From the Pulpit: What are you grateful for in this

Dear Friends in the Community,

Grace, mercy and peace be to each and every one of you from God our loving Heavenly Father and our living Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I hope and pray that this article finds you well now that we are into the unofficial beginning of summer.

As I ponder what to write about this week, one word keeps popping into my head. That word is gratitude. I want to take a moment to tell you how grateful I am for you allowing me to write articles this past month. When I was in my last call, I wrote for the newspaper on a very regular basis (sometimes weekly), and I love to write. It is one of the ways that God has given me to relax between Sundays. I have truly enjoyed being able to share some of these writings with you during these last few weeks.

Along with being grateful for being able to write articles to you and for you, I am also grateful to be able to be serving in this area at this particular time. God is doing amazing things in our communities. Many of the congregations around us are showing how much energy God has given to them, and they are also sharing that energy in amazing ways with God’s people. It is truly a joy to be able to be a part of God’s work in this place!

As I share my gratitude with you, I also want to challenge you to take a few moments this week to share gratitude with the people around you. Too many times, we take the people that God has placed in our lives for granted. We think they are always going to be there because they have always been there. Because of this, we forget to thank them for being God’s gifts to us at just the right time and in just the right places.

Summer is one of the best times (we should do it all the time) to share gratitude with one another. There are times when this season can be busy because of all the extra activities in our lives. I would encourage us all to slow down and take a few moments to share thanksgiving with one another. When we share signs of gratitude, our relationships are able to grow, and we are also showing God how grateful we are for the other people he has placed in our lives. 

Just a thought …