Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Day 271 - The healing power of gratitude.


Share/Bookmark"8 Finally brothers, whatever is true,  whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure,  whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is any praise—dwell on these things. 9 Do what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you." Phil 4:8-9

Just read yesterday's blog by Sarah for encouragement and found another "God print", for me about what my post today should be. Have enjoyed and been blessed by both Sarah and George's posts. (Thank you fellow friends of Beth. I'm humbled and grateful to join you in this adventure.) In Sarah's last paragraph, she says -
 
"My hope is that you make the decision to live NOW--not in the past and not in the future. Time flies, even when you're not having fun, so do your best to make the best of every moment. Tell someone you love that you are thankful for them. Be specific about what it is that you appreciate about them. You may never have the chance to tell them again. "

Well, there are many ways that God spoke to my heart about what I should post for 1 of the 2 days I get to actively participate in Beth's adventure in gratitude. But, I'll admit I was again wavering, until I read that. For those who don't know. The Church at Argyle's founding Pastor, Ken Dyal went home to be with the Lord at the age of 57, on April 20, 2010. He knew he was loved by his family, friends and church and most importantly he knew and loved his Savior, Jesus Christ. What is written below is from my personal journal, written on May 11, 2010. I have been praying about sharing it and believe this is the where and when God led me to. I share it praying God uses it to bring healing as only He can to any heart who reads it, as He continues to heal mine.

Today I'm grateful for :

Pastor Ken

~The surest way God heals our hearts, especially in grief, is through gratitude. When we can find our way to being grateful for the one we grieve, and remember all the blessings and take time to thank God instead of being angry and bitter at Him for all we miss. The beautiful thing about Pastor Ken was, he knew this and since he did, he lived his life for Christ, giving all who knew him so much to be grateful for.

Here is my list of things I'm grateful for about Pastor Ken -

Pastor Ken listened. He listened to the Lord and listened to all of us who came to him to talk, cry, pray, yell, laugh, grieve, rejoice, ask and receive Christ.

Pastor Ken cared. He wanted to  -
know every name and every need,
visit every home and hospital room, 
rejoice in every salvation, baptism and dedication,
comfort every hurt or loss and  
congratulate and encourage every achievement, graduation, recovery and win!

Pastor Ken loved. He loved the Lord with all he had. He loved his family with his whole heart and being. He loved his church and gave his time and shared his wisdom and God's word with honesty and humility.

Pastor Ken laughed. He laughed with you, at himself and about the hard stuff. I miss his laugh. It was genuine and made you feel better no matter how bad things got.

Pastor Ken cried. he cried and we cried with him because we knew his emotion was real. He cried with joy, with pain, in peace and in praise to a God he knew, loved and trusted from a lifetime of relationship with Him.

Pastor Ken led. He led by example, with courage, with no ego, with wisdom, love and patience and with quiet confidence. He walked the walk, admitted his mistakes, gave and accepted grace and forgiveness.

Pastor Ken served. He served the Lord faithfully and without fear. Okay, I'm sure he was afraid sometimes but he made it look so easy. He understood that serving and obeying Christ is a heart thing. He said so all the time and knew that telling us about Jesus was not enough but showing us by him serving us instead of us serving him said it all.

Thank you God for Pastor Ken. Thank you for his life. Thank you for bringing me to this church and for the honor and privilege of being on his staff and serving you with him. Let me never forget him, let me protect and honor his memory by using all the days you give me to honor, love and praise You! ~

Mrs. Becky, this is for you. I am so very grateful for you too. For being such a beautiful example of a wife and mother and woman of God. For your strength, courage, kindness and love that gives me hope and strengthens my faith. I love you, Amy.


1 comment:

  1. I'm speechless. The power of this is overwhelming. There's nothing I can say other than Thank you and I love you.

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