don’t want to engage, we need to be willing to go through Samaria with our purpose being Good Samaritans. There needs to be a commitment to get close enough to a situation allowing us to see what is really going on, learn and understand why it might be happening, and then be willing to be inconvenienced or made uncomfortable. That way, we can then step in to help make a difference”. Living on the Edge ministries https://livingontheedge.org/ teaches, “figure out what you know, how does it make you feel and then, what are you going to do about it” Bishop Alexander drives home the point with, “when we allow ourselves to truly engage we give God the opportunity to shake us into action”

Let there be no doubt that being a peacemaker is hard work. You can engage with all the right reasons and yet be rebuffed by people who misunderstand what you intended. They react because of where they are or have come from while not hearing you correctly because they don’t know your story.

“If we are going to be empowered to do the right thing, we must first come to God asking that He empower us for the desire to do the right thing. (Paul David Tripp paraphrased)” My own personal experience has taught one needs to seek guidance from the Lord. James 3:17,18 says, “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”
A peacemaker is one who takes the time to build relationships 1st. A peacemaker does not rush in thinking they are there to save the day. They are slow to speak when in a place where people don’t know them. They know that social media is not the forum to help people find resolution. A peacemaker is one who people see are sincere, want to help, and are in it for the long haul and your involvement comes with a desire for good.

I have shared in a couple other posts that we need to see that life is a journey. Using the SUV analogy of Chip Ingram, it is more important now than ever to STUDY and learn so we can UNDERSTAND each other. That way, like the Good Samaritan, we can make ourselves VULNERABLE with a desire to serve one another. Proverbs teaches us how to do it well. 1) Pay attention, stay focused on wanting to serve others
2) Listen to those who have been on the journey longer than you.
3) Ask God for strength and wisdom
4) Be determined to do good but have patience
5) Trust God for the outcome.


Will it be worth it? The answer is a definite yes because Jesus says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, because they will be seen as the children of God”

Please feel free to subscribe to the blog so you can email notifications when new content is posted. You can contact me in the comment section of the blog site or by email [email protected]

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Who will stand in the gap?

grand canyon sunset

The definition of the word divide is “a wide divergence between two groups, typically producing tension or hostility.” These days there are so many places we see division; “To wear or not wear a mask”, “how in the world can people be gathering in large groups”, and “aren’t those people lucky they have a cool place to shelter in place” just to name a few. Of course there are much bigger things like “do Black Lives Matter” and what does it mean to “Defund the police” Where we all don’t have the same answer on how to solve the problem. These challenges whether small and petty or large and Important have created divisions even in families and amongst friends for whom we really care about. The question is are the majority of us willing to stand in the gap in these conversations so that love will prevail vs allowing those who espouse hatred to seize control.

Let me take a little poetic license with one verse in The classic song, “what’s love got to do with it”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGpFcHTxjZs As you read the lyrics, Think about engaging with someone who doesn’t think the way you do.

It may seem to you that I’m acting confused
When you’re close to me
If I tend to look dazed I’ve read it someplace
I’ve got cause to be
There’s a name for it
There’s a phrase that fits
But whatever the reason you do it for me

Aren’t we all confused by how people are acting? Haven’t the tensions and yes, hostilities, left you a bit dazed and tired? There are many names for it and a phrases that fit. Here are a few words that might sum it up: discouragement, fatigue, hopelessness, and despair. Along with Phrases such as : you don’t care, you can’t understand, and I can’t trust you all lead up to feeling divided, one against another with a sense that there is no way to bridge the gap. The reason that I can remain thankful in all things in this very different season of adversity is that I have hope that “love can conquer all things” Why? Because Jesus validates it when asked what are the most important commandments?

We are to 1st “love God with all our heart, mind, and soul.” The 2nd is that we are to “love others as God loves us”. If we can figure out the 1st, our personal inward hopes (closer to Christ, relationships, etc.)” we will experience a freedom to do the 2nd an outward expression of loving others in a way that is useful to the Lord, Making it His work not mine. Can it be so simple that if My desire is to Love Him with all my heart, love others as He loves me (even though I often times am unloveable) leads to being released that I can count on the fact that His plan not mine will be the outcome? If so, I can strive to stand in the gap “pressing on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:14) The prize these days would be to see divisiveness turned into unity.

Beth Moore exhorts us forward by writing, “True greatness will never come to those who seek to be great. It will come to those who make themselves of no reputation and give their unseen everyday lives, their everyday energies, their everyday faith to serving others amid their own everyday sufferings & unrequited desires.”

1 Corinthians 13 says the 3 most important things in life are Faith, Hope, and Love but the greatest of these is Love. Our faith in each other is wavering which can cause us to lose hope. I began this post with lyrics from a classic Tina Turner song. Let me end it with the chorus of one of my favorite campfire songs by the Youngbloods. Go ahead, take the time to listen to it. 🙂 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRbTvoxRNxM


Come on people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
Try to love one another
Right now

James 3:18 says “Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.” If we choose to go out with an intent to love one another, I believe we can cause others to do the same. In doing so, we can in fact stand in the gap shining light in the dark, letting good to defeat evil knowing and regaining the hope that love will conquer hatred.

My Guillain Barre Syndrome story which is what started this blog can be found by visiting www.caringbridge.org/visit/michaelguthrie You can contact me by making a comment here on the blog or by emailing me at [email protected]

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How are you dealing with the adversity in your life?

Charles Stanley-“For us to accept that God allows–or even sends–afflictions, we must see adversity from His perspective. Is your focus on the pain of your experience or on the Lord and His faithfulness? As believers, we’re assured that no adversity comes our way unless He can use it to achieve His good purposes.” Even Paul faced adversity throughout his ministry which h called “the thorn in my side”

Do we believe what is stated above? People ask, “what did you learn from your bout with Guillain Barre?” The simplest answer is my faith life was tested, found real, and is stronger than ever. I don’t have the wisdom to know exactly how God works, but I Now know from personal experience that the more I submit to him, the more of His power He can entrust to me. When I become less (like not being able to move ?) and He becomes more, His power is able to move through me (which it literally did) more freely. I would rather have not been paralyzed and in a rehab facility for 2 months. The challenge, however, provided the opportunity for me exercise my belief and trust while relinquishing control of the outcome. He made real what I already believed. That through his power, love, and self-discipline, I don’t need to be afraid because His power is unlimited and like this song shares, unstoppable. https://youtu.be/De6gZZT1690 My only job is to love Him with all my heart, love others as He loves me so His power can flow through me to the world around me.

Little did I know how important these lessons would be a year and a few months later. If navigating Covid19 wasn’t enough, we must now study and learn from each other and humbly seek understanding on the matter of race. I have written in a previous post about our need to Study and Learn from others so that we can understand things from other people’s perspective. We need to make ourselves vulnerable so others can help us with our blind spots. Like Lazarus when he was raised front the dead (John 11) we have things in our life restricting us from the abundant life God want us to live. In verse 44 Jesus said to Lazarus’ friends after he came out with his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.  “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.” Who will you allow into your life to help you do the same?

Once you have done your due diligence and allowed God to provide you new insights ask yourself the question my friend George Morris is asking me. “What will you do to make a difference that you have never done before?”

To read more about my bout with Guillain Barre Syndrome go to www.caringbridge.org/visit/michaelguthrie You can email me at [email protected]

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What does it mean to be a Father?

I wish I could remember what Coach Jensen said that day in 8th grade. I know I admired him, if only because his brother was the great Jackie Jensen. https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/jenseja01.shtml Jackie played for my beloved New York Yankees and was the AL MVP for the rival Red Sox in 1958. But I digress ? I came home from school that day in 1968 and announced to my mom, “I know what I want to be when I grow up” I wish she was here to wish I had asked her while she was alive what she thought I might say? I do remember her surprise when she nicely asked what it was I wanted to be. “I want to be a coach and a dad!” Given how I felt about Coach Jensen and my Lions Club baseball coaches, Larry Rentch and Tom Proctor, the 1st answer made sense. The dad part took my mom totally by surprise. I have coached folks all my life in sports, business, and personal development but I never worked as a coach. 52 years later, on this my 39th Father’s Day, I got the second part right and nothing I have accomplished in my life means more to me.

Dottie and I are blessed with 3 children (a boy and two girls) who are all now married and have allowed me to reach another goal; becoming a grandfather. The now 7 grandchildren affectionately call me, “MRG or MRGie.” I knew I wanted to be a dad but not until they moved past the toddler or what I called the “physically tiring” stage of life did I realize the great responsibility that comes along with the title, Dad.

I am one of 6 kids and if there is one thing for sure, Mom and Dad did a great job teaching us to find our own way. We are all very different and didn’t always do the right thing nor did we always think the same way as our parents. One thing we did know is we were loved and that our Buppy and Papa, the General were our biggest fans As I wrote in my Mother’s Day blog, we are all trying to live out that legacy they created for us to follow. https://thankfulinallthings.com/mothers-day-how-does-it-answer-the-question-what-does-it-mean-to-leave-a-legacy/


I am not surprised that the Lord would have me reading through Proverbs during the month of June. It started as a challenge to a younger friend who has started his own faith journey. I had shared my thoughts about how we are to Study so we can learn, seek Understanding and then make ourselves Vulnerable in our interactions with others. He had never read the Bible so we decided to read one chapter a day since there are 30 chapters. I thought I was doing it for him. God, my Heavenly Father, had other plans because you see, as a child of God, He wants me to mature and become the man He created. I take seriously the responsibility of doing the same for my kids and now, their kids. For me, there is no better legacy I could leave. The recurring theme in Proverbs is instruction or as Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young sang, “teach your children well”

Here are just a few living and parenting tips that come out of Proverbs. Pay attention. Listen well. Maintain discretion.. Pursue knowledge. Heed Instruction. Know that you are in full sight of the Lord. I am not perfect so don’t make others feel like they have to be. Be grateful for God’s grace and mercy. Offer the same to everyone around you. Love the Lord always and love others in the same way.

As I shared earlier, my parents let us grow up with the thought, “you can be anyone you want.” I am sure Dad would have loved for one of his children to have gone into the military. None of us did but he was proud of and bragged on us all the time. Dottie and I can certainly say the same about JM, Katie, and Becca. Our greatest joy is watching them learn how to be incredible parents. Yes the CTNY song, reminds us to teach our children well. But is also shares to do it well, you must have a code.” Mine comes from the greatest commandment in the bible. “Love the Lord with all your heart, mind, and soul. Love your children (inserted for effect here) and everyone else as I have loved you Joshua 24:15 says, “ But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” What is the code on which you stand to teach your children? As you strive to teach your children well, Make sure know the code.

Learn more about the journey that inspired me to write this blog. www.caringbridge.org/visit/michaelguthrie contact me at [email protected] Please subscribe to this blog so you can get email updates when new posts are added.

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Wouldn’t it be nice to have the innocence of a child?

I don’t know about you but these last few weeks have been a burden. I have felt weighed down in a way I can’t remember ever feeling before. Enough of Covid19 “Shelter in Place”. Can I please go out and hug someone? If that isn’t enough, let’s add the darkness of our world where people are being killed in a prejudicial way. Being quick to act out instead of being compassionate with a desire to understand. I am weighed down because I know I need to take on what I wrote last week. I need to journey w others in a SUV where I STUDY and Learn, wanting to UNDERSTAND others better, while making myself VULNERABLE so I can be willing to have others speak into my life. I hope you will too. If we do, we can do our part to make the world a better place. We can’t go back to being a child but we can still learn from one ?

After seeing this and hearing Glenn Lundy talk about it and then listening to John O’Leary talk about his new book “In Awe” on www.thebrianbuffinishow.com, I decided to use the context taught to make my own list. I hope it will be helpful to you.
  1. Share everything  2 Corinthians 9:6-7 ….God loves a cheerful giver
  2. Play fair and don’t beat people down “If you want to keep from keeping people down, always look up.”  Serving others will bring you a humble spirit

2a)   Everyone deserves a chance to win Philippians 2:4 “Let each one of you look not only after yourself but also the interests of others”

  1. Put things back where you find them, clean up your own mess and don’t take what is not yours  “If you can’t clean up after yourself…There’s no need for you mess things up and expect another to clean up behind you”
  2. Say your sorry when you hurt someone or if you know they are hurting. The answer is to show love. 1John 1:9 “If you confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Be willing to forgive. Matthew 6:12 “Forgive as God has forgiven you 
  3. Give people space, wash your hands and flush your toilet (for men, put the toilet seat down) ?Golden Rule-Do unto others as you would them to treat you. 
  4. Take care of your body. To help others you have to take care of yourself 1Corinthians 6:19 “Do you not know your body is a temple for the Holy Spirit?”
  5. Live a balanced life. Learn, think, creative, play, work “God 1st, others 2nd, yourself 3rd” 
  6. Be united and stick together “They will know we are Christians by our our love for one another. Psalm 133:1 “How wonderful it is when brothers and sisters live in harmony”
  7. Remember the little seed in the styrofoam cup. Firm foundation  Matthew 17:20 “faith like a mustard seed, nothing will be impossible for those who believe” Dabo Swinney-“Cross out the T in I CAN’T and Believe that you Can”
  8. Everything dies. You only have so many days Make the most of it. Ecclesiastes “to every thing there is a purpose and a season.  A time to be born and a time to die” 
  9. Look, Listen, strive to understand. Chip Ingram, Life is a journey. To travel you need a SUV. STUDY and learn so that you can UNDERSTAND. Then let God allow you to trust enough to be VULNERABLE. 
  10. Bonus #12 ? “Love the Lord with all your heart, mind, and soul and love others as the Lord loves you.” Be tethered to God and then Let go and let him be in control of the outcome. https://thankfulinallthings.com/to-what-are-you-tethered/
    When you focus on these simple principles, you will stand “In Awe” of what God can do to help you be better tomorrow than you are today. A child’s wonder is something to behold but experiencing the Wonder of God’s love will change you forever.

Please feel free to contact me at [email protected] or learn more about my Guillain Barre Syndrome story at www.caringbridge.org/visit/michaelguthrie

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For what are you longing?

In a world where we rarely agree any more one thing is for sure. We all long for this time of sheltering in place and social distancing to be over. Living our lives via Virtual zoom, FaceTime, youtube, etc. is wearing on us all. How that happens and when is a different question but it is impacting every one of us. Some feel strongly we need to stay the course and not have folks venturing out to fast. Others have lost their patience and are saying enough is enough. Like the newscaster in the movie, Network, they are acting upon their feelings “I am mad as hell and I am not going to take it any more.” They are going to take their chances with the hope I won’t come down with Covid19 or give it to someone else. They are willing to risk “the long term consequence for the short term opportunity of being with friends again”.

My hope is we won’t be too quick to judge others. That we will extend grace to one another understanding we are all dealing with something that is new. When faced with adversity, we all are not going to react in the same manner. It is no surprise that one recent study shows, 30% of us show symptoms of clinical depression. It begs the question, for what are we longing as we wait? If we can get our arms around that question, I think it can help us persevere through and relate better with those around us. It certainly did for me as I battled back from Guillain Barre Syndrome during the spring months of 2019. Little did Dottie and I know we would once again battle through another type of adversity during those same months in 2020. Hopefully what we have learned will in some way help you during this challenging and stressful time. Which brings me back to the importance of longing for something.

When things were at their worse, we chose to focus on staying in the present with our motivation being what’s next? What can we do next? Longing for an unknown future did us no good. All we could control was what we did in each moment that would hopefully make me better the next day trusting in verses like Psalm 46:1,2 “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way  and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea” As an example, I went into the hospital on March 1, 2019 and we honestly never asked when the experts thought I would be able to go home. We sensed longing for something given our uncertain situation would just lead us into discouragement. We chose to stay focused on OK this is where we are right now, What can I do next to get me a little bit better tomorrow.
I believe there is a parallel between this thought process for my GBS recovery and how we all should be dealing with this season of Coronavirus. Taking it moment by moment, day by day helped keep us from spiraling down into discouragement. Interestingly enough, the last two weeks in rehab were the worst. Why? Because once they told me I would go home on 4/25, I lost my in the moment thinking. All I could think of was going home. My rehab room felt like a prison. Sound familiar? Most of us have handled this stay at home order well but we now can see the light at the end of the tunnel. It is causing all of us to lose the discipline of staying in the moment. We are losing our patience because we desire and want something we can’t control which creates angst & frustration.

Staying in the moment is essential when we face a challenge but thinking of and serving others can also help you through this difficult time. When we start succumbing to the desire for a “pity party” try getting outside yourself by doing something for someone else. My good friend Bill Clark shared in a recent blog post that understanding we are all in this together is critical. “Romans 12 “the body” United upward, inward, outward. indispensable every part matters. Each of us matter. Interdependent and connected as there are no such things as an isolated walk w Christ. Most of the Yous in the Bible are You all. Therefore resentment and bitterness is like a cancer. We are the body to shine the light of Christ. We are to follow Him so he can lead us outward to serve and care for one another so the world can see what God is like. Others are to encounter God through us.

I long for the world to be a better place than it was before Covid19. A world where we learned a slower pace is good for our health. A world where we see we are all in this together with a keener awareness of those in need. A world where we believe and stand together knowing each one of us is precious in God’s sight. A world where we don’t think as much about our rights but instead, as we venture back out, we think about how our actions are impacting those around us. It won’t be easy but if we try it moment by moment “What can I do next to serve someone” mentality we will have done our part in making our community a better place.

If you haven’t already, please subscribe to www.thankfulinallthings.com Please also forward to others who you think might be encouraged reading this blog. I can be reached at [email protected]

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Mother’s Day. How does it answer the question, “What does it mean to leave a legacy?”

What is a legacy? A great question on this Mother’s Day. 

We had our virtual lunch with some friends yesterday on our deck. So weird how we sat at opposite ends of the table with them bringing their own food, drink, and utensils. Yet, it was good for my soul after almost 9 weeks of self-isolation. The sweet catch up conversation took us to the question of what does leaving a legacy for others really look like? Can one actually leave a legacy? In a couple/three generations, will anyone remember anything about us? It makes you understand why some contribute financially or with their time so that their name goes up on a plaque or on a building. This thought process could lead to discouragement wondering does my life really matter?

I choose to see it differently and hope what I write here will help you do the same. My hope is my legacy will continue beyond those who actually knew me via the result of the ripple effect of how I served and made a positive impact on others. I think of the book, “The 5 people I meet in heaven” by Mitch Albom, where when Eddie dies he encounters five people who had a significant impact upon him or who he influenced while he was alive. The point being our actions (positive or negative) can have a lasting and hopefully eternal impact on those around us.  Psalms 145:4 – “One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts._ Deuteronomy 6:6-7 “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.” Both taken a bit out of context but help make the point 🙂

My Mom, as well as my Dad, left their wonderful legacy not only with their 6 children but 9 grandchildren. Unfortunately, the now 8 great grand children and future generations will not have the joy of knowing their good and their bad; their strengths and their weaknesses.  Those who knew them felt the joy of being loved and instructed by them. The Guthrie 6 and our spouses as parents or as aunts and uncles will continue to teach the lessons that Papa and The Bup taught us. It is a responsibility we take seriously and that brings us pleasure. That is what legacy looks like to me and for that I feel blessed and find myself thankful on this Mother’s Day. 

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Remember those who are still travelling through adversity

Hebrews 13:3 “Remember those who are in prison as if you were in prison with them. Remember those who are ·suffering [mistreated] ·as if you were suffering with them“

A couple things happened this week that led me to write this post. I have thought about it for the last few weeks but was reluctant because I don’t want it to come across as me whining about my own situation. I saw a friend at church last week who is fighting cancer. He got a good report back in the spring. I realized I had not reached out to him since back in June so I emailed him to check in on him. Here is his response. “How nice of you to reach out to me! The Holy Spirit must have prompted your email, because I am in need of divine comfort and intervention in the face of a medical set back.  A new cancerous nodule was recently identified in my other lung.  It is not yet clear whether the nodule is a metastasis (bad) or an independently formed instance (less bad).I covet your prayers for peace and healing as I undertake this new phase of my cancer journey.” Then yesterday another friend stopped by my office on a Saturday unannounced. He had no idea I would be there but said he was driving by so thought he would take a chance. I had walked with him a bit after his wife died of cancer two years ago. We hadn’t been in touch for several months. Here is his follow up email. “Thanks again for letting me pop into your office today without even having
an appointment. Thanks for taking the time and I am so very happy your
health has returned!” Another friend who was in a car accident wrote this when I reached out to see how she was doing “Its a relief to be remembered.  Thank you for sharing that with me.  Yes- healing through and through, outside in”
These interactions made me realize that people who have battled adversity continue to need people like you and me well after you think their adversity is over.
My recovery from Guillain Barre has been going on now for almost a year. I now walk into rooms and people don’t react like Wow! “It is so good To see you. How are you? You look great” People who don’t Know me have no idea what I have been through. The reason for sharing this is I now have an idea of what it feels like to still be recovering but not have the same support as early on in my journey. I hesitate to write this because I don’t want this to be about me or trying to make someone feel like they have let me down. The support we have gotten has been amazing. Instead I am hoping that those who choose to read this blog will be encouraged to reach out to someone that has experienced some type of struggle or sadness recently to see how they are doing. Do it right now! Don’t hesitate! Reach out to whoever comes to mind. I am confident you will be greeted with “thank you. I am so glad to know you are thinking about me. It means so much that you care” I would love to hear about what happens when God uses you to make a difference in someone else’s life. Please hit reply and share what happens so we can all be motivated to do it more often.