Thanksgiving aftermath blog

I had a very good Thanksgiving celebration yesterday.  My mom and I spent a large portion of the day with my sister-in-law’s family.  The highlight of the day for me was when, before ate our food (which was a huge feast, by the way) we went around the table and expressed what we were thankful for.

To set the stage, let me remind you that, in September, I had previously mentioned in this blog how that family was sent into grief from their Grandma passing away.  They continue to cope with her loss to this day.  The tears still flow freely and easily in that house.  This is something that I can obviously relate to.  In fact, their loss has tied the hearts of the two families together in a way that it wasn’t when my dad was still with us.

For several reasons, I had made the decision that I was going to talk about God in some way.  I was going to be bold about my faith.  So when it came to me (I was the third one to speak in this gratitude exercise), I acknowledged to everyone the loss, pain, and grief that was in our midst, but added that even in the midst of this difficult reality, God has still given us so many blessings that we couldn’t count them all if we tried.  To present just one, I mentioned the gift of family and friends.

Mom said that she was thankful that, even though we miss Jerry, we know that he is in Heaven today.  She also stated how she was thankful for the “surrogate family” that had invited us to the Thanksgiving celebration.  Another at the table mentioned how she was thankful for the Lord’s presence, how His presence affects every relationship in her life; and how no matter what happens in life, He is there.  Someone else eloquently stated how wonderful it is to be standing on, as he put, “the solid rock of Jesus Christ” even in the middle of the intense storms of life.  Amen and amen!

As we were eating, I was reminded of a line of that prayer from my dad that I shared yesterday.  Do you remember it?  Dad had prayed, “As families and friends gather, we pray that they will indeed praise You, from whom all blessings flow.”  I had to briefly stop eating because a wave of emotion hit me when I realized something: God had answered my dad’s prayer.  

For that situation, setting, and get together, a prayer that Dad had prayed years before had come to fruition in that room.  I know how easy it would have been for me to just mention what I’m grateful for, but not include in my comments the One that provided those gifts in the first place.  Others also chose to speak boldly for the Lord.  I’m so happy to have been a part of that holy moment.  I’m grateful that God’s name was lifted high in praise and honor!

Kevin

Thanksgiving prayer

Happy Thanksgiving! Today’s blog will mostly be the words of my dad.  For several years, part of Dad’s ministry as a Christian radio announcer was his afternoon prayer time.  I remember that he received numerous compliments regarding his prayer time.  I often expressed my appreciation for it as well.  His prayers were sincere, genuine, powerful, and riveting.  It is for this reason that I am so happy to be able to present to you a prayer from my dad that I have in my possession.  

Here now are the words of Jerry Bauer, the man I got to call my father:

“Father, we come into Your throne room today with praise and appreciation on this Thanksgiving Day.

At this time of the year when we give thanks, we thank You, Lord, for the tremendous blessings that You have poured out on this country.  We thank You for our forefathers who determined that our nation would be “under God.”  We pause and give thanks to You today, just like our early countrymen did so many years ago.

We pray a special prayer for America.  We pray that she would repent and turn from her ways and that she, once again, would indeed be a nation “under God.”

Father, we cannot get to each individual request today, but we lift up those people who need prayer this afternoon.  Physical, emotional, spiritual, and financial hurts and needs are all around us.  We pray that You would be near and dear to those hurting today, that You would lift their burdens.  Fill their hearts with joy today as they remember what Your Son has provided for us.  We pray for hope, Lord, for hurting people – true hope – which only comes from You.

Lord, thank You for the privilege of coming to You and laying down our burdens; and for the privilege of praising You with our lips.  Help us to thank You and praise You with our lives lifted up to You.  Father, for what You do through our lives, we humbly thank You.  As families and friends gather, we pray that they will indeed praise You, from whom all blessings flow.

It’s in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ we pray, amen.”

Attitude of gratitude (part 3 of 3)

The other day, I had a thought that I’m convinced was God speaking to me.  He said, “Gratitude is a choice.”  You see, it’s easy for me to focus on the burdens of life.  Just contemplating another holiday season without my dad is very difficult.  But more than that, the pressures of everyday life can easily overwhelm and discourage me.  It’s easy for me to focus on the acute losses, financial strain, heartache, stress, holiday blues, and the perpetually uncompleted tasks.

I wanted to be vulnerable and honest with you here because I didn’t want you to think, “Kevin is writing about thankfulness.  I guess he has arrived when it comes to gratitude.”  That’s simply not the case.  By speaking of an attitude of gratitude, I’m not setting myself up as this faultless example on the subject.  The reality is I have needed these gratitude themed blogs as much as anyone.

As I said, the Lord seemed to impress to my spirit that, even in the midst of all these difficult circumstances, I was to make the conscious decision to practice gratitude in my life.  Ever since He communicated that to me, I have constantly made the choice, when I see that I have been operating from a mindset of ingratitude, to stop it, and choose instead to operate from a mindset of thankfulness.  This has required constant discipline.

I’ve chosen to share all this with you because I think we have a tendency to focus on what we don’t have, rather than everything that we do have.  The Bible says, “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).  I think it is a healthy exercise for all of us – whether it’s November or not – to stop carping, grumbling, fussing, and complaining; instead recall afresh the numerous gifts that God has so graciously given us.  Remember: gratitude is a choice!

Kevin    

Attitude of gratitude (part 2)

Last time, I began a list of items I’m thankful for, each correlating to a letter of the alphabet.  I stopped in the middle, at “M”.  This last half was more difficult than the first, just because of letters like Q and Z.  I had fun though!  Without further ado, let’s resume.

N: Nourishment. I may have surprised you with this one.  Hunger and thirst are very powerful motivations; that’s why I submit that food and water are incredible gifts for which we should be thankful to God to receive.

O: Olfactory sense.  That is, the marvelous gift of the sense of smell.

P: Preaching/Sermons.  Just as food is nourishment for the body, Biblical sermons are nourishment for the soul and spirit.

Q: Quantity of life.  Psalm 139 says that God predetermines the number of our days before even one of them unfolds.  Quantity of life, therefore, is ultimately in God’s hands, and I’m so thankful for this fact.  I’m also grateful for whatever amount of days God has chosen for me.

R: Roam.  According to my thesaurus, some synonyms for “roam” are words like “stroll” “walk” and “traverse”.  I am thankful for the ability to stroll, roam, and walk!

S: Songs/music.  What a gift!  I have found that when I’m discouraged and depressed, it’s helpful to listen to uplifting, edifying music.

T: Taste/touch. That covers the five senses; sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch.  I’m appreciative to God for each of them.

U: Unseen realm of Heaven.  It was Greg Laurie who said that whenever a loved one passes away, you begin to live with one foot in the door of Heaven.  He’s right.  I certainly have gripped tighter to the reality of Heaven than ever before since my dad passed away.

V: Vehicle. My car has endured a lot over these years, but it continues to get me from point A to point B.

W: Writing/words.  I love to write.  It is a wonderful gift for me to write in this blog.  Further, when I say “words” I mean the ability to speak.  If you’ve ever temporarily lost your voice due to a sickness, like I have, you know what a wonderful blessing it is to have a voice to speak.

X: (E)xercise.  Here’s another sensational gift!  It’s wonderful to work off the stresses of life by exercising.

Y: Yahweh/Jehovah.  Did I surprise you with this one?  George W. Knight and Rayburn W. Ray in their book “The Illustrated Bible Dictionary” write this regarding their definition of Jehovah: “A translation of Yahweh, a Hebrew word for God in the O.T. [Old Testament] that indicates His eternity and self-existence.  This word is based on a Hebrew verb meaning “to be”; thus, the name “I AM” by which God revealed Himself to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:14).”  No matter what I go through, I am thankful that the eternal God of the universe – Yahweh – is always with me.

Z: Zany moments.  My life can be intense, chaotic, and heavy; I’m thankful for every instance of zany, light, silliness that comes my way.

The grand truth is that even though I’ve listed twenty-six things I’m thankful for, I have only scratched the surface.  There’s so much more that I didn’t mention!  This is not even close to an exhaustive list.  What I’m trying to convey with this is how it’s important to practice thankfulness and gratitude in life. 

To be continued!

Kevin    

Attitude of gratitude (part 1)

In the spirit of this Thanksgiving holiday season, I wanted to present a series of blogs on an attitude of gratitude.  To begin, I wanted to share a list of things that I’m thankful for, from each letter of the alphabet.  Let me just dive right in and you’ll see what I mean.

A: American.  Whether or not your favorite Presidential candidate won in the recent election, it’s still a tremendous blessing to be a citizen of the United States of America.

B: Breath.  Every breath that we breathe is a gift from the hand of God.  While it may be easy to do so, we should never take it for granted.

C: Creation.  Recently, I was driving to work, and the sun was just beginning to rise.  I was treated to one of the most beautiful sunrises I have ever seen.  Everywhere you look, you see the beautiful creation that Almighty God created.

D: Diversion/decompress.  I love to be able to rest, decompress, and recharge after a hard day by watching an old TV show that is a wholesome sitcom.  The sitcom I’m referring to is the delightful diversion of the “Dick Van Dick Show” (I can’t help myself with the alliteration).

   

E: Eyes/ears.  Once again, it’s easy to take the gift of sight and hearing for granted.  I, for one, want to stop and express my gratitude for these incredible blessings.

F: Faith.  Simply put: without my faith in the amazing God of the Bible, I am nothing.

G: Grace (and mercy) of God.  If I didn’t have the grace and mercy of God, I would be sunk.  Praise the Lord for His abounding grace and steadfast mercy to me.

H: Health/healings.  I recently came across the last Thanksgiving list that my dad composed.  One of the things he said he was thankful for was health.  I echo the same sentiment for myself.  Health is a gift that is very fragile.  I’ve been reminded of this many times in my life; I’ve been miraculously healed by God on more than one occasion.

I: Impact and influence of my dad.  I will always be grateful for my dad’s selfless influence and example.  I'm inspired to follow in his footsteps.

J: Job. Thank God for the blessing of a job!

K: Kindness. The word “favor” could also be used here.  I’m blessed with kindness or favor in my sphere of influence.  Whether we are talking about family, friends, coworkers, etc. I am showered with kindness.  Perhaps that’s because I try to be kind in my dealings with others, and because (as the Bible says) you reap what you sow, kindness is given back to me.

L: Laughter.  I hope one of the things that I’m remembered for long after I’m gone is how much I laughed.  Laughter is like a medicine for whatever ails you.

M: Mom.  The Bible says to honor your father and your mother.  Even though my dad is in Heaven now, I continue to honor him.  I also honor my mom.  Further, I consider it a sacred responsibility to take care of her as best as I know how.

To be continued!

Kevin

The epic World Series of 2016

There’s a memorable scene in the movie “Rocky 4”.  Rocky Balboa and his massive opponent, Ivan Draco, have fought for 14 rounds.  The bell rings for the commencement of the 15th and final round; as the two fighters are about to battle again, the announcer asks, “Which one of these two magnificent fighters will still be standing at this end of this round?”  I had the same question when the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians went to Game 7 in a riveting World Series.  It really was two heavyweight fighters that battled toe to toe all the way to the final round.

Congratulations to the Chicago Cubs on finding a way to win it all!  It’s remarkable to think about how long it has been since the Cubs won the World Series (it was way back in 1908!).  I know Cub fans worldwide are elated for their victory, and they should be.  This was a series where the Cubs faced elimination from Game 5 to Game 7, but they simply refused to quit.  What an example of resolve, grit, and determination!

In sports, the winner is remembered while the runner-up is generally forgotten or perceived as a failure.  This is a real shame.  The Indians should also be commended for their will, perseverance, and heart.  This was a series that featured two evenly matched teams.  Somebody had to lose.

Kevin