Praise God for music!

                                                          "I Can Just Be Me"

                                                                    by Laura Story

I've been doing all that I can
To hold it all together
Piece by piece.
I've been feeling like a failure,
Trying to be braver
Than I could ever be.
It's just not me.

So be my healer, be my comfort, be my peace.
Cause I can be broken, I can be needy,
Lord I need You now to be,
Be my God, so I can just be me.

I've been living like an orphan,
Trying to belong here,
But it's just not my home.
I've been holding on so tightly,
To all the things that I think
Could satisfy my soul.
But I'm letting go...

So be my father, my mighty warrior, be my king.
Cause I can be scattered, frail and shattered,
Lord I need You now to be,
Be my God, so I can just be me.

Cause I was lost in this dark world
Until I was finally found in You
So now I'm needing, desperately pleading
Oh Lord, be all to me

And be my savior, be my lifeline, won't You be my everything.
Cause I'm so tired of trying to be someone
I was never meant to be
Be my God
Please be my God
Be my God
So I can just be me
So I can just be me
I can just be me.

 Laura Story - I Can Just Be Me (Official Live Video)YouTube

Wow!  This song of Laura Story's is phenomenal!  It is becoming the prayer of my heart!  Perhaps the Lord Jesus will use it to minister to you as well.  If you want to listen, please do.  If you want to read the lyrics over and over again, please do ;)  What a gift she has to share her heart...in authenticity.

I do not know about you but when I get gut level honest I do not often want to be me; at least not the me that I perceive.  I am realizing more and more that my Creator and my Father He really does just want me to be me and to stop trying so hard to be the me that I want others to see, the me that I think others want me to be or even the me that I think is 'godly.'  God really, really does want me to just be...me.  To rest, relax, trust, and wait on His direction, on His plans rather than rushing ahead of Him thinking that I am trying to please Him - LUDICROUS!

Goodness, I feel like the words to this song could have been written from my heart and from my life.

Oh God, please be my God and help me to 'just be me'!  Show me who the me is that You made me to be.  The me that brings You glory, that rests in Your presence and trusts Your sovereignty.  Thank You, thank You, thank You for being 'my Father', please be 'my Healer, my Comfort, my Peace, my Mighty Warrior, my King' and thank You for being 'my Savior', please be 'my lifeline and my everything'!  Forgive me for being for trying to 'hold it all together' and thank You for bringing me to the end of myself and attempting to teach me what that can and does mean.  Forgive me for forgetting that I am no longer 'lost in this dark world' but I am 'found in You', Jesus - help me to walk in the Truth of this!  I am 'needing, desperately pleading for You, Lord to be all to me'!  Forgive me for giving others a higher place in my life than You and for placing myself above You in so many subtle ways!  I can now say with some conviction and a bit of gratitude that I am thankful that You have allowed me to be 'scattered, frail and shattered' because I do want and need 'You now to be my God' and teach me how to 'just be me'.  Tired, 'so tired of trying to be someone I was never meant to be'.  I know You are my God; help me to just be me!  Help me to truly learn, God!  Forgive me for stubbornly holding on to my old way of doing things regardless of the fact that You have made me new and You have provided grace, that You know me and love me knowing me better than I even know myself!  That I am accepted because of Jesus Christ, regardless!  Thank You for breaking me and allowing me to be needy to the point that I can no longer pretend that all is well and that You are at work molding me and making me as You have been all along and all I need to do is listen to Your Voice and obey - please give me the ears to hear and the strength to obey.  May I look to You, Father,  in this season and truly learn what You are trying to teach me... May I allow You to renew my mind and change my ways of coping, living and reacting.  Thank You for Laura Story and her heart for You and her ministry of words and music and desire to worship You.  Please continue to reveal Yourself to her.

Choose...Life

Deuteronomy 30:19b-20a, ...Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to His voice, and hold fast to Him.  For the LORD is your life...

Joshua 24:15, But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.

Psalm 27:1, The LORD is my light and my salvation -- whom shall I fear?  The LORD is the stronghold of my life -- of whom shall I be afraid?

Galatians 2:20, I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. 

Colossians 3:3, For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

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Life
Choosing Life

Easy to type so much harder to do, huh?  I was reminded of some verses that I came across when my children were very small this morning, Deuteronomy 30:19-20.  In looking at it further, I find that it means much more than simply a choice between physical life and death (blessing and cursing) such as in the context of the Old Testament, but much more because of Jesus, we must choose whether or not we are going to trust in the Life He provides for us.  The choice is focused not on "Will I obey God or not?"; but on "Will I trust in Jesus for my standing before God?"  Jesus said, He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters, Luke 11:23.  And Jesus is still asking the question, 'Who do you say that I am', Matthew 16:15. (From the commentary by David Guzik)

I am not a scholar but this intrigued me.  As I said as a young mom I came across these verses and I so wanted to 'Choose Life' so that my children and I could live and that we would love the Lord our God, listen to His voice and hold fast to Him.  Knowing that He is our life.  This has been and is my greatest desire for myself, my husband and my children.  I so want us to choose life, to choose Jesus as our life and yet it is such a hard choice, not salvation so much but the daily living of that choice!  My passion and desire has been to teach my children how to choose Jesus, to choose that life that only He can give.  Honestly I can care less how 'successful' they are in this world...truly.  Of course I want them to work hard and do well, but if they spend all their time pouring into the things of this world then they have completely missed the entire point of their lives.  We are here to have relationship with Christ, to point others to Him and bring Him glory.  This is my desire and yet I so often get my priorities mixed up and confuse myself with busyness and with stuff; not too mention confusing them with expectations and such.  

I have prayed many times and am reminded again this morning to pray that my family and I will choose life, Jesus...that we will love the LORD (with all our heart, soul, mind and strength), that we will listen to His voice and hold fast to Him...that He will be our LIFE!

To choose life is much more than an intellectual decision, it is a determination, a depending upon Him that results in a heart decision.  We must recognize Him intellectually but it must go so much farther.  To choose life is to breathe, consciously aware of Him, to surrender our own agendas and be willing to obey His will.  Thus the difficulty as it is often so easy to say, 'why yes, I choose Jesus, I choose life' and yet by our actions we are sometimes saying something far different.  I fall so short.  And yet the beautiful part is that He is the one who provides the life, I cannot earn it, I cannot grow it, I cannot control it; He does!  What a relief, those tiny moments when I grasp this truth brings such peace, such hope, truly He brings LIFE!

Now as a parent, I want my children to live, to have abundant life, but there is no abundant life outside of Christ, none!  Why would I want to spend all of my time pushing my kids toward academics, toward sports, toward whatever and miss the point that I am to point them toward Jesus Christ and there they will have abundant life, there He will make room for all the pieces that make up their lives, education, sports, careers, love etc... but Him first and foremost.  I get so distracted by the things of this life, by the opinions of others, by the efforts to succeed and make sure my children are prepared for life!  What???  I want my children...I want myself to be prepared for eternal life!  I want to focus on Christ and do what is important to Him.  I have gotten off track so many times; I have allowed the pressures of this world to almost squeeze the very life that He has provided out of me!  Thankfully it cannot be removed because once I belong to Jesus, I am His, period (John 10:28).
,

So when my children were small I (my husband and I) did my best to point them to Jesus, to choose whom we would serve but there comes a day when like myself they each much decide whom they will serve, who will fill their lives!  Please God, guide them to chose Jesus!

It doesn't stop there with the choice though, we must love God.  How?  By listening to His Voice!  But wait a minute how do I even recognize His Voice?  By getting into His Word, by asking Him to help you as His child to recognize His Voice, by falling in love with Him!  We do not fall in love with Him or anyone else by simply making a statement one day that I chose to love God.  It only begins there with the choice to respond to His invitation to have our lives hidden with Christ in God, to be 'crucified with Christ' so that I no longer live but that He lives in me!  I must continue to choose.  I must get into His Word and put forth effort for that love to stay kindled and not just a tiny ember.

I choose life - I choose to love Him because He first loved me (1 John 4:19) - I must then learn to recognize His voice (again by getting to know Him through His Word, by going to church, by worshipping Him, through prayer) and chose to listen to Him (this is often the hardest part as I so want to talk sometimes I forget to listen) - and then I must chose to hold fast to Him!  Now He will never let me go as I already mentioned, but I too have a responsibility to hold on to Him!  We will be tested, we will be tried... you know it, you have experienced it just as I have, but how determined are we to choose life?  Our choice, our decision, our effort...

Did you see Psalm 27:1?  The LORD is my light and my salvation, THE STRONGHOLD OF MY LIFE, whom shall I fear???  We do not have to fear ANYTHING or ANYONE in this life!  Whoa!  I don't know about you but I want to choose Jesus, His life!  I want to live in such a way that I walk with Him more in His light and less in the darkness of my old self and nature.  I want to live in the reality of His truth that He is Life and not only is He Life, but He is MY LIFE!  He is my light and my salvation! He can be yours as well!!!

Oh LORD, please help me to choose Your life in the dailyness of my life!  I know I am saved by Your blood, by Your death, burial and resurrection, but please help me to walk in the reality of this life that You have for me regardless of bumps in the road, walls that I run in to or times that I fall...may I keep my eyes on You and off the circumstances and things around me.  I so often fail at this, LORD.  Forgive me for being so easily distracted.  For being so easily tricked into trying so hard again and not being still, not resting in You and the truth of all that You are.  Forgive me for the ways in which I have shown my children wrongly by choosing my own ways and trying to be in control rather than using my energy to hold fast to You, to know Your voice, to love You and obey.  May You reveal Yourself to them in spite of me and may they hunger for You in such a way that truly they want Your life and Yours alone.  May I do the same.  Forgive me for 'hungering' for the approval of others, the appearance that I am 'godly' or that I have the 'answers.'  Forgive me for being a stumbling block to myself and others, God.  May I choose life moment by moment and point to You regardless of myself.  Forgive me for giving in to fear and allowing other things to build strongholds in my life rather than allowing You to be THE STRONGHOLD OF MY LIFE!  Change me, transform me, please God, do not allow me to continue down the same paths but may I look to You and grow in You.  Hide me in Christ, God.   LORD BE MY LIFE!  Thank You for Your faithfulness, Your forgiveness, Your mercy, Your grace, Your hope, Your peace, Your very presence God!  

In Step with the Spirit?

A multitude of words running through my mind today - you have no idea just how good that feels ;)  I had the opportunity to celebrate a true servant this morning.  Her life exemplifies service to Christ and love for Him, thus service to others and love for them.

Back to the words:
Diligence, Longevity, Commitment, Endurance, Faithfulness, Cherish, Protect, Discretion, Treasure, Interested, Invested, Hope, Joy, Love, Self-control, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Gentleness, Goodness, Dedication, Humbleness, Caring, Compassion, Intuitiveness, Life, Detailed, Pillar, Home, Helpful

These words and many more come to mind as I think of this lady and thus thinking of her then points me to her Lord, Jesus Christ.  Her life has been, is and will continue to be about Christ!  What a testimony and what a tremendous blessing!  She points to him in her moment by moment, in her every day life regardless of what is going on around her.  I am thankful for her example and the way she has pointed me and my family to Christ alone!  Do the words said about you and me point others to our Savior?

The Fruit of the Spirit is...love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control - Galatians 5:22-23

Look at Galatians 5:24-25 as well, Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.  

To belong to Christ...
What an almost unfathomable concept and statement...to belong to Christ and yet if you belong to Christ you know it!  I do belong to Christ and yet I am guilty of often taking that very belonging for granted and not recognizing the strength and power that is available in my life due the very fact that I am His.  In considering this as a reality, not just as a statement I have read or a concept I have been told about, but a reality that I live in moment by moment, I have to wonder do those words listed previously that could be easily said about our Lord, apply to me?  What about you?  Are these words that describe our Lord an appropriate description for us?  Now we don't live our life, or we shouldn't, concerned with what others think or say and yet realistically if I am living like Christ then shouldn't I be described as like Him - faithful, diligent, forgiving, committed, etc.

I must consider, that in knowing that I belong to Christ, asking myself if I have crucified and still crucify the flesh with its passions and desires?  I mean, I will have to be honest and say it depends on the day or even the moment.  Sometimes I just get so carried away with my own thoughts, my own circumstances and my own desires that truly it takes a while for the Lord to get my attention and draw me back to Himself.  I am oh so grateful that He is always there though and He never abandons me or gives up on me.  He is constantly wooing and working, and drawing and returning me to Himself.  I belong to Christ Jesus, therefore I live by the Spirit and I have the opportunity to keep in step with the Spirit!  Awesome, isn't He?  What provision!  What hope!

I so want to live by the Spirit, to remember moment by moment that I belong to Christ Jesus!  I no longer belong to myself and my flesh with its passions and desires!  Yes, I must still battle as I live here on this earth and trust me when I say I know what it means to battle and yet what if I would continually submit to the Lord (all my thoughts and my desires) and allow Him to  create His Fruit in me rather than trying so hard to produce fruit in my own strength that is in actuality nothing like the Fruit of His Spirit, but more like a prune, or a lemon ;-/  You get me?  Am I pointing to Christ or to myself?  Am I pointing to His sacrifice and His provision or am I distracted by the 'things' of this world?  Something to think about anyway...

Father God, forgive me for not looking to You fully, but for being distracted by myself, by my circumstances, and my feelings.  Lord Jesus, thank You for saving me, for allowing me to truly belong to You.  Forgive me for taking this redemption, this salvation that You have provided for granted and for being distracted from You.  I need You to have Your way in me.  I want to learn those things that You are trying to teach me.  I want to surrender it all, the wrong thinking, the misconceptions, the self-centered ideas, the hurts, the pain, the wondering, the control, all of it, Lord, may I trust You more fully and completely today, in this moment, than I have ever before.  May I know what You would have me to do when it comes to crucifying my flesh and obey.  Open my eyes to see You and You alone.  Renew my mind and my passion to point to You.  May the Fruit of Your Spirit be evident in my life - especially in my home.  Forgive me for getting in Your way and for not trusting You fully, for striving and trying and wearing myself out because I have been doing so many things for so long thinking they were what You wanted, when really I was just trying to be in control. You alone know the whys and reasons behind this season...I want to know You more fully and walk in step with Your Spirit.  Please have Your way in me, Lord.

Time, travail, trust

Holman Christian Study Bible - Title above Ecclesiastes 3:1-15 is "The Mystery of Time."  Hmm, interesting title.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-15
1) There is an occasion for everything, and a time for every activity under heaven:  2) a time to give birth and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to uproot;  3) a time to kill and a time to heal;  a time to tear down and a time to build;  4) a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance;  5) a time to throw stones and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace and a time to avoid embracing;  6) a time to search and a time to count as lost; a time to keep and a time to throw away;  7) a time to tear and a time to sew; a time to be silent and a time to speak;  8) a time to love and a time to hate; a time for war and a time for peace.  9) What does the worker gain from his struggles?  10) I have seen the task that God has given people to keep them occupied.  11) He has made everything appropriate in its time.  He has also put eternity in their hearts, but man cannot discover the work God has done from beginning to end.  12) I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and enjoy the good life.  13) It is also the gift of God whenever anyone eats, drinks, and enjoys all his efforts.  14) I know that all God does will last forever; there is no adding to it or taking from it.  God works so that people will be in awe of Him.  15) Whatever is, has already been, and whatever will be, already is.  God repeats what has passed. 


Commentary by Matthew Henry concerning verses 10 and 11, "There is a great deal of toil and trouble to be seen among the children of men.  Labour and sorrow fill the world.  This toil and this trouble are what God has allotted us.  He never intended this world for our rest, and therefore never appointed us to take our ease in it.  To many it proves a gift.  God gives it to men, as the physician gives a medicine to his patient, to do him good.  This travail is given to us to make us weary of the world and desirous of the remaining rest.  It is given to us that we may be kept in action, and may always have something to do; for we we're none of us sent into the world to be idle.  Every change cuts us out some new work, which we should be more solicitous about, than about the event."

Just thinking about the word and principle of time today.

Have you ever had time come to a complete standstill?  You have if you have experienced tragedy or some event that completely rocked your world.  If you are like me you have an 'idea' of what time should look like each day and low and behold it does not.  In fact it is so radically different than anything you could have imagined that somehow you wonder if you will survive it.  Well, each of us faces these moments in varying degrees and with different responses, but I am here to tell you that time does march on; regardless.  You may think life is over.  You may think you will never be able to put one foot in front of another, have yet one more coherent thought and somehow you do.  It is just what we do.  Time does not stop regardless of how it feels, looks, tastes or whatever.  It just does not, no matter how much we might wish it too or hope it would.  Do you know what I mean?

Have you ever had this particular experience?..."This travail is given to us to make us weary of the world and desirous of the remaining rest."  Do you desire heaven?  I do.  My problem (one of them at least) has been that while I have allowed this 'travail' (what a descriptive word, travail -- painfully difficult or burdensome work, toil; pain, anguish or suffering resulting from mental or physical hardship) to make me weary of the world and desire rest, I have not allowed it to keep me in action - in truth in many ways I have become 'paralyzed' and 'ineffective'.  I have spent many years taking care of others, not in the self-less way you might imagine but in a way that was more concerned with how I looked to others or what 'blessings' God might have for me or more subtly that I would be 'a godly woman, wife and mom.  This in itself is not bad and yet if it is your purpose then like me, you have missed what God has for you.  I have literally 'hit the wall' I cannot and will not live like this any more and praise God that no matter how hard I try He will not let me continue in this pattern of destructive behavior.  Oh, it doesn't look destructive on the outside, in fact I have been clearly told that others wish they had 'my life' and yet I am here to tell you that while I am indeed blessed and I have much to be thankful for, living a life that 'is always striving' and convinced that you are never good enough or that you need to meet a certain standard, or one in which you would never try to hold someone else to is exhausting and it does not work!

People, it is not wrong to take care of ourselves!!!  Why do we think that it is?  I am not referring to taking care of yourself to the point of misuse or neglect of others, but the Bible tells us 'to love others (our neighbors) as we would love ourselves' and that this is the second greatest commandment.  What is the first greatest commandment?  "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind" Matthew 22:37.  Let's think about these for a minute...commandment - this is a requirement, not an option, right?  For me I have spent my life truly desiring to love the Lord, wholly and completely (now I haven't gotten it all right, obviously, but He has given me a heart to love Him since I was a teenager and He rescued me from my sin and fear of death.  I have also tried to love others as He would.  Have you ever heard the acronym for JOY?  J-esus, O-thers, Y-ourself?  Truly I have tried to live life in this manner, but do you see what is missing?  The loving myself!  Oh, I won't get into the depths of how far from loving myself I have lived.

Now before you make a judgment, there is no doubt I have loved myself in a physical manner, I mean I have rarely done without, I have had plenty to eat and been taken care of splendidly.  My issue is more hidden, more internal.  I have not loved who I am.  I have gone so far as to hate myself.  How,  you ask?  I believed the lies of the enemy and the lies of those he has used to trick me in my life, and not to mention my own thoughts and opinions.  I do not share this to make excuses, I share this because I believe there are many of us who live in this manner.  Thinking that to have 'boundaries' and say no, or not place ourselves in positions where we are uncomfortable simply because 'we think' that God may be disappointed with us, or that we 'can' serve so why don't I, and on and on.  I have depression, a real physical hormonal imbalance that causes some of my difficulties, but I also have a sin issue, one that say I know better than God and I will do things my own way - pride.  Oh, it is often very subtle and even easily rationalized, but it is so real, so valid.  Ignoring the depression or ignoring the pride, neither works.  I must face the facts that I have real physical limitations, but I do not get to enable myself to continue on in this manner.  I must seek God and take all the help that He has provided, both spiritually and physically, i.e. study His Word, meditate on it, pray and (for me) take medicine and seek the help from those who understand what my body, mind and emotions are going through regardless of whether anyone else understands or even accepts me or not.

My point in all this rambling?  I have spent years trying to love God completely, and love others as He commanded and yet I completely ignored (or excused) the part where He commanded 'as yourself.'  I have 'hit the wall' so to speak, exhausted beyond anything I could have even imagined, because I have tried to love Him and love others without accepting that I am to love myself, by convincing myself that to be 'honest' with myself and others about what I need and don't need means I am focusing on myself.  That just isn't true!  It is not selfish to love myself!  It is His command!  I now know that He will show me how!  I am a slow learner and at times He has to reveal things to me over and over again, and yet He does!  Praise His Holy Name!  I have a long way to go, but I am so thankful that He is clearly showing me what the 'root' is in all this 'travail.'  Not all of it has been my fault or even my choice; however I do have have a choice now, as He has opened my eyes and can chose to follow Him and obey.  I...so...chose!

Father God, I pray that You will make sense of what I am trying to convey here.  That I will not cause anyone to stumble, fall or make excuses for their actions and choices.  God, thank You for allowing me to 'hit the wall'.  I never thought I would say that, nor did I ever think I could do so so utterly and completely; however I have and while I am not glad I am thankful that You are revealing Yourself and You are at work.  Please God, transform me from the very root of my being.  May I be different.  May I stop making excuses.  May I stop settling for 'feeling better' and may I truly experience Your healing.  In Your way and in Your time.  Please God, help me to look to You and You alone.  Forgive me for looking to myself and my own understanding, for seeking others first rather than You and for rejecting those that You have placed in my path to help me because I thought I had to do it on my own.  Forgive me for loving myself in one sense so much that I refused to obey and for not loving myself so much that I couldn't see the truth of what You had for me.  May I walk in Your ways, Lord.  Thank You for never ever giving up on me, regardless of how many times I have given up on myself or pushed You away, You didn't and haven't left me.  You cannot and I am beyond grateful.  May I walk in this gratefulness and trust that there is a time for everything, even travail and know that You are at work and that You will have Your way.  May I walk in Your truth regardless of this 'emotional' journey that You have me on and not worry about what others think of me.  Give me eyes to see You, Jesus! and the strength to love You first and foremost and love myself in ways that I have never understood before so that I can love others and serve them for Your glory!  

Colossians 3:12-17

Gratitude:  the quality or feeling of being grateful or thankful.  
Synonyms of the word gratitude:  appreciation, acknowledgment, appreciativeness, grace, gratefulness, honor, indebtedness, obligation, praise, recognition, requital, response, responsiveness, sense of obligation, thankfulness, thanks, thanksgiving
Antonyms of gratitude:  ingratitude (not grateful), thanklessness

Colossians 3:12-15
12) Therefore, God's chosen ones, holy and loved, put on heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, 
13) accepting one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a complaint against another.  Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so also you must forgive.  
14) Above all, put on love - the perfect bond of unity. 
15) And let the peace of the Messiah, to which you were also called in one body, control your hearts.  Be thankful.  
16) Let the message about the Messiah dwell richly among you, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, and signing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, with gratitude in your hearts to God.  
17) And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. 

Thinking about how much I have to be thankful for today.  My attitude is often one of ingratitude or discontent rather than gratitude.  I don't often think of myself as thankless, but to be ungrateful is to be thankless.  Hmmm.  I have way been blessed way too much to sit in a posture of thanklessness.  I don't want to be ungrateful.  All I have to do is open the Word and I can easily find things to be grateful for regardless of circumstances and situations.  His Word is alive and He meets us there - talk about something to be grateful for!!!  Did you look at the synonyms listed above?  Look again.  Think about them.  We personally enjoy being appreciated, acknowledged, responded to and all the rest, don't we?  Allowing ourselves to look at God and be grateful for Who He is and all He did and is still doing will create a thankful heart in us and help us to then express it to the others in our lives.  We mustn't wait until everything is 'perfect' and we 'feel' like being grateful, we must chose what we are looking at and determine to be grateful.  Easier said than done, huh?  Guess, if we practice we will get better though and that sounds like a good goal ;)

Look at Colossians 3 with me.  Let's just list the things we see:
 
God's chosen ones
holy
loved
put on compassion, humility, gentleness, patience
accepting one another
forgiving one another
forgiven by the Lord
let the peace of the Messiah (to which we were called) control our hearts
Be thankful
Let the message about the Messiah dwell richly among you
teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom
singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs
with gratitude in our hearts to God
whatever you do (word or deed) do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus
Giving thanks to God the Father through Jesus

Whoa!!!  Does seeing this listed out cause thankfulness to swell up in your heart?  Personalize it!  I, Tammy, am God's chosen one, holy and loved.  I can put on compassion, humility, gentleness, and patience.  I can accept others (I can accept myself).  I can forgive others (I can forgive myself) because Jesus has forgiven me!  I can allow the peace of the Messiah to control my hearts, this is a calling not just an option.  I am to be thankful, period.  I want to let His message and all He is dwell richly in me and wherever I am.  May He teach and admonish me and allow me to have wisdom in sharing with others.  I want to have a heart that overflows with gratitude toward God with spiritual songs and do everything, words or deeds in the name of my Lord, Jesus giving thanks!

I want to walk in the truth of His Word and have this be my reality more often than an ungrateful heart and spirit.

Father God, forgive me for being thankless so often.  Focusing on the negative rather than all You have provided and are doing.  May I recognize You more and more in my days and may You be glorified in me and through me.  Thank You for saving me and for not allowing me to stay the same, but causing change.  Enable me to put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience and be willing to see all Your benefits rather than focus on how I may or may not feel.  Thank You for Your forgiveness and Your love, Your faithfulness and Your grace.  Have Your way...