i could post blessing after blessing, but i'll stop....however, the origin of the word and/or definition goes something like this:
"Praise, or blessing, for anyone comes from a mental attitude of love and appreciation for that person. God makes an initial move toward us because of His mental attitude of love. He provides us His graciousness, His gift of salvation, His spiritual gifts, all of which are manifestations of His love toward us. He thought "good words" toward us.
He has provided all blessings for us as an expression of His love. Our response of blessing or praise toward God, and toward others, is a response from a mental attitude of appreciation.
It means, literally, "to say good things or good words".
this is important for lots of reasons.....most specifically as it applies to me today, blessings are gifts - from God, or nature, or other people - they are things given to you and about you and for you that you are often unaware of. everything about you and your life is a blessing in some way. when someone says "count your blessings", its a reminder to be AWARE of what you have been given, and often take for granted.
there is a boy who plays for laplata lacrosse that suffered a bad injury over the weekend - a freakish fall that has left him sedated with brain swelling....without going into so much detail, this was the impetous i needed to actually get me back into a church. whether i am sure or not about what i believe, i know this.....it can only help if i add my prayers to the many out there for keegan, and for tiff. and the actual decision to attend was not as difficult as the decision about WHERE to attend....i'm sure you will be shocked to learn that i picked the church with the coffee :). its crazy to me how ingrained some things are within us - because these services are so much different from the catholic services i know so well, i actually feel like i went to a class on religion more than an actual service - the ways different churches pray are so interesting to me. so while i left this service with a lot of food for thought- i still find myself feeling like i need to go say a prayer.....because for some reason i grew up feeling like prayers counted more when you said them at church.....and of course by that i mean the catholic church......the serious, non-fun church where you go to address SERIOUS matters. im clearly partially insane.
JOHN 10:10
NIV: The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
NKJV: The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
NLT: The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. my point with that verse is this: depending on where you go to church, you will hear it differently - these are the most common translations in use today, and they all give the same basic message, but present it in a slightly altered form. i'm a fan of this verse for many reasons, not the least of which is that it resonates.....it reminds us that you have to LIVE LIFE TO THE FULLEST.....be thankful for your gifts.....count your blessings...acknowledge that there are indeed negative forces, but we have been given the opportunity to live each day to THE FULL!! so does it matter in which form i read it? or in which place of worship i get the message? just so long as i GET IT!!
blessings are a funny thing if you think about it.....there are the big blessings - like your life, your kids, your family, your health - those that you acknowledge and put in the big plus column of your life. then there are those that fall into the "things you take for granted" column - like your abilities and talents and strengths - you feel like they are just a part of who you are, like your eye color. but these are the blessings that we most need to be mindful of and appreciate.....they are often the day to day things that keep us motivated and happy......we dont usually wake up and say, i'm so happy to not feel sick today - we wake up and say, i cant wait to play softball tonight!! (maybe thats just me).....but without those blessings, i couldn't play softball, or go for a run. i am SOO lucky that the gifts ive been given include the athleticism that makes me so happy - does that make any sense? i often tell my kids when they complain about homework (which they always do) that they are so incredibly blessed (and yes, i've always used the word blessed here) that they have such amazing brains....that even tho they hate to do homework, they dont really struggle with it - and how frustrating that same homework is for kids who are not as lucky.....its a GIFT that they take for granted every day......just like running, until they get hurt, or being healthy until they get sick - its usually the LOSS of the gift that makes its presence noticable......and that's just sad.
its the sum of all of the parts that get us whereever we are....the good, the bad and the ugly all contribute to what makes us who we are.....its what we DO with who we are that counts! are we using our gifts in a way that benefits others? do we pay it forward? or do we horde it all inside? i'm sure i do a bit of both - we all do.....but would we do a better job of sharing our gifts if we were more aware of them? probably!
A winner is someone who recognizes his God-given talents, works his tail off to develop them into skills, and uses these skills to accomplish his goals. Larry Bird
anybody out there (who's old enough) remember that scene from city slickers, when curly tells billy crystal to find his ONE THING? and billy crystal searches the whole movie for what that means......when essentially that one thing is what makes YOU you.......its your passion, your purpose....your gift....your BLESSING! and i think sometimes we lose sight of it - we think everyone can draw, or organize, or motivate, or throw like we can.....so we dont appreciate those things for the unique gifts that they are.
i am grateful for the church service i went to today because it really was an opportunity to learn.....i love that you can take notes and really think about the message of the day....its seems i keep getting the reminders when i need them.....and if i still feel compelled to stop tomorrow and go light a candle, then that's cool too - because one of my many blessings is an inquisitive mind - and if God didnt want me to ask these kinds of questions or look for these answers, then He wouldn't have given me this crazy ass brain, right?
ok, just one more :
I simply love you for being you. xxoo
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