“Every time I think of you, I thank my God.” – Paul, to the church of the Philippians.
But do we?
Because I know that I can very easily slip up on showing thankfulness to and for the many things that God has placed into my life, I thought there also my be a chance that you might do that as well.
So, for the next few weeks, we’re going to dwell in thankfulness for just a few of the many things that God has blessed us with and I bet that you have/are blessed by the same things!
Being thankful physically rewires the brain to lower stress hormones like cortisol, improves sleep, and boosts feel-good neurotransmitters (dopamine/serotonin), leading to higher happiness and lower anxiety. Spiritually, it fosters peace, deepens connections with others, and helps individuals find meaning by focusing on positive outcomes rather than just hardships.
So let’s get after it!
Today, I remember my editors and I thank God for them.
I need an editor. Not just for these devotions, which usually contain spelling errors, incorrect words and grammar nightmares, but for life.
An editor’s role is to be part of your team and make suggestions for you on what you put out into the world. They are supportively corrective. They have your best interest at heart but aren’t afraid to call you out.
Jesus was The Editor for the disciples. Time after time, they missed his points and needed loving correction for the kingdom of God they were putting out into the world. In Mark’s gospel, we heard the story of the crew walking along and arguing about who was the greatest among them. That needed some correction! So Jesus pulls some children into the mix (some of the “least of these” in that time and day) and says: “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”
Who have been the editors in your life? Can you think back to some key corrections they helped you make?
Who is editing you now? And are you receptive to what they are encouraging you to change and who they are encouraging you to become?
And if you’re reflecting on this and realize you don’t have an editor right now, who can you invite to play that role in your life today? Maybe Jesus can play part (or a larger part) of that role as you read Scripture and worship in community?
As imperfect humans, we make spelling and grammar errors all the time. And I don’t just mean in our writings.
May we be open to the editors in our lives, and thank God for them. Amen. Still in One Peace, PS
ps from ps”Every time I think of you, I thank my God.” – Paul, to the church of the Philippians.
But do we?
Because I know that I can very easily slip up on showing thankfulness to and for the many things that God has placed into my life, I thought there also my be a chance that you might do that as well.
So, for the next few weeks, we’re going to dwell in thankfulness for just a few of the many things that God has blessed us with and I bet that you have/are blessed by the same things!
Being thankful physically rewires the brain to lower stress hormones like cortisol, improves sleep, and boosts feel-good neurotransmitters (dopamine/serotonin), leading to higher happiness and lower anxiety. Spiritually, it fosters peace, deepens connections with others, and helps individuals find meaning by focusing on positive outcomes rather than just hardships.
So let’s get after it!
Today, I remember those that nurtured me, and I thank God for them.
Hopefully, you had a chance this weekend to celebrate a mom-type or someone that played that sort of role in your life. Brunch. Flowers. No bickering at home. Dads/Kids making meals. The whole thing.
But I know that this day brings up loss and grief as well. It’s a mixed bag for many. I celebrated my step mother, but grieved the loss of my mom and mother-in-law. And many of you are in the same boat.
And also hard for those wanting children or the one-in-four women that lost children during their pregnancy. So much of life are these bittersweet and sacred moments.
Which makes thankfulness even more important.
“So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the child lying in the manger.” – Luke 2:16. Jesus’ earthly story started out with being nurtured by Mary and Joseph. Did he celebrate her on Mother’s Day? (Joseph sort of got gypped on Father’s Day, right?). But from what little we know in the Biblical story about Jesus’ younger days, they both played a role in nurturing him.
And since there was no Dad’s or Mom’s Day, I wonder if Jesus recognized them for that nurturing. I would guess so considering we know he checked in with thankfulness to his Heavenly Father.
So, will we?
Who has nurtured you that you can reach out to with thankfulness? Beyond parents or parental figures, who can you write to or call and just share some gratitude for their care?
And if that person is no longer with us, what attributes of their care-style can we be thankful for and share those same things with those in our charge and reach?
This week, may we be thankful for all those that nurtured us.
Every time I think of those that nurtured me, I thank my God. Amen. Still in One Peace, PS
ps from ps – – “those that taught me””Every time I think of you, I thank my God.” – Paul, to the church of the Philippians.
But do we?
Because I know that I can very easily slip up on showing thankfulness to and for the many things that God has placed into my life, I thought there also my be a chance that you might do that as well.
So, for the next few weeks, we’re going to dwell in thankfulness for just a few of the many things that God has blessed us with and I bet that you have/are blessed by the same things!
Being thankful physically rewires the brain to lower stress hormones like cortisol, improves sleep, and boosts feel-good neurotransmitters (dopamine/serotonin), leading to higher happiness and lower anxiety. Spiritually, it fosters peace, deepens connections with others, and helps individuals find meaning by focusing on positive outcomes rather than just hardships.
So let’s get after it!
Today, I remember those that taught me, and I thank God for them.
I wasn’t always the greatest student. Or the most willing to be taught. That’s a tough combo.
I’m sure Jesus had a few of those characters as well. We continue to see him teaching the disciples and then correcting them and then teaching them again. And again. Maybe he and his level of patience were both other worldly?
Then there were many times when people were looking to be taught. Searching for it. Seeking him out. “Jesus went out again beside the sea; the whole crowd gathered around him, and he taught them.” (Mark 2:18). And he just sits with them and teaches them. Makes time. Makes space. Makes opportunity for growth. Learning.
I’m thankful for the teachers in my life that were contractually obligated or biologically connected to put up with me over the years. But I’m most thankful today for those that volunteered, took the extra time, sat with me, coached me, made space and created opportunity for growth. They were gifts for sure. Some recognized. And some quietly “sitting beside the sea” with me time and time again.
They are/were gifts from Jesus to teach me.
I invite you this week to reach out to one or more of them (if they are still in this earthly kingdom) and thank them. Share with them how their time with you was a blessing, maybe then, but certainly now. If you can’t reach out to them, thank them in prayer as the saints who’ve gone before us. And with that remembrance of your sacred time together, is it possible for you to channel that into a “sit by the sea” with someone else.
We all have been blessed by those that taught us life and faith
Lord, every time I think of those that taught me, I thank my God. Amen. Still in One Peace, PS
If you’ve ever tried to pick out one voice in a crowded room, you know how hard it can be. A restaurant full of conversations, an arena during a Sabres game, or the chaos of a family gathering—voices everywhere. Yet somehow a parent can hear their child call from across the room. Something about that voice cuts through the noise.In John 10, Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice.” It’s a comforting image, but it’s also a challenge. Because the truth is, our world is full of voices competing for our attention. Voices telling us what success looks like. Voices telling us what we should fear. Voices telling us we never quite have enough, never quite are enough.Jesus names another voice in the passage—the thief. The thief steals joy, drains hope, and convinces us life is smaller than it really is. But Jesus says he came for the opposite reason: “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”Abundant life isn’t just about having more stuff or fewer problems. When we look at the early church in Acts, we see what it looks like. People sharing what they had. Eating together. Supporting each other. Faith lived out in community rather than isolation.And the good news is that the shepherd doesn’t call to us from far away. Jesus walks with us through the valleys too—the moments of suffering, uncertainty, and healing. The shepherd stays close. He’s in the room.So maybe the spiritual task for today is simple: pause long enough to listen. In the middle of all the other voices, the shepherd is still calling out with love.And when we learn to recognize that voice, we discover the life God intends for us—fullness present, tangible hope, and grace incarnate.Lord, I’m listening. Amen
ps from psI forget people’s names a lot. I’ve either (a) maxed out the number of people’s names I’m allowed to retain, (b) killed off two many brain cells at Bills tailgates or (c) getting old and experiencing some memory loss. Or maybe a combination of all three.
It’s frustrating when someone is standing right next to you and you know you know them from somewhere, but not sure where and are too afraid to talk. Sometimes I’m out in the world and sitting right next to someone that I know and don’t even realize they are there. I’m either distracted, on my phone, deep in thought or spaced out and I don’t even see them.
It happened to the disciples too. Except they had a valid excuse. Jesus, their mentor, rabbi and savior, had just died. All their expectations had just been shattered. And while they walked to the town down the road, the risen Jesus walks right up to them and they didn’t know who he was. They can’t blame Bills tailgates, but they can blame grief, confusion and hopelessness.
The story continues that Jesus shares the whole Biblical plan with them, gets invited to their house, while there breaks bread and communes with them and only then do they figure out who he is.
And then they say one of my favorite phrases in Scripture: “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking with us on the road?”
Jesus didn’t wait for them to recognize him before he walked with them and communed them. He didn’t shame and say “don’t you dopes know who I am?” He just walked along side them in their grief.
Were not our hearts burning?
Not only do I struggle with names, I struggle with seeing God in live time. During wars. During crazy verbal fights between Presidents and Popes. During the loss of really good young people who die too soon. During the super hard moments of life.
But in every instance, when I pause, pray, commune and reflect, I can see that I never went through the toughest moments of life alone. God was on that rough road with me. Sometimes it was a short walk and sometimes it was a damn long dangerous superhighway. But I wasn’t walking alone.
Were not our hearts burning?
Wherever you walk today, you are not alone. Wherever you take your confusion, grief and shattered expectations, you are not alone. No matter how long this road looks to be, you are not alone.
May your hearts burn in live time today to recognize Jesus walking with you.
Lord, thanks for finding me on the road. AmenStill in One Peace, PS
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