Today I join with the psalmist in praying Psalm 9 – I will give thanks! Thank you, God, for blessings bestowed, for your love and mercy, for you. What is the writer of Psalm thanking God for? Psalm 9 The writer of Psalm 9 begins with words of praise and thanksgiving: “I will give thanks […]
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When I was raising my children, it was the little things that drove me to distraction. The attempt to come up with semi-nutritious meals three times a day, seven days a week. Making sure my children had clean clothes to wear (though whether they matched or not was another thing). Taking care of sick children […]
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Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. No big expectations or pressure to find the perfect gift. Just a meal with family and friends and a focus on giving thanks. However recent articles about the other side in attendance at the first Thanksgiving, the Native Americans, has left me wanting to shout—don’t mess with Thanksgiving! That First […]
Read More As the American celebration of Thanksgiving approaches, we, here in the US, are reminded about the importance of giving thanks for all we have. The Psalms are full of words of thanks and praise, praising God for who God is and thanking God for all God has done. But what is a sacrifice of thanksgiving, […]
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Today, people in the United States are celebrating Thanksgiving. It’s a Thanksgiving like no other in that due to COVID 19, many families are not gathering, including mine. No big family gathering, no roasted turkey and my sister-in-law’s stuffing (based on my mom’s) and homemade turkey gravy. Instead I’m warming smoked turkey legs, having stove […]
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In my thirties and forties, I remember encouraging others to start preparing for their retirement, not just financially, but mentally and spiritually. Everyone ages, but not everyone ages with grace. You can’t expect to reach sixty or seventy or eighty, and become magically gracious, kind, loving and wise, if you never practiced any of these […]
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Biblical economics is not like modern economics. Like the game Monopoly, in biblical economics the slate is wiped clean at the end of each game. It’s about God’s crazy love for us and mercy to all who call upon him. Psalm 136 teaches us about this crazy love and mercy. Playing Monopoly As a kid, […]
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With all of the concern and anxiety being caused by the coronavirus pandemic, it can be helpful to stop and remember a time in your life when God had your back. Such is the situation of the writer of Psalm 124. God has this. God is still in charge. Psalm 124 – Thanksgiving for All […]
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“The quality of mercy is not strained, it falleth like the gentle rain from heaven,” Shakespeare tells us in the Merchant of Venice. But what is the quality of mercy? Is it simply compassion shown to an offender or victim of misfortune as Webster tells us? Or is it something more as we see in […]
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“The great painter boasted that he mixed all his colors with brains, and the great saint may be said to mix all his thoughts with thanks.” G.K. Chesterton A saint is someone who paints with the brush of thanksgiving. All events, all thoughts, are colored by thanksgiving. Such is the situation in Psalm 108. Psalm […]
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