Count Your Many Blessings...

I had prayer journals growing up, but I found myself either tripping over the words or not keeping up with the prayers as they flowed from my mind. I gave up, and just prayed out loud. This is great, but it's also great having something to look back on as a reminder of God's goodness.

So I started a prayer journal, listing things I am thankful for. Whether I'm having a good day, or a bad one, when I start writing everything I can think of for that day, I forget about everything else. The whole day melts away and suddenly, I realize I have a full page!

My awesome roommate is the one who suggested keeping a journal like this at the beginning of the summer, and these are the amazing ways God has changed me in only a few weeks.

1. I see everything in a different light.
Instead of being depressed on a rainy day, I go for a run and see rain for what it is: a giver of life. Plants are greener, the sky is bluer, and the sun is warmer after a rainy day. This is much like the trials in our life. We appreciate the good days much more after the bad ones pass. And when they come again, we hold on to the good ones. This is why God gives us both.
But, I also stop and think about why I love rain. The feeling of water fresh on my face, the smell of rainfall and the breeze kissing my face are beyond compare. It is a beauty that has been unveiled these past few weeks because everything seems different with a grateful heart.

2. I notice the little things, especially those we take for granted.
For example, here are a couple quotes from my journal:
"For my literacy, that I can read and enjoy books."
"Baseball games on Tuesday nights."
"The physical and mental capacity to work hard."
"For my steady happiness and security in who I am, ultimately who I am in God."
These are things I have never put into words before, and looking back on each day I see how truly blessed I am. And, there are so many daily things, there are not enough pages to express them all. I'm thankful for that too. It's something we don't realize, and take for granted.

3. I feel an overwhelming, surprising, crazy joy.
I can be sitting in a car on a long drive, and think to myself "what will I be thankful for today, to write in my journal?" I look around, and am attacked like a wave crashing over me with everything I see that I love my God for more and more. I can't explain it in words, but there are moments I feel like God reaches down, breathes into me, and holds tight to my heart whispering words of love. It is a raw joy at the core of my being that I can now attribute to why I get through trials. I never identified it before, but it is thankfulness and gratitude to a faithful God that sought me out. That is my joy.

4. I can see God clearer, and He's closer than ever.
Sometimes (honestly, most of the time) I don't understand what God's up to. But, just as Isaiah 55:9 states, "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." Who am I to understand the Alpha and the Omega? But, I can see Him in every single moment when I realize how much I have to be thankful for. I can understand that I may not know what he's up to, but I can see that "in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28). A trust that is not of this world has been instilled, and I'm not letting go.

5. I can feel the negative weight of this world fading away.
When I look at everything I'm thankful for, and these are only God's earthly blessings, I am secure and confident. I am optimistic, and so in love with my amazing Creator that nothing else matters. I see trials, and I know God's got it. I see persecution, hardship, loss, tears, sorrow, and pain, and I know that someday it will all be wiped clean. The blessings we have today are only tiny, minuscule glimpses of the vast amount God has in store for us. Like Peter, we must keep our eyes locked on him. Don't look at the waves, the negativity, the weight of this heavy world. Lock our eyes, and we won't sink.

Thankfulness is one of the strongest, most natural forms of worship. Our God is a jealous God, one that desires us to seek His heart and give Him praise alone. In being thankful, we honor God in one of the most perfect ways possible.

I never expected to get any of this out of a gratitude journal, and these are only the things for which I could find the words. There is so much more. I encourage you to start. It doesn't have to be much, just one or two sentences at the end of the day. I started that way, and realized I could never write everything I'm thankful for in two sentences. Pages later, I only can begin to record his awesome blessings.

This prayer journal has been a blessing in and of itself, and I'm thankful for it.

DTI

Inspired to Imitate

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

And yes, I did do my hair and makeup for this picture just to make as similar a copy of 1989 as I could. But it is obviously not the same.

Entire industries are built off this principle of copying. It is the foundation celebrities stand on. People long to be trendsetters, and establish their careers and following this way.

We all see the famous in the news. They influence our clothing, style, pictures, and activities. Then, their influence becomes so ingrained, we think their ideas are our original thoughts.

Growing up, I hated when someone would copy me. When someone dressed like I did, talked like I did, or followed me around, it would drive me insane. I didn't understand why people acted this way, and I wanted to be original. Yet at the same time, I found myself wishing I was like other people around me.

We all imitate each other, yet we desire to be unique. This tension follows us wherever we go; a balancing act between being ourselves, yet fitting in. Just like this picture, we strive to look like one another, and at the same time try to put our own twist on it. Then, we call it "original".

There was only one special, original, unique person to have walked this earth, and is supposed to be our inspiration for imitation. Jesus Christ imitated God fully, yet was the incarnation of the Almighty. He was both, and exemplified it perfectly.

That is why we strive to be original, but also imitate at the same time. It is at the core of our nature to not understand the dichotomy between the two.

"Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children." (Ephesians 5:1).

In the same way we imitate our parents due to their great influence throughout our years, God should be at the top of that influence and our role model each and every second of our lives. He should be so ingrained in our hearts and minds, striving to be more like him would be second nature.

But, imitation is not the original and it falls short every single time. As much as we try to look and dress like our role models and celebrities, play like our professional athletes, sing and perform like artists and actors, we aren't them.

In the same way, we are created in God's image, but we are no where near where he is and never will be.

"Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face." (1 Corinthians 13:12)

The whole point of our existence is to imitate God and someday be reconciled with him, the author and perfecter of our faith.

So what does this look like? Jesus told us himself that we must keep the commandments, love one another, above all love God, and give all we have to those who lack (Matthew 19). The gospels are a great place to start, because Jesus lived out the perfection of God and laid out the perfect example of how we as followers of God are to impact the world.

Although it is not clear to us now, someday it will be. In the meantime, we can do our best to imitate the great I Am, knowing we will come short every time, but also knowing his grace will meet us right where we are.

DTI