ThanksGreeding

            Throughout the years, ThanksGiving has taken on the role and theme of thankfulness, but are we losing sight of that?
             Take a minute and reflect on your Thanksgiving celebration. Many spent time with families and loved ones around the table, eating turkey, watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, going to a Thanksgiving Eve service at church, sharing thanks and more. That is all good, but then you turn around the next day (or now even the same day) and are pummeling each other  over trying to get things that you don't have and we become taken over with greed. No, I am not saying shopping on Black Friday is bad, I'm just saying to check. No, I am not saying shopping on Black Friday is bad, I'm just saying to check yourself and be conscious of the way you behave and act towards strangers and those you know. It saddens me to look on the news and hear of a death at Wal-Mart because a worker got trampled, and a shooting at a Kohl's because of shoplifting. How are those acts showing thanks? Plus, thanksgiving isn't something we should only focus on one day but continually.
            My mother and I just caught up on some awards shows the other night, and over Thanksgiving I thought about how it's the "one day" us regular Joe's get to have shout-outs of thanks on t.v., consciously choose to share thanks around the dinner table, just like when they receive their big awards on t.v. but they have to rush through their awards so fast that it doesn't always seem sincere. Do you rush around the dinner table saying thanks, so you can get onto the next activity or do you actually take time to share your thanks? It shouldn't be a quick few minute ordeal at the table, there is so much for each and every one of us to be thankful for no matter what your circumstances are, that it should take up a much larger part of your dinner table discussion. Yet we shouldn't just be thankful for a few minutes at the table and then forget about it or think about it periodically during the year.
           A good character quality is being thankful and content with what you have and giving genuine thanks. If you are thankful and content with what you have it will help make like easier and be more positive as you aren't constantly complaining of what you don't have or wanting what others do have. Your thankfulness can rub off on others as well and more will become more positive and focusing on the good and what we have rather than the opposite.
           Maybe you are going through the hardest trial in your life you have had to face so far, and maybe you are on the top of the world, or somewhere in-between. As a born-again Christian, wherever you are, wherever I am, we want to thank God in the good and the bad and the middle. We have so much to be thankful for. God created each one of us for a reason and a purpose and he has great things planned for every one of you. One of my favorite Christian artists recently tweeted this, and I wanted to leave it as a message to you: "If you're alive, God's not done with you yet"
           I challenge you and myself to thank God everyday for the day we have, the good things He is doing for you, even the challenges that He will help you through them, and thank Him that He is there for you and will never leave or forsake you. Make it a daily challenge to constantly be praising and thanking instead of once a year on a holiday that is being overshadowed by the greed of the holiday season, which is not the point of this season at all, the point is quite the opposite. ***More on the reason for the season in a later post as it gets a little closer to CHRISTmas.
         
  Verses to Ponder

           "...give THANKS in all circumstances ; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."                                                                          
                             - 1 Thessalonians 5:18
          "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, through prayer and petition, with THANKSGIVING, present your requests to God."
                              - Philippians 4:6
          "Give THANKS to the LORD for He is good, His love endures forever."
                              - Psalm 107:1

    Praise the Lord for everything HE has given you and Have a blessed day!
              - Jalynn

Salt & Light

             I have grown up in the church and became a born-again Christian at a young age and have learned and grown so much in my faith throughout the years. One passage I have learned about a countless number of times is when Jesus calls us to be salt and light in the world, but it wasn't until this past week that I feel I really understand it.
             "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
            You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.”

-       Matthew 5:13-15

            Before this week, I had pretty much only focused on the light part. As a child I learned the popular “This little light of mine” song, so I started to learn about shining God’s light when I was young, and countless more times throughout my life. But the part I seemed to forget or not dive into is the SALT.
            In a weekly Bible Study group for people around my age, we were discussing Salt & Light this past week. Here is what I learned or what finally clicked. Back in the day there were no refrigerators to store food and keep it good and fresh, but they would use salt to preserve it, so it would last. As followers of Christ we are the Salt of the Earth, which means we are to preserve the teachings of the Lord and share them with others so we can continue to keep spreading Christ’s love and message rather than not preserving it and letting what we believe wither and crumple.
            The part about light, I made some connections with as well. It talks about a city on a hill in the verse, but I never thought of how important that was. Years and years ago, the big cities and cities were generally built on a hill so others could see it from miles away, so it would be more difficult for bad guys to attach and more. If you were walking around or lost, there’s no way you would miss a city on a hill.
            What does this have to do with our lives? First off, God has called us to preserve His Word and His teachings. Which in a way means we need to continue to dig into His Word to learn from Him and His teachings, as well as communicating with Him daily through prayer. By learning His teachings and growing closer to Him, it will prepare us to be better lights.
            The world is looking at us and seeing what we do. When we aren’t actively being Salt & Light, we may easily blend in with everyone else. It may make those who don’t believe ask, “Why would I want to be a ‘Christian’ when they don’t act any different than me? They are exactly like everyone else. What’s so special?” Are we really being Salt and Light when we just blend in, or just go through the motions?
            Being Salt & Light isn’t just a noun given to us, but they are verbs, being Salt & Light is active and something we should constantly be doing. We shouldn’t be covering our light, but we should be letting it shine so bright that others want to know where it comes from, and what makes us different- a good kind of different. What makes us different or where the light comes from is the “Salt” part, and what we do with it, how we show it is the “Light” part. We want to put them together and set the world ablaze for Jesus.
            I was really inspired by what I had learned in my Bible Study, that the next day at work, I would say to myself “Salt & Light, Salt & Light” reminding me of what I am and what I should be doing.  In the study I also learned that we are each strategically placed wherever we are, and God can use us anywhere, even if we can’t explicitly discuss our faith.  I was discussing bullying and respecting others at work, and what I had to say came from my beliefs and what I have learned through the Bible without mentioning my faith, but was still able to be a positive influence. God can use each of us anywhere, even if we can’t flat out teach and use the Bible. God wants to use you.

            Here is my challenge: How have you been Salt & Light this last week? What are you going to do to be Salt & Light today? Tomorrow? The rest of the week? What changes are you going to make to actively be Salt & Light?

P.S. Here is a song, that I love about not hiding your SHINE (Light)! Enjoy!!!
                    Ready or Not (feat. Lecrae) - Britt Nicole