Showing posts with label thanks thoughts. Show all posts

Monday, November 25, 2013

What do you thank God for today?

List as many as you can in your prayer journal throughout the day and night. Be thorough. Spend as much time as you can--and even some you can't.

Sunday, November 24, 2013

3 1 Chronicles 16:8-9: Part 2

1 Chronicles 16:8-9 * Expanded Bible (EXB)

8 Give thanks to the Lord and pray to him [L call upon his name].

Tell [Make known among; Proclaim to] the nations [world; peoples] what he has done [his deeds/accomplishments].

9 Sing to him; sing praises [make music] to him.

Tell about all his ·miracles [wonders; wonderful acts/works].[1]

I have the feeling you might wonder how much time we are going to spend on the passage of 1 Chronicles 16:8-9, but there is a reason we are spending so much time on the verses. Actually, there are a couple of reasons:

1 We should never rush through the Word of God. We should take our time with it and spend as much time in it as possible. The more we time we spend on it, the more we ponder it and think on it, the more we apply it to the lives, the better.

2 It is an important passage about giving thanks and tells us why and how to give thanks.

So, let’s spend another day on this passage—today.

Moreover, there is a reason why we are looking at several translations of the same biblical passage. It’s because the more versions or translations of the verses we read, the more broader and in-depth understanding we will glean, just like the more time we spend on it will bring more understanding and comprehension as well.

I think if we were to take one verse from the Bible and study it alone all day and night long for the rest of our lives, we would discover we learn something new about the verse each day. After all, the Bible is living and active:

Hebrews 4:12 * New American Standard Bible (NASB)

12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.[2]

PRAYER JOURNALING QUESTIONS

1 Spend some time and give God thanks and pray to Him in your prayer journal, as it says in verse 8.

2 Write your thoughts about 1 Chronicles 16:8-9 from the version written out in Day 3, just before this section and afterward. What did you learn?

3 What have you said to God?

4 What has God said to you?

5 What can you apply to your life? How? Plan to do so immediately and make sure to prayer journal your plan about how to apply 1 Chronicles 16:8-9 to your life.

1 Chronicles 16:8-9 * New Century Version (NCV)

8 Give thanks to the Lord and pray to him.

Tell the nations what he has done.

9 Sing to him; sing praises to him.

Tell about all his miracles.[3]

PRAYER JOURNALING QUESTIONS: TELL WHAT GOD HAS DONE

1 What has God done in your life—today, yesterday, in the last week, in the last month, in the last three months, in the last six months, in the last year? In the last two years? Five years? Ten? More? Be thorough. List as many things as you can. This will take hours to days to weeks or months to get it all down on the page. Spend some time here.

2 1 Chronicles 16:8-9: Part 1

1 Chronicles 16:8-9 * GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

8 “Give thanks to the Lord.

Call on his name.

Make known among the nations what he has done.

9 Sing to him.

Make music to praise him.

Meditate on all the miracles he has done.[1]

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT THANKS?

Ideally, we will go through the Bible and read every single thing the Word of God says about thanksgiving and ingratitude in the next year. But, there is so much to cover, so we will see how far we can get in the study, look, and reflection (Hint: There might need to be another book of this type written—or maybe three or four. We shall see.)

This is the first reference we will look at: 1 Chronicles 16:8-9. Let’s first, however, start with a baseline and figure out where we are with thanksgiving in our lives and in the Bible.

Remember the rule of thumb for this entire year: The more you put into this year, the more you will get out of it.

PRAYER JOURNALING QUESTIONS

Today has quite a few questions, but it is for a reason. Please answer each and as thoroughly as you can. Do not give simple answers and make sure to explain your answers. Be thorough. Write more than you normally would in response to each question. Remember the rule of thumb for this entire year: The more you put into this year, the more you will get out of it.

1 Define thanks.

2 How do you offer thanks to someone?

3 How do you offer thanks to God?

4 How often do you try to offer God thanks?

5 How often should you offer God thanks”

6 What can you do in order to offer God more thanks in your life?

7 So, what does the Bible say about thanks? Write in your prayer journal anything that comes to mind.

8 What do you think the Bible says about thanks?

9 Write your thoughts about 1 Chronicles 16:8-9 from the version written out in Day 1.

10 Write your thoughts about 1 Chronicles 16:8-9 from the version written out in Day 2.

11 What did you say to God about questions 1-4 today?

12 What did God say to you about questions 1-5 today?

13 What do you hope to get out of the next year?

WRITE A PRAYER OF THANKS

Write a prayer of thanks about everything from Day 1 and 2. Make sure to thank Him for as many things as you can. In other words, be thorough. Do not shortchange your thanks to God for anything from this devotional or from what God has done throughout your day and night the last two days.

Also, as you give God thanks, thank Him for certain things from your past, things from today, and things from the future.

This does not have to be a formal prayer by any means. What matters is that you make it personal. It’s also okay for it to be rough and unpolished. God does not care about that. He care about your heart. That’s all. So, do not put undue pressure on yourself.

As you pray, think of God as your father or your best friend or both, whichever is easier for you. Pour out your heart to Him.

1 God Has A Purpose for You and A YEAR OF ALWAYS GIVING THANKS

1 Chronicles 16:8-9 * New Living Translation (NLT)

8 Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness.

Let the whole world know what he has done.

9 Sing to him; yes, sing his praises.

Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds.[1]

Welcome to a year (or whatever timeframe you end up reading this) of always giving thanks. I imagine it’s going to be quite the journey for each of us. God will not leave us where we are and will use what we learn to bring himself more glory and honor and praise. We just need to make sure to give it our all, no less, and see what God’s going to do with it, through it, and change us.

There is a reason why you have looked at this blog post series or book, let alone possible purchased a copy. It’s because God has put it on your heart. He has put the desire on your heart to bring Him thanks always (see Psalm 37:4).

I repeat:

You are reading A YEAR OF ALWAYS GIVING THANKS for a reason.

PRAYER JOURNALING QUESTIONS

1 What do you think the reason is God gave you an interest in this topic, blog post, or book?

[1] NLT: Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Welcome

Welcome, friend, to a look at doing something few of us do, yet alone all year long, and it’s always giving thanks.

Thanks might be a new concept for some of us, if we are honest without ourselves.

I am one of those people, by the way. The idea of giving thanks is rather foreign, but always giving thanks to God is far more foreign and is something I don’t even know or recognize. I’ve tried to give thanks, but not all the time. I’ve always tried to keep a gratitude journal—and that flopped. I know giving God thanks is important, but I think my hang-up has been: How do you give God thanks? That’s what this book is about. It’s about learning to give thanks always, and all year long, for the rest of our lives.

This is a devotional. It’s true. But, it’s so much more than that. It’s also a Bible study, a workbook, and is a prayer journal—all rolled into one.

This book is a book meant for devotions. It’s a book of thoughts on thanksgiving and what the Bible has to say about thanksgiving. It’s also about the things we are thankful for and is how we will create a list of what we thank God for in our lives. It will be our way to count our blessings and look all around for glory sightings.

I hope you read it as a devotional, where it brings you to devotion to God and for God—as you always give Him thanks. Read a sentence or two, a page or two, or a chapter,—and think on it all day and night. Pray about what you read or what makes you think. Let it inspire you to offer God thanks for the things in your life.

You might even think about keeping a prayer journal to write in and write everything you are thankful for and any thoughts that come to mind as you go through this book.

Read this book slowly. Absorb it. Do not just read through it as fast as you can. Chew on each word. Think about them and get the most you can out of them. The words I use are intentional and are meant to get us to think and inspire us to always give overflowing thanks.

There will be an accompanying Bible study and journal in time. However, if you look up each and every verse in your favorite Bible translation (version) and journal about them, then you will get a great deal out of it and it will be a wonderful Bible study. Do it all by yourself, with a friend, or with a group.

Set your own pace. Take a year to get all the way through it, as you look at it each and every day and allow it to bring you to the Lord and thank Him for everything in your life and all that is around you. Or, take a month or several years Just don’t rush through it and make sure to think deeply on these things (see Philippians 4:8 and Psalm 1:2).

Although, I think this can be one of those resources that the moment you finish reading it all the way through, you will want to do it all over again and see how and how things have changed in your life just since the first read-through and participation.

Make sure to give this your all. Do not give a half-hearted attempt, if you want to get the most out of this ALWAYS OF ALWAYS GIVING THANKS.

Enjoy!

~ Stacy Duplease

Another book

I have started to write yet another new book. It's the other two books all rolled into one.

Friday, November 22, 2013

1 Who Am I?

Thanks.

What a simple, but highly profound word.

What does it mean? It means to express gratitude, to acknowledge, to show appreciation. It can also mean to display or show relief.

We are to give thanks to God. We are to always give overflowing thanks to God (see Colossians 2:6-7). I am to do so.

Thanks to God. What does this mean? How can we show God our thanks? How can we show the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe (see Colossians 1:16-17) our thanks? He is everything said in Isaiah 9:6: The Prince of Peace, Everlasting Father, Wonderful Counselor, and Mighty God. He is always present, all-knowing, all-powerful. How can we, I, show Him thanks? He is perfect and I am meant for death (see Romans 6:23). So, HOW can I show HIM thanks?

Little ol' carnal one me and the Infinite One. I am the lost, wandering, always repeating same old useless patterns, and missing the mark. The thought of my saying thanks to him seems like it would demean Him. Who am I to give the GREAT I AM my thanks? I am nothing. I am so unworthy of Him in every way.

Or, is this true?

Am I nothing and He is everything? Can someone as so small and as insignificant as me, who wanders from Him and His Word, give HIM thanks? (And why would I want to?)

The Bible tells us to give Him thanks.

1 Chronicles 16:34 * Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;

His faithful love endures forever.[1]

Oh. Why give thanks to God? The Bible tells me to do so in 1 Chronicles 16:34. That’s why.

The Bible is the Word of God and is Truth. This, I know from the depth of my bones. This, I know because of Exodus 34:6; John 14:6, and John 8:32 (see also Genesis 24:27; 2 Samuel 2:6; 2 Samuel 7:28; Psalm 25:10; Psalm 51:6; Psalm 119:151; Psalm 119:160; John 1:14; John 8:45; John 14:16-17;1 Corinthians 13:6; 2 Corinthians 13:8; Colossians 1:3-6). The Bible is where I am to turn at every opportunity because it is the Truth and it is so much more.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 * New American Standard Bible (NASB)

16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.[2]

This is how I know I am to thank God. The Bible tells me to do it. The verse of 1 Chronicles 16:34 describes a great deal more, though. Why give God thanks? It’s because He is good (see Matthew 19:17; Mark 10:18; Luke 18:19; Psalm 119:68; Psalm 143:10; Nehemiah 9:20; Acts 10:38; 1 Timothy 4:4-5).

The Bible also tells me He is good and that is why I am to thank Him. But, 1 Chronicles 16:34 tells me I am to thank God because the love of God endures forever and is faithful. This is why I am to thank God. It’s not because of me. It’s because of Him.

Jude 1:24 * New Living Translation (NLT)

24 Now all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault.[3]

God is worthy of all glory and thanking Him brings Him glory. After all, He allowed His Son to be crucified and murdered on the cross so our sins could be forgiven. This has left us with a clean slate. Isn’t this all the more reason to thank Him?

The more I think about how I should thank Him, the more I realize I have a hang-up. I can’t get past of thinking how worthy I am for God to love me and forgive me. I also cannot get past the knowledge of who I am. Who am I and what can I offer God? I am a sinner. The blood of those from the Garden is in my veins. I am lowly. Job 38 comes to my mind and all.

That’s when I realize, once again, how it is not about me at all. It’s about Him.

John 15:5 * Expanded Bible (EXB)

“I am the vine, and you are the branches. If any remain [abide] in me and I remain[abide] in them, they produce much fruit. But without [apart from] me they can do nothing.[4]

If I realize it is true I cannot do anything without Him, however, when I do remain in Him, wonderful things happen. John 15:5 is proof of this. I will bear a lot of fruit if I abide in the Lord and in His Word. And, this includes offering Him thanks.

[1] {HCSB: Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.}

[3] {NLT: Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.}

Thanks Thought

Thank You, Lord

Thank You, Lord for another day to serve You.

Help me to live for You, not me, today.

Thank you for another opportunity to bring You glory and watch for glory sightings in my life today.

(Photo and Image Credits: Stacy Duplease)

Thursday, November 21, 2013

2 Adding to Your Thanksgiving List

2 Adding to Your Thanksgiving List

Take some time, as much as you have. I highly recommend an hour if you've got it. Otherwise, take what time you can.

Writer as many things as you can down on your thanksgiving list as you can.

Then, do it throughout the day whenever you think of another--or when you are on break.

It's rather amazing how this happens. But, it does. The more you get on your list, the more you will appreciate your life and everything God has done. Then, you will start to change. You will grow closer to God and deeper in your faith. You won't be able to help yourself.

Thank You, Lord

Thank You, Lord for...

Write fast and as many as you can in your prayer journal (or thanksgiving journal). Get ready, get set, go!

~ Stacy Duplease

1 Welcome to a Devotional Bible Study: An Introduction

Welcome to a new devotional Bible study called:

Always Give Overflowing Thanks:

A Devotional Bible Study

QUESTIONS:

What is thanks exactly? How is it defined?

What does it mean to give God thanks?

Why should we give God thanks?

How often, or when, should we give God thanks?

How do we give God thanks?

What does the Bible say about thanks?

What does it mean to give an offering or sacrifice of thanksgiving?

When was the last time you offered thanks?

What does thanks mean to you?

Is your life an offering of thanks?

Do you offer thanksgiving to the Lord as an offering or sacrifice?

Do you always give thanks to God?

Do you always give overflowing thanks? (And, what does that mean anyway?)

Do you keep a thanksgiving prayer journal?

Is thanksgiving something that comes easily to you--or is it more challenging?

How mindful do you need to be in order to always give overflowing thanks?

What is overflowing thanks?

How can you have overflowing thanks and offer it?

This devotional Bible study will cover all of those questions and more.

WHAT IS A DEVOTIONAL BIBLE STUDY?

It is a Bible study done in smaller chunks of time, reading, and prayer journaling, but are meant to be done throughout the day and not all in one sitting.That way, you can think about it and let it absorb while you don't rush through the material. It's meant to peculate and simmer.

Ideally, you would look at this study morning, noon, and night. Therefore, you'll see that this book is set up with lessons in groups of three.

However, if you do not have the time to read morning, noon, and night, once a day, or reading more, are all just fine. Go at the speed that works for you. And, it's okay to change how many you read and participate in each day.

Just make sure to do at least one per day. That way, you are constantly offering thanks, and counting your blessings, in your heart and mind.

SELF-PACED STUDY OR IN A GROUP INSTRUCTIONS:

I don't know about you, but there are times I find one sentence so profound, I could read it, think on it, and prayer journal about it for an entire day, week, month, and even year. Therefore, use this book as a self-paced study, unless of course, you are doing this in a Bible study group. Then, if you are in a group, vote on how many lessons people would like to read each day.

HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF THIS STUDY:

1 Read through all of the material. Prayer journal about the material as you go.

2 Then, go in-depth and read it a second time through. Take your time with the material and prayer journal (what is mentioned in the next section) and ponder it fully and all night and day long.

3 Do this in a group.

GET A THANKSGIVING PRAYER JOURNAL: A REQUIRED TOOL

What do you need for this Bible study? Do you want one or two journals? That is the question. And, it's time to decide and purchase them if necessary.

This devotional Bible study requires prayer journaling. The only questions is, do you want one journal or two? After all, I recommend answering every question asked in this study, if you want to get as much out of this as possible. I also recommend journaling anything god says to you, or you say to God, as you go through the study. Journal about what jumps out at you, questions you have, problems you're having, prayer requests, praises, etc. You will need a journal for all of this--and I recommend doing it in a prayer journaling format where you journal as a prayer to God. So, that might be one journal.

You might want to keep your Thanksgiving List (or Always Give Overflowing Thanks List) in another journal.

Or, you can keep both in one.

It's up to you.

Now, it's also up to you to decide, as well, whether this will be a paper or a digital journal. If you go with the paper version, I HIGHLY recommend you to type it up[ and save it on a computer and over the internet/cloud so that you can save it permanently. Paper journals can be lost, stolen, damaged, and the ink can fade--whether it's handwritten or printed out from a printer. The only permanent journal is saved to the cloud where it can be accesses from any computer at any time in any place.

So, go ahead and figure out what you want to do.

If you need help with digital journaling, check out this link. It should help:

http://storykeeper2121.blogspot.com/2013/01/journaling-101.html

Figure this out and then proceed.

AN EXAMPLE OF HOW I PRAYER JOURNAL

I figured I would give you an example of what I do as far as prayer journaling, so you can have an idea as to how you could.

I do digital prayer journaling and I do a combination of journaling. Here is what I do:

1 I use http://penzu.com/r/34f16257, which is Penzu.com, an online journal.

2 I use my cell phone.

3 I use my Amazon Kindle Fire 8.9-inch HD 4G.

4 I cut and paste #1-3 into a document on my computer. I put my thanks list and my devotional Bible study journaling all in one file.

5 Then I save the document on my computer. Then, I email it to myself. Then, I save it on the cloud (like Box, Google Drive, Carbonite.com, etc.).

6 Then, I cut and paste from the document and put my list into its on separate document.

7 Then I save the document on my computer. Then, I email it to myself. Then, I save it on the cloud (like Box, Google Drive, Carbonite.com, etc.).

WHY PRAYER JOURNAL AT ALL?

Can you tell me three things God did in your life on the 10th of last month?

Can you tell me four things God did in your life on 04 April 2012? If it's your birthday or something else that you can remember off the top of your head, pick another date around that time.

Can you tell me what happened on 17 August 2001?

Have I made point #1 yet as to why we should prayer journal?

As to the second point, so Nehemiah 9:16-17 cannot be said about us.

Nehemiah 9:16-17 * Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

16 But our ancestors acted arrogantly;
they became stiff-necked and did not listen to Your commands.
17 They refused to listen
and did not remember Your wonders
You performed among them.
They became stiff-necked and appointed a leader
to return to their slavery in Egypt.
But You are a forgiving God,
gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in faithful love,
and You did not abandon them.

{HCSB: Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.}

I want to remember the wonders God has done in my life, don't you? This is the second reason why we should prayer journal.

Another reason why we should prayer journal is because it forces us to slow down and deal with the text. We cannot rush through it.

Another reason to prayer journal is the more you prayer journal, the more God will speak to You and the more you will listen to Him.

And, finally, so we can review later and analyze what we learned well, and still apply to our lives, or learn what we need to work on in our lives.

So, let's prayer journal.

PRAYER JOURNALING LESSON:

Go back to the beginning of this chapter and prayer journal your answers to each of the questions listed.

HOW ARE YOU WITH OFFERING THANKS? IS IT EASY OR HARD?

Is giving thanks something that comes easily to you?

If it is, thank God.

Thanksgiving is not something that comes easily to me. However, that's because I think that's because I didn't fully understand what it is (and still don't in many ways, but I am growing in it) and why we should give Him thanks.

In fact, giving thanks, as I ought to give Him thanks, is a new concept for me. I've tried in the past to do so on a daily basis, and even kept a gratitude journal, but the concept has never fully grabbed me, nor have I understood it better than I do today (and will tomorrow).

I've learned that thanksgiving takes a great deal of constant, purposeful mindfulness in order for me to offer Gog thanks all the time. It's not something I can stop focusing on. It does not come naturally to me. Therefore, I want to immerse myself in thanksgiving. I think it will help me to be more mindful.

So, how about you? Where are you with thanksgiving?

CONTACT ME: LET'S FORM A COMMUNITY

I would love for you to contact me and tell me if you are taking this adventure with me. So, how can you reach me?

Email me at: agodlyvision@gmail.com

Get on my blog at: http://col267.blogspot.com/ and add a comment at the end of any blog post.

Connect with me on my Google+ Community at:

https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/117051598962837472541?cfem=1

Let's form a community and encourage one another, ask questions, share experiences, and share the thanksgiving we have in and for our lives. Let's share glory sightings!

I bet a community of people offering thanksgiving 24/7 will be a place we can go to and get inspired and offer thanks. The communities can be formed via my blog or the Google+ community.

PRAYER JOURNALING

Add to your thanksgiving list five things you thank God for today.

~ Stacy Duplease

Always Give Thanks List

20131117_103649_resized_fall_2013_in_virginia_colonial_parkway_2.jpg

Ann Voskamp in her book, ONE THOUSAND GIFTS: A DARE TO LIVE FULLY RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE" talks about keeping an ongoing list of everything you are thankful for in your life.I think it's time to start keeping this list. How about you?

Count your blessings.

Ask God to open your eyes to see His glory sightings of how He is working in you, around you, and through you. Keep your eyes open and look for glory sightings throughout your day every day.

And make sure to include in your list what God is doing in your life today, what He did yesterday, and what He will do in your life in the future.

Let's make it our goal each day to write as many things as we can each and every day for the rest of our lives everything we are thankful for and everything just mentioned here.

Keep a special journal for your glory sightings, blessings, and everything and everyone you thank God for in your life.

Let's start today--and let's start counting.

~ Stacy Duplease

(Photo Credit: Stacy Duplease Nov. 2013, taken along the Colonial Parkway in Virginia.)