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May 8, 2008
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=========================== TODAY'S ARTICLE ==========================
Thankful for Simple Things, by Mike Barres
It was twenty degrees outside, blowing ice, and dark. My wife and I
were going out hunting. I know -- what a great wife! We had our spots
already set. She went to the pallet in the tree and I went to my spot
on top of the hill. It was sooooooo cold. From my vantage point on top
of the hill I could see if anyone was moving below. At about nine
o'clock I noticed some men coming out of the woods, but I didn't see my
wife. We had decided to stay out in the woods until eleven o'clock. We
met at the truck. It had not warmed up very much and we were soooooooo
cold. I was so proud of my wife for sticking it out. She had outlasted
those men who came out early. Then she told me something that made me
even more proud of her. The pallet was covered with ice. She sat on
that ice, which melted. That made her even colder.
We started up the truck and sat there with it running while the heater
warmed up. Then we pulled out our lunch. It was just a couple of
sandwiches, but with the extreme cold, I'm sure we had burned a lot of
calories. Then it happened. The heater got really warm, and we had
eaten one sandwich each. I noticed my wife started getting teary-eyed.
I asked her what was wrong. Nothing was wrong, she just commented on
how wonderful it was sitting in the warm truck eating what tasted like
the best sandwich she had ever eaten. She was so happy about it, that
it brought tears to her eyes.
Isn't that something -- heat and a little food. We were very thankful
in those moments. We really should be thankful for normal things more
often. Too often we are only thankful when something extraordinary
happens.
First of all we should maintain an attitude of gratitude and be
thankful. The Bible tells us to. The apostle Paul challenges us this
way: "In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ
Jesus for you" (1 Thessalonians 5:18 NKJV). Years earlier, the psalmist
had told us: "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His
courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name" (Psalm
100:4); and we should, "come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let
us shout joyfully to Him with psalms" (Psalm 95:2).
Isn't that something -- heat and a little food.
We should be thankful that so many of our "normal things" are luxuries
to many others in the world. Simple "normal things" like food and heat
are not "normal" to many. We should give thanks for these as part of
God's richest blessings!
Let's not wait until something super fantastic happens to be thankful.
Let's be thankful for normal things.
Oh, by the way, before you get upset or worried about us hunting --
once again the animals were safe. We didn't get anything.
---------
(c) 2008 Mike Barres <mbarres@dnet.net>.
RELATED LINKS:
* Always with Thanksgiving
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200711/20071126_alwaysthanksgiving.html
* My Grumbling, Turned Thankful Heart
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200210/20021031_thankful1.html
* The Value of Thank You!
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200611/20061125_thankyou.html
This article can be found on the web at:
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200805/20080508_thankful.html
=========================== FEATURED PRODUCT =========================
CURE FOR THE COMMON LIFE: LIVING IN YOUR SWEET SPOT, by Max Lucado
In Cure for the Common Life, Max Lucado offers practical tools for
exploring and identifying your own uniqueness, putting your strengths
to work, and living in your "sweet spot" for the rest of your life.
http://shopping.heartlight.org/cgi-shl/link?256
Find more great books, CDs and videos at the Heartlight store! With
each purchase you make, you're helping to support Heartlight's
ministry. Thanks SO MUCH for your help!
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