JOYS OF BEING A CHRISTIAN

I recently had a moment to reflect on the joys of being a Christian and I would like to share my experience with you. On a recent lengthy car trip with my daughter, we had a chance for some mother-daughter conversations as well as moments of comfortable silence. During one of the quiet moments, I found myself having to manuever through a construction zone with uneven pavement that required some effort to keep the car on the road.


The jerking, weaving and pulling of the car was a bit scary and I started to get frustrated with trying to both keep us safe and find a smooth spot on the road. While I was feeling the stress and strain I happened to glance over at my little girl and saw that she was aware of the situation and the expression on her face was so horrified and yet funny that in spite of myself I got tickled!

At first she didn't appreciate the humor of the situation and seemed irritated that I was taking things so lightly. But the more I laughed the more she caught my mood, joined in and started to let go and laugh.

After making it through the rough patch just fine I started thinking of how the lighthearted moment made things better. There are so many moments every day that bring us to the brink of frustration, fear, worry and sometimes anger but what would the outcome be if we stopped, took a breath and reflected on the joys of being a Christian and to draw on those teachings?

Proverbs 17:22 tells us, "A merry heart does good like a medicine."

What if when sadness and heartache comes our way we respond to it with thinking of Luke 6:21 that states, "Blessed are you who weep now, For you shall laugh."?

When financial problems arise, the Bible has an answer for that in Psalms 126:5 telling us, "But he that is of a merry heart has a continual feast."

And perhaps tensions on your job or in the office could be alleviated by referral to Proverbs 15:13 that says, "A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance."

Perhaps if we put these uplifting Bible verses to work every day we will find that the joys of being a Christian are contagious and we would be hard pressed to find better motivational quotes than the ones we find in above scripture.

Dedication to Christ

I learned about dedication to Christ and standing by one's Christian beliefs early in life. You see, my mother and father had very different upbringings. My mom was raised on a country farm and my dad could scarcely claim any one location as his roots because his father was in the military and moved the family frequently. But where they lived early in life was not the most profound of their differences. Mother came from a long line of missionaries who dedicated their lives to spreading the word about Jesus.

It's true that opposites attract and according to both, from the moment they met they couldn't imagine spending life with anyone else. Mother set out to make a Christian home which was fine with my dad although it didn't seem as important to him as it did to her. Kids notice these things and I'm very fortunate that mother's dedication to Christ was as steadfast as it was or I may well have followed a different path.

An example of her devotion took place on a cold Sunday in winter day when we were all getting ready for church. The roads were in danger of becoming slick by afternoon so mother asked dad would he chauffer us to church and he refused saying that we could miss one day of preaching with no harm done.

Mother quietly turned and bundled me and my sister up just a little warmer and tugged on our rain boots and out the door we went, walking several miles to Sunday services. Where did this tiny lady find the strength to carry both of us in the freezing cold on icy roads? You can find the answer in Isaiah 40 that says:

"He gives power to the faint; and to them who have no might He increases strength....But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

A long time later I expressed how amazed I was that she had (what seemed to me) defied my dad and she directed me to read the inspirational Bible verse Romans 8:38-39 which says:

"For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Her dedication to Christ as shown on that cold day had not only an effect on all of us kids but on my dad as he not only accepted Jesus as his Saviour but went on to become a minister of the gospel himself! To her credit, her devotion and spiritual leadership brought all of my brothers and sisters to serve in some capacity within the church.

Recognizing the Need for Charity

Recognizing the need for charity is perhaps the springboard for giving. I know very few people who would knowingly be stingy if they knew that a person of their acquaintance was in need. However, many fail to stop and think about whether another is doing without because even in difficult times most are truly are blessed and have more than enough.

This is one of the quotes about charity that best illustrates my point:

Nothing is so hard for those who are surrounded by riches than to conceive how others can be in need.



The problem is that many proud families or individuals are not going to wave flags announcing their needs to the world. How do we identify who is in need? First of all, there are many charitable organizations run by fine people that make recognizing the need for charity their life's work. You can take your pick from a list of charities that would appreciate anything you have to offer including financial assistance in your area. Or if you would prefer a more personal approach to giving, you might take a moment and think of the friends or family members in your own neighborhood that have lost jobs and fallen on hard times that might appreciate a carefully offered helping hand.

Return to Motivational Inspirational Posters Poems and Quotes to find more ways that we can offer comfort and kindness after recognizing the need for charity.

KEEPING KINDNESS in CHRISTMAS

It's always important to focus on keeping kindness in Christmas, but in these difficult times it's crucial that we take time to see and help with the needs of others less fortunate. And yes, no matter how tight our budgets are pinched or how lean our cupboards the search for someone who could use some assistance will sadly not end far from our door.

Even if money is tight it would be helpful to go through your closet and find some warm clothes to take to a shelter. A coat or a jacket would mean everything to a person who may have none.

Another way of keeping kindness in Christmas is to offer your services at no charge. The elderly would appreciate a little help with yard work or a lift to an appointment would be a luxury compared to public transportation.

Young parents with children often lack trustworthy babysitters. Volunteer to keep the little ones for a few hours while they do a little last minute shopping or just to enjoy each other's company.

Try it, you might be amazed at how these simple acts of kindness may enrich your own holiday season. Please come back to Motivational Inspirational Posters Poems and Quotes and share with us how you found ways of helping others and keeping kindness in Christmas.

EXPRESSING GRATITUDE

My favorite gratitude quotes teach us that expressing gratitude to God is not only necessary but uplifting!

1 Chronicles 16:8
O give thanks unto Jehovah, call upon his name; Make known his doings among the peoples.

Colossians 3:16
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

A POEM ABOUT GRATITUDE

THE GIFT OF GRATITUDE

Perhaps the best gift that you can give to yourself
Is to have gratitude in your heart
When others complain that life is a strain
Remember a prayer of thanks is a better start

Say a prayer of thanks for the day ahead
The safe night that just has been
Be comforted that no matter what comes next
You will have victory in the end.

This poem about gratitude and hope that was shared with me by one of my visitors. If you have written inspirational or motivational poem, I would be happy to feature it here.

Perhaps since I grew up in a home that provided the bare essentials of life, expressing gratitude comes easily to me. When I see all of the blessings that surround me I am virtually amazed at the richness of my life but I am so thankful that I didn’t get so much early on that I am ungrateful. Today’s kids are being cheated by their parents because they have so much they don’t know how to be thankful.

As an example, a month or two ago I was in a clothing store that doesn’t carry designer clothes but stocks good clothes for an affordable price. I was behind a mother in line with an eight year old (or thereabouts) child. The sour, disgruntled attitude was pouring off the child because his mom had not taken him to a more exclusive store to buy his school uniforms. He was disrespectful, unpleasant and by no means did he have an attitude of gratitude. This child was by no means thankful or appreciative that his mother was spending her hard earned money on his needs rather than her own.

I can well remember getting excited about school starting in the fall because that meant that we would get new clothes and shoes. Once the clothes were bought, we were told which items were for everyday wear and which ones would be saved for church on Sunday and special occasions. I remember one of my sisters conveniently losing her everyday shoes once in hopes that she would be allowed to wear her best shoes to school one day. Mother, merely told her she would stay home from school to search until she found her school shoes. And in those days, staying home meant doing "special" work for mom if you weren’t sick and unable to get out of bed. Amazingly my sister located her missing loafers within the next few minutes.

Some might look at such an upbringing as being deprived and I suppose in some ways they are right. But what I see is a lesson in expressing gratitude. When you have done without and learned to make do you learn to be grateful for things that you might otherwise take for granted.

Take this opportunity to reflect on whether we fully appreciate gifts from our Heavenly Father. Are we grateful for His sacrifice of the greatest gift ever bestowed upon us – the gift of everlasting life? Are we thankful that we woke this morning in good health surrounded by His love? Do we feel the need to express our gratitude to Him who gave us the give of love, peace and grace?

THANKFUL and GRATEFUL

After the lovely day I had yesterday, I can honestly say that I am both thankful and grateful. The meal that was prepared was beautifully prepared and the love around the table was warm and comforting, completely unlike the so-called family shows we see on television.

One of my favorite family quotes is this one, "The family is one of nature's masterpieces." Which is attributed to George Santayana and I agree with this quotation wholeheartedly.

How sad that our children are being taught that all families are filled with angst and to be "trapped" in the house with them for a day is tantamount to torture. Even the film reviews that I read listing the picks and pans of holiday movies offer their choices up as excellent opportunities to escape from family over Thanksgiving weekend.

Parents have their jobs cut out for them in battling the messages sent to their kids that are brainwashing them into believing that the people who love them most are at best ridiculous and laughable and at worst, downright intolerable. Why do we as consumers allow paid advertising and television programming to diminish the importance of family?

All we can do is to reinforce the belief that family is something to be both grateful and thankful for and that if someone tries to tell them otherwise then THEY are laughable and pathetic NOT our family members.

Return to Motivational Inspirational Posters Poems and Quotes to find my thoughts and quotes on being both thankful and grateful.

Mind Your Own Business Quotes and Sayings

Since I made my first post on this subject some of the mind your own business quotes and sayings that have been posted as comments have literally cracked me up! I'm relatively certain that the circumstances in which these statements were delivered were less than humorous but one or two of them were hilarious.

"If it's not your tail don't be wagging it."


This saying that I would like to focus on today has to do with breaking the bad habit of gossiping. So many people say the peace and productivity in their workplace was totally destroyed by office gossip. It only takes one worker with a loose tongue and a mean spirit to reduce a team into utter turmoil. It's the brave soul who is willing to nip malicious gossip around the water cooler in the bud by sharing a few mind your own business quotes and sayings before things get completely out of hand.

Bad news travels fast but juicy gossip knows no limits. Consider that your affairs may be the next topic of discussion the next time you are tempted to stir the pot or better yet, gently advise a co-worker that gossiping is never a good idea.