Sane, Simple, Sacred: Gratitude of the Redeemed

Gratitude of the Redeemed

"I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the Lord. I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people, in the courts of the house of the Lord" (Psalm 116:17-18)

In this Psalm titled "The gratitude of the redeemed" in my Bible, the writer is expressing thanksgiving for God's intervention during a crisis in his life.

"How can I repay the Lord for all his goodness to me?" he asks in verse 12. It really is IMPOSSIBLE to repay the Lord in proportion to His goodness to us, but the psalmist apparently made some promises (or vows) in his attempt.

The platform of our church....

It's OK to make promises to God. But it is important to follow through on them. It is appropriate to express our thanksgiving in tangible ways to Him -- such as thanks offerings. Thanksgiving may be expressed privately to God, but there are times to express it publicly - "in the presence of all his people, in the courts of the house of the Lord."

Today is one of those times!

13 comments:

Blessings each dayNovember 22, 2009 at 8:24 AM
We try to go (and usually actually have made it most years) to Mass on Thanksgivng day so that we can give true thanksgiving where it is most merited, to our Heavenly Father. It is so wise to keep 'focused' on what is most important in our lives.

blessings and thankful hugs,

marcy
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DianaNovember 22, 2009 at 9:17 AM
Well I am always Thankful, even for the tiny things! Your church looks lovely Rebecca.
Have a blessed Sunday.
Love Di
P.S.
I keep forgetting to say that I love your new photo and I think that your hair is perfect.
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RebeccaNovember 22, 2009 at 11:43 AM
Marcy, I hope you can attend Mass again THIS year on Thanksgiving Day. Our church won't meet on Thursday, but we DID have a great time of thanksgiving and praise this morning.
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RebeccaNovember 22, 2009 at 11:45 AM
Diana, Little? Big? In everything give thanks --as you do. Thank YOU for saying you think my hair is perfect. It is growing and I COULD use a cut, but I'm trying to "time" my next cut work for Thankgiving AND Christmas AND New Years......
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Kathleen November 22, 2009 at 12:33 PM
Oh that our very lives would be a thanksgiving. While I relish the day we've come to cherish for all things family (and yummy), I pray that my heart would celebrate in kind each and every day.

Blessings,
Kathleen
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RebeccaNovember 22, 2009 at 1:48 PM
Kathleen - Oh, so do I! Thanksgiving = thanksLIVING!
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JackieNovember 22, 2009 at 1:51 PM
My first thanks is and always for God...not for what He has given me...but for who He is. He owes me nothing...yet gives me everything I need. I am thankful to my Lord.
Thank you God...You are Holy.
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Wylie @ Shout A Joyful Noise!November 22, 2009 at 3:21 PM
Thank you for your encouraging words, and encouraging blog. I'm blessed that our paths have crossed!
Joyfully,
Wylie
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BernieNovember 22, 2009 at 4:18 PM
It is wonderful to come and visit your thankful blog.....you are a true blessing in my life Rebecca and I love your love and passion for God........:-) Hugs
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DeeNovember 22, 2009 at 5:12 PM
Rebecca, Sunday greetings.I love your visits to my blog and the wonderful and thought provoking comments you leave me. I feel like i have always known you. Your blog is growing and your creative talent and the spirit of the Lord is all over it in many interesting ways.
In answer to your Q. on my blog about.. do I know how many types of these doodles have i done? I will say this year..close to 200. I have not doodled in my Bible as of yet, but if I have pen and a clear flat surface I doodle. Just a little more low keyed. Also Rebecca..do-can lead to do-odles. :-) For the past week I have been feeling such a joy of the Lord in my heart and all of my blessings have been clear before my eyes.This Thanksgiving Holiday I am truly Thankful from my heart.
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EileenNovember 22, 2009 at 5:21 PM
Beautiful post, Rebecca!
And your church looks beautiful too!

I am so thankful for all my Blessings. Blessings beyond my wildest dreams. My cup runneth over.

Blessed Thanksgiving!
Love and Prayers,
Eileen
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AnonymousNovember 22, 2009 at 5:22 PM
I can definately relate to the psalmist right at this time in my life!

Being thankful doesn't come easy when what you are thanking Him for is the trial that you are experiencing...but following through with it ~ it is the greatest blessing!

Thank you dear friend, for your encouragement, for your love for Christ, for being an inspiration to all of us!

maria
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DeniseNovember 23, 2009 at 5:14 AM
Bless you for being a sweet inspiration.
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"We simplify, not just to be less busy, even though we may be right to pursue that. Rather, we simplify to remove distractions from our pursuit of Christ. We prune activities from our lives, not only to get organized, but also that our devotion to Christ and service for His kingdom will be more fruitful. We simplify, not merely to save time, but to eliminate hindrances to the time we devote to knowing Christ. All the reasons we simplify should eventually lead us to Jesus Christ!" (Donald S. Whitney)

Dedicated to my sister-in-law, Beth--a TRUE home manager....

"I work for a King. He has put me in charge of his home. When He comes to see how I have managed His possessions and His children, I do not want to be found wanting. I want to do my best. Everything I have is on loan from Him. I have room and board and a job to do, but it is all for Him. Therefore I want to dress my best and do my best in all my work. I also want to be creative, for this is a sincere attempt to glorify Him and His beautiful creation. How I manage my home is a form of worship to Him." --Lydia Sherman

"A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry,
and see a fine picture every day of his life,
in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul."

~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Contentment makes poor men rich.

-Benjamin Franklin

"What I am gradually discovering is that in the writing I come in touch with the Spirit of God." ~ Nouwen

~~"Reading without reflecting is like eating without digesting."~~Edmund Burke

C.S. Lewis: "To trust Him means, of course, trying to do all that He says. There would be no sense in trusting a person if you wouldn't take his advice. Thus if you have really handed yourself over to Him, it must follow that you are trying to obey Him."

"To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to listen to stars and birds, babes and sages, with open heart; to study hard; to think quietly, act frankly, talk gently, await occasions, hurry never; in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common--this is my symphony." William Henry Channing

“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Apostle Paul: "But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13-14)

"It's a good thing to have all the props pulled out from under us occasionally. It gives us some sense of what is rock under our feet, and what is sand. It stops us from taking anything for granted. It has also taught me alot about living in the immediate moment. I am somehow managing to live one day, one hour at a time." Madeleine L'Engle

FIVE CERTAINTIES
WITH WHICH TO
START YOUR DAY

God holds you. Each day he carries us in his arms. Psalm 68:19 NLT
God sustains you. THE LORD is my Shepherd [to feed, guide, and shield me], I shall not lack. Psalm 23:1 AMP
God covers you. He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings shall you trust. Psalm 91:4 AMP
God pours His love upon you. Through each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me. Psalm 42:8 NLT
God will not fail you. The unfailing love of the Lord never ends! Lamentations 3:22 NLT

THE BLOGGER'S PRAYER Lord, help me to learn to spell without spellcheck, manage to visit all that visit me, and post regularly - all in 5 minutes a day, so that I can clean house and take care of my family. Help me to not look at every occurrence in my life as a blog post, and to quit taking pictures of weird things to share as well. Please Lord, help me to stop talking about my blog friends as though they are next door neighbors or someone I have known all of my life. And help me, dear Lord, to think of something witty and wise to post tomorrow.
Love, The Dust Bunny Hostage

Sane, Simple, Sacred

Mercy

Gratitude of the Redeemed

13 comments:

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