On Thanksgiving Day, as we made the one-hour drive from our home to Nana’s house, I would read the entries, and we would pray together, thanking God for his many blessings.

The entries varied, from small and big things we were grateful for: our jobs, another cancer-free year, our home, the girls’ school, friends, and, of course, Jingle Bells, the girls’ beloved puppy.

It is certainly not challenging to exercise thanksgiving as we reflect on life’s blessings. When we reach the beginning of November in a year of good health and bounty, our hearts can easily sing songs of praise, for our “Thanksgiving jar” brims with reasons to thank God.

But, oh, how challenging Thanksgiving season becomes when trials and tribulations abound! When we reflect on a year filled with hardships, we find ourselves challenged with the type of thanksgiving that does not come naturally, but rather, it is either insincere or an expression of true and tested, mature faith.

When we reflect on a year filled with hardships, we find ourselves challenged with the type of thanksgiving that does not come naturally, but rather, it is either insincere or an expression of true and tested, mature faith.…
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Scriptures have several examples of men and women of God who pressed past their circumstances to praise God. From Genesis to Revelations, we find accounts where God’s leaders or ordinary characters praised God despite their troubles.

Among the many examples, two men, separated by six centuries, stand out as perfect examples of true faith regardless of one’s circumstances.

We find the first example in the book of Daniel in the New Testament when the prophet was confronted with a new royal decree by King Darius that prevented anyone from worshipping any god but the King. If caught worshipping other gods, the King would put the violator to death immediately.

When Daniel heard about the decree, the bible says his first reaction was to retrieve from the situation and go to his upper room. There, with windows open towards Jerusalem, Daniel “three times a day got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God.”

The other example is found around 62 A.D. when the apostle Paul wrote his “Joy Letter” to the believers in Philippi. These well-known verses, written by a man in prison with no apparent reason for gratitude, are at the forefront of many a sermon on prayer:

“Be anxious for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”

Be anxious for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. @AJC Philippians 4:6 #GiveThanks #Thanksgiving2021
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Earlier this week, when I spoke at a church’s Thanksgiving luncheon in north Atlanta, the audience was visibly curious when, after being introduced, I walked up to the stage carrying a chair, which I placed beside the pulpit from which I spoke. After delivering the message about the dangers of ingratitude, I challenged the audience with the concept of a “Thanksgiving Chair.”

With the beautiful examples of Daniel’s and Paul’s true thanksgiving in mind, I challenged my audience to set aside a chair in their home, where they would deliberately retreat to thank God for the good and the bad, the blessings and the challenges.

The “Thanksgiving Chair” is not meant to be a place of make-belief, where we thank God begrudgingly or pretend that our troubles disappeared. Instead, it is an invitation to retreat from circumstances that have the potential to rattle our hearts and deliberately look back to thank God for the many times he has rescued us, provided for us, and healed our wounds.

The Thanksgiving Chair is an invitation to retreat from circumstances that have the potential to rattle our hearts and deliberately look back to thank God for the many times he has rescued us, provided for us, and healed our wounds.…
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This Thanksgiving season, may we be challenged to take a moment to retreat to a “Thanksgiving Chair.” Whether our glass jar overflows with blessings or sorrows, may the One who works all things together for his children’s good and his glory fill us with genuine gratitude and unshakeable faith.

The post Pull Up a Thanksgiving Chair {The Atlanta Journal-Constitution} appeared first on Soaring With Him Ministries.

The post When Anxiety is a Focus Issue {The Atlanta Journal-Constitution} appeared first on Soaring With Him Ministries.

One of the first posts I wrote, way back in the day, was a tongue in cheek article about anxiety. I can tease about myself but for most people struggling with anxiety it’s no laughing matter. It’s debilitating.

I gave a talk this summer in which I shared part of my story that had to do with panic and peace.

Two words as far from each other as the east is from the west.

For me, anxiety was just part of my life, my journey through this world. When I stepped off the stage I was taken aback at how many others were on a similar journey still seeking answers on how to daily win the battle with the beast.

As I read today’s lesson on mental health in Rick Warren’s  Transformed devotional, I was reminded of this familiar verse:

“Be anxious for nothing but in everything with prayer, petition, and thanksgiving, let your request be known to God and the peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hears and minds safe in Christ Jesus. Phil 4:6-7

For the longest time I didn’t do this verse well.

Let me get you up to speed. In case you didn’t catch it earlier,

I have a panic disorder.

There – I said it. Actually it’s not hard to say. Gone are the days where people whispered such things. And yes, I’ve had it since I was a little girl. I’m not sure where it came from. Maybe it’s in my genes, or perhaps it was the loud atmosphere in my childhood home. We were yellers. Lot’s of tension. Let’s just leave it at that.

Anxiety manifests itself differently in children than adults and it wasn’t until I was in college that I had my first full-blown panic attack. Although I didn’t recognize it as such. I just thought I might have a little bit of “crazy” in me.

Special isn’t it?

I’d have seasons of attacks separated by as much as a year or more. I remember before I got married thinking about how I was going to explain my “crazy” attacks to my future husband. But I didn’t have to. The stress of a new marriage brought them in to full view. Thank you Jesus! I mean really, thank you Jesus, because  I was able to get a proper diagnosis and solutions on how to cope.

Though now I could control the attacks for the most part (they make drugs for that,) generalized anxiety continued to plague me well into my early 40’s.

I knew the all familiar verse in Philippians quoted above but I didn’t know why it didn’t work for me.

Early on I started naming it and claiming it. I prayed it. I memorized it. I repeated it. I beat myself over the head with it, as if it was some kind of incantation that would work like magic.

But nothing. Not. A. Thing. Changed for me.

These were empty words on a lifeless page. I didn’t know how to apply the Word to my life.

That is, until the importance of my thought life and focus was explained to me. Yes, peace comes with an attitude of gratitude. But hear me when I say, this is not just about please and thank you. It’s about thanking God for something you can’t see and don’t know exists yet. It’s one thing to speak the words thank you, it’s quite another to feel them. In order to feel them you have to trust the One to whom they’re being given. And that requires a relationship.

As I drawn closer to Jesus, now I don’t just thank Him for what I can see, but I thank Him and trust Him for what I can’t—the place of anxiousness, the space I can’t control—the chasm between “Dear God, help me” and my last Amen. It’s there where the Power is at work. When we pray, God sets a plan into motion.

And peace comes with the belief… it is done.

It is finished— taken care of.

My worry was nailed to the cross 2,000 years ago. I can walk away and trust His will is better than mine. I can let Him work out what I can’t do and turn my focus on what I can.
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And that’s better than an incantation. More powerful than magic. And way better than a little crazy.

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Ever had a panic attack? It's pretty amazing the number of people who suffer from anxiety these days. @christy_mobley opens up about the subject on this week's #RechargeWednesday LINKUP party. JOIN US?
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The post A Little Bit of Crazy {Recharge Wednesday LINKUP} appeared first on Soaring With Him Ministries.

It had been a long time since I heard God speak in such a clear, unmistakable way.

It took me by surprise. Of all things He could have used to send me a message, He chose a bird. A plain, small backyard sparrow delivered a message that I will never forget.

It was 2002 and I was home with a small baby and an unemployed husband. In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of 2001, my husband’s job was eliminated only three months after the birth of our firstborn. Our savings were draining fast, and I was afraid.

I knelt by the couch in our family room and cried out to God. For the first time since my husband lost his job, I was transparent in my prayer:

“I’m scared. How are we going to pay the mortgage?”

Was God aware of the price of diapers and baby formula?

As I finished “informing” almighty God of all that was going on in our lives and our imminent needs, I felt a strong need to be quiet and wait for him to speak.

Silence filled the room and several moments passed by. I was about to give up when I heard it:

“Chirp!”

I looked up and saw the sparrow, sitting on the lounge chair outside my window. It seemed to be looking straight at me.

“Look at the birds of the air, Patricia. They do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet I feed them daily. Are you not worth much more than they?”

I knew where the words were printed: Straight from the Sermon of the Mount, one of Christianity’s most beloved passages. The sermon is the longest continuous section of Jesus speaking in the New Testament, and it includes some of Jesus’ most famous teachings, such as the Beatitudes, as well as the widely recited Lord’s Prayer.

In my Bible, the subtitle of this particular passage of the sermon is “The Cure for Anxiety,” a passage often quoted as a reminder that nothing escapes the omniscience of a loving and caring God.

This happened 15 years ago and I’ll never forget it. The question often replays in my mind when I see sparrows lining up on electric wires:

“Are you not worth more than these?”

Whether it’s unemployment, illness, or any other trial or need that we may face, the question remains. And although at times the magnitude of the trouble that assails us is such, that it becomes almost impossible to grasp this truth within our hearts, the answer never changes.

Yes. We’re worth more than those.

We’re the apple of His eye.

That’s Jesus’ point, really.

At the end of the passage, He invites us to, instead of fretting and worrying, seek God’s presence, His kingdom and righteousness …

And then let God be God.

The job didn’t come right away. As a matter of fact, my husband was out of a permanent job for 18 months at that time. But God kept sending small jobs here and there, and often provision came from unexpected places. We never missed a meal. God provided for each one of our needs, even if at the eleventh hour.

While walking through that desert and many others I’ve faced since then, “seeking His kingdom and righteousness” has become my main focus.

No, it’s not always easy. It’s often a struggle to believe past the hurt, pain and confusion. But just as He provided to that bird that joyfully chirped to a distressed young mother on a cold winter morning years ago, I choose to believe He will keep taking care of all my needs, protecting and guiding me through the hard times I face.

He’s done it so far.

Why would He not do it again?

This article was published on Patricia’s column for The Atlanta Journal Constitution on Saturday – August 5, 2017.

Anxious about tomorrow? A Small Sparrow... and a message I'll never forget. Read this!
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