I will bless the Lord at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

Thanksgiving is not just a holiday. It is a continuous mindset thanks God for yesterday, today, and the days to come.

Psalm: Come, Ye Thankful People Come 1844
By: Henry Alford (1810-1871)

For the Lord our God shall come
And shall take His harvest home
From His field shall in that day
All offenses purge away
Give His angels charge at last
In the fire the tares to cast
But the fruitful ears to store
In His garner evermore

Henry Alford paints the image of gathering a harvest. He looks ahead at the ultimate gathering of Jesus coming for the saints as a reason the thankful people should come and give thanks. We give thanks in advance that Jesus shall come for us.

PARABLE:  I have many vivid memories of the Thanksgiving holiday which span from childhood to adulthood. The common memory that arises is the family Thanksgiving prayer. From the youngest to the oldest, we link our hands together and each person says a sentence prayer of what they are thankful for and why they are thankful. Each year the circle grows with a new toddler added. There is always a young child that stares forward in silence when it is their turn to share their gratitude because it is their first encounter with the gratitude circle. The child’s parent will prompt them by saying, “Just say, Thank you, Jesus!” Reluctantly, the child utters, “Thank you Jesus!” not fully understanding why He is saying this but understanding that reciting the sentence is not an option. 

Then it happens, one of the aunts or uncles gets the privilege to explain “why” we are grateful. Inevitably, a conversation about Jesus will erupt and usually ends in an explanation that we thank God that Jesus is coming back. This conversation is usually far above the comprehension of a toddler but the adults delight in painting the picture of the future and why we thank God in advance. This summer, I had the privilege to witness the “aha” of a great-nephew when he expressed that he understood the coming of Jesus. While we were 0n our family vacation and it was time for the gratitude circle, (yes, we do it at every family gathering and not just Thanksgiving) my great-nephew volunteered to lead the gratitude circle. He began, “I thank you God for Jesus!” and then went on to almost lead an alter call. He gave thanks for the family, for the privilege of vacation, for protection from Covid-19, and finally for the food. It was a priceless moment. The prayer that was planted as a toddler bloomed and my great-nephew knew that he should give thanks in advance for Jesus who is coming back for us.

Ultimately, in my opinion, giving thanks in advance to Jesus who will return to gather us and take us to live in eternity is the greatest blessing we can offer. As you gather this week to give thanks, maybe your sentence prayer will be “I thank you

Soul care training exercise: Come ye thankful people come and give thanks in advance that the Lord shall come. As we experience the blessings and miracles of each day, will you take time to Ponder the question In this moment, why am I thankful that Jesus will return? 

• Reflect and let the Holy Spirit reveal to you why you are thankful that Jesus is coming back?
• Notice without judgment and with a curious awareness of what comes to your mind. Invite God into your sanctified imagination. Ask Him to bring to your attention what He wants you to know about the things which came to your awareness.
• Next scan your mind and notice what the Holy Spirit is sharing about the type of gratitude you expressed. Were the first things for the spiritual things of God? Physical things? or People?
• Finally, Focus on what you see and hear. Ask the Holy Spirit what you need to know, hear, or do. Expand your thoughts, it may be something you never heard told this way before. With a breath of gratitude, breathe in and breathe out and accept what Jesus is offering to you.

PRAYER: Abba, I give thanks, I rejoice, I sing praises that Jesus will return for me. He will gather me like farmers gather the crops and take me to live with Him eternally. Help me to keep thanksgiving in my heart for the past, the present, and the future. Help me to thank you in advance for what you will do. In the saving name of Jesus, I pray, Amen. 

PRAISE: Now that you have emptied your mind of the clutter and wandered with Jesus, take a closing moment to give thanks to God for his goodness, compassion, and lovingkindness. Then take the mindfulness of Jesus’ Presence in these last few minutes of wandering into the next ones and beyond.

Until next time, be Resonant.

The post Thanking in advance appeared first on Resonant 7.

Image attributions:  Text art app with words added

O give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His compassion and lovingkindness endure forever!

Give thanks, for God is good. Give thanks for His compassion. Give thanks for His lovingkindness. Give thanks that His goodness, compassion, and lovingkindness are ENDLESS.

Psalm: Come, Ye Thankful People Come 1844
By: Henry Alford (1810-1871)

Come ye thankful people come
Raise the song of harvest-home
All is safely gathered in
Ere the winter storms begin
God our Maker doth provide
For our wants to be supplied
Come to God’s own temple come
Raise the song of harvest-home

Henry Alford invites the thankful people to come. Where are all the thankful people?

PARABLE:  The World of Disney’s International Food and Wine Festival is happy place for those who love food. People gathered from all over the world with gratitude that we finally could experience a vacation after being shut in and imprisoned by Covid-19.

Disney groupies from all over the globe transitioned back into vacation explored the festive travels of Epcot Park’s International Wine and Food Festival outdoor venues. Australia features grilled sweet and spicy bush berry shrimp with pineapple, pepper, onion, and snap peas, roasted lamb chop with sweet potato puree, bush berry pea salad, and pistachio-pomegrante gremolato. Belgium tastes erupt with beer-braised beef served with smoked gouda mashed potatoes. Kenya explodes in Kenyan coffee barbecue beef tenderloin with sweet potato and corn mealie pa and kachumbari slaw. The taste of soy-glazed sticky ribs with green onions and peanuts can be found at the Swanky Saucy Swine. Mac and Eats have a unique macaroni and cheese with house-made Italian sausage and peppers. The small appetizer plates tamed my food obsession and gave me an opportunity to taste in abundance. Yet, after a full day in the park, we had only explored one-third of the park.  The Epcot world showcase taste experience is endless.

The taste of gratitude is endless when we focus on the everlasting Goodness, Graciousness, and Generosity of God. It does not run out. His giving is like an endless buffet of mercy, grace, love, compassion, and kindness that refreshes every day. I realize I have been guilty of only counting the big blessings and that every day little blessings and miracles met me like appetizers, wetting my gratitude taste buds, fragrancing my nostrils with the aroma of Thanksgiving. The experiential lessons of Covid-19 continue to illustrate that life is not something to take for granted. The privilege to wake up each day is a blessing. Now I understand why the old timed Saints began their prayers with “I thank God for a reasonable portion of health and strength. For my laying down and rising up. For the use of my limbs.” I resonate with why when they didn’t hear the words, “Thank you God” that they asked the question, “Where are the thankful people at?” and would say “Come ye thankful people come” to the alter.

Though not always, today I can be found being thankful as I respond to to the Saints, “Here I am!” I am grateful. I am here to respond to God with my words of thanksgiving and my heart of gratitude! As I journal my way through November and count my blessings, I realize that the blessings of God are too numerous to count. 

Soul care training exercise:  Come ye thankful people come. As we experience the blessings and miracles of each day, will you take time to Ponder the question In this moment, what are ten things that I am thankful for? 

• Reflect and let the Holy Spirit reveal to you what things you are thankful for in this moment.
• Notice without judgment and with a curious awareness of what comes to your mind. Invite God into your sanctified imagination. Ask Him to bring to your attention what He wants you to know about the things which came to your awareness.
• Next scan your mind and notice what the Holy Spirit is sharing about the type of gratitude you expressed. Were the first things for the spiritual things of God? Physical things? or People?
• Finally, Focus on what you see and hear. Ask the Holy Spirit what you need to know, hear, or do. Expand your thoughts, it may be something you never heard told this way before. With a breath of gratitude, breathe in and breathe out and accept what Jesus is offering to you.

PRAYER: Abba, I give thanks that You are good, generous, and gracious. I am grateful that You are merciful and a Miracle Worker. I am blessed to experience that You are a faithful Father. Help me to continue to count the ways that You are good. I don’t want you to have to look for me and ask “Where are my thankful people at?” I want to bless you for more than what you do. I want to thank you for who You are! In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen. 

PRAISE: Now that you have emptied your mind of the clutter and wandered with Jesus, take a closing moment to give thanks to God for his goodness, compassion, and lovingkindness. Then take the mindfulness of Jesus’ Presence in these last few minutes of wandering into the next ones and beyond.

Until next time, be Resonant.

The post Where are all the thankful people appeared first on Resonant 7.

Take five minutes Bonus Guided Gratitude reflection.

Image attributions:  Text art app with words added

Be to me a rock of refuge and a sheltering stronghold to which I may continually come;
You have given the commandment to save me,
For You are my rock and my fortress.

When we are tossed about, Jesus is our rock of refuge, a sheltering stronghold, a fortress that will hold us steady.

PSALM: Just as I am 1835
Charlotte Eliott (1789-1871)

Just as I am Thou tossed about
With many a conflict many a doubt
Fightings and fears within without
O Lamb of God I come I come

Some tossings are to tame the waves, overtake our fears, and fight our doubts. Sometimes, the waves of darkness can bring our attention to the Light.

PARABLE:  I begin standing. Bracing myself by sinking my heels in the sand. I slightly trust that I am stable yet doubt that I am grounded enough to withstand the waves. I try anyway. Fighting back my fears. The gentle waves wash over my feet until the big wave comes and washes the sand away beneath me and tosses me to my knees. Eventually, I surrender and come to my knees. I kneel in the sand with the heat of the sun warming my legs. I wait for the cool breeze of the waves to crash on the shore, toss me about, and wash over me. Clinging to his hand, I say to Troy, “Hold me steady.”  Something about tossing when I am on my knees and holding on to Troy’s hand, helps me feel safe and certain. 

I want to trust God in the same way. Yet, I confess there are times when my emotional earth is shaking, when my spiritual confidence is in an earthquake, when my logical mind is drifting, that what I believe at that moment and what I KNOW are at war. That is when, just as I am, I come to The Lamb of God. The one who is tender enough to hold me steady in the waves. I reach my hands to the Son, call upon His name, and hold desperately to His promises. I remember what I know. There is peace available to me in the raging waves. The sinking sand is converted to jointing sand that fills the empty spaces of my anxious heart. My sanctuary, Jesus will find me where the waves of life meet the rock of refuge and sheltering stronghold that holds me steady.

Soul care training exercise:  Situations can appear to crumble the ground beneath us. When the ground seems to give way, you can come to the ROCK that NEVER moves. Jesus will hold you steady. Ponder the question In this moment, what truth do I most need to know about Jesus’ promises to be the constant, steady, Rock of Ages? 

• Reflect and let the Holy Spirit reveal to you His promise He wants you to hold on to in this moment.
• Notice without judgment and with a curious awareness of what comes to your mind. Invite God into your sanctified imagination. Ask Him to bring to your attention what He wants you to know.
• Next scan your mind and notice what the Holy Spirit is sharing that you need to know, hear, or do as you come to Jesus just as you are in this moment. Expand your thoughts, it may be something you never heard told this way before.
• Finally, Focus on what you see and hear. With a breath of assurance, breathe in and breathe out and accept what Jesus is offering to you.

PRAYER: Jesus, I come just as I am knowing you are my constant. You steady the waves of my crashing mind. You hold me steady when the chaos is taking my breath away. You are the Breath of Life that leads me back to the truth that fear is a liar, doubt is a liar, and your faithful, constant, steady, kind, and gracious love is true. The tossing waves will be tamed. You will meet me where the waves meet the sand. In Jesus name, Amen. 

PRAISE: Now that you have emptied your mind of the clutter and wandered with Jesus, take a closing moment to thank Jesus that He will hold you steady. Then take the mindfulness of Jesus’ Presence in these last few minutes of wandering into the next ones and beyond.

Until next time, be Resonant.

The post Hold Me Steady appeared first on Resonant 7.

Take five minutes Bonus Guided Meditation Steady.

Image attributions:  Text art app with words added

²⁰ For as many as are the promises of God, in Christ they are [all answered] “Yes.” So through Him we say our “Amen” to the glory of God.

The promises of God are certain, even when we are uncertain.

PSALM: Just as I am 1835
Charlotte Eliott (1789-1871)

Just as I am Thou wilt receive
Wilt welcome pardon cleanse relieve
Because Thy Promise I believe
O Lamb of God I come I come

Like Charlotte, I believe that Jesus promises that just as I am, he will receive, welcome, pardon, cleanse, and relieve me.

PARABLE:  Sitting on my porch steps until dark waiting for my father to pick me up for a visit as he promised. Tears of disappointment burned my cheek for the last time. Excuses would no longer be accepted. I vowed not to believe in promises.

I didn’t realize that this vow would impact my ability to trust others for years to come. In fact, it would impact my trust in God. The incident would cause the chronic questions of “Where are you? Do I matter? Will you REALLY come through for me?” to play like a broken record in my mind whenever life happens.

I confess that circumstances and challenges have a way of rewinding the broken record and bringing me back to the question of who God is in my life. It produces the spiritual delusion that God will not keep His promise. Even though I know it is a LIE playing on the reel of deception that seeks to kill, steal, and destroy my intimacy with God, sometimes the tune still plays and I harmonize with the lie. 

When it does, I have to erase the tune by taking those thoughts into captivity. I have to stand on the truth that Jesus, the Lamb of God, made the promise with His sacrificial life that assures me that even in my doubt, He will receive, welcome, pardon, cleanse, and relieve me of my fears, JUST AS I am.  

No need to do anything FIRST. Right in my deepest moment of doubt, I can come to Jesus. This is a promise I can trust.

Soul care training exercise:  The songwriter uses many words to describe the dependability of Jesus. Take a moment and slowly read the words: receive, welcome, pardon, cleanse, and relieve.  Ponder the question In this moment, what truth do I most need to know about Jesus’ promises? Reflect and let the Holy Spirit reveal to you whether you need to be received, welcomed, pardoned, cleansed, or relieved.

Notice without judgment and with a curious awareness of what comes to your mind. Invite God into your sanctified imagination. Ask Him to bring to your attention what He wants you to know.

• Next scan your mind and notice what the Holy Spirit is sharing that you need to know, hear, or do as you come to Jesus just as you are in this moment. Expand your thoughts, it may be something you never heard told this way before.
• Finally, Focus on what you see and hear. With a breath of assurance, breathe in and breathe out and accept what Jesus is offering to you.

PRAYER: Jesus, I come just as I am knowing you are waiting with welcoming arms to receive me. Pardon me for my sins and thoughts of doubt. Cleanse me from my mistrust and deceptive thoughts. Relieve me of my anxiousness and worry.  I believe in your promise.  Even in moments when my mind doubts, my heart reassures me that I can come, Just as I am.  In the loving name of Jesus I pray, Amen. 

PRAISE: Now that you have emptied your mind of the clutter and wandered with Jesus, take a closing moment to thank Jesus that no matter what, you can come Just as you are. Then take the mindfulness of Jesus’ Presence in these last few minutes of wandering into the next ones and beyond.

Until next time, be Resonant.

The post He promised appeared first on Resonant 7.

Take five minutes Bonus Guided Meditation He Promised.

Image attributions:  Text art app with words added

Matthew 11:28-29 Amplified

²⁸ “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavily burdened [by religious rituals that provide no peace], and I will give you rest [refreshing your souls with salvation]. ²⁹ Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me [following Me as My disciple], for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest (renewal, blessed quiet) for your souls.

We have an inevitable invitation to come to Jesus. He beckons us. The outcome is rest.

PSALM: Just as I am 1835
Charlotte Eliott (1789-1871)

Just as I am without one plea
But that Thy Blood was shed for me
And that Thou bidd’st me come to Thee
O Lamb of God I come I come

Charlotte experienced days of uselessness and loneliness as she lived out an illness that left her disabled. Though she sometimes battled depression, she knew to come to Jesus just as she was when she experienced the darkest nights of her soul.

PARABLE: I can still see the vivid image of my arms reached out to my daughter beckoning her to come and to take her first step into my arms. As a baby born prematurely with a heart condition and severe asthma, I was unwilling to do anything but carry her. One day my husband challenged me and suggested that I had to stop carrying her and to let her walk in order to let her grow. While I knew his guidance was correct, it took several weeks for me to begin to try out his wisdom. I was afraid that she might fall and hurt herself. I was afraid that she may have an asthma attack. Most truly, I was afraid to not be in control of her safety. 

Finally, I was convinced to place our daughter on a VERY padded blanket, stretch my arms out, and whisper “come here.” It took a few tries but within minutes with a grin of accomplishment on her face, she was waddling over to my outstretched arms. She was not afraid. She knew I was attentive to her safety and that she could rely on me to pick her up if she feel down. She knew how to get to me all along, she was just waiting for an invitation for me to let her come.

This imagery of outstretched hands and a waddling infant taking their first steps reminds me of the promise and invitation of Jesus that invites us to come to Him and He will give us rest. This is not a condition-based invitation, all we need to do is respond to Jesus pleas for us to come here, just as I am. There is no expectation that we come in a particular manner. We can come when we don’t feel good enough. We can come when we feel haughty. We can come when we are afraid. We can come when we are full of courage. We can come when we feel undeserving. We can come when we feel entitled. Jesus is not concerned about how we come. He wants us to come just as we are, no judgement, and no desire to change how we feel in that moment. His saving blood has made a pallet of love, mercy and grace that will catch us when we fall. We can come to Him, especially when we are weary but even we are not and we will find rest.

Soul care training exercise:  Some areas of life are easier to trust God than in others. God’s name is trust. Take a moment and turn your attention to coming to Jesus. Ponder the question What am I bringing with me today as I come to Jesus? Reflect and let the Holy Spirit reveal to you what God wants to reveal to you about the condition in which you are coming to Jesus.

Notice without judgment and with a curious awareness of what comes to your mind. Invite God into your sanctified imagination. Ask Him to bring to your attention what He wants you to know.

• Next scan your mind and notice what the Holy Spirit is sharing that you need to know, hear, or do as you come to Jesus just as you are in this moment. Expand your thoughts, it may be something you never heard told this way before.
• Finally, Focus on what you see and hear. With a breath of thanksgiving, breathe in, breathe out, and rest in the arms of Jesus.

PRAYER: Jesus, thank you that like a little child, I can run to you. Your arms are always outstretched. You will catch me when I stumble. You do not require any conditions of me to come. Your invitation is unending and unconditional. Thank you for your fulfilled promise of rest.  In the loving name of Jesus I pray, Amen. 

PRAISE: Now that you have emptied your mind of the clutter and wandered with Jesus, take a closing moment to praise God for His invitation to come and His promise to find rest. Then take the mindfulness of Jesus’ Presence in these last few minutes of wandering into the next ones and beyond.

Until next time, be Resonant.

The post Come here appeared first on Resonant 7.

Take five minutes Bonus Guided Meditation Come and Rest.

Image attributions:  Text art app with words added