Prone to Complain

Come, thou Fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing thy grace;  

 Streams of mercy, never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise.

  Teach me some melodious sonnet, sung by flaming tongues above.

Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it, mount of thy redeeming love.

(words-Robert Richardson, music- Wyeth's Repository of Sacred Music)

This is one of my favorite hymns.  Perhaps it's one of your favorites as well.
I was thinking about this hymn this morning, particularly a line in the third verse.  That line says, "prone to wander, Lord, I feel it.  Prone to leave the God I love."

The "prone to wander" line leads me to recall the time the Israelites spent wandering in the wilderness, after they had left Egypt and before they entered the Promised Land.   We're often "prone to criticize" the Israelites for their wanderings, yet we often "wander" as well, don't we?  We're not always prompt in our obedience to what the Lord tells us to do, which can leave us wandering pretty aimlessly through life.

But today as I have been thinking about that line from the hymn, I've been thinking we could rewrite the line as "prone to complain".    The Israelites complained a lot on their journey through the wilderness.  They complained about the food.  Or more accurately, the lack of all the good food they had enjoyed in Egypt.  (I guess they forgot the part about being slaves!)  They complained about the dust.  And about having no water.  Complain, complain, complain.

It's the American way, isn't it?  Complain about everything! We are a complaining people.  We complain about the weather.  And the traffic.  About the recent time change.  About politicians.  Even about coffee cups!

We complain about all sorts of things.  I know I find myself often doing that. Complaining instead of being grateful.  Shame on us. We're such whiners! Why is that?  Why are we such complainers?  Why are we never content, but always finding something else to complain about?  It's too hot.  It's too cold.  It rains too much.  It never rains.  And on and on we go.

We aren't born with a "contentment gene".  Contentment is a learned behavior.  Paul didn't say "I am content."  He said, " I have learned to be content." (Philippians 4:11 NASB)

How do we learn that kind of contentment?  In the same way as we learn anything else.  By practice.  By repetition.  By focus.  Focusing on the reasons we have to be content, to be grateful, rather than on the reasons we have for complaining.

This month, this season of Thanksgiving, this very day, is a good time to start.  If you haven't already, start a gratitude journal, listing all the things you have to be thankful for.  Join in the "days of gratitude" activity on social media, every day posting something you're thankful for.  Make a conscious effort not to complain.

It's a good beginning.  A good way to change your focus away from complaining and toward contentment.

Why not begin learning today?

"I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content......In any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.  I can do all things through him who strengthens me."  (Philippians 4:11-13 ESV)

Bought With A Price

Yesterday we observed Veteran's Day, a day when we remember and honor those men and women who have served in our nation's military.  I'm glad there is a day set aside for this purpose, but I also think it's sad that we don't remember them more often.  That we don't think about and honor those men and women, and their families, who sacrifice so much on our behalf.  Who pay the price so we don't have to.  We must never forget that freedom isn't free, and that many have sacrificed much on our behalf.

Freedom comes at a price.  A great price.  And not only the freedoms we enjoy as American citizens, but the our freedom in Christ as well.  May we never forget the great price that our Savior paid that we might be free from sin.  May we never forget what it cost Him.  May we never take it for granted.

We so often take our freedoms as Americans for granted.  Shame on us!  And shame on us when we treat our freedom in Christ that casually as well.

May we live this day, and every day, with gratitude for all that is ours in Christ Jesus.  May we never forget what it cost.

"For you were bought with a price."  (1 Corinthians 6:20 ESV)

"Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.  For he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed."  (Isaiah 53:4-5 ESV)

In Everything

"In everything give thanks."  (1 Thessalonians 5:18 NASB)

In everything.  In all things.  However, you want to phrase it...

No exceptions.  There are none of those phrases we want to add to the end of the verse.

It doesn't say  in everything except.......

Except when I lose my job.

Except when I run out of money.

Except arthritis.  Or cancer.  Or heart disease.

Except when I'm tired.  Or angry.  Or afraid.

Except politicians.  Or government-run health care.  Or when I don't like election results.

Except when my friend or my spouse or my son or my daughter or my best friend hurts my feelings.

Except any of the other things you might be able to think of.

There are no clarifying phrases at the end of that sentence.

In everything.

Everything means everything.

It's pretty clear.

Note that the verse doesn't say anything about feeling thankful.  This is not about an emotional response to circumstances.  The verse says to give thanks.  That involves the will.  A deliberate choice to give thanks, not because I feel like it but in spite of the fact that sometimes I don't.

Give thanks.  In everything.

Today might be a good day to start.

"If we win, we praise Him. And if we lose, we praise Him. Either way we honor Him with our actions and our attitudes." (from the movie "Facing the Giants")

"In everything give thanks, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."                           (1 Thessalonians 5:18 NASB)

Because Sometimes We Need to Be Reminded.....

It's that time again.  The season of Thanksgiving.  The season of daily "I am thankful for...." posts on social media.

Yet in spite of that, we don't always look like or sound like or act like very thankful people.  We spend far more time complaining than we spend giving thanks.  We spend far more energy stressing over the not-as-we-might-like-it-to-be things in our personal lives or our family or our world than we spend being thankful for the as-we-like-it things in life. We even look a little grumpy more often than we look happy or joyful or thankful.

Why is that?

Perhaps the problem is that we spend too much time focusing on what's wrong rather than on what is right.  Perhaps we are spending too much time focusing on what we don't have rather than what we do have.

Perhaps we need to be reminded of just how blessed we really are!

Here are a couple of my favorite quotes on the subject, along with a couple of favorite Scripture verses.  Perhaps these reminders will help us get our focus where it needs to be.  Perhaps they will help to remind us of all the reasons we have for being truly thankful.

"When we learn to give thanks, we are learning to concentrate not on the bad things, but on the good things."  (Amy Vanderbilt)

"Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has many, and not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some."  (Charles Dickens)

"Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things."  (Philippians 4:8 NASB)

"Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name.  Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits."  (Psalm 103:1-2 NASB)

Luther and Katharina: A Book Review

Luther and Katharina by Jody Hedlund is one of my new favorite books.  In fact, I enjoyed this book so much more than I thought I would!  I love historical fiction, although the 1500s is not a time period I have spent much time in.  But I was intrigued to read about the love story between Martin Luther and Katharine von Bora, and I was not disappointed!  This was one of those books that you just can't put down.

The year is 1523.  The story begins with a group of nuns escaping the convent where they have spent most of their lives.  The escape is in response to the writings of Martin Luther which have been smuggled into the convent.

This book give amazing detail about the beginnings of the Reformation.  It is sometimes hard to read, as it is often very graphic about the persecution endured by those who opposed the Catholic Church and its practices during that time period.  It is certainly not as graphic as most television shows these days, but does go into great detail.

Woven into the history of the Reformation is the love story between the noble-born Katharina von Bora and the commoner Martin Luther.  The attraction is there from the time they meet, although both resist it.  Theirs is a beautiful love story, beautifully told.

I loved the historical accuracy of this book.  I loved that we see all the characters - Martin, Katharina, the Abbott - as they really were, without glossing over their faults.  Katharina is often headstrong and prideful.  Martin deals with depression.  The Abbott is arrogant and vindictive.  There's no attempt to gloss over the humanity of any of the characters or to make them more than they were.

History.  Adventure.  Love.  Joy.  Heartbreak. Deception.  Intrigue.  All these elements are found in this beautiful telling of the love story of Martin Luther and Katharina von Bora.

I loved this book.  It's one I could read again and again.

And I recommend you read it.  I think you'll be glad you did!

Thank you, Blogging for Books, for a free copy of this book in exchange for my review.

But Now....

One of my favorite words in the English language is the little word "but".  It is also one of my least favorite words.  I've written about this before.  You can read the earlier post here:  http://susanssittingroom.blogspot.com/2011/10/but.html

I most love that little word "but" when we put it together with another word to form a phrase......but God.

But God.  The little word "but" used alone can be so negative, but the connotation changes completely when you put the two words together.  You'll find that phrase a number of times in Scripture. 

Another favorite phrase is but now.  You can find that phrase in several places as well.  I love the that was how it was then, but this is how it is now truth the phrase conveys. 

Let's use Ephesians 2 as an example. The chapter begins this way: "You were dead in trespasses and sins."  That's pretty negative, isn't it? That's how it used to be, how it was then. Sounds pretty hopeless.  However, there's more to the story!

"But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ - by grace you have been saved."  (Ephesians 2:4 ESV, emphasis mine)

That should brighten your day!

"But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ."  (Ephesians 2:13 ESV)

Misplaced Priorities

Monday mornings around here are pretty much the same from week to week.  It's laundry day.  And declutter from the weekend day.  And, since those tasks don't require a great deal of brain power, it's also a good day for thinking.  For pondering. 

Often I find myself thinking about the previous day's lesson in our Life Group, or about the pastor's message from the previous morning, or about his teaching at our Sunday evening Bible study. 

Today is one of those hard-to-get-myself-going Mondays. This is the first Monday morning after the time change, so my body clock is out of sorts.  And it's raining again here in South Carolina.  Sigh. 

None of that is really the source of my pondering this morning.  Rather, I've been thinking about Halloween, that holiday celebrated this past weekend. Before you get your tutu in a twist, this is not a post about how you chose to celebrate Halloween, or if you choose to celebrate it at all.

As I'm going about my tasks this morning, it is my friend Jill's status update on Facebook that is front and center in my thoughts.  It was Halloween that triggered her post on Facebook and this is part of what she had to say:

"People in this nation spend more money on costumes for their pets than all mission enterprises together."  (Dr. Jill Branyon)

She's right.  In this nation, we spend a lot of money on costumes and candy and decorations for the craziness that is Halloween.  But it isn't just Halloween.  We'll do it again, minus the costumes, for Thanksgiving.  And for Christmas.  And for Valentine's Day.  And for any other occasion that we can think of.

Don't misunderstand me.  I like a party as much as the next person.  I enjoy decorating my home and preparing special foods for the holidays.  There's nothing inherently wrong with those things.  It's just a matter of priorities.

In recent months in our church, we have been studying the Book of Acts. We are studying it with a view toward how we as Christians should be living in what may well be the last days, as we are nearer and nearer to the return of Christ.  What was the Church like in its early days?  How do we compare?  What can we learn from them about how we should be living and "doing church"?

Like the early Church, we have been commissioned to take the Gospel to the nations.
How much time and energy and money are we expending in that endeavor? 

How much time and energy and money did you spend on Halloween?  How much time and energy and money are you spending for Thanksgiving and for Christmas?  And how does that compare to the amount of time and energy and money you are expending to spread the Gospel?

That's something we all need to think about.  Because, for too many of us, too much of the time, our priorities are out of order!

"You shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." (Acts 1:8 ESV)