A Thankful Spirit // In Black Skirts and Solids

Hello! Since I already have caught you up on our weekend with yesterday's post, I will get right to our sermon. This sermon was amazing! The topic of developing a thankful spirit can have so much to do with how we respond and the outcome of our situations.Very important! What perfect preparation for our quickly approaching holiday- Thanksgiving!
                                                 Our main verses this week were actually an entire chapter.
                                                                                            Deuteronomy 8

 "Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors. ² Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. ³ He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. ⁴ Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. ⁵ Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you.
⁶ Observe the commands of the Lord your God, walking in obedience to him and revering him. ⁷ For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills; ⁸ a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; ⁹ a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.
¹⁰ When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. ¹¹ Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. ¹² Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, ¹³ and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, ¹⁴ then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. ¹⁵ He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. ¹⁶ He gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known, to humble and test you so that in the end it might go well with you. ¹⁷ You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” ¹⁸ But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.
¹⁹ If you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed. ²⁰ Like the nations the Lord destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the Lord your God.
 

This talks about the past, obedience, the blessing from the Lord how to respond to the blessings. Some of us are about to enter into this time of blessing, but right now we do not see the land, copper, gold and silver, and rich foods as talked about in this passage.In the place of blessing comes responsibility. We see a command given above, not just a command to obey the Lord, but a command not to forget what the Lord has already done for us.Here is were we have to ask ourselves, am I really a thankful person ? Most of us can say that we are thankful, but as our pastor stressed, this does not mean that we have developed a thankful spirit.It is one thing to be thankful when something good is happening to us, it is another to have a thankful spirit in spite of what is happening. This is not easy to do or see. It demands from us more than a 'thank you' here and there.Often we are thankful in times while we are being blessed, and yet God wants us to be a person who lives with a thankful spirit.Jon Jude, a preacher in the early ages, described gratitude as a vaccine, an anti-toxin, it can prevent the invasion of a discouraged spirit.It can prevent the effects of the poison, of criticism, and grumbling.A spirit of gratitude can sooth and heal the most troubled spirit. Having a thankful spirit can help us to get through it all without being damaged.

On December 5, 2010, our family went through a terrible loss.We were expecting our baby brother to be born any time, but on that day he was stillborn. Those words bring tears to my eyes.But living through that terrible time we kept our mind set on how much we were blessed, that my mother was alive, that we were still a family with so much more than some can call their own.I am not telling you all this for your pity, but rather to show you one of my own scenarios, to be here for you, to show you that I made it through, and that I still believe in Jesus' love.To bring encouragement to you.

We do not have to go very far to find any amount of sorrow or discouragement.If we are not careful it can easily sweep into our souls-our very inmost being- and rob us of our joy of being thankful.
Moses is giving the people a warning not to forget what God had done for them.In doing so, they were to receive a great blessing.He also stated, that somewhere in the not too distant feature, they were going to be tempted into thinking that they were the reason for their own prosperity.That God would begin to be pushed to the background.This can be the worst one. We will become proud and self seeking/righteous, we could completely ruin our lives if we do not catch ourselves before it is too late.When we are only thankful for the moment, we are not a very sympathetic person.When we have a thankful spirit you have a heart that is sympathetic and kind. It will come naturally.

                      SO, a couple of things to watch out for and remember in order to obtain a thankful spirit:
1.) When we develop a thankful spirit it conserves the blessings of the past. Remember the song, Count Your Blessings (name them on by one.) Moses reminded the people about how God brought them (v.2) through the dessert, etc. Remind yourself how far God has brought you.
2.) We can begin to thank God for the blessings we asked for and did not receive.At the time we might have thought we knew what would help out and be the best, but looking back as the clock ticks, away we see how Romans 8:28 comes into play. It didn't make alot of sense back then when I was living in the moment, but on the other side of the storm, the situation, we can begin to see that 'all things work together for good.' It has made me into who I am today, I have a deeper love for life, I can relate to people who have lost a loved one, that it breaks them down to almost more than they can bare. We can trust God for the unseen because of His past steadfastness.
3.) God does not bless because of something we did to earn it, but rather because He loves us.And when we live a life of obedience blessings flow our way.We can place ourselves in a way to be blessed greater.

 Shoes,borrowed from mom // Slip, made by me // Skirt, borrowed from Bek, goodwill, $4 // Undershirt, ? // 
                                                    Pink shirt, fill a bag sale // Green shrug, goodwill, $3 // Headband, thrift store, .50

Old hotel and General Store in background.

It was pretty funny that Bek and I ended up matching this week, it was totally unplanned.
I had gotten this lace shirt a while and only wore it once with a jean jacket.The black made it a little more elegant, but I didn't (and don't like wearing) all black, so I added my favorite green sweater. I think that it added a little more life to the outfit. Then paired it with a black lace undershirt, since it needed one, and to keep the lace going and coordinate with the other black pieces of the rest of it.

             Shoes, borrowed from me, goodwill, $4 // Hose, thrift store, .50 // Skirt, goodwill, $4 // Undershirt, thrift store $2 // 
                                                          Blue shirt, goodwill, $3 // Burgundy shrug, hand-me-down, goodwill, $4 //
                                                               Pearls, gifted // Bobby pins, borrowed from me/made by me

I just love Rebekah's colors!The pearls gave a nice neckline with the bib shaped overlay of the shirt.
                                                               Also the scalloping on the shoes. :)

 As you may be wondering by now, that is, where our photos were taken this week- both lovely sight are located less than a half mile down our road! We love our little town! The building (pictured above) is the township hall that is still in use and the more rustic dwelling (located next to each other) is the remains of our original post office, which is awaiting to be further funded to restore to its original perfection! And as you probably have already guessed, (from the steeple picture) there is also the 'River Side Chapel' that holds Sunday night church services and special occasions.Since it was surprisingly warm yesterday, we took the extra time to walk down and take the advantage of these last few warmer days.

Who knows, it will probably be snowing tomorrow, it really is true that we have crazy weather here in Michigan!

                                                                                                SO,
                                                                            What was your sermon on ?
                                                                             How was your weekend ?
                                                               Do you have any historical sites near you ?

                                                                            Love and blessings to you!
                                                                                            Cassie