Gratitude

Kids Know More About Joy

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Got to spend five hours with lovely Emerlyn on Tuesday. The featured picture is us reading together-her attempt to stay occupied and avoid napping. It worked.

On my drive the next morning, I heard this exchange between Kate Bowler and guest Nikki Grimes on “Everything Happens“:

Kate: Yeah, Nikki, I feel like I could hear your heartbeat when you talk about joy. It really sustains you. Do you think kids know more about joy than other people? Because I have this sense about the way that it’s connected to noticing and gratitude and hope and delight. Like these are all things kids are particularly good at. I just wonder if some of that—the particularity of kids’ ability to notice and be grateful and to be in the details—makes them maybe more… I think so.

Nikki: Oh, they really can hone in on things in a way that we don’t. If you really want to see something or you want to see it a new way, look through a child’s eyes. They’re always noticing things that adults miss.

Emerlyn is a noticer. A busy railroad track lies earshot from her Rara’s and Pop’s home. Each time the passing trains “chooed,” her head would shoot up, eyes would widen as she echoed, “Choo!”

So yes, Kate, kids are better at joy than their adult people. They don’t seem to know not to be. Everything hasn’t been normalized or discounted or experienced. As Emerlyn’s Rara described, she lives in awe and wonder.

On this Thanksgiving day, find the youngest person you can and spend more time with them than you planned. Tap into joy. Notice along with them.

May gratitude, hope, and delight reign your day.

Unlimited (book review)

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Jason Dunn’s accomplishments are extraordinary. His drive definitely seems to put him in a small percentage of not just athletes but people of any discipline or profession.

His strategies to prepare and execute his goals are worth attempting. It may be tempting to think, “I can’t do anything close to what he’s done (100-mile races, Ironman World Championship).” But I believe he’d be the first to reply, “This is not about going after what others go after. It’s about overcoming the doubt and fear to pursue what feels impossible.”

These four quotes thread how Dunn went about setting goals, going after them, and accepting the ups and downs.

Finding inspiration is often easier than people realize; you just need to choose to see the good in the world around you.

If you think or say that something is hard, it will be hard.

Grateful people are not only beautiful, but they are often humble, too.

To be truly successful, you must first do what you don’t want to do when you don’t want to do it-until you do!

If you are on the fence about going after something that seems out of reach, give this book a read. May you find the inspiration to test your limits.

Two Values of The Rich

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I follow a page on Facebook called Becoming Minimalist. I wouldn’t call myself a minimalist, but the posts on the page are compelling. They certainly align with my values.

Last weekend I joined the ranks of those who no longer have a DVD or CD collection. Thank you, Goodwill. They have enriched my home by accepting my once treasured collections. In addition to these two collections, they now own all my clocks and about half my library.

Why are these collections gone? Am I making room for other collections? No. Am I downsizing? No.

Some would call it decluttering or minimizing. All I’m doing is getting rid of things that no longer enrich my life. And in a sense, my life is being enriched even further.

One of the latest Becoming Minimalist posts grabbed my attention in any odd connecting way. It was a guest blog post that was more for readers with large clothing collections. Not that I’d say I fit in that category, but I have gradually been doing the same with clothes-not replacing, just decreasing.

The blog writer was Julia Ubbenga of Rich in What Matters. The topic of her post addressed simplifying life by repeating outfits. In her list of 10 reasons, check out the enriching values of #9:

9. More reminders of how little you need to be happy

Owning a repeatable, small wardrobe constantly sends you the message that contentment can be found in less. A glance at your curated closet prompts thoughts like: “I need so much less than I thought I did to be happy.”

I’m much less likely to buy on impulse or waste time scrolling in search of my next purchase when these thoughts infiltrate my mind every morning. My sense of gratitude also increases the more I remember life truly is better with less.

“10 Reasons Repeating Outfits Will Simplify Your Life”

Contentment. Gratitude.

It wasn’t a goal that I woke up with one morning. “To increase my contentment, I’m going to get rid of stuff.”

What is a goal is to pursue contentment. If that pursuit leads to real treasure, so be it.

What is a goal is to be more grateful. If that pursuit leads to an awareness of how rich I already am, so be it.

A Lesson on Friendship from My Shortest Friendship

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Friendships have been the subject of several conversations lately. It’s given me food for thought. But first, a running story.

Running in Naperville, IL., last October, race two of the weekend, we were somewhere around mile 7 of the half marathon. I had just taken a left turn on Ewing St and came upon a pack of runners. They were keeping a good pace which I decided to stick with for a while.

“You look strong,” one of the younger female runners said.

I was a little thrown. My awkward response was, “Thanks.”

She looked at me like, “Seriously. Good job.”

I don’t talk much with other runners during a race, but I decided to engage. I told her I’d ran a half the day before in WI, on my quest to run a race in all 50 states, so I was happy to be doing decently. For her to encourage me about how I was doing was a boost. She seemed to get a boost from a guy who could probably be her father sharing his journey.

We ran probably less than a mile together to the next aid station. I stopped for a drink, and she moved on. She was in my sight for most of the remaining miles. When I crossed the finish line, I found her. We congratulated each other. Our short relationship was over.

I may never forget her. In a small time window, she modeled friendship in numerous ways. The result: now I’m making an effort to be that friend on the race course. No, I’m not a chatter box. But in the right moment, when it looks like someone could use a racing friend, I’m trying to be that friend.

On the clock of our lives, it would be nice to have friends who stick with us for the entire journey, all the miles of our lives. But that’s not how it happens. For reasons of all sorts of nature, friends come and go. We come and go in their lives, vice versa. Some stay for a few miles; others stay for way more than the average. We develop a great pace together, we encourage one another, we do life together for as long as we can.

It’s sad when friends go. Sometimes we get to say meaningful goodbyes. Often times, we miss it; we didn’t see the end coming, and we are left with a loss that, if we allow it, could sideline us for a long time.

Today, my focus is on two things.

The first is to be grateful for those who are running with me right now. Receive all the friendship has to provide.

The second is to be the friend I wish to have. Gift all the friendship has to bless.

Better Than Most

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Yesterday through a podcast episode I was reminded of the value of gratitude, even more so the importance of writing it down.

When I woke up this morning, I had a WhatsApp message from a pastor in Egypt sharing an update and requesting prayer. I met him in 2018 on a couple of trips to Jordan. Anytime I hear from those Jordanian contacts I’m reminded of the differences in our worlds. West vs. Middle East. Levels of freedom, finances, housing, opportunities, health services-basically every facet of life.

As I prayed for him I was convicted of taking for granted these life blessings that are better than most people in the world. So I followed through with the prompting to write down what I’m grateful for, but I did it differently than before. I made a list of sentences that had a fill-in-the-blank. The sentence was, “My                     is better than most.” Got a little more real, more thankful, more humbling, more worshipful.

Here are some of my sentences:

  • My finances are better than most
  • My health is better than most
  • My home is better than most
  • My security is better than most
  • My freedom is better than most
  • My future is better than most
  • My family is better than most

What words would you use to fill in the blank? How blessed are you better than most?

(Photo by Mohamed Nohassi on Unsplash)

Book Suggestion

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I’m really enjoying my current read, A Spirituality of Listening by Keith Anderson. If you’re attending First Baptist Bradenton tomorrow, you’ll hear some references.


I just finished chapter five, Story: Shaped by Biblical Narrative. Here are some examples of why you might enjoy this book:

God doesn’t ask that we rise above all of life’s pain; rather, he asks that we bring all of our story to God. God doesn’t ask that we walk around in disguise pretending there are no holes in our hearts; God asks that we bring those painful hearts to the throne of grace.

When someone says thank you for something you have done, it is a gift of gratitude from God. When someone shows you love, that love is a gift of grace from God. When someone tells you the truth, it is a gift of love because God cares to move you from your defenses, hiding, and resistance. Telling our story to one another is perhaps the most sacred thing we do because God shows up in the words, emotions, and crafting of our words.

Toothpaste and Hotels

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This week I’ve been reminded not to take things for granted. 

Tuesday while I was eating lunch at Firehouse, a former employee came in and was talking to the employees behind the counter. Everyone in the restaurant could overhear their conversation. One of them asked another one where they were living. When she answered, you could feel the pause in the air. From behind the work station, she said, “In a hotel.”

Note to self: everyone you encounter doesn’t necessarily live as comfortably you do.

Yesterday I received a text from a teacher at a school that our church partners with. She was asking if we had any toothpaste that we could provide for some students who didn’t have any. Because of their lack of a common hygiene item, they were being bullied. 

Note to self: everyone you encounter doesn’t necessarily have the basic necessities for living.

This reminded me of these statistics from a couple of sources:

  • If you earn $25,000 or more annually, you are in the top 10% of the world’s income-earners.***
  • If have any money saved, a hobby that requires some equipment or supplies, a variety of clothes in your closet, two cars (in any condition), and live in your own home, you are in the top 5% of the world’s wealthy. **
  • If you earn more than $50,000 annually, you are in the top 1% of the world’s income earners.***

**Money Possessions & Eternity by Randy Alcorn, pg 291

***The Hole in our Gospel by Richard Stearns, President of World Vision, pg 216

The fact that I’m typing this on an iPad while sitting at a table in a condo larger than homes that many large families live in around the world is humbling. And I have plenty of toothpaste. Not only should it not be taken for granted, but it should be routine to practice sharing what I have with others. Thank you, God, for this reminder.