Day 15: Gratitude focus – A person you have met within the past year

Quality or name of God – Good

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“Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; celebrate His lovely name with music.” (Psalm 135:3, NLT)

Can you keep a secret? Every year on July 1st, I play Christmas music—all day! It’s one of those odd rituals that contains no explanation other than that right about that time of the summer I have a hankerin’ for Christmas music! I let myself enjoy it that one day, and then I’m good to go until November 1st. Yes, I’m one of those. But at least I wait to put up my tree until the first available minute after Thanksgiving…usually!

I have another Christmas ritual, and I would like you to think about joining me in it this year. Each year I use the book of Luke as my “advent calendar.” Here’s how it works: Luke has 24 chapters. There are 24 days in the countdown to Christmas. So I just read the chapter that corresponds to the day of the month, and then I go back and re-read Luke 2 on Christmas Day! I have friends that have started to include their families in the daily readings. What an awesome way to get your children excited to learn about Jesus—from His birth to His resurrection—as they anticipate Christmas day!

What I have loved about doing this (and some of you have done this with me for several years now, so you’ve experienced it, too), is that in reading a chapter from the Book of Luke each day, you get to see the entire life of Christ and gain a more vivid picture of why He came to earth—the event we remember on the 25th! It has transformed how I look at Christmas and made the celebration all the more joyful!

I love that our verse for today reminds us to recall the fact that our Lord is good and to “celebrate His lovely name with music!” That’s got “Christmas carols” written all over it, don’t you agree? As we sing the familiar words this year, I trust that each of us will recall with gratitude His goodness to us not just during the holidays, but every day the whole year through!

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Additional reading (for reading through the Psalms in 30 days):

Psalm 15, 45, 75, 105, 135

»  – Send an email to thank your recipient for their impact on your life in the short time that you have known them.

»$ – Meet your friend for a cup of coffee or tea at a central location. If your friend lives too far away for a few moments together, mail a card or letter telling your friend how grateful you are to have met them at some point this past year.

$ – Purchase an inexpensive gift for the new friend that you selected as your gratitude recipient. Surprise them with this “I’m-glad-God-introduced-us” act of kindness next time you see them!

 » = free      »$ = minimal cost     $ = cost involved

“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, ‘What! You too? I thought I was the only one!’” (C. S. Lewis) 

Day 13: Gratitude focus – A friend or missionary living in a foreign country

Quality or name of God – Compassionate

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[I apologize in advance for the lengthiness of this post, but I trust that after reading it, you will understand the heart behind it.]

Following the recent election in the US, much talk has been made over some of the issues that Christ-followers find opposed to the teachings of Scripture. In keeping with this month of gratitude, I will start by saying that I am grateful to live in a land where free discussion and varying views can be shared.

I think it is imperative for those of us who are Christ-followers to boldly uphold the free practice of our faith. However, I find it almost shocking when Christians seem surprised that the world around them does not agree with their beliefs. My friends, you cannot expect others to play by your team’s “playbook” when they are not even members of the team! Think of it this way: the Milwaukee Bucks do not expect me to wear their uniform nor do they expect me to know their plays…because I’m not on their team! [And for good reason, I might add. Picture me trying to make a jump shot!] Now imagine someone yelling and screaming at you for not following their rules. Most likely the last thing you would want to do after that would be to join their team!

I have been greatly saddened by the fact that some discussions are naming certain things in hateful and literally angry ways. Yes, I do personally believe that the murder of an unborn child goes against the teaching of Scripture, but so do pride, lying, malice, gossip, immorality, envy, etc. Before speaking angrily about those who are not on our “team,” we must look in the mirror, remove the big ol’ beam stickin’ out of our eye (Matthew 7:3-5), and then let our speech be given with grace (Colossians 4:6) as we share the love of Christ by the way in which we defend our causes.

“The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.” (Psalm 103)

The Lord is compassionate when He looks at the sins I commit—all too often, I admit—and though He hates sin deeply, He takes compassion on me. The word used for ‘compassion’ in this Psalm can also be translated as ‘mercy’ or even ‘tender mercies.’ I don’t deserve it. I didn’t earn it. But He graciously gives it to me.

Yes, we must pray for our nation. Yes, we should seek to change, add, or remove laws so that they are in keeping with God’s laws. Yes, we must submit to the authority of those who have rule over us when their rule does not conflict with God’s laws. But in remembering the compassion that we daily receive from Him and in attempting to be like Him, we must demonstrate that same compassion for others. As the great missionary Amy Carmichael would have said, “Then, and only then, do we truly understand Calvary love!”

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Additional reading (for reading through the Psalms in 30 days):

Psalm 13, 43, 73, 103, 133

Ideas for demonstrating gratitude to the person of focus today:

»  – Send an email to thank your recipient for their willingness to live abroad for whatever reason they are there.

»$ – Send a letter to your friend, and share updates from “home.”

$ – Call your friend or Skype (free) with them, even if only for a few moments. Be mindful of their time zone, and be sure to say ‘thank you’ at least once!

 » = free      »$ = minimal cost     $ = cost involved

“When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives means the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand.” (Henri Nouwen)