The Story Table

Hey, y’all!  Welcome back to All Things Southern. Shellie here. I’ll be visiting with author/speaker Anita Agers Brooks in just a few. Anita is a popular speaker and a certified life coach. She’s is also a multi-published, award-winning author whose previous titles include Getting Through What You Can’t Get Over. Today we’ll be talking about her new release, Exceedingly, “Strategies for Living with Purpose, Power & Passion.”

But first, let’s chat…

Are you familiar with the saying, “happy wife, happy life”? Well, there’s a study out of The Netherlands that’s putting a new spin on that bit of wisdom. They’re claiming research proves something like, “Happy wife – longer life”, that a man’s lifespan can be impacted by the relative satisfaction of his wife.  I hope they didn’t spend a lot of money on that.

By the way, if you have a really unhappy wife, I’d discourage her from watching that show, “Snapped.” You don’t want to give her any more ideas. All of which has nothing to do with what I’m about to tell you, really it doesn’t.

I got the man and I one of those noise machines for our bedroom because Mr. Snores at Great Decimals has been keeping me up at night. It’s pretty cool. You can choose from a vast array of colors for it to project into the room, and just as many sounds. For instance, there are colors that are supposed to wake you up and some that put you to sleep. I’ve got it connected to an app on my smart phone where I can adjust all those sounds and colors, easy peasy! But, here’s the best part, y’all. I put the gadget on Phil’s side of the bed. When he starts sawing logs, I can crank up some serious volume while projecting something soothing into his eyes, like a neon flashing light.

Brilliant, I know. But, Mr. Snores at Great Decimals is not a fan. I told him my other choice was blocking the noise out with a nice soft pillow. That humor was lost of him, too, but Phil had some concerning news of his own. He claims to have notes hidden around the house in the event that he ever goes gently into the night. Apparently, I’ll have plenty to do if something mysterious ever happens to my beloved, including proving my innocence!

Hugs,

Shellie

Today’s Guest

Anita Agers Brooks, author of Exceedingly.  You can hear this interview on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, or by clicking the audio link here.

A Taste of the South

We’re making Shellie’s Salted Caramel Protein Balls in the kitchen today.  Find them here. 

 

Southern Comfort  

Let’s open the Word together before we go. Centuries before Jesus died on the Cross, the prophet Isaiah had this to say of our Risen Savior,

“He is despised and rejected by men,

A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;

He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.”

 

Amen. The common sin cuts deepest. “We esteemed Him not.” With those four words my heart is pierced.  Surely the phrase describes the way I once lived – and not just before I came to Christ. Sadly, I must confess to a lot of living where I did not esteem Him. And still, He called, and wooed. He is calling you, too. Ask Him to help you learn to esteem Him— and find everything your soul longs for as your adoration of Him grows. We can’t be more faithful to ask this holy prayer that the Holy One is to answer it!

That’s it for this week folks. If you’re enjoying the podcast, would you be so kind as to give it a review and share it with your friends and family? Many THX! Remember, you can also subscribe to my newsletter at the website,

Welcome back to All Things Southern, y’all! Let’s chat…After a long cold winter and a wet spring, the weather is simply gorgeous here in northeast Louisiana. The beloved farmer is in high gear with the rest of the ag community. For me, that means taking lunch to my favorite tractor driver because there is zero time to waste getting seed in the ground. I make my deliveries via the Kubota (that’s an off the road utility vehicle if you’re asking). I love taking off down the field and enjoying those familiar sights and sounds that signal the onset of another farming season.

 

Farming isn’t for the faint of heart, but it’s a special way of life and the love of it runs in our blood. Lord willing, we’ll be here for the duration.

 

I wonder if that’s how Flo Meiler feels about her present occupation? I read about Miss Flo in the news. She’s 84 years old and she’s on her way to Poland to compete in the Master Athletic Championship. Check this out. Flo’s sport of choice is pole vaulting. She took up the sport at the age of 65! I’m not making this up. Tomboy honor. Flo trains five days a week even though she’s the only competitor in her age group.

For the love, y’all. I was still trying to figure out why anyone would pick up pole vaulting at 65 when I ran across another article from the opposite end of the spectrum. This one said America’s young people complain that life is too stressful— and they blame things like broken smart phones and slow Wi-Fi. Slow Wi-Fi. Yeah, that’s a killer right there. I bet the remaining seniors from the greatest generation feel plum silly for whining about the Depression. Don’t you?

 

All Things Southern Podcast

This week my friend and author, speaker, extraordinaire, River Jordan joins me on the podcast to talk about her new release Confessions of a Christian Mystic. 

 

You can listen to the All Things Southern podcast on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, or  by hitting the play button below! 

That’s it for this week, folks! Until next time, may the Good Lord bless you and keep you, make His face to shine upon you, and give you peace!

Hugs for all,

Shellie

 

 

Hey, y’all! We’re making Broccoli Love in the All Things Southern kitchen today, or what I fondly refer to as “broccoli for the people who don’t think they like broccoli!” Also, author Sarah Beckman will be in to chat about her new book, Hope in the Hard Places.

 

Sarah is a national speaker and the bestselling author of Alongside, but she’s also a seasoned traveler in the world of adversity. No one walks in this world without going through hard places. Jesus, Himself, promised us it was coming. Sarah will offer us some hard-earned advice on getting though what we’re going through! But first, let’s chat…

Did y’all hear that story out of France about the fox in the hen house? Yeah, it made international news because, um, that’s what makes international news these days. Insert sigh. But, as I was saying, seems the fox snuck into a chicken farm and got into the hen house before the farmer closed the door for the night. Good plan, right? Wrong. He was found the next morning, pecked to death by the hens! Bless it. I’m guess that’s not how he saw that going!

And speaking of being of outfoxed… Did you see that poll claiming 1 out of every 2 young people in our nation would be happy if we were a socialist country? I wish I was making that up, but I’m not. Despite well-documented history that socialism is a fail wherever it’s tried, a growing number of Americans are all in with wealth redistribution and big, big, and bigger government.

I’m still reeling from that reveal, but I’ve collected myself to offer a few thoughts. I think what we have here is a failure to communicate. Surely, one out of two millennials think a socialist is someone on social media. That explains it. They’re probably just wanting us to spread more “likes” in a Why-can’t-we-all-get-along” sort of way. A belle can hope…and pray.

In the words of a wise old sage, free rides for all may sound like a fine idea, but someone’s got to pull the wagon.

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Today’s Guest: You can hear this episode’s interview with Sarah Beckman, author of Hope in the Hard Places, on iTunes, Google Play, and Spotify, or by clicking the audio link here on the website. I hope you enjoy!

 

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A Taste of the South

“Broccoli Love” (for people who don’t think they love broccoli)

Wash and prep broccoli.

 

 

Coat with olive oil, red pepper flakes and much garlic. As Foghorn Leghorn would tell it, “I say, I say much garlic.” See pic.

Spread on cookie sheet. No crowding. Your broccoli requests room to breathe, y’all, or it won’t get crunchy and all caramelizy. Yes, I make up words but sometimes I need one that isn’t there. Yes, and thank you.

Roast at 425 degrees for 20-25 minutes, flipping about halfway through unless you’re being lazy. I usually am. Works anyway.

Remove from oven. Sprinkle with fresh lemon juice, top with shaved Parmesan cheese and convert the masses.

Amen.

P.S. If your previously converted farmer is late coming home for supper, you may or may not have some explaining to do…

P.S.S. If you want to add crumbled bacon here you wouldn’t hurt anyone’s feelings— cause, bacon— except maybe vegetarians and you know what I’m gonna say, right? #blesstheirhearts

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Southern Comfort

Before I go, I want to share a story I found. The author is unknown, but the message bears repeating.

Someone cried, “Where must the seed be sown to bring the most fruit when it is grown?”

The Master heard as He said and smiled, “Go plant it for Me in the heart of a child.”

Amen.

I’m increasingly convinced that as we share the gospel with our littles and tell them of God’s great love,

Hey, y’all! My friend Jolina Petersheim will be joining me in a bit to talk about her new book, How the Light Gets In.

Jolina and her husband live in the mountains of Tennessee with their three young daughters. How the Light Gets In is her fifth novel and it’s a modern retelling of Ruth set in a cranberry bog in Wisconsin that will hook you from page one. Full disclosure, Jolina is a longtime friend, but that isn’t coloring y review. It’s an incredible tale. We’ll talk to Jolina about it in just a few, but first, let’s chat…

We’ve had a sneak peak of some warmer Spring days lately and it has been wonderful. It even coaxed me outside for a little yard work— where I had a bit of excitement and a couple remedial lessons. In no particular order, here’s my list of what I learned from my time outdoors.

* Writing is not cardiovascular.

* Yard work is cardiovascular.

* I am way out of shape. (See #1)

* I have unrealistic expectations of what I can accomplish in one day.

* My yard is ginormous and apparently getting larger.

* Snakes are sneaky varmints.

* I can still move quickly.

So, here’s the ugly critter that surprised me on the front porch.

I’m not sure who got the biggest fright, but I’m still trying to deal with the fact that this evil critter climbed up the brick wall in my sight. UP the wall. He looks like snake mortar! Granted he was a garter snake, and everybody and their mama has tried to tell me he wasn’t dangerous, but as I’ve said time and again, if he can make me hurt myself getting away, he is dangerous. Lethal, even. But all of this buries the headline, y’all. He climbed the wall! Hello! Snakes climbing walls should be illegal! It’s immoral and it should be illegal.

In other news, the beloved farmer told me we’re in for another round of cold temps here in northeast Louisiana this weekend, so it’s back to my spot by the fireplace, for now. I am done with winter, but apparently winter is not done with me.

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Today’s Guest Jolina Petersheim, author of How the Light Gets In. You can hear this interview on iTunes, or by clicking the audio link here.

 

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A Taste of the South

The way I see it, you can’t have enough slaw recipes. Right? This is my Jalapeno Slaw with Fresh Lime and it will make your cabbage stand up and sing!

“Jalapeno Slaw with Fresh Lime”

Dressing:

1 cup fresh lime juice (about 6-7 limes)

3 cups apple cider vinegar

1 cup honey

4 tablespoons cumin

3 tablespoons sugar

Veggies:

1 head cabbage

3 red peppers, finely sliced

4-5 carrots, finely sliced

2 jalapenos, diced

2-3 diced green onions

Handful of cilantro, chopped (to taste!)

Salt and pepper to taste

Beginning with the dressing, we’ll combine a cup of fresh lime juice with 3 cups of apple cider vinegar, a cup of honey, 4 tablespoons of ground cumin, and about three tablespoons of sugar. Feel free to cut that sugar. I do lately and we don’t miss it! We’ll shake and stir these ingredients until the sugar dissolves, and they all decide to get along. Y’all, call me silly, but I really like to put all of those dressing ingredients in a Ziploc bag and shake it like crazy. It blends so well!

Once our dressing is well blended we’ll pour it over our base. That’s a head of cabbage, 3 red peppers, 4-5 carrots, three diced green onions and a couple jalapenos, all with as small a dice as you can manage. Side note: It’s not in the recipe but you absolutely can not go wrong adding crumbled bacon to this. Just sayin’.

Hey, y’all! Thanks for dropping by! I’ve been looking forward to it. I’m knee deep into my speaking/travel season and life is going at warp speed! I could use some down time with my friends. Let’s chat…

You know, some people avoid hard conversations. Others tend to jump in too quickly and say too much.  Yeah, I resemble that.  And yet, the fact remains, hard conversations are necessary. They challenge us, and they change us, so regardless of your relational style, we need to learn how to have them. In today’s show, Lori Roeleveld, author of The Art of Hard Conversations, will give us some much-needed tips and tools to do just that.

But, first, let’s have us a hard conversation right now. Did you know there’s now a company out there devoted to helping you get the flu? It’s true. You know about chicken pox parties, right? I didn’t participate with mine, but I heard about ‘em. This is like that. Kinda. Only, this company that I will not name, ‘cause I don’t like to see the flu spread but I’m not in the business of helping Straight Running Crazy spread either—and we’re already in epidemic stages in many areas of our fine nation, will ship any sucker, I mean, anyone interested in their services a used tissue from someone who is already suffering from the flu! All for the super low cost of eighty bucks! If you’re trying to keep up, this means you can add this benefit to the already established offer of getting a transplant from the, um, extra output of a super pooper to aid in your digestive issues and you’ll be covered at both ends.

I’m assuming the flu tissues come with instructions, but I’m here with some that will save you the $80 bucks. Just keep the church nursery next Sunday. You’ll have access to more snotty noses and used tissues than you could ask for—and if you’re in the market for a good stomach virus, you may be able to grab one of those, too. You’re welcome! I’m just one woman, but I do what I can.

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(On the subject of church nurseries, here’s a little something from my Insta account that inspired today’s chat:

 

Add this to the bazillion reasons I love this man and why I give him grace when he does man things like…oh, I don’t know, how about standing in front of the fridge and asking if we have ketchup BEFORE he opens the door. Bless ‘em. They want to hear it from our lips, gurls. But, the pic.

This isn’t our grandchild. It doesn’t matter.

Phil and I kept the nursery Sunday. The precious young boy in my man’s lap hasn’t grown up as a nursery kid at our church. This accounts for why he was convinced that he had been abandoned, why he cried and snotted (sorry if you’re eating breakfast kids) the entire time. It’s why he refused all goldfish and cracker bribes and responded to my every “do you want to________” question with a wailing, quivering lip, “I doooooooooon’t.” I was yet another pain in the little one’s side, but Phil? The child bonded to my man like crazy glue.

Phil tried every “Pops” trick he knew to try and dry his tears. The boy wasn’t buying.

This isn’t our first trip rodeo. We’re parents and grandparents, remember? But rarely have we ever seen one remain distraught for the duration.

And that’s why Phil held him and spent the morning wiping snot off the boy’s face —and off of his own neck, face, shirt, and vest. Our traumatized little charge only quit crying when he was told service was over and he was going to be reunited with his mommy. That’s when it happened.

The child looked at Phil, stretched out his hand, and asked, “You coming, too?”

That’s the power of human touch. Let’s be someone’s solace today. God loves you. (And if I don’t have a winner/winner with this fella of mine my name isn’t Shellie Charlene).

Hey y’all, let’s chat…Just a few things here off the top of my head, in no particular order…Have you heard the latest? Experts (term used lightly) are claiming that traditional masculinity harms the development of young boys and society as a whole. They call this theory “toxic masculinity.” I call it ignorance gone to seed. Soon as I heard about it, I threw a big beautiful picture of my hardworking beloved farmer up on social media and went on record with three succinct points of my own. 1) Hogwash, 2) Let’s hear it for the boys, and 3) traditional masculinity is way good at killing spiders.  Hey, I’m just one woman, but I do what I can.

In other news, the plumbing people at Kohler are advertising their new “intelligent toilet”.  You can now get a potty with built-in surround sound, ambient mood-lighting, a heated seat—and wait for it—Amazon Alexa controls. Help me understand.  How long do you plan to be in there? And what, pray tell, do you need to say to Alexa while you’re doing business? I’m trying to work with y’all, but I got nothing. I mean, I reckon you could order toilet tissue if the last person forgot to replace the roll, but you’re still gonna have to go outside to meet the drone with your pants down, right? I admit to being confused by all of this, but apparently, I fall in the category of folks who aren’t looking for, and I’m quoting here, “a customized bathroom experience.”

I polled my girlfriends on the development, and we think mood setting toilets might be a man thing. They have high expectations for this area of the homestead. Take my brother-in-law. You can’t really have him, because my darling sister adores him, and he’s a keeper, but the other morning Gene asked Rhonda to please not buy any more of the toilet brand that was currently in their master bathroom. Nana told her man she was sorry, and that she didn’t realize he had such a sensitive backside. Did I mention that Gene also has a great sense of humor? His response was, “If your butt had been chewed out as much as mine, it’d be sensitive, too.”

On the count of three, bless his heart.

Hang tight, y’all. I’ll be right back with author and speaker, Lauren Gaskill. You can hear this entire podcast including the interview on iTunes (please subscribe while you’re there!) or through the audio link here and at the bottom of this post. To win order Lauren’s book, Into the Deep, here. To enter a giveaway for the book, follow Lauren and me on Facebook and Instagram, and leave a comment asking to enter. That’s it! Lauren will notify the winner.

I hope y’all have enjoyed the visit. Let’s open the word together before we go. In John 10:10 Jesus says, “The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that you might have life and have it more abundantly!”

Friends, Jesus didn’t come to help us juggle our junk. He lived, died, and lives again to walk us out of it. He wants to rid us of what rules us, heal us of what hinders us, teach us what we don’t know and lead us into a life we can’t see.

Our choice is to give up what pulls us down and get more of what lifts us up.

Give up resentment for peace, bitterness for reconciliation, and soul stealing addictions for a life- giving Savior. Give up working for man’s approving nod to live in God’s favor. And, Father help us brace our go-faster crash-harder selves for this last one: May we give ...

Happy New Year, y’all. 2019 has arrived.

I remember listening in to an adult conversation years ago and hearing my Uncle Bryon talking about what he thought we’d see in the future.  Back then 2019 sounded quite futuristic to my young ears.  Uncle Bryon used to say that one day the roads would move instead of the cars. He saw us driving our vehicles onto the Interstate and settling in for the ride with nary a glance at the road, you know, kind of how a lot of drivers do with their smart phones.  Insert eye roll. Uncle Bryon left us for heaven and as of today, there are no moving roads that I know of, but who’s to say we’re not close. (If you’re watching/listening Cuzin Jeff—Hi there!)

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. Ours was great! It was also— brace yourselves for transparency— tiring. Can I get an honest witness from anybody here? I love Christmas, the music, the lights, the decorations, the good, the church parties, the family reunions, all of it. I flat out love it, but there’s something positive to be said about getting back in the routine and getting the house back in order and I’m not “skeered” to say it.

By the way, I did take a research note during the holidays. I have a new southern saying that needs documenting. Chances are you’ve been asked or you have asked someone else this question: “D’j’all get enough to eat?” (D’j’all is a combination of the words did and y’all; I’m spelling it d’j’all.) The question is often used by southern women who have prepared a feast to question those who have or are consuming said feast.)

I noticed the Queen of us repeatedly asking people if they got enough to eat, and it reminded me of my late mother-in-law. Lucy said it all the time. It has occurred to me that the women of my generation don’t use that question as often as the southern women who came before us. What do y’all think? I, for once, aim to correct that. We can’t let that sort of thing get away. I’m even having some tea towels made with the saying. They’ll be on my product table during events this year, and in my online store shortly. Another of the towels says, “Give me Jesus time, and no one gets hurt.” It’s indicative of the addiction I’ve developed to spending quality morning time with Jesus before I even think about attacking the to-dos. I’m guessing a lot of y’all can identify with that one.

In other news, I’m using one of my new toys to record this! My man gave me an Osmo Pocket Gimbal. I still need to do some reading up on it. There’s a learning curve to everything, but check this out. It has a tracking feature that follows you. The beloved farmer hit it out of the park with this thing. Oh, and my new air fryer with the rotisserie and dehydrator features. I’ll tell y’all more about that as we go into 2019 and I plan to do some cooking segments with my Osmo Pocket here. We’ll see…

For the record, I did not get the new and improved Big Mouth Billy Bass and I’m okay with that. Did you see that? I’m talking about the return of that plastic motion activated plastic fish of yesteryear that’s mounted on a plaque for easy implementing into your wall décor.  The fish used to merely flap his tail, bob his head, and sing, “Take me to the river…” or some such tune? Not anymore. From what I understand, that company paired up with Alexa, the creator of your personal home assistant. Now, that wily fish pairs with Alexa. The fish can give you those weather reports, read your recipes aloud, or play your music. I read a quote from the president of the company that makes them. He said, “This is not your daddy’s big mouth bass.” Okay. Are y’all still with me? No, I don’t know why. Because they could, I reckon. But it does underscore what I’ve said here before, technology does not always translate to the advancement of the human race.

But, back to the Jesus time towel, that reminded me of a story I wanted to share with y’all…

Welcome, y’all. Shellie here, in this week’s episode of All Things Southern, I’ll be visiting with Michelle Ule. Michelle is a bestselling author of historical novellas, an essayist, blogger and the biographer of Mrs. Oswald Chambers: The Woman Behind the World’s Bestselling Devotional, but today she’ll join us to talk about her newest release, A Poppy in Remembrance.

We’ll also swing through the kitchen and I’ll close with some devotional thoughts, but first—a Christmas tradition is in order.

The story of Cullen the Angel Boy is an All Things Southern classic that simply begs to be told and retold. Go with me now, to Christmas 2014…

My BFF, is an actress, set designer, director, extraordinaire. Over the years she’s written, produced and starred in skits at our home church that have become the stuff of legends. Christmas 2014 didn’t disappoint, not in the actual production, and not in the rehearsals that led up to it– which brings us to the merry moment I have in mind.

One Sunday morning leading up to the production, my husband and I found ourselves helping the talented Miss Foster teach the 3-4-year-olds their own special routine. These wee ones were destined to be angels in the nativity scene. They wore long white gowns with beautiful feathered wings and each of them help a tapered candle in his or her wee hands.

Miss Foster took her place in front of the cherubs, so they could practice their routine by mimicking her motions.  Cue the music. As Phil and I watched, Miss Foster made a large sweeping motion to the right. The angels followed suit, sort of. Then she made a grand sweeping motion to the left, most of the angels mimicked her, except for Cullen the Angel Boy. That’s when we first noticed the gleam in his eyes. Granted, we never once considered that he was thinking to himself, “I know where I can put this candle.”

For there, directly in front of young Cullen was the backside of Miss Foster and it was all just too tempting. In the twinkle of an eye, Cullen the Angel Boy introduced Miss Foster to that candle and we have video footage to prove it.

For some of us, Christmas 2014 will forever be remembered as the year Cullen the Angel Boy added his own verse to that sweet children’s classic, “This little light of mine. It’s going where the sun don’t shine.”

BUMPER

Interview with Michelle Ule *you’ll find this on iTunes (you can subscribe for free!) or you can listen through the audio link at the bottom of this post. Just look for the audio bar and hit the play button!

BUMPER

Welcome back to the All Things Southern kitchen, y’all! I’m sharing my delicious candied carrots today. They’re a treat anytime but they would definitely be a star at your Christmas table! (Seriously, they almost belong in the dessert category, but we get to call them veggies!)

“Simply Delicious Candied Carrots”

1 (4-oz.) package feta cheese, crumbled

Lemon juice

Salt and pepper

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 pounds carrots

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

 Full disclosure? I’ve never really been a fan of candied carrots—at least until I started cooking them with balsamic vinegar and tossing ‘em with feta cheese. Things changed quickly after that. These little darlings deserve a place at the table.

We’ll begin by cutting our carrots lengthwise into long, thin strips. Then we’ll whisk together 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, with three tablespoons of olive oil before adding 2 tablespoons of brown sugar.  Now, we’ll toss our carrots in this dressing and place them on a lightly greased cookie sheet and sprinkle them with salt and pepper.

Bake at 400° for 40 to 45 minutes or until vegetables are tender and browned,

Here we are, at our last day together on this journey to learn how to quit grasping and live grateful lives. I do hope you have found some takeaways that will help you walk into this holy season with your eyes on Christ, that your heart may be full of treasure that no amount of money can buy. Surely, there is no better place to wrap up our study on gratitude than with the delicious truth of Emmanuel, God with Us.

The more I yield to God, acknowledge Him, in the good, bad, and ugly moments of my life, reaching for His peace, love, and joy, yielding to what He says rather than what I see, the more I find He proves (demonstrates) my hope to me by showing me WHO is living in me—and this only fortifies my expectations of more! Father is supremely confident in this– and I am growing in it as I determine to understand the admonition to give thanks in all things.

Surely He led James to speak to our inability to count it all joy for God knows that He is the source of this strange ability that I’ve often tried to find in myself.

But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. James 1:5

The word doesn’t say if anyone lacks knowledge. Knowledge of God doesn’t give us the ability to count all things joy. Can we agree to that? It is acknowledgement of God that leads to His wisdom, which is Christ and His power manifested in us.  Wisdom can only be gained from the acknowledgement of God because wisdom is Jesus Christ, the hope of glory, in us—this is power!

THIS IS WHAT I’M AFTER FATHER—THE WISDOM (that brings with it the power) TO COUNT IT ALL JOY! You’ll find me asking for this wisdom today and tomorrow.

Give me God Gusts of wisdom to forever shift things in my heart and constantly reorder what I’m thinking in the vexing and annoying times, and the painful and hard ones…

Counting it joy implies thanksgiving. Count your every blessing, name them one by one. We discount the importance of Thanksgiving because it seems too “easy” for lack of a better word. We think of it as somehow a lesser grace than say, intercession, when it is in fact the foundational acknowledgement of God from which every graces proceeds!

The other day I was thanking God again for something I had already thanked Him for in the past when I realized that God was still in that past moment as much as He is in this present moment and the next moment! Awesome!

Confession? Sometimes I feel like I can’t be open with my gratitude because of the sorrow around us. Have you ever felt that way? This is me, with an announcement. God forbid I should ever do such a thing again. What a complete bill of sale from the enemy. My holding back on giving Him glory will not lessen the sorrow of this world, but it will encourage, and it will feed those around me. And that brings us right to our last and final point.

Eighth point: Living Thanksgiving fulfills our God determined destiny on earth.

We will never be a blessing to men without learning to bless God first. It’s only by knowing the blessedness of living thanksgiving and continually blessing God through acknowledgment and gratitude can we then be a blessing. Reciprocal grace is thanking the Giver of the blessing and then showing others the grace that has been shown to you.

Nehemiah 9:5 “…arise, bless the Lord your God forever and ever. Oh, may your glorious name be blessed and exalted above all blessing and praise!”

When we learn to bless God, He will live through us to bless others. It can only happen through dying to the acknowledgement of self and living to the acknowledgment of God. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed, but if it dies, it produces many seeds. John 12:4

In dying to myself I can become a life-giving spirit. It is the loveliest of progressions.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. Colossians 3: 15

Giving thanks, whatever you do. That last line is what brought us to this study, remember?  This requirement of expressing joy God-ward brings me straight back to the original challenge, again. What am I to do if there is no joy in the moment and I’m supposed to “count it all joy?”

Honestly, it’s all I can do to contain myself. I’ve so been looking forward to sharing this part of our study with you. The answer to that question?  We begin by asking God to help us remember not to look for that strength in ourselves but to turn to Him and ask for help. Jesus lives in us to do precisely that. Recognizing our need for Him is our greatest strength.   There is an unlimited source of wisdom and power to count it all joy available to us for the asking!

I was already on this personal gratitude march when Paul and James ganged up on me and imprinted their admonitions on my heart to be grateful for EVERYTHING.

In all things give thanks, but this is the will of God in Christ Jesus, concerning you. I Thessalonians 5.18

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith (proved genuineness) produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.  James 1:2

Who can understand this instruction that we are to be rejoicing in trials and tribulations? A trial is defined as a test of faith, patience, or stamina through subjection to suffering or temptation, a source of vexation or annoyance, a tryout or experiment to test quality, value, or usefulness.

Tell me, have you ever heard the enemy whisper that you can’t speak to trials because you haven’t suffered major catastrophes, you haven’t been tortured for your faith, lost a child, or overcome beat brain cancer, etc.? I have, but the definition of trial includes things that face us every day. If we can’t count these smaller things as joy, we’ll never learn how to count the greater pains as joy. I want to be practiced up! You?

Consider this passage from Luke and then I want to share the belly laugh I had with the Father as I was running down cross references on rejoicing in tribulations. In speaking of the last days, Jesus said, “But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name’s sake. It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony. So, make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves; for I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute.  But you will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death, and you will be hated by all because of My name.  “Yet not a hair of your head will perish.  Luke 21:12-18

Wait just a minute…Did you notice? In the same breadth Jesus says we “may be put to death” but “not a hair of our head will perish.” That sure sounds like perishing to me. Do you suppose that Father looks at things a little differently than we do? Clearly, He and Jesus takes the long view of our lives. Their investment is for eternity and they’re always offering us an opportunity to see the way they see.

I believe one thing that keeps us from rejoicing in tribulation is because we’re slow to understand that it is in the vexing, trying times where we have an amazing opportunity to experie...