Last
Tuesday, at our Neighborhood Lighthouse Meeting, we discussed the
topic, "hope deferred," from the study we are doing in a book by Dutch Sheets. Dutch calls "hope deferred" the common cold of the soul, and says that everyone suffers from it at one time or another. No one is totally immune to it.
From
our understanding of spiritual strongholds, we realize that
hopelessness has it's roots in our flesh nature. We know that giving
into those feelings leads in a downward spiral emotionally, socially and
spiritually. The most devastating of circumstances can develop in our
lives because of it, including sickness and disease---hope deferred makes the heart sick Proverbs 13:12a. Hope deferred can open a door for the spirit of infirmity
to work in our lives too. It is of the utmost importance that
Christians be able to identify, breakthrough and maintain spiritual
victory over this common problem. Jesus Paid It All so that we
could be free. He bought our freedom at a great price on the cross. It
is up to us to maintain the victory from the things He (Jesus) redeemed
us from...the destruction of hope deferred is something He redeemed us
from---I declare Whom the Son sets free is free indeed! (John 8:36)
As
a group we made a commitment to God not to allow "hope deferred" to
rule our lives. We prayed together for the symptoms of this malaise to
be revealed in our personal lives and we asked God to grant us freedom
and to empower us for everyday victory in this area.
Strengthened by the Holy Spirit we took a challenge to begin to make an A-Z Gratitude List...a way to “Count Our Blessings”.
That's right, in the midst of our trials and temptations and stresses
of everyday life, we decided to turn our attention toward expressing
gratitude. Gratitude is so simple to the
point of stupid—and powerful to the point of life-altering. Some have described gratitude
as, "that very specific feeling of thankfulness in your heart, which
allows you to
see and absorb all you have, forgetting for a moment all you may lack It
connects your brain with your heart, and gives you the ground to be
more giving, effective, loving human."
(Valerie
Reiss is Beliefnet's Holistic Living Editor. Read more at
http://www.beliefnet.com/wellness/gratitude/the-ultimate-gratitude-list.aspx#vTFKLbgFV684HMbI.99).
This
week, I invite you to join us in making an A-Z Gratitude List. This
is an exercise using the 26 Letters of the alphabet to journal the
things you are grateful/thankful for. Warning! It is not en easy list
to make, because we are always thinking of what we don't have! But, there is a reward for doing it and more rewarding if kept up daily or frequently as the need may be. You will find that being grateful for what we've already received allows generosity
to flow. Expressing gratitude (verbally or in writing) also makes us more receptive—as in, the
more you love what you have, the more you get what you want.
Here is my A-Z Gratitude List with descriptions!
A- Apples - Fuji
B - Blankets - summer ones
C - Cars - especially my own
D - Dancing - by myself to Oldies
E- Early Rising Schedule
F- Food
G -God's Grace (for salvation and keeping power)
H - Health/Hands/Hair
I - Imagination (I need more of this)
J - Jobs (for me and others)
K - Knees (especially my good one!)
L - Letting Go! and Loyalty
M - Medical provisions
N - Nurturing Ministries
O - Oatmeal
P - People/Passion/Purpose
Q- Quietness
R - Reading
S - Stillness/Solitude/Scarves/Shawls
T - Trees (especially a Magnolia; because they are most like me)
U - Under garments that fit properly
V - Voices
W - Water
X - Xerox Machines!
Y - Yakking with Robert (my DH) each day
Z -Zzz's - power naps of about 10-15 minutes sometime in the day.
Please Join Us!
Every Tuesday @ 4:00 PM
at LifeSprings Assembly of God
Jasper, AL 35503
This morning I came to my place of prayer with heaviness. I turned to Psalm 3 and took up my lament about a difficult situation I've been faced with. The voice of my inner man was harsh and over-bearing; I was beating myself up!
