Gratitude

His Love Endures Forever

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Just when we think, ‘I am sure God is upset with me’ or ‘why do I feel so distant from God’ or any other self pity thoughts about our relationship with God…He shows us again that His love is all around us.  Either through nature or through another person God shows up and reminds everyone He will never leave you or abandon you.  When we make an effort to start with gratitude for what blessings we have been given, we learn to better understand how God is working in our life.  God is love and His love is never-ending for us.  He gave His one and only Son to be a sacrifice for us, out of love, and He continues to know you and to bless you because His love endures forever.  May you see God’s love and peace present in your life.

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“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Jeremiah 29:11

(This photo was taken in May of 2014 at a lake place in central Minnesota)

God’s Presence

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A relationship with God is like no other.  He can provide the greatest comfort in times of trouble, the greatest joy out of the worst of tragedy and He never will leave you or abandon you.  God wants you to engage in a covenant with Him.  An agreement that you will honor only Him as God and you will pursue to keep His commandments in your everyday life.  You will accept His Son, Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, believing that He died and has risen to save you from your sins.  If you strive to honor this covenant you will get a better sense of God’s presence in your life.  God does not play favorites like humans, His covenant is not a quid pro quo situation where you scratch His back and He will scratch yours.  God loves everyone and His forgiveness, His mercy and grace is available the same to anyone.  The only the difference is how we choose to engage in our relationship with Him.  May God’s peace and joy be with you.

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“All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful for those who keep the demands of his covenant.”

Psalm 25:10

(This photo was taken in August of 2016 in Glacier National Park in Montana)

Hope Everyday

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We are blessed with the love God has for us and because of His love we have hope that is never-ending.  We will experience trials and suffering, it is expected because we live in a world filled with selfishness and brokenness.  Jesus Christ and our relationship with Him is where our hope can be found.  Even when things are at the darkest hour, hope is the glimmer of light Christ provides.  He has overcome anything this world can throw at us and He is waiting to guide you through everything you have going on in your life.  May God’s hope and love be with you.

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“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Romans 14:8

(This photo was taken in April of 2016 at a lake place in central Minnesota)

The Love Of God

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It may be hard to believe sometimes…it seems unfathomable, an error in judgement or even misguided from our perspective.  However, it is true…God loves you, unconditionally.  There is nothing in all creation that can separate us from the love of God.  It has all been tried over and over again throughout the Old Testament, so God took things up a notch and sent His one and only Son to triumph over all, forever.  He had it written about before it occurred in the Old Testament and then again after it occurred in the New Testament.  God loves you and He is right there with you, He knows the struggles and the victory you experience in your life every day.  Talk with God, thank Him for His never-ending love and seek His will as you go forward in your faith and life journey.  May God’s peace and joy be with you.

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“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 8:37-39

(This photo was taken in July of 2016 while driving through North Dakota)

Learn To Listen

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The skill of listening is becoming less and less frequent in today’s world.  It seems people are so intent on speaking and spend more time preparing a response then seeking to understand others.  It is a form of selfishness.  All of us are cursed with some form of selfishness…it does not go away or become less present over time unless we are actively working on reducing its presence in our lives.  In order to strengthen our abilities to see things from the perspective of another person we can start by listening and seeking to understand them.  Listening does not mean you automatically agree with them rather it means you are willing to consider more than your own opinion.  We do not have all the answers, nobody on earth does…nobody.  The only one who knows is God…and if we can’t listen to Him we will struggle more than is necessary.  May God’s love and peace be with you.

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“Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise.”

Proverbs 19:20

(This photo was taken in June of 2016 at a lake place in northwestern Wisconsin)

Memorial Day – Thank You

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This day I offer gratitude to all military personnel and their families, to those that have died fighting for our freedom in the world and those that are serving now…Thank You!  The sacrifice these individuals and their families have made deserve nothing less than our respect, honor and gratitude.  May God’s peace, love and joy be with you.

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“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”

John 15:13

(This photo was taken in June of 2013 at Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota)

Choose Love

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Relationships can be hard if we strive to seek power or control.  If our self is driving during our interactions with others things will often end poorly.  There will be bitterness, anger, frustration and all the things we don’t want to be a part of our relationships.  There is a better way.  There is love.  Unconditional, never-ending love.  This does not mean just let the other person walk all over you and do whatever they want whenever they want.  This means both people do things to make life better for both of them.  It is important in any relationship to build your time together on a foundation of faith.  There will be times when each of you will need to lean on the Lord in prayer as each of you will have your moments when self will try to take over.  Be strong together and God will watch over your life.  Today my wife and I are celebrating 23 years in marriage, we were joined in marriage by God and nothing will keep us apart.  We have had to fight some battles and we continue to get stronger as we go because we both know that there is nobody who will love us like we do each other.  I am thankful for every day God gives us together.  May you find God’s love and joy in your relationships.

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“Love must be sincere.  Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.  Be devoted to one another in love.  Honor one another above yourselves.  Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.  Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.  Share with God’s people who are in need.  Practice hospitality.”

Romans 12:9-13

(This photo was taken in April of 2016 at a lake place in central Minnesota)

Gratitude

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One of the difficult challenges in life is adjusting your perspective.  We receive so many messages through our senses from our daily life.  Things we see, things we hear, things we read, etc.  We get to choose what things get our time and attention.  Whatever we focus on becomes embedded in our perspective.  When we spend too much time on negativity, sadness, anger, selfishness and hatred we adopt that point of view to everything else.  This is the way of living focused on self.  We will always end up disappointed.  We need to find ways to build in positive things, goodness, kindness, joy and love.  These things will help us live with a balanced perspective.  One easy way to start is to practice gratitude.  What are you thankful for?  It may not come easy at first if you haven’t done this very often.  Think about the very basics in life like food, shelter and clothing…don’t take such things for granted as these are not in abundance for everyone in the world.  Once you start practicing gratitude and you want to build on it, the next thing is giving…the joy, peace and contentment will continue to build in your life from there.  Find your gratitude things and give thanks to God for all of it.  May God’s joy and peace be with you.

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“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.  Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.  Know that the Lord is God.  It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.  For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;  his faithfulness continues through all generations.”

Psalm 100

(This photo was taken in March of 2018 while traveling through southern New Mexico)

Choose How You Will Respond

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With every situation in life we are given free will by God which means we choose how to respond to what other people do or say.  This freedom also means we are accountable and responsible for our response even if the response is to do nothing.  If we are focused on self more than anything else we will often choose a poor response as self is only responding to the impact on me without regard for others.  God created us out of His love and we were made to choose the fruits of the Spirit in how we live our daily lives.  Be aware not only of ‘what’ you do and say, but also ‘how’ you do and say things when you respond to others.  Free will is a gift from God, how we respond with this gift makes all the difference in how we feel in our life.  May God’s joy and peace be with you.

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“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”

Proverbs 15:1

(This photo was taken in September of 2016 at a lake in central Minnesota)

Be Strong And Courageous

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Don’t give up, don’t stop trying…whatever it is the next attempt can be the one that gets the results you are hoping to see.  Be persistent and be creative.  When you have exhausted your approach to an issue or situation, be open and willing to change how you think about it and try again.  Pray about it as well, lift your worries and concerns up to Jesus in prayer.  Surrender your plans only to God and see what He has in store for you.  No matter what the circumstances God is with you and He can guide you.  May God’s peace and joy be with you.

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“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous.  Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Joshua 1:9

(This photo was taken in August of 2016 in Glacier National Park in Montana)