Blog - Amelia McNeilly

31 Days of Thanksgiving – Day 16 – Ashley Murray

‌Sacrifice of Praise

Have you heard of the old gospel song “We Bring the Sacrifice of Praise”?

We bring the sacrifice of praise
Into the house of the Lord.
We bring the sacrifice of praise
Into the house of the Lord.

And we offer up to You
The sacrifices of thanksgiving;
And we offer up to You
The sacrifices of joy

These lyrics remind me of singing and clapping joyfully in my church growing up. I was confused by the almost flippant singing of this hymn that stated “sacrifice.” What two opposites this brings together – “sacrifice” and “praise.”

When thinking of how to contemplate “thanksgiving” I was drawn back to this song. It comes from a verse in Hebrews chapter 13 verse 15 which says, “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.” Let us unpack this verse together below.

“Through Jesus” – Let’s start there. It is through His strength and His knowledge that we can praise. Not working in our own strength or circumstances but instead having a power within us of faith and trust in Christ alone. If you do not know Him yet, know His power, He is inviting you to relationship with Him. If you do know Him, what is He asking you to for you to do “through” his name?

“Therefore, let us continually” – This word “continually” in the Greek comes from two words meaning “on account of” and “all.” Jesus is the underwriter on our account and gives us the energy for this continual work that we are required to give in this verse. As my pastor says “all means all, and that’s all, all means.” But in other words no one person, man, woman, nation is excluded – everyone can come and do what it is He is asking us to do.

“Offer to God” – We have something to offer, or bring, to an eternal, almighty being. This can excite and humble us as we think that there is anything that can be given to God. And what is it that we offer Him?

“A sacrifice of praise” – This is what we have to lift up before an almighty God – praise, or worship, is what we bring to the alter.

“The fruit of lips” – We have a gauge or a way to test what we are bringing in this offering to God. The fruit that we should see from our life is found in the final part of this verse.

“That openly profess his name” – A public declaration, an acknowledgement of Whose power we are working through, and an openness to say the name of Jesus. That is what fruit should come from our lives as we learn to praise Him.

Unpacking Hebrews 13:15 gives more of a context to what that old gospel song was proclaiming. This wording “sacrifice of praise” is personal to me in the culture that I live in.

My husband is an Army chaplain and we live in a military community. As a soldier, his body is property of the United States, he is required to deploy where they give orders to live and work, and there is an expectation of professionalism that is required of his actions and emotions. As a military family, my children and I have to allow for long absences of our soldier, move locations and leave friends when our assignment changes, and be prepared to complete many tasks on our own without the help of our service member. There certainly is sacrifice in the lifestyle we feel called to live, but it is through wonderful support of others who come alongside us that we find joy and can praise God through the exciting and stressful seasons of our ministry.

This military culture understands the word sacrifice. I would also say that the language of these soldiers and families is sacrifice. As a chaplain, my husband is able to come alongside and encourage families in this challenging environment for couples. Oftentimes breakthroughs in marriages come when the couple can begin to serve each other like they do the people around them. This service comes at a cost, as many memorials of names and flags can be seen across our country. However, the vast majority of our military and family members consider it a privilege and honor to serve. Our family always answers a person’s kind “thank you for your service” with “it’s our honor” because it truly is. It is a privilege to serve and I can find joy in releasing my husband for tours overseas in harms way because of the families we are helping by his leaving and because we know this is our calling as a family to proclaim Jesus to those hurting. When my daughter was younger I would tell her that it was daddy’s turn to go help so that another daddy or mommy could come home – they were taking turns so that they could see their families. This broader purpose brought empathy and connection with others that was a sacrifice of praise to those we were ministering to.

So, how about you? What acts of worship can you give our God in the everyday mundane and on the glorious platform (both of which God has given you to be faithful in)? Ultimately the view of Hebrews 13:15 is one of “a sacrifice of praise” in seeing God through our worship of Him, connected with fellow believers, and proclaiming the work of Christ to a dark world.

About the author:

Ashley Murray currently lives in DuPont, WA with her husband Jim and their three kids. She volunteers in various military ministries on Joint Base Lewis McChord and loves spending time with her husband and kids and serving the families that serve our country.

31 Days of Thanksgiving, Articles

31 Days of Thanksgiving – Day 15 – Bethany Wester

“Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.” – Psalm 136.1

Why is gratitude often elusive? Why do I find it all too easy to complain or wallow in self-pity? We all can find a reason to grumble or even defiantly refuse to be thankful, especially in difficult seasons. Disadvantaged childhoods, financial hardship, broken relationships, the death of a loved one, illness, broken dreams, war, poverty, natural disasters, corruption… We all suffer to varying degrees, and our afflictions can seem pointless. Gratitude can also escape me in the good times. I either focus on the minutiae, fussing about the areas where life isn’t perfect, or my pride gets the better of me and I think I’ve accomplished my pleasant circumstances on my own. In suffering or in plenty, the temptation is to look inward.

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Thankfulness is a consistent theme throughout the Bible. God’s people were and are to be a thankful people. The psalmists frequently issue a call to thanksgiving and declare decisively that they will give thanks. God even built a thanksgiving offering into the Old Testament sacrificial system. He insisted that his people give thanks where it was due. Even when their circumstances were less than ideal, they were to remember his goodness in the past and trust him to be faithful to his promises (Deuteronomy 5.15; Psalm 105).

Gratitude is volitional. It’s also a gift of grace. God calls us to give thanks to him, to look up from the brokenness and depravity around and in us and see the beauty of the One whose love is eternally constant. So Paul can encourage us to “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5.18).

Thankfulness in affliction helps me see God’s faithfulness in small things. It’s a tender mercy in a severe circumstance that moves my heart and mind beyond the temporal to the eternal to see my all-sufficient Savior who provides for every need.

Thankfulness in the mundane seasons of life humbles me and reminds me that I am not my own, again moving my vision from the temporal to the eternal. Complacency breeds ingratitude. I need to be grateful and remember that this world is not my home.

Ingratitude is easy because we and this world are imperfect, damaged by sin and suffering in the fallout, but God calls his people to remember what he has done and find hope in his promises of redemption and restoration. So, “I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High” (Psalm 9.1-2).

About the Author:

Bethany Wester a life-long Floridian who enjoys deep conversation, good books, classic movies, traveling, and Florida State football. She is passionate about Jesus, learning the truth of God’s word beside other women, and caring for women and families involved in unplanned pregnancies. Today is her parents’ 46th wedding anniversary, and she’s indescribably thankful for them.

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31 Days of Thanksgiving- Day 14 – Scott Hamilton

Below is a post from Scott Hamilton.

Many of you know Scott as an Olympic gold medalist in figure skating. Scott has an amazing story and testimony, and I am honored to have him guest posting on the blog today. I hope his words encourage you as they have me.

Gratitude comes in all shapes and sizes. It can come in quiet moments of reflection, or it can come with a win from your favorite hockey team in the Stanley Cup Finals.

For me, gratitude is inspired by so many memories. Being adopted by two amazing parents and the expert coaching I was given when I first laced up my skates. Later it would be for the medals I was able to win and the tests I was able to pass on the ice. None bigger than an Olympic Gold Medal. Why me? I often ask.

How could it be that with all the obstacles in my way I was able to break through and make a life for myself and family doing something I loved to do. And then there were the tough times. Ironically, these are the times I am most grateful for. My childhood illness that kept me in and out of hospitals for four years stunting my growth and development. It was only when I started skating that my health started to improve. Since I had very little development, every muscle I grew was built to make me a better skater without any excess baggage. Losing my mother to cancer is something I wrestle with everyday. Through the devastation of mourning my mother, I had the only choice to become the person she wanted me to be.

Through broken relationships, I was able to grow in new directions and build a life I never could have dreamed of.

On the ice, I estimate that I fell 41,600 times. Through each and every one of those falls I learned and grew stronger. And each time I fell, I simply and naturally got up. Looking back, I learned very little from my victories, but am grateful for every one. It was the failures and defeats that I most grateful for. I learned the most from them. God saw me through each and every painful moment in my life. Jesus’s words, obedience, and resurrection have given me hope like nothing else. And the Holy Spirit guiding me toward a brighter tomorrow allows great comfort, knowing I’m not nearly as lost as I could be.

Each breath we take has God in it. Every moment we experience is a gift. Each day is an opportunity.

Each expression of love changes the world in ways we cannot imagine. My gratitude has no boundaries.

About the Author: The most recognized male figure skating star in the world, Scott Hamilton has won 70 titles, awards and honors including an Emmy Award nomination, induction into the United States Olympic Hall of Fame and a privileged member of the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame.

In 1984, Scott captured the attention of the world with his Olympic Gold medal performances in Saravejo and since has shared his love and enthusiasm for the sport as a analyst/commentator, performer, producer and best-selling author (Landing It, 1999; The Great Eight, 2009. His third book, Finish First: Winning Changes Everything, will be released in February 2018). He further inspires others as a speaker, humanitarian, and as a cancer and pituitary brain tumor survivor.

After losing his mother to cancer, then becoming survivor himself, Scott turned activist, launching the Scott Hamilton CARES Foundation (Cancer Alliance for Research, Education and Survivorship. He founded several education and survivorship programs including Chemocare.com and the 4^th Angel Mentoring Program and events such as Sk8 to Elimin8 Cancer and An Evening with Scott Hamilton & Friends galas fund research into treatments that kill the cancer and spare the patient.

He is also the founder of the Scott Hamilton Skating Academy at Ford Ice Center in Antioch, TN, where he may frequently be found coaching Learn to Skate students and sharing his love of skating.

In what little free time remains, Scott can be found on the golf course and enjoys spending time with his wife Tracie and four children – at their home outside Nashville, Tennessee.

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31 Days of Thanksgiving – Day 13 – Jeanne Harrison

I used to picture “gratitude” kind of like a cheerleader. She was the bright-eyed emotion bouncing into the winning moments of my life:

“Hooray! Graduation at last—thank God!”
“Yes! A trip to the beach—I’m sooo grateful!”
“Oh thank goodness the baby is sleeping through the night!”

It wasn’t until the heartache of life began to line my eyes with wrinkles that I learned gratitude is no cheerleader. If she were, only the shallowest of people would celebrate her. But I’ve seen gratitude shining in the eyes of a mom who once buried her baby. I’ve heard gratitude flowing from the lips of a wife abandoned by her husband. I’ve watched gratitude showered over beautiful children born with devastating disabilities. And here on this blog, created by a woman battling the painful effects of cerebral palsy, I’ve discovered a stockpile of gratitude so vast it seeps out of every post.

[clickToTweet tweet=”It wasn’t until the heartache of life began to line my eyes with wrinkles that I learned gratitude is no cheerleader.” quote=”It wasn’t until the heartache of life began to line my eyes with wrinkles that I learned gratitude is no cheerleader.” theme=”style1″]

What is the secret to gratitude? For starters gratitude is a discipline, not an emotion. As believers we’re not called to feel gratitude so much as fight for it. “Give thanks in all circumstances,” Paul commands, “for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (I Thessalonians 5:18). If gratitude was a person, I imagine she wouldn’t be a cheerleader; she’d be a Crossfitter. You know those crazy people who train their bodies to defy human limitations? They endure agony in order to become beautifully strong. Truly grateful people train their hearts to defy worldly values—like popularity and appearance, comfort and materialism. They train their eyes to see God in the midst of suffering. To find grace in brokenness and promise beneath pain. In so doing, they become beautifully strong.

How do we undertake this kind of training? How do we discipline our hearts and minds to choose gratitude? We must look heavenward. You see, gratitude isn’t hiding in bulging bank accounts or romance-novel worthy relationships. Gratitude is the overflow of an eternal perspective. “Look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen,” Paul urges. “For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18). In other words, earthly circumstances are fleeting. Beach vacations end. Marriages fail. Doctors deliver difficult news. But the promises of Jesus last forever! They are a firm foundation, and the only soil fertile enough to grow gratitude in the midst of sorrow.

You know that trial in your life—the one that’s always on the back of your mind? Just for a moment, imagine cutting it out of the fabric of your daily life and pasting it into eternity. How can it harm you for eternity? Can it separate you from the unbreakable love of Jesus? Can it follow you into the next trillion years spent in His presence? Is it bigger than the God who spoke galaxies into existence? Is it beyond His ability to redeem?

By no means! As Paul would say, “this light momentary affliction is preparing for [you] an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17). As believers we must view our momentary trials in light of eternity. We must view the stuff that will vanish in light of the stuff that will be ours forever. And then, like Peter (and so many of my deeply grateful friends) our hearts will begin to cry:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you” (I Peter 1:3-4).

Let me tell you, this post was not written by a spiritual (or physical) Crossfitter. It was written by a weary Mom who’s prone to anxiety. A wife who’s quick to complain, and a Christian accustomed to failure. But that’s the beauty of gratitude. We don’t have to “feel it” to choose it. We don’t have to be “good at it” to cultivate it. Gratitude can be grown. It can be grown in sunny seasons, and it can be grown out of the deepest trials of our lives.

Praise God! Gratitude is ours for the taking.

About the Author:

Jeanne Harrison grew up as a missionary kid in the Philippines for the first fifteen years of her life. Today she is a regular blogger for Revive Our Hearts, and the author of Loving My Lot: A Young Mom’s Journey to Contentment and Hiding in the Hallway: Anchoring Yourself as an MK. Jeanne lives in Macon, Georgia, where her husband, Clint, serves as the Executive Pastor at a local church. Together they have four wild and wonderful daughters, ages 1, 3, 6 and 8.

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31 Days of Thanksgiving – Day 12 – Robert J. Morgan

According to Amazon, the most highlighted verse in their e-versions of the Bible is Philippians 4:6 – the Bible’s great anti-anxiety verse. Do you know it? It says: Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, let your requests be made known to God.

Actually, no, that’s not what it says. I left out two words. Let’s try it again: Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

The verse sounds reasonable either way, but the addition of “with thanksgiving,” adds a dimension that melts away worry like winter’s ice on a sunny day. No matter our crisis or concern, there are always notable items for which we can be thankful, and finding them is critical to worrying less and living more.

In any given situation, whether trivial or horrendous, there are always observable items we can discover and acknowledge with thanksgiving. If we don’t find those items, focus on them, and thank God for them, we cannot overcome anxiety. Gratitude is to worry what antibiotics are to an infection. The old practice of “counting our blessings” is an effective modern treatment for what’s ailing the mind. Giving thanks is essential to mental health.

The great Bible teacher, Harry Ironside, said, “We would worry less if we praised more. Thanksgiving is the enemy of discontent and dissatisfaction.”

[clickToTweet tweet=”Harry Ironside, said, “We would worry less if we praised more. Thanksgiving is the enemy of discontent…”” quote=”Harry Ironside, said, “We would worry less if we praised more. Thanksgiving is the enemy of discontent…” ” theme=”style1″]

In simplest terms, that means you can instantly lessen the level of your anxiety by finding something for which to immediately thank God. If something triggers an anxious episode, we have to pull ourselves together and say, “As bad as this seems, it’s not as bad as it could be. In fact, here are some things I can thank God for in the middle of this mess.”
This is classic Christianity, but something interesting has happened in recent times in the secular world. An entire science of gratitude has arisen, as legions of experts are discovering the psychological power of gratitude. Most of these modern scholars aren’t coming at it from a distinctively Christian point of view, but they’re nonetheless discovering how a biblical attitude – thanksgiving – has a profound effect on the human spirit.

Dr. Robert Emmons, an influential scholar in this area, wrote: “Our groundbreaking research has shown that grateful people experience higher levels of positive emotions such as joy, enthusiasm, love, happiness and optimism, and that the practice of gratitude as a discipline protects a person from the destructive impulses of envy, resentment, greed, and bitterness.”
The ability to say, “Thank You, Lord,” is among the most wonderful things about being a follower of Jesus Christ. What a tragedy if we fail to do so.

For several years I’ve followed a habit I learned from the writings of hymnist Frances Havergal. I keep a thanksgiving list alongside my prayer list. It’s in a small loose-leaf journal, and every morning before I present my requests to God, I think of one or two or three items from the past 24 hours for which to thank Him. I jot them down and offer them to the Lord in praise.
I hope you’ll develop your own version of this habit, for it will help you bury worry before worry buries you. The Bible says: Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, shall guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus.

About the Author:

Robert J. Morgan is the teaching pastor of The Donelson Fellowship in Nashville, Tennessee, where he has served for 35 years. He is a best-selling and Gold-Medallion winning writer with more than 35 books in print and more than 4 million copies in circulation in multiple languages. He is a writer for Dr. David Jeremiah and Turning Points Magazine, and has many articles published in other leading Christian periodicals. He is also a regular contributor to The Huffington Post. Rob has appeared on numerous national television and radio shows.

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31 Days of Thanksgiving – Day 11- Kimberly Campbell

Both of my sons have now learned this little prayer:

God our Father

We thank You

For our many blesses (at least that’s how my older sings it)

For our many blesses

Amen

They sing it all the time. I mean ALL. THE. TIME.

As their Mommy, I love hearing them sing it. But, then I know that we have trouble with our hearts. Their hearts. My heart. We aren’t thankful all the time.

I think the trouble with gratitude is that we get so accustomed to saying grace, saying thank you, having stuff, that we forget the heart-work that is required with gratitude.

“The grateful heart that springs forth in joy is not acquired in a moment; it is the fruit of a thousand choices.” – Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth (Choosing Gratitude)

The heart-work of gratitude is laying aside so many other things so that our hearts can be filled with Gratitude. It is letting go of pride. It is letting go of entitlement. It is letting go of some things we want. It is letting go of me and focusing on God’s love and perfectness for our every need. It is letting go of the world and grasping on to Him for everything we need. It is letting go of grumbling and complaining (and Facebook doesn’t need to be the place we “let go” of our complaining).

As a tired Mommy of two littles, I find it often hard to be grateful. Even this morning, I was complaining about too much noise right when I walked downstairs. One was singing – everything. One was running around helping with breakfast. Instead of choosing to be grateful, I was complaining about the noise.

Before I go downstairs, I usually read a Psalm. Psalm 106 has been most helpful in remembering to be grateful. Tim Keller, in his book The Songs of Jesus, says this about Psalm 106: “Every stanza of this poem makes the same point: Human beings fail at living as they should with God and their neighbors (my kids and my husband are my nearest neighbors). No matter how many things God does for them, it doesn’t change their hearts – their ingratitude, their endless craving, their sense of superiority to God, or their envy and selfishness. We need something to be done in us to save and transform us, because we can’t do it ourselves.”

I find myself here so often. I find my heart more in line with the grumbling Israelites than a redeemed daughter of the King. As you read these thoughts on thankfulness this month, ask God to make your heart more like His. He will do it!

About the Author: Kimberly Campbell is a wife and mama and lives in Augusta, Georgia. She is a creative, letterer, photographer, and writer (who blogs at https://kd316.com). She loves deep community and reading. She’s an introvert who can be found most nights curled up on the couch watching NCIS, West Wing, or the Cosby Show, or Bull. And eating homemade popcorn. With her husband, of course, after the boys are asleep.

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31 Days of Thanksgiving – Day 10 – Jenna Evans Welch

NOTE TO READER: I originally published this post May 3, 2012 which (coincidentally) was exactly four years before the day my first book Love & Gelato was published. When Amelia reached out to me about her “31 Days of Thanksgiving” this little piece of writing came to mind and I’m thrilled for the opportunity to share it. I decided to keep its rough bits unedited in order to remain true to who I was at that moment.
With love (and gratitude),
Jenna

THE LUCKIEST GIRL IN THE WORLD
Originally published May 3, 2012 on www.jennaevanswelch.com
For as long as I can remember I’ve considered myself the luckiest person I know. There are obvious reasons. I’ve had over-the-top life experiences that firmly place me in the lucky category. I am also obscenely lucky in love. When I go to see my favorite band in concert I get chosen to sit in the center of the state. Strangers are nice to me. My eyebrows don’t have to be plucked very often. You get the picture. I’m not saying I haven’t had problems–that would be ridiculous–but my life has been pretty darn rosy.

When I was in college I got cocky about my luck. One day I was sitting in an upper level rhetoric class at ASU and for the first time decided to bring someone in on my good fortune. I told the guy next to me that I was the luckiest person I knew and that if he wanted to do well in this class he should follow my lead. (He took this statement rather well.) For the next 12 weeks I proved my luck. If the teacher decided to cancel a test I had just had a weekend of fun that didn’t leave any space for studying. If I worked extra hard on an assignment she had decided to double its points. If I forgot an assignment at home she’d decided not to collect it.

It was actually kind of scary. And made a total and complete believer of guy next to me.

Then one day my luck ran out.

David and I had been married for about a year and things were going really wrong. We were living off a very small amount of money and had been confronted with a large and unexpected bill. Some family issues had gotten so severe that I was waking up in the middle of the night having panic attacks. Our little place was spider-infested. We still had not learned how to keep a house decently clean and many dishes hadn’t seen a cupboard in months. Some meds I was on were making me seriously sick. I had (but didn’t know then) chronic fatigue syndrome and I felt like I was walking around with a giant backpack of bricks. Things felt pretty bad and the harder we fought against the issues the worse they seemed to get. It just kept building and building.
We were sitting in our bed, trying our hardest to be brave adults, when I had a realization.

“I have something really sad to tell you,” I said. David looked at me expectantly. “I don’t think I’m the luckiest girl in the world anymore.” And then I crumpled over on our bed and started bawling.

(I know, attractive.)

I felt like some core of my identity was gone. Real life was…hard. Really hard. I missed the glitz and glamour of being the luckiest girl in the world. And I didn’t have any idea how any of our list of problems was going to get solved. I was just so tired.

We did the only thing we could think to do–we went to sleep.

Then something amazing happened. The next morning we got word that David had been granted a scholarship. Three days later a check came in the mail for some work David had done. The family issue simmered a while so we could catch our breaths. The spiders took a cue from Charlotte’s Web and started weaving encouraging messages for us (okay, that last part is made up).And then I learned how to be the luckiest woman in the world. Because it is pretty easy to feel lucky when everything is fantastic. When you’re riding your Vespa through Tuscany or strolling down Portobello Road in London. When your responsibility list is low and your enjoyment factor high. But it takes a little more effort to see your luck in regular, problem-ridden life. You have to look to see how lucky you are while you’re doing a stack of dishes or sitting in traffic or trying to make your marriage okay on an off-day.
But the luck is still there–every ounce–and it would be such a waste not to notice it.

About the Author:

Jenna Evans Welch was the kind of insatiable child reader who had no choice but to grow up to become a writer. Her first book, a YA novel called Love & Gelato, was a NY Times Bestseller, a 2016 Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fiction, and was selected for the 2017 Texas Lone Star Reading List. It is currently being published in sixteen countries.

When she isn’t writing girl abroad stories, Jenna can be found chasing her babies or making elaborate messes in the kitchen. She lives in Salt Lake City, Utah with her husband and two young children. Her new novel, Love & Luck, will be out in May of 2018.

31 Days of Thanksgiving, Articles

31 Days of Thanksgiving – Day 9 – Renee Fisher

Breaking the Cycle of Ungratefulness

I remember Thanksgiving of 2013 like it was yesterday. I sat next to Marc at my parent’s dinning room table waiting for my turn to participate in a family tradition to say what I was thankful for. I remember that pit rising from my stomach to the back of my throat where it lodged itself as I tried to swallow.

“This year I’m not thankful for… anything,” I said choking back the tears.

Except for Marc of course.

And Jesus (as my mother pointed out making me feel guilty).

My book, Forgiving Others, Forgiving Me—the book I worked so hard on over the past ten years, four revisions, and two publishers had flopped. My literary career was over. My dreams were dead.

My unhappiness coupled with my husband’s unhappiness in his job was a wedge that drove us out of California.

Marc and I planned and prayed and visited Austin, TX. Marc got so violently ill on our weekend getaway to Austin, TX that we took it as a sign and postponed our move even though he had already gotten permission from his boss in California to move and work remotely.

Then Star’s skin got really bad.

It’s taken me three years to admit this. We took Star to the veterinary emergency hospital to put him down because we were at our wits end with how to deal with his health and skin issues. Thankfully, the vet refused to put him down because he was too young. We couldn’t afford to figure out what was wrong with him. The vet recommended we should take him back to the humane society where we adopted him and relinquish Star so he could get the medical care he needed, which we couldn’t afford.

So we did.

What started as the most ungrateful Thanksgiving turned into the worst Christmas ever!

Christmas week went by without Star.

Marc wept.

I wept.

We packed up our entire house and put it on the market. Our house sold in four days. The only home we knew as a married couple was about to become a distant memory.

While Marc took a nap in our almost empty house, I went back to the humane society–without telling him–to say goodbye to Star. I didn’t even know if they would let me, but I went anyway. The lady at the counter told me that I could see Star. She looked through his records and said they were unable to start any treatment on Star because he hadn’t eaten all week.

I broke down and wept in the middle of the humane society. I asked her if I could see Star, and she asked me I wanted him back. I didn’t even know that was an option.

Without hesitating I said, “YES!”

I literally ran out of there with Star and drove home as fast as I could to wake Marc up to surprise him that his best friend was back. It was that moment that we decided we were all in. We were moving to Texas with Star and couldn’t wait to start our new future together.

Interestingly enough, since that day in our care, Star has been fine.

We flew out to Texas again, but this time we looked at apartments for rent and houses to buy. We settled on an apartment for rent, signed a lease, and moved the next month. The first night in our apartment we couldn’t sleep because of the construction noise next door. We were so frightened that we went looking for houses to buy the next day and ended up buying a brand new house.

Two weeks after moving to Austin, I flew to NYC to see my amazing client, Maria Durso, release her first book From Your Head To Your Heart at Christ Tabernacle in Queens, New York. Then I was asked to ghostwrite my first book for their friend Willie Alfonso, the Chapel Leader to the Hispanic Players of the New York Yankees. Honestly, I was so distracted by the whole thing that I didn’t have a chance to bond with Austin–like at all.

Suddenly, Austin didn’t appeal to me anymore. I wanted to be in NYC where all the excitement was.

Then I got pregnant.

Then I had a miscarriage.

After months of searching for a new job, Marc stumbled upon a job in Houston. We said yes before we even had a chance to go look at places to live. We sold our brand new house after only living in it for four months to move to Houston to live in an apartment that was literally falling apart.

Even after our apartment manager let us move from the apartment that was falling apart–no working toilet and noisy neighbors–to a town home, we still weren’t happy. We quickly found out the town home was double the trouble including Marc’s new job.

Would we ever find a place/job/church community we felt like we belonged? I knew choose the word belong as my one word for 2016 for a reason, but I was not prepared for just how hard it would be to learn.

I remember the day when Marc and I decided we regretted the decision of selling our brand new house to move to Houston. I got a text from my friend Caite in Austin, and she told me that if it weren’t for us selling our house that she might not have found her dream calling. She told us not to give up and to keep dreaming so others, like her, wouldn’t be afraid of the fear of failure. You can read more about her story on my blog here.

Every day in Houston felt like we were tumbling down a mountain that wouldn’t end (see funny video here).

We endured long days and nights including chain-smoking cigarette smoking neighbors, a rat infestation, cockroaches, no running water, no working toilets, leaking walls and ceilings, and a nasty sewer smell every time took a shower.

It’s no wonder my panic attacks returned.

It wasn’t until I sponsored my first event, The Declare Conference, that I realized my dreams were not dead. They were, in fact, bigger than ever. You can read more on my blog here. I was able to reconcile with my former editor at Harvest House Publishers. It was so freeing to be able to share from my heart with the Harvest House executives a month later. They told me that they didn’t hold any animosity towards me, and I told them I didn’t have any towards them either!

Sometimes books just don’t sell.

And it hurt them too.

God used that phone call to heal my heart for good. It didn’t matter that we still had a few months left of living in Houston. It didn’t matter if I didn’t write another book. None of it mattered. I was finally free! I did belong!

God broke the cycle of ungratefulness in my life. Instead of counting the days left we had in Houston–I made the days count thanks to a suggestion from my sister in law.

I began counting all of the ways God spoke to me. At first, it was painful. We had been counting down since 227 days. It wasn’t until I was in the 70’s that my list of things God was speaking to me outgrew the number of days we have left. It wasn’t until the end of September that God broke through to us both!

God provided a part time job out of nowhere that actually interested Marc. A job that he could work nights and weekends. A job that is now–praise the Lord–his full time job. He will travel back to Houston when he is needed, but we are now both working from home in Austin!

Before I share some of the sweet nuggets from God–I just want to say that I clearly had no idea what hard looked like. I am grateful that God replaced my stony heart of sin with a soft heart. I picked the word cultivate for my one word for 2017. I look forward to seeing how God prepares my heart for the growth of what He has for us in the New Year.

I wrote this on my Facebook Timeline as we made the drive to Austin with all of our things.

Dear Houston,

Thank you for being a city of Refuge, a place we could run to, to find hope. I know now why the Bible commanded cities of refuge for the weary-for rest, protection, and growth. I am grateful God provided the opportunity even if it almost broke us, because we found the freedom we so desperately craved-including God giving Marc the breakthrough he needed in his dreams and career.

Houston, I don’t hate you and I think you’re beautiful, parts of you anyway. Thanks for the memories.

I will never forget!

Sincerely,

Former Resident

God showed me that I am now living the truth of my book, Forgiving Others, Forgiving Me, that after death comes life. I live to tell another story. The past few months were the sweetest and richest days I have ever experienced in the past three years.

Here are some of the things I learned during my time of developing my own sacred rhythms:

#1: Movements are happening in difficult places. Be ready to go and willing to stay.
#3: Some things cannot be experience in community
#4: This time I will praise the Lord (See Genesis 29:35).
#5 My joy does not depend on others including my husband (See Luke 1).
#6: Replace The American Dream with The Jesus Dream (Ali Llewellyn).
#7: Forgiveness is not the end of my story. I live to tell another story.
#8: Dreams restore people to life in Jesus.
#9: God chooses how He blesses us.
#10: If obedience is not about winning or losing, then I no longer have to be afraid of the adventure of life. Faith takes fear out of the equation.
#12: Pain & discomfort is not an automatic closed door. An open door is not necessarily from God.
#13: I named my inner critic Unloved Leah (See my blog here).
#17: I am woman hear me war! (See my blog here).
#19: How dare I claim Houston as my inheritance (See my blog here).
#21: All I know is that You, Lord, are here now (See Here Now (Madness) by Hillsong).
#22: The wilderness shatters bad patterns (Pastor Ray Bentley).
#25: Am I investing in ways that help or hinder others including myself (See Mark 11:15-19).
#26 No one shall return the way he entered (See Ezekiel 46:9).
#28: There is hope in Houston.
#29: God answers prayer for His glory.
#30: God’s goal for shame is redemption.
#39-41: Our win is not to beat our neighbors… in success. Pilgrimage is a good thing. There is no need to fear or hate those who help us in our pilgrimage. My neighbor is not the enemy. The enemy is Satan (See Ephesians 6:12).
#45: No more running, distractions, or supressing.
#47: I will walk with integrity of heart in my own house (See Psalm 101:2).
#49: Wait for His counsel (See Psalm 106:13). There are no shortcuts. There is nowhere to run. Don’t test God and demand your cravings to be filled (See Psalm 78:18).
#50: Resurrection is the goal, not death.
#52: When I fall, I shall rise. When I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me.
#53: “A wise woman builds her house” (Lisa Spivey, See Proverbs 14:1).
#54: Peace does not come from a location or even a solution. It comes from Jesus.
#55; I don’t have to do anything.
#58: Houston hurts because I hurt.
#59: “What are you doing here, Renee?”
#60: I don’t know what I want.
#64: Sometimes the place you are most comfortable is not the place you belong (See The Queen of Katwe).
#76: “We are made to stand and fight. The armor of God only covers the front” (Jenn Hill).
#79: Don’t waste the solitude
#81: Fulfillment in life starts inside yourself.
#82: “I am resting for something (which I cannot see yet) not from something” (Monique York).
#84: My days of performance are over!
#89: “The miracle happens in the breaking. The seed breaks, joy is found” (Ann Voscamp, The Broken Way).
#93 & #96: Cultivate the garden of my soul. Cultivate seeds of hope. Cultivate will be my #oneword365 for 2017.

Questions: Have you ever counted the ways God speaks to you? What is one thing you can do starting today to make 2017 count?

About the Author:

Renee Fisher is a spirited speaker, coach, consultant and author, who published her first nine books in under eight years. A self-proclaimed “Dream Defender,” Renee is passionate about calling dreams to life in others. A graduate of Biola University, she lives in Austin, Texas with her handsome husband and their fur child named “Star.” https://reneefisher.com/

31 Days of Thanksgiving, Articles

31 Days of Thanksgiving – Day 8 – Erin Stache

Thankful. Thankful. What am I thankful for? This would generally seem to be an easy question to answer. But truth be told I’ve known about this guest post for a little over a month, and I’ve been trying to think of the one thing I can concisely get in to a post that expresses the end all-be all of thankfulness. Deep breath. Here we go.

Over the last several months, I have been amazed – astounded even- at the Lord’s perfect timing. This is something we so regularly find ourselves praying for, but do we ever really take the time to notice how He works and brings things to be in our lives? I don’t think we do. And yet, because He is faithful and patient, He has opened my eyes just a little bit more to His perfect timing in the lives of many friends as well as my own.

I won’t share their stories, but I sit in amazement at how He brings things to pass that we would never otherwise see coming- career changes, houses selling, pregnancies, sicknesses, a small chat with a friend, a free meal, a letter in the mail. Our God does so in such a way that it leaves of breathless, hopeful and wanting more of His sovereign hand in our lives. And what I come to is this- He knows what we need. Oh, but I try to tell Him what I think I need in my laundry list of requests that I pray each day, but the Father knows our every ache and need.

My husband and I desired so badly to start a family over a year ago. We tried and tried. Some may understand this struggle. Yet, in the back of my head I knew a move to another state and job would be coming within months. We could possibly be moving with a newborn or be near the expected due date if my plans would have succeeded. Y’all. I fretted something serious over the timing of getting pregnant. Can we ever really plan that? No, No we can’t. But I worried. I did not want to have to move in either situation. God had greater plans and taught me more of Himself when I had to rely on His timing. It turned out that I actually did not find out I was pregnant until the move had to happen. We moved ourselves from New York to Mississippi with a nice little side of morning sickness. (Thankfully we had great help from Jeremy’s mom.) But the Lord orchestrated that timing, which turned out to be even greater as Jeremy would not start his new job for another 2 months. Talk about having a husband home during the ENTIRE first trimester when I was too sick to lift my head at times. This is just one small example of His timing. But I love it.

I love to see how He is working in our lives to produce true believers – dependent believers. I love to see how He has used Amelia’s life to teach me more about joy and surrender and thankfulness. I love to see Him build the faith of others through His ways – not our own. And for that, I am thankful.

About the Author:

Erin currently lives in Mississippi with her husband, Jeremy. They are anticipating the arrival of a bundle of sassiness in late January. Erin enjoys reading, writing, Cokes from Chickfila, and all the reality shows. Erin blogs at thislifethiswife.com.

31 Days of Thanksgiving, Articles

31 Days of Thanksgiving – Day 7 – Kerri Pomarolli

Today’s post comes from one of my dearest friends and favorite comedians — Kerri Pomarolli. It reminded me to enjoy the little things and I pray it brings joy to your day!

Things I am Thankful For – October 2017

1. Waking up with two kids to cuddle with and neither of them peed in my bed.

2. Waking up in general. Some people didn’t get that luxury today.

3. Time with my kids laying in their bunk beds taking about life and waterslides in Heaven.

4. Chocolate Brownies/Chocolate Cake from Costco/Chocolate Candy..you get the picture.

5. Old friends that know my “stuff.” I can see them and they just “Get it!”

6. Apple Cider and Doughnuts from Michigan in the Fall.

7. Driving down a street in LA seeing Fall colors knowing it will not get below 70 degrees today.

8.Having a job I truly love and wouldn’t trade for the world. I prayed years ago for a “Make me Happy Job!” It was either doing comedy or being a massage therapist. Both them of them have a very low complaint ratio.

9. Advil..God invented Advil because sometimes my body gets mad at me for abusing it. I realize there are things I don’t need to do over the age of 35…Ride A Horse..Roller Skate…Zip line!

10. Friends like Amelia who not only asked me to write this blog but will correct my grammar and spelling. Because Youe Cant bee Prettie and a Goud Spellar!

About the Author:

Kerri Pomarolli-Hollywood Actress, Comedian, Writer of “Moms Night Out Devotional”( came out with the movie), Kerri is a clean comedian who tours all over the world doing clean comedy shows and being an out of the closet Christian. She does Churches, Corporate events, film and TV. Mostly she enjoys watching kid inappropriate shows with her 6 and 9 year old like Poldark on PBS and Gilmore Girls.

31 Days of Thanksgiving – Day 16 – Ashley Murray

31 Days of Thanksgiving – Day 15 – Bethany Wester

31 Days of Thanksgiving- Day 14 – Scott Hamilton

31 Days of Thanksgiving – Day 13 – Jeanne Harrison

31 Days of Thanksgiving – Day 12 – Robert J. Morgan

31 Days of Thanksgiving – Day 11- Kimberly Campbell

31 Days of Thanksgiving – Day 10 – Jenna Evans Welch

31 Days of Thanksgiving – Day 9 – Renee Fisher

31 Days of Thanksgiving – Day 8 – Erin Stache

31 Days of Thanksgiving – Day 7 – Kerri Pomarolli

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