I know you were expecting Thanksgiving and you will probably get that, thanks I mean. On Thanksgiving you will either be cooking or eating someone else’s cooking and you will be thankful for your meal. I know I will because I will be doing the eating part and not the cooking part (thank you Linda.).
True story when I first got married I decided to do the whole traditional Thanksgiving meal, so I bought the turkey, got completely nauseous having to take the bag of gook out of the turkey and then read the directions to wash the turkey. I literally washed the turkey with soap. You see now why I let my friend Linda cook.
Some people will go around the table and share what their thankful for or some other family traditions. I like to have baked ziti no matter what holiday it is. Some people will be feeding the less fortunate and helping them to have a good day. Some of you will park in front of the TV with your jeans undone watching all the football games and be thankful that it’s a day you won’t have to explain why you’re watching TV all day. Hopefully we will give thanks to God for all the blessings He has given us and most of all to Jesus for what He did on the cross. There are a lot of things that will happen on Thanksgiving, good things, treasured things, expected things. At the end of the day you will be thankful for it and most likely thank the person or people you shared it with then you’ll go back to your world and Thanksgiving will be just a memory until next year.
I decided to start this Holiday by looking into what the Bible has to say about thanks. I also decided to find the original Greek meaning of the word so I looked it up. Thanks Greek root word yaw-daw’ - especially to revere or worship (with extended hands) intensely to bemoan (by wringing hands)
That has a much more intense meaning than just your common thanks.
For example:
I really don’t like turning left, I don’t know what it is, if I have to pick between going right or left I will always pick right. I know God was messing with me about this the other day, He does that you know. I was going to a store and I had to use my GPS because I’m still learning the roads here and it said turn right at the light. I was actually glad that I was going right and didn’t have to turn left. So I turn right and immediately the GPS says “make a U-Turn” it was going to make me go left anyway. I was like what the heck. The only thing worse than making a left at a light is making a left on a busy road and you are at the mercy of the other crazy drivers to let you out. When a nice person finally does I’m grateful, wave the official “thank you wave” and move on. I’m thankful they let me out but I don’t spend the rest of my day being grateful. Ya know what I mean? I don’t get to work and through out the day stop and think, I am so thankful that guy let me turn left today. I don’t think about it at all.
When I say thank you to someone I know I am not feeling all the emotion the Greek word implies. Wringing hands? You know when someone is so overcome with emotion and they are wringing their hands, that’s the magnitude of this word thanks in the Bible.
Now let’s look at Thanksgiving, Greek root word to-daw’ - adoration specifically a choir of worshipers, confession, sacrifice of praise, thanks.
A choir of worshipers.
So basically if we had a biblical Thanksgiving Day it would be children of God so filled with emotion, gratitude and thanks that we would literally be wringing our hands or lifting them up to the Heavens praising our Lord like a choir of worshipers. WOW!!!
I pray this Thanksgiving with all our traditions we will make a commitment to have gratitude for all God does for us 365 days a year and that we will be truly grateful for the sacrifice God made in order for us to have Jesus Christ. I pray that we will be so grateful that we will follow Christ command to love others, that we will offer a sacrifice of praise by scarifying our time and agenda to bless someone else.
1 Corinthians 8:3 But if one loves God truly [with affectionate reverence, prompt obedience, and grateful recognition of His blessing], he is known by God [recognized as worthy of His intimacy and love, and he is owned by Him]. Amplified Bible
I want to be owned by God!!! Happy Gratitude Day gems, and Thanksgiving too :)
Gena’s Jewels
Gena's Jewels Keeper of The Testimony available on Amazon
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Let's Talk Poop
I talked to my 4 year old grandson on the phone today and he asked if I knew what Holy Ghost wind was and I said no. He said it’s when the Holy Ghost farts, he then laughed hysterically. I had never thought about the Holy Ghost farting…
What is it about kids and bodily functions? They love talking about them, especially poop. Walk up to any group of preschoolers and just say poop and they will all start giggling.
One day I was playing outside with Lucas (he was 3 at the time) and when we were done I told him I was going home to go to the bathroom. It was a really nice day so most neighbors were outside doing their thing and Lucas waits till I get a couple of houses down from his and he yells really loud “NANA WHERE ARE YOU GOING?” mind you I told him where I was going. I yell back, not quite as loud, “home” he responds “WHY?” I respond “cause I have to go to the bathroom” Lucas says “ARE YOU GONNA POOP?” all my neighbors seem to look at me, and I yell back “NO!” but the truth is I was gonna poop. I got embarrassed and lied right there in public, like none of my neighbors poop.
You may be asking yourself where is she going with this. Good question.
Let’s talk poop. Right now the poop is hitting the fan in some people’s lives. They are going through some really tough times, some self induced some not. The thing is we don’t want to talk about it. Like no one else has bad times. Why is that?
One reason is you mention your poop to the wrong person and they’ll start yelling about it to everyone and you get embarrassed or ashamed because you don’t want everyone knowing your poop. So now not only do you stink but everyone knows it.
We don’t have to worry if we’re Christians because you know if you got poop we’re here to help you clean it up right?
Oh how I wish that were true but as you know it’s not.
We have worked hard at becoming who people think we are and we don’t want to ruin that. So we either lie to ourselves or the people around us until one day the poop hits the fan and you have no choice but to deal with it.
Proverbs 12:9 better to be a nobody and yet have a servant than pretend to be somebody and have no food.
I think people who pretend to be a somebody are people who think their poop doesn’t stink. We all mess up, the more the poop the bigger the clean up. But it’s at the moment that the poop hit’s the fan that our true colors show. Is our talk about love, mercy, forgiveness and grace true or are we full of poop?
I think the only thing the devil loves more than when we screw up is when our so called church family treats us like poop.
Proverbs 12:18 reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
I pray we will be there for each other in times of need. It’s when we stink the most that we need each other the most. We need healing so we can get through a dark time in our life and if we confess and repent than no one but God is allowed to bring up the poop.
Isaiah 43:25 “I even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake and remembers your sins no more.”
Gems, if we’re not part of the healing we’re part of the poop.
Don’t talk poop.
Gena’s Jewels
What is it about kids and bodily functions? They love talking about them, especially poop. Walk up to any group of preschoolers and just say poop and they will all start giggling.
One day I was playing outside with Lucas (he was 3 at the time) and when we were done I told him I was going home to go to the bathroom. It was a really nice day so most neighbors were outside doing their thing and Lucas waits till I get a couple of houses down from his and he yells really loud “NANA WHERE ARE YOU GOING?” mind you I told him where I was going. I yell back, not quite as loud, “home” he responds “WHY?” I respond “cause I have to go to the bathroom” Lucas says “ARE YOU GONNA POOP?” all my neighbors seem to look at me, and I yell back “NO!” but the truth is I was gonna poop. I got embarrassed and lied right there in public, like none of my neighbors poop.
You may be asking yourself where is she going with this. Good question.
Let’s talk poop. Right now the poop is hitting the fan in some people’s lives. They are going through some really tough times, some self induced some not. The thing is we don’t want to talk about it. Like no one else has bad times. Why is that?
One reason is you mention your poop to the wrong person and they’ll start yelling about it to everyone and you get embarrassed or ashamed because you don’t want everyone knowing your poop. So now not only do you stink but everyone knows it.
We don’t have to worry if we’re Christians because you know if you got poop we’re here to help you clean it up right?
Oh how I wish that were true but as you know it’s not.
We have worked hard at becoming who people think we are and we don’t want to ruin that. So we either lie to ourselves or the people around us until one day the poop hits the fan and you have no choice but to deal with it.
Proverbs 12:9 better to be a nobody and yet have a servant than pretend to be somebody and have no food.
I think people who pretend to be a somebody are people who think their poop doesn’t stink. We all mess up, the more the poop the bigger the clean up. But it’s at the moment that the poop hit’s the fan that our true colors show. Is our talk about love, mercy, forgiveness and grace true or are we full of poop?
I think the only thing the devil loves more than when we screw up is when our so called church family treats us like poop.
Proverbs 12:18 reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
I pray we will be there for each other in times of need. It’s when we stink the most that we need each other the most. We need healing so we can get through a dark time in our life and if we confess and repent than no one but God is allowed to bring up the poop.
Isaiah 43:25 “I even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake and remembers your sins no more.”
Gems, if we’re not part of the healing we’re part of the poop.
Don’t talk poop.
Gena’s Jewels
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Bird Assignment
I started working at a printing company a few weeks ago and things did not begin very well for me. Just the whole getting into the work groove was a bit of an adjustment and the people I was with were not the nicest to put it nicely. I was not used to working in such a hostile environment and I’ll be honest at first I cried out to the Lord ’NOOOOOO! Let’s go back home to you and me again.”
The first few weeks were tough and I really didn’t want to work there. I’m a people person and organization is not my strong suit, ask anyone I have worked for. I like to blab and don’t like being in one spot all day and here I am working in an office as an administrative assistant. It was like putting a square peg in a round hole. I said to the Lord "I appreciate having a job but how can I reach people for you when they don’t seem to like me and I’m stuck at a desk all day?" I know it’s hard to believe that someone might not like me. :)
I was complaining to the Lord one morning on my drive to work and as I was passing an open field I noticed a bunch of white birds eating. As I got closer I realized there were black birds mixed in I just didn’t notice them from a distance because the white ones were so bright. The Lord told me this is how we, His children, are supposed to be. Even if we are working in a hostile environment or among non believers the light should always outshine the darkness. He reminded me that a pitch black room doesn’t stay that way if you light even the smallest candle. Petty much He was telling me to suck it up and go shine.
I apologized to the Lord for being such a wimp and not being more grateful.
I was still feeling bad that I had to, what I felt, waste 8 hours a day doing silly paperwork when there was Kingdom work that needed to be done. God showed me my problem wasn’t the job it was my mindset. He told me I needed to stop thinking of it as a job and start thinking of it as an assignment. Kind of like that old TV show Touched by An Angel, the Angels showed up at an assignment did their work then moved on. This was what God was going to do with me. I know this is not a place I will stay forever but while I’m here I need to help change some peoples forever’s. This was so comforting to me and it really did change my whole attitude. I liked being on an assignment much better than being on a job.
I figured I would start with the kill them with kindness approach and that did start the ball rolling but it was still slow getting opportunities to talk about my sweet Jesus. But God is faithful and eventually opportunities opened here and there and I was beginning to give some testimony. I was happy with this small result and then once again God blew my mind.
Before I tell you how He did that I want to tell you how I got this job. As you know I moved to the Tampa area and when I first got here my youngest daughter and I joined a soup kitchen ministry feeding the homeless once a week. We were living with very dear friends Cathy and Fritz and I mentioned to them that the Lord wanted me to publish Gena’s Jewels and I asked if they knew anyone in the printing industry. Fritz said there was a man at our church who owned a printing company. So for the next few weeks I was trying to figure out who this man was. Finally I asked Fritz to point him out and he said “what are you talking about, you see him every week at the homeless ministry.” I had been driving to the homeless site for weeks with the very man that owned the printing company and had no idea. God just cracks me up. So I ask Bill, the owner of the company, about printing the book. He tells me to call his office for an appt and he would take a look at it. So the next week I head to his office and as I’m driving I ask the Lord how I’m going to pay for the book. I can’t expect this man to work for free and I have been out of work for over a year and had no money to pay for it. I starting praying and asking God to show me what to do, I thought maybe I could clean Bill’s office or something, you know do a barter type thing. The Lord told me not to worry about His job. I met Bill and after we got things settled and I was ready to leave the Holy Spirit prompted me to pray for him so I did. As soon as I finished praying Bill looked at me and said “are you looking for a job by any chance?” He said he hadn’t hired anyone in a long time and business was slow but he felt like he should ask me. I just smiled and said “as a matter of fact I am.” Doesn’t God just blow your mind? When He has a plan all you have to do is go where He tells you and He will do the rest. OK, now back to our story.
So I’m walking to the back of the factory praying and thanking God for the opportunities He has given me to share, even if they were small, and I get to where they put the books together and there’s my book being worked on. I was so excited I about screamed. Once I got myself together I stopped by the ladies who were working on it and they started asking me questions about the book and before you know it I’m doing my favorite thing in the whole world, telling God stories. I gave them my testimony of how God brought me to Tampa and how I got the job and how good God is, it was awesome. The next day I’m in the break room and one of the guys from the back walks in and tells me he’s reading my book and the two other guys in the room start asking what it’s about!
I had once again underestimated my sweet Jesus. He didn’t just send me to this place to have the book printed He sent me there so the people I was working with could read Gena’s Jewels. They would have pages of testimony of our great God and could ask me questions right on the spot. Is God good or what!!!!
Here again was another reason the Lord sent me to Tampa. He moved me here to the very place He wanted His book published and to the very people He wants saved.
Every place God puts us is an opportunity to further the kingdom. You are never somewhere by accident.
So remember wherever you are working or whoever you’re around right now be the white bird. Stand out and know you’re on an assignment.
Gena’s Jewels
The first few weeks were tough and I really didn’t want to work there. I’m a people person and organization is not my strong suit, ask anyone I have worked for. I like to blab and don’t like being in one spot all day and here I am working in an office as an administrative assistant. It was like putting a square peg in a round hole. I said to the Lord "I appreciate having a job but how can I reach people for you when they don’t seem to like me and I’m stuck at a desk all day?" I know it’s hard to believe that someone might not like me. :)
I was complaining to the Lord one morning on my drive to work and as I was passing an open field I noticed a bunch of white birds eating. As I got closer I realized there were black birds mixed in I just didn’t notice them from a distance because the white ones were so bright. The Lord told me this is how we, His children, are supposed to be. Even if we are working in a hostile environment or among non believers the light should always outshine the darkness. He reminded me that a pitch black room doesn’t stay that way if you light even the smallest candle. Petty much He was telling me to suck it up and go shine.
I apologized to the Lord for being such a wimp and not being more grateful.
I was still feeling bad that I had to, what I felt, waste 8 hours a day doing silly paperwork when there was Kingdom work that needed to be done. God showed me my problem wasn’t the job it was my mindset. He told me I needed to stop thinking of it as a job and start thinking of it as an assignment. Kind of like that old TV show Touched by An Angel, the Angels showed up at an assignment did their work then moved on. This was what God was going to do with me. I know this is not a place I will stay forever but while I’m here I need to help change some peoples forever’s. This was so comforting to me and it really did change my whole attitude. I liked being on an assignment much better than being on a job.
I figured I would start with the kill them with kindness approach and that did start the ball rolling but it was still slow getting opportunities to talk about my sweet Jesus. But God is faithful and eventually opportunities opened here and there and I was beginning to give some testimony. I was happy with this small result and then once again God blew my mind.
Before I tell you how He did that I want to tell you how I got this job. As you know I moved to the Tampa area and when I first got here my youngest daughter and I joined a soup kitchen ministry feeding the homeless once a week. We were living with very dear friends Cathy and Fritz and I mentioned to them that the Lord wanted me to publish Gena’s Jewels and I asked if they knew anyone in the printing industry. Fritz said there was a man at our church who owned a printing company. So for the next few weeks I was trying to figure out who this man was. Finally I asked Fritz to point him out and he said “what are you talking about, you see him every week at the homeless ministry.” I had been driving to the homeless site for weeks with the very man that owned the printing company and had no idea. God just cracks me up. So I ask Bill, the owner of the company, about printing the book. He tells me to call his office for an appt and he would take a look at it. So the next week I head to his office and as I’m driving I ask the Lord how I’m going to pay for the book. I can’t expect this man to work for free and I have been out of work for over a year and had no money to pay for it. I starting praying and asking God to show me what to do, I thought maybe I could clean Bill’s office or something, you know do a barter type thing. The Lord told me not to worry about His job. I met Bill and after we got things settled and I was ready to leave the Holy Spirit prompted me to pray for him so I did. As soon as I finished praying Bill looked at me and said “are you looking for a job by any chance?” He said he hadn’t hired anyone in a long time and business was slow but he felt like he should ask me. I just smiled and said “as a matter of fact I am.” Doesn’t God just blow your mind? When He has a plan all you have to do is go where He tells you and He will do the rest. OK, now back to our story.
So I’m walking to the back of the factory praying and thanking God for the opportunities He has given me to share, even if they were small, and I get to where they put the books together and there’s my book being worked on. I was so excited I about screamed. Once I got myself together I stopped by the ladies who were working on it and they started asking me questions about the book and before you know it I’m doing my favorite thing in the whole world, telling God stories. I gave them my testimony of how God brought me to Tampa and how I got the job and how good God is, it was awesome. The next day I’m in the break room and one of the guys from the back walks in and tells me he’s reading my book and the two other guys in the room start asking what it’s about!
I had once again underestimated my sweet Jesus. He didn’t just send me to this place to have the book printed He sent me there so the people I was working with could read Gena’s Jewels. They would have pages of testimony of our great God and could ask me questions right on the spot. Is God good or what!!!!
Here again was another reason the Lord sent me to Tampa. He moved me here to the very place He wanted His book published and to the very people He wants saved.
Every place God puts us is an opportunity to further the kingdom. You are never somewhere by accident.
So remember wherever you are working or whoever you’re around right now be the white bird. Stand out and know you’re on an assignment.
Gena’s Jewels