‘Tis the Season to Give Thanks: For My Tomorrows

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever.

Psalm 136:1

As I am continuing to live a full, complete, and happy life, I find that I get really concerned over the state of the world; our nation in particular. I take action on issues that I feel strongly about and try to take a Christian stand on the popular issues of the day. I keep up with politics, government, financial, and social issues. It seems to me that our country is being lead further and further away from Lord and his teachings.

But you know, I don’t lay awake and worry about things like that. I do what I can and turn the rest over to the Lord. As I study history, I am reminded that our world has always been a fallen world, but the prince of this world, Satan, is already a defeated foe. Whatever he does in this world is temporary. It will not last. Jesus Christ and His Love will endure forever.

I have been around long enough to see with my own eyes that politicians and their agendas will be here today and gone tomorrow, but the Lord and His Word will last through eternity. I do not want the United States to have to be disciplined by God, but if that happens, it will be to lead our country back to the Lord.  Just as a child needs to be disciplined to develop properly, so must countries at times. God will still be around for His people if that ever happens.

We have so much to be grateful for. The United States has been blessed like no other nation, ever. And I, for one, am going to be thankful for what we have and the opportunities that come to us to lead lives dedicated to God. I am going to thank him every day of my life and trust my tomorrows to Him. He has never failed me! He is good, and His love endures forever!

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for your enduring love! Thank you. Thank you.

Pat Eppler                                                                                                     

‘Tis the Season to Give Thanks: For My Past

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

1 Peter 1:6-7

My life has had its share of problems and trials, as have most of yours. We have struggled with family problems that threatened our marriage, with financial trials, as well as illnesses and deaths. No one is exempt. Everyone has trials and heartaches.

During one of my darkest times, I latched on to something that Barbara Johnson, a noted Christian author and speaker said in her book, Where Does A Mother Go to Resign. She said, rather tongue-in-cheek I suspect, that her favorite Bible verse is, “and it came to pass”. . . .  I thought about this and decided she was right! It all does come to pass: our troubles and our trials.  They either end and pass by here on earth, or we go to our Heavenly Home and they definitely end and pass by in that case!

In the ‘80’s we were starting a new family business and putting our two boys through college.  Interest rates were up around 22% which was back-breaking to young entrepreneurs.  Every time we had tuition due, or bills accumulated that absolutely had to be paid, we usually had no idea how we were going to do it.  But we kept plugging along, tithing our little income and somehow, in some way, money became available for our needs. Definitely not our wants, but our most basic needs. The lessons learned then help me not worry about all that is going on now in our country.

In the 90’s our oldest son died with a horrible disease. I questioned God, and shouted at him, and got very angry with him, but it “came to pass.” Now I can look back in gratitude and absolute certainty that God was with me then, is with me now, and will always be with me.

Thank you Lord Jesus for my past and your lessons learned from it!

Pat Eppler   

‘Tis the Season to Give Thanks: For Gifts of Gratitude and Praise

Praise be to the Lord, for he has heard my cry for mercy. The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy,  and I will give thanks to him in song.

Psalm 28:6-7

In my quest for becoming more what God wants me to be, I have been focusing not only on the spiritual side, but the physical side. I have finally found the will (been given by God, I am convinced) to work on my weight and physical well-being that too often have been pushed aside in my life.

I am a searcher and researcher by nature. This week I found help and God’s wisdom in the strangest place: a blog by a body builder/health guru named Shaun Hadsall. He has given me permission to use his column. He is obviously a dedicated Christian family man, evidenced by his writing and the scripture he quoted in his article. I will paraphrase and summarize his words:

What Keeps Us From Getting Our Dream Body and Being Truly Happy? 1. Looking for happiness in all the wrong places. 2. Envy. 3. A sense of Entitlement and 4. Lack of Gratitude. The last one is the BIGGIE and it’s where our secret to happiness lies because it’s impossible to be grateful and unhappy at the same time.

So if you are “unhappy” all you have to do is focus on gratitude. Studies PROVE that gratitude helps you sleep better, fight off cravings, relieve stress, stimulate the pleasure center of your brain; that GRATITUDE is the closest thing to a “Magic Pill” for happiness you can take. The very LEAST you can do is take out a notebook and write down a list of everything you’re grateful for and read through it every day. Then thank God for every blessing in your life! Our creator knew this about us and gave us the instructions in His Word. 

Thank you loving God, for giving us such good advice in Your Word and for also finding it in the most unlikely places at times.

Pat Eppler

‘Tis the Season to Give Thanks: For Everything

Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Last year in my prayer journal I decided to find five things every day for which I was thankful.  I thought that I would run out of things after a month or two, but I was surprised.  Five things just popped into my mind every morning as I wrote in my journal. 

At first it was my family, named one by one, then my friends, my blessings (which were many and varied) and physical things. As the days unfolded, strange things began to crop up in my mind, such as my character flaws. What was this? How could I be thankful for things that are wrong with me? As I thought about this, though, I realized that seeing myself as others saw me gave me a completely different perspective on things.

I could see others around me in different ways:  less judgmental and certainly with more kindness and consideration. I began, and I mean in tiny, little beginning steps, to see others as Jesus must see them. Then a ray of understanding hit me. God was revealing me to myself and showing me how he would like me to change!

I began to thank God for the irritations, hurts, wounds, and sorrows that are part of all our lives. If God allowed these things to come into my life, he surely must have planned on using them some way, either for my good or His Glory. This is a hard process and not at all one that I have mastered. I absolutely do not mean that I have become expert at this. I am learning day by day, in many small ways. I am a work in progress and have a long, long road ahead. But I rejoice in what is happening to me.

Loving Father, keep working to mold me more and more in your likeness and help me to always rejoice, to talk to you continually and to always thank you for what you are doing in me.

Pat Eppler 

‘Tis the Season to Give Thanks: For God’s Beautiful World

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 
Psalm 19:1

Have you seen the leaves this fall? They are absolutely breathtaking in their color. It has been several years since I have seen them turn so magnificently brilliant. I suppose it could be because it has rained more than in some years. Whatever the reason, God is putting on quite a show this year.

Yesterday the weather was sunny and balmy and just shouted to everyone, “Get out here and enjoy this show!  It is God’s special gift to you this year.”  My husband answered that call by going to the golf course and playing golf with friends. I just sat and looked out at my yard and our neighborhood, enjoying the view. The panorama was breathtaking.

Later this week I plan to get a friend and drive out to the lake, taking the winding, twisty, narrow roads to really savor the views. Of course my trusty little camera will also come along so I can record something of this beauty to savor when winter finally arrives.

I also stopped for a moment to thank God for his handiwork. By him and through him all things came into being. The laws of nature were set in place by him and the seasons are ordered by him.

Since Thanksgiving is coming soon, my mind and heart have been turning to God even more than usual in gratitude and thanksgiving. My prayers are not long at all. Just a few words with a smile in God’s direction. Have you thanked him recently?

Help us remember, gracious Father, who set our world in place and sustains it.

Pat Eppler