Tag: thankful in all things

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The importance of having an inner circle

When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one as well as the other.” – Ecclesiastes 7:14

You might ask why I would begin this post with such a sober verse from the Bible? Last week I challenged everyone to make the word gratitude a verb. https://thankfulinallthings.com/make-the-word-gratitude-a-verb-this-week/ My goal was to have you see pouring out your gratitude on others not only encourages you, it makes the recipient experience gratitude as well. It is about giving to grow and growing to give. Here is an interesting family resource https://giveaswegrow.org/ So what does this have to do with who is in your inner circle?

It has been two years since I have been with my extended family. All but one of my brothers and sisters and their families came together for Thanksgiving. My son and his wife generously opened their home to make it happen. As I looked around the island before offering the blessing, I was touched by the magnitude of us being in the same room. Sure, Covid, but more than that, serious sickness, accidents, and yes, even disagreements, could have caused us not to be giving thanks together. The only family group missing was because the newest member of the Guthrie Clan entered the world a little over a week ago. Dad and Mom honored by Reiley Jane being both of their middle names.
That scene of 26 and the 8 from Richmond missing but present in our hearts filled my heart with gratitude. It made me realize once again, you need a tribe around you to remain thankful in all things whether “in good times or in bad.” I am grateful for my group of people but your tribe does not have to be as large or even family. It is about finding folks who you can truly trust. Who are going to love you no matter what. Life is not to be lived alone. Dr. Margaret Paul says it this way. “We are not meant to live alone. We are meant to live in caring communities with people to turn to for love and connection, and for help when we need it. Love, connection and support are vital for our health and wellbeing.” Even Jesus sent the disciples out into the world in pairs. Matthew 10.

The first step is yours. Choose who it is you want walking along side you. It may be starting a new relationship or repairing one that has gone astray. If you are side ways with someone, use this season of advent to reach out with a willingness to start anew. If you are alone, reach out to others. You will find people who will welcome you into their world. If you are blessed to have others in your life, take a look around and invite others in who are in need of friendship.

I will close with this example. A widow lamented on social media that she had no desire to put up her Christmas decorations. Another widow saw the post and offered to help because it gave her a distraction form her recent loss. What an amazing example of how serving others can indeed lift us up out of our own dismay. On this first Sunday of Advent, Prepare your heart answering this question from Mother Teresa. “At this Christmas when Christ comes, will He find a warm heart? Mark the season of Advent by finding, loving and serving others with God’s own love and concern.”

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Make the word Gratitude a verb this week :)

My guess you aren’t surprised that a blog titled “Thankful in all Things” would be about moving us forward into this week of Thanksgiving. The word “intentionality” keeps rolling around in my mind. When I think about being intentional, it means there is a need for me taking action. Having an attitude of gratitude denotes the same.
My friend Marcus Ellis has a Facebook page titled “Hey! Guess What? I Love You!” It started with him making a decision to go out of his way to encourage others each and every day. His decision has resulted in a Facebook page with over 2500 followers. I am sitting in a hotel in Pittsburgh. I decided to let my server (Rutha May) know how she made everyone who came in feel special. Her face lit up and she now has a little bit bigger smile for those she serves. Maybe Marcus is in to something ?

I recently found this quote by Veronica Neffinger -“There is value in going through the motions even if the feelings aren’t there. Choosing to thank God even when you don’t feel like it. Choose to do the same when circumstances cause you to be more stressed than thankful” It leads to that important first step of allowing having our hearts to be opened to true gratitude.” I call it failing forward.

My point is that being grateful is a choice. The Aspen Brain Institute says it this way. “The effect of gratitude on the brain is long lasting. Besides enhancing self-love and empathy, gratitude significantly impacts body functions and psychological conditions such as stress, anxiety, and depression. https://aspenbraininstitute.org/blog-posts/gratitudeandthebrain Scripture reminds us of the same. We are to in prayer and petition let our requests be made known to God (again, the action is going to God with our concerns). When we do, He promises a peace which is beyond our own understanding. Philippians 4 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians%204:6-8&version=NIV “Let that peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.” Colossians 3:15 As you gather with others this week for Thanksgiving be intentional about sharing your gratitude for them. Let them know why you appreciate them. Try what Marcus does and say, “Hey! Guess what? I love You! I bet you get loved right back and find yourself feeling blessed rather than discouraged.

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Beauty can be created by one or in many.

Leaving a grandchild’s soccer game yesterday, I heard one child yell out “good game” to a couple teammates. Those two then did the same to other team members. I over heard one child saying, “Dad, did you hear what Russell said? “He said I played a good match”. The dad replied, “and he was right, you did!” I was struck by how one little 6 year old saying “good game” became infectious and resulted in young boy feeling affirmed in how he had played.
This lesson is the perfect example of what I wanted to write about. As I was writing last week’s blog about the changing colors and the falling leaves https://thankfulinallthings.com/the-leaves-are-changing-and-dropping-from-the-trees/ another thought came to mind.

I noticed this tree all by itself in a yard while playing golf. Like the young boy saying good game, this sapling was already creating such beauty in the color of its leaves. Adjacent to the next tee box, was a forest of more mature and taller trees resplendent in their color. One little tree can impact us but the power comes when one tree becomes another and then another until we CAN actually “see the forest through the trees” Many different types of trees in all sizes, shapes, and colors providing a canopy for God’s painting that causes people to travel far and wide to see.

photo credit Mike Plecker

I want to challenge each of us as we move into this “Month of Thanksgiving” to be like the little tree or the young soccer player. Commit to an attitude of gratitude. Write it on a post it note and place it on your mirror. Something like what I wrote 40 years ago when I started in real estate. “Lord, let my life make a positive difference in this world.” Let’s all begin to create our own forest of people that were encouraged by us in a way that they started encouraging and empowering those around them. Like the old campfire song reminds us, “ It only takes a spark. That’s how it is with God’s love. Once you’ve experienced it, you want to pass it on” https://youtu.be/tadZ8nCLBsI Little did Russell know that he not only lifted up his friend with his encouraging words but impacted this now 69 year old as well. That is how it is with God’s love. As you experience His love, you will find yourself becoming “thankful in all things” 🙂

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The leaves are changing and dropping from the trees

Have you noticed? Summer is over and Fall is very much upon us. In some ways it is my favorite time of year. There is a chill in the morning air but it is warm enough for shorts and short shirt sleeves in the afternoon. As much as I enjoy it, it signals that winter will soon be on its way. It means waking up in the dark and leaving the office in the dark. The one day of an extra hour sleep does not make it worth it. The beauty of the autumn colors soon will lead to bare trees bracing against the cold wintry winds. Unless you are “California Dreaming ? https://youtu.be/N-aK6JnyFmk , what can be found to keep us thankful in all things? If I was a skier, thoughts of upcoming snow storms would bring anticipation and excitement. If I had a blade on the front of my truck (oh wait, I don’t have a truck) I would be looking forward to the revenue made from clearing snow. Thanksgiving and Christmas certainly cause excitement. One friend counts down to Christmas right after giving Easter its due ?

No. What gives us gratitude is knowing the leaves dying and falling off the trees is only temporary. It allows the tree to conserve it’s energy so that it can produce its leaves, flowers,fruit, etc in the spring that will come. The winter does the same for us. The difference is it can come at any time. There are seasons in our life that make us hunker down and become less busy. That stillness allows to find solitude. That solitude brings us to a place of dependence not on ourselves but in the One who created us. Henri Nouwen puts it this way. “Our outer silence will lead us to an inner silence. Silence and solitude invite us to gradually let go of the other voices and trust the inner voice that reveals to me my true name.” Like the tree or vine leaves, God want us to wither away and die so in our spring time, we can be spiritually reborn into the life God created for us. It allows us to bring forth beauty that those around us can enjoy. Pamela Bunn’s prayer in https://astherainandsnow.com/2021/10/17/beauty-in-the-ordinary/ sums it up well. “Lord, prompt me to look for Your scattered beauties in the ordinary, then give You all the praise upon beholding them. Help me to do my part in scattering beauty, and standing out with a bit of Your glory, so others might praise You too.”

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Traveling through a Season of Sadness

The picture above captures how many of us live our lives. Like the clouds, our day to day existence, doing the most mundane of things, keeps us from seeing the splendor of the hills and all life has to offer. The word keep means “to guard, to watch over, or to attend to carefully.” The clouds cause us to miss the beauty that is beyond and above them. The psalmist reminds us that we are to “lift up our eyes to the mountains— where does our help come from? Our help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.” Psalm 121:1,2. This passage reminds us that life is a journey of faith that requires reliance on God. the chapter ends (v 7 & 8) with the promise that will God will “Keep us from all harm— he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.”

I don’t know about you but I am doing everything I can these days to claim the before mentioned promise. These past several weeks God has moved me into a Season of Sadness. It started late in July when my dear friend Laura Huyett died. Some takeaways that come from funerals – Thankful in all Things Then I found out my very special caretaker, Teresa Jordan passed away with me, because of Covid restrictions, not even knowing she had been sick. 🙁 You, yes You, can make a difference in the world. – Thankful in all Things. Now in the last two weeks, two high school friends, a fraternity brother, and now a dear business partner have died. I am just at the beginning of grappling with it all but it certainly has taken a toll and has clouded my perspective like the clouds do in the valleys. Losing loved ones makes you examine your own mortality and whether one is living life in a way that matters most and in some way makes a positive difference.

Philippians 4 says we are not to be anxious about these things because when we bring our concerns and worries to the Lord, He will provide us peace which surpasses all human understanding. The misnomer here is that having a faith in God means we are never to feel discouraged or depressed. Scripture shows us nothing is father from the truth. Why does Jesus say, “I am the light of the world“? John 8:12 Because the world can be a very dark place and we need God to be “a lamp for my feet and a light on my path.” ( Psalm 119:105) It is not hard to stumble or lose our way in the midst of the darkness that comes our way. A light as small as the pin light on your key chain will cut through the most pitch black of surroundings. God promises to do the same with whatever circumstances come your way. As Ellen Foster shared in the most recent Center for Christian Study newsletter, “I don’t think anxiety or depression have to be things we’re trying from which we are to rid ourselves. Like a check engine light, those feelings may be an invitation for us to pay more attention.” That way, we can endeavor to focus intently on what clouds our vision knowing that through them there are hills from whence our help will come. As for me, I am claiming that promise and trying to walk toward the light that will lead me through this Season of Sadness.

Please subscribe to the blog if you would like email notifications when new material is posted.  You can reach me via email at [email protected]  For an amazing sermon on what it is like to face death with hope and who died three weeks later. Feel free to FF through the start of the service and the music. https://www.harvestfresno.org/sermons/to-die-is-gain/?fbclid=IwAR3mD8zBN2JM9x82xKQV8OqWt-ikp03I2CoHQYPmp2Og7oJ80h2NvW14_tA

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“I am just a nobody trying to help others be somebody”

Someone asked me a couple weeks ago, how I view myself and where my life fits into the world. For some reason, with very little thought the title of this post came out of my mouth. I can’t remember making this statement before so I have been wrestling with why I said it. This is not an attempt to be self-deprecating. It is my way via my own self perspective to write something g that will hopefully lift up and encourage you. Another line I have used often is “ God must not want me to be a wealthy person” I feel as though I have a generous heart and I know God loves a cheerful giver, https://www.biblegateway.com/verse/en/2%20Corinthians%209%3A7 so why every time, when we have have some extra money, does a large expense like a car repair or dental implants occur?
My point in poking fun at myself with these two statements is not where we get in life but how we lived our lives. Abraham Lincoln said it this way..” …in the end, it is not the years in a life it’s the life in the years“. Think about it. How many times have you thought something was going to happen which would take you to a new place and the door closed before you could walk through it? What about being sure you knew what God had planned and something occurred different than that plan? These thoughts increase in these days of following folks on social media. It is so easy to fall into the trap of thinking your life does not measure up. Proverbs 19:21 explains it by saying, “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.”
We are to be who God created us to be not try to be like someone else. My friend Bud Harper taught me this years ago after a lunch where a man shared how God changed His life. George Kettle https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/washingtonpost/name/george-kettle-obituary?id=5636625 had inexplicably become a man of great wealth and started a program that George H Bush recognized as one of his 1,000 points of life speech. https://youtu.be/SQhbEh8AeSA After the talk, I told Bud that I wished I could be like the man who spoke that day. Bud, normally mild mannered, grabbed me by the tie and said something I have never forgotten. “I don’t ever want to hear you say that again. God made you to be exactly who you are and does not want you to be anyone else.”
Haven’t we all wanted to be somebody else? Haven’t we all wondered, if only this or that had happened? Maybe not you but I at times, get tangled up https://thankfulinallthings.com/to-what-are-you-being-held-hostage/ thinking about why have things not gone the way I wanted or wishing my life looked more like others. If we allow it, we can be swallowed up by the lie that we are a nobody and that our lives don’t matter.


In God’s eyes, nothing is farther from the truth. Psalm 139:14 in The New Living Translation says we are to acknowledge His ways by saying “Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.” Only then, can He have His way with you so you can go from being a nobody to someone who Isaiah exclaims is “overwhelmed with joy in the LORD my God! For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness. I am like a bridegroom dressed for his wedding or a bride with her jewels now robed in righteousness and heir to His throne.” Isaiah 61:10 Once we find our confidence and value in Him, He asks us to follow three simple steps. Love Him with all your heart. Love others as He loves you. Let go of what you think you want and trust Him with the outcome. God will then use us to help others realize that like us, they too, are indeed somebody.

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How do you deal with being tired?

Are you tired? Physically? Emotionally? Spiritually?

I posted this the other day when I realized I was flat out tired in every aspect of my life.  It came about because of a 6 week issue w my back, 2 weeks of travel while dealing with work, and relationships that were out of sorts. Needless to say, this fatigue was not making it easy to remain thankful in all things. This got me thinking about the title of this blog post. “How do you deal with tired?” There really are different types of tiredness and fatigue but they all come from not getting enough rest. There are ways we can resolve being tired on our own. Making sure you get enough sleep, maintaining a balance in your life, and limiting stress are a few that come to mind. These are certainly a good place to start but what I am learning is we can’t always resolve what causes fatigue on our own. Trying to handle the emotional and spiritual fatigue by ourselves often times can exacerbate it making us even more tired. It isn’t always about getting away either. As Dottie’s mom used to say, “Wherever I go, there I am.” We can’t get away from ourselves but we can ask others for help.

Max Lucado writes in his book Traveling Light,https://maxlucado.com/products/traveling-light-releasing-the-burdens-you-were-never-meant-to-carry/ “ Weary travelers. You’ve seen them — everything they own crammed into their luggage. Staggering through terminals and hotel lobbies with overstuffed suitcases, trunks, duffels, and backpacks. We’ve all seen people like that. At times, we are people like that — if not with our physical luggage, then at least with our spiritual or emotional load. We all lug loads we were never intended to carry. Fear. Worry. Discontent. No wonder we get so weary. We’re worn out from carrying that excess baggage. Wouldn’t it be nice to lose some of those bags?” Yes, there are burdens we carry that weigh us down. We often times need others to help us carry them or help us realize that we can just leave them behind. I wrote about how we need others in my most recent post. https://thankfulinallthings.com/to-what-are-you-being-held-hostage/ God, sent Jesus to help us ease our burdens as well. Matthew 11:28 gives us the advice, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” Think of yourself as the above mentioned weary traveler. How good does it feel when someone says,”Can I help you with those bags” or opens a door for you when your hands and arms are full? My reminder to you is life is not to do life alone. We need each other. Even Jesus sent the disciples not alone, but in pairs. “Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits.” Mark 6:7 Like Max Lucado wrote, we need others to help us when we don’t have the strength to carry on on our own.
Reverend Paul Walker summed it up this way in his “almost daily devotional”. “It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night.” (Psalm 92: 1-2) Morning and night. In the morning you might be raring to go, optimistic about the day ahead. You also might be tired fatigued, sluggish, or anxious about what the day holds. Either way, declaring God’s steadfast love is the way to begin and end each day.

“O Lord, support us all the day long, until the shadows lengthen, and the evening comes, and the busy world is hushed, and the fever of live is over, and our work is done. Then in your mercy, grant us a safe lodging, and a holy rest, and peace at the last. Amen.” (In the Evening – BCP p. 833)

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How do you keep yourself energized?

Charles Stanley-“Whether or not we affect our world positively depends on the focus of our heart. Do you look inward to consider how you can do more to get ahead and add to your lot in life? Or do you look outward and think about ways that you can do more to serve others?”I posted this recently as one of my daily social media posts. My new Instagram friend Jeff asked me this question, “Is not a balance needed? Can one give what one does not have?” my answer was this, “burnout is a real phenomena, That is why we need to be continually filling ourselves with God‘s love through the Holy Spirit.” I really appreciated him asking me the question as I had already been preparing this message. It came from a devotional from Ashley Headley using her morning cup of coffee. Wait! A cup of coffee.

She wrote, “You can’t pour fresh coffee into a cup already full.” First there is no room for more and second, the fresh taste would be spoiled by the staleness of what was left over from yesterday. God wants us to experience the sweet taste of His abundance. Ashley continues, “Like my morning cup of Joe, God wants to pour His Word, a fresh anointing, and a fresh blessing into us every day.” Like an already full cup, our lives are too full with the distractions of the world. What do we need to empty out so God can have room to give us a fresh perspective on life?” Pastor Jeff was right. We we need to continually replenish ourselves with all He has to offer so we can be the best versions of ourselves. It needs to be a restoration of ourselves vs a renovation project. What is the difference? A renovation makes everything new, fresh, and shiny whereas a restoration brings something back to its original purpose. In this case, when we allow ourselves to stop chasing what the world says is success, we can return to to the beautiful fact that we were all created to be in a relationship with God. We can go about emptying ourselves throughout the day desiring to serve and love others as God loves us. That way we can return each morning with our cup empty so we can experience Psalm 119:103 “How sweet are your words to my taste, [O Lord Jesus,] sweeter than honey (or a fresh cup of coffee) to my mouth” Bill Gautierre sums it up this way. “I meditated on God’s promises and received nourishment for my soul. I prayed them and was strengthened to love my neighbor as the Lord loves me.” May you be encouraged To “put your confidence in God; rely on His Spirit; let the streams of His Living Waters flow into you and through you” (John 7:38-39).

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Running the race with purpose.

Finding a way to be thankful in all things depends on how you choose to run this race called life. I renamed my recovery from Guillain Barre the “180 Project” because I had two goals. 1) I wanted God to use the lessons He taught me through the adversity. I asked for Him to transform me into more and more the man He created me to be so I could be used fir His purposes. 2) I wanted my weight to once again be in the 180’s preferably 180) where it hadn’t been in a very long time. #1 has come a long way but I am still a work in progress but #2 is in sight (182 as I write) https://thankfulinallthings.com/tag/transformed/  My mantra became and has continued to be RISE UPP!!  RESOLVED INTENTIONAL STRIVING for ETERNAL things with UNDENIABLE PURPOSE/PASSION. 

My dear friend, Pamela Bunn, writes “Life is a long race, God our trainer, and holiness (and heaven) our goal. Without good physical, mental, and spiritual posture, we are hindered from running it well. Between the cloud of witnesses (who have completed the race) to encourage us at the start, and the finish line that yields the fruit and crown of righteousness, our heavenly coach tends to us personally for our good. His instruction, His example, and His tools are useful and effective in accomplishing His purposes.” Visit her blog at https://astherainandsnow.com/

Each of us need a cloud of witnesses to encourage us along the way. It is very hard to go at life transformation alone. This African proverb says it well. “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far go together.” Here are some of my encouragers 🙂

Grateful to have these folks show up to encourage us along the way

Jodie Berndt shares this about the importance of friendships. -“We can start with prayer but God created us for connection; we are hard-wired, science tells us, for love. We can ask God to give us—and make us—good friends, and to open our eyes to the life-giving relationships he wants us to cultivate.” https://jodieberndt.com/jodie-berndts-blog-posts/

Paul sums it up this way in 1st Timothy, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” I can in my own way say the same. I have fought the good fight through Guillain Barre Syndrome and then being impacted by the self-isolation of Covid. I have not yet finished the race but I have kept the faith which has become even more real through these seasons of challenge and adversity. I can personally attest to the fact that, whatever you are going through, God is right there with you. Look to Him for all things. Like me, you will find Him in every place and every time.

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“Is your Attitude on Straight?”

I worked for Coldwell Banker back in the 1990’s. Dick Purvis was my boss but also an incredible mentor. He had all of his management team wear a lapel pin with the word Attitude. When he saw you or communicated with us, he would say, “put on a positive attitude and make sure it is on straight.” It became a daily affirmation with all of us much like “How will I make a positive difference in the world today” which I have been saying since the early 80’s. This blog is called Thankful in All Things for a reason. I started writing it to share lessons I have learned through adversity. It comes from finding life is better by having an attitude of gratitude which recently reminded me of Dick’s lapel pin.

When you look honestly at yourself, how do you feel about your attitude? If you find that you look at the glass and see it half empty vs half full, think about why what might be causing your pessimism or negativity? Are you an Adder, Subtractor, Multiplier or a Divider?   https://www.codeprocess.io/adder-subtractors-multipliers-dividers-the-types-of-people/ As I wrote about a couple weeks ago, we need to FACE our thoughts, TRACE what causes us to feel that way, ERASE it, and then find a way to REPLACE it with a positive mindset moving forward. This is what Dick meant when he would encourage us to have our attitude on straight.

Philippians 2:2-4 explains how having a Christ like mindset will keep our attitude in the right place. Paul writes, “Make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”

Charles Stanley explains it this way. “My limited human perspective doesn’t allow me to grasp His greater plan. However, I can confirm the truth of this biblical promise because the Father’s good handiwork appears all through my pain, hardship, and loss. I have experienced Him turn mourning into gladness and have seen Him reap bountiful blessings and benefits from my darkest hours.”

The truth that Charles writes about can set you free. John 8:31,32 states, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Free to live a life that allows you to face the challenges this life brings, conquer your fears, not seek others approval, but instead, live for an “audience of One” Who you can trust with the outcome. The One who created you and made you who you are. Knowing there is no one else like you and your are here for a purpose will help you keep that attitude on straight.



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