WATCHWORD:
“O Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.” Psalm 95:1-3
“Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.” Psalm 100:4-5
“Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his love endures forever.” Psalm 118:29
“I will give thanks to you, LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.” Psalm 1:9
Meditation:
Cockeyed with Gratitude
Have you ever been cockeyed with gratitude? You know, when thankfulness fills your eyes with tears, and your heart is so full that it fair will burst, and all of your words are adjectives of grace and joy. Have you ever been that cockeyed with gratitude?
You know in a very real sense, I think that deep feeling of God’s presence produces all of that, so that even the smallest things in your life take on a shine, a glistening polish of newness even though it’s old, as old as you are, yet its new. It’s when you know that life is good. It’s when you know that there is so much more beyond what you have experienced, or what you will experience to the very end of this life. It is that knowledge that puts the simonize on life for you know there is so much more to come.
And as you contemplate that, you get cockeyed, and your smile simply doesn’t leave your face, or your heart. God’s blessings, sometimes inexpressible, often can only be felt, and, yet, you know whose you are. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Lord. Look at me, I’m cockeyed with gratitude.
My daughter, Beth, sent us this beautiful prose that inspired the cockeyed gratitude. Thank you, Billy Collins:
As If to Demonstrate an Eclipse
I pick an orange from a wicker basket
and place it on the table to represent the sun.
Then down at the other end
a blue and white marble becomes the earth
and nearby I lay the little moon of an aspirin.
I get a glass from a cabinet, open a bottle of wine,
then I sit in a ladder-back chair,
a benevolent god presiding over a miniature creation myth.
and I begin to sing a homemade canticle of thanks
for this perfect little arrangement,
for not making the earth too hot or cold
not making it spin too fast or slow
so that the grove of orange trees
and the owl become possible,
not to mention the rolling wave,
the play of clouds, geese in flight,
and the Z of lightning on a dark lake.
Then I fill my glass again
and give thanks for the trout,
the oak, and the yellow feather,
singing the room full of shadows,
as sun and earth and moon
circle one another in their impeccable orbits
and I get more and more cockeyed with gratitude.
Isn’t that grand, in a down-to-earth sort of way, with common words, yet uncommon thoughts of grace and gratitude. Even in our current circumstances there is reason, there is cause to brim-over with peace and love for the maker of the stars, our Lord and Savior. So be it.
Bulletin Board:
Review your prayer list, and renew your prayers. We all need them, along with our gratitude. Pray for renewed hope in each of us, hope to overcome our anxiety, our fears, our missing of loved ones.
Prayer:
Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:18
Lord, teach me to offer you a heart of thanksgiving and praise in all my daily experiences of life. Teach me to be joyful always, to pray continually and to give thanks in all my circumstances. I accept them as Your will for my life. I long to bring pleasure to Your heart daily. Break the power of the enemy in my life. Defeat Him through my sacrifice of praise. Change my outlook and attitude into one of joyful contentment with my present circumstances. I thank You, Lord.. Amen.
