Prepping for the Holidays...

This is a reprint of a former post that I believe needs repeating...

Now, I don't know about you, but in my day, the upcoming holidays for Thanksgiving and Christmas  would often sneak up on us. It's not that they weren't on our calendars and on everyone's radar, but there was no big rush to start the season of Thanksgiving ahead of the week or so before the date itself.

Nowadays, nothing could be further from the way things used to be. I was in a store just a few weeks ago and not only was the Halloween candy in full display as well as other fall decorations, this store already had all it's Christmas lights in place ...and they were playing Christmas music.

We all like to get presents and many of us find great joy in giving presents to those we dearly love, but this materialistic manner in which we approach Christmas has gone too far. Many of our American counterparts see the Thanksgiving holiday as a time to start our Black Friday shopping early; therefore, how much time do we really do and honor what this holiday is really all about....being THANKFUL!

Now I know a lot of people look at all that is happening in our communities and across our nation and there are despondent....I GET THAT; however, I just returned from a two week river cruise in Europe and I can testify that we as Americans have it REALLLLLLLY GOOD! Even with all our problems, setbacks and disagreements, living in the USA is still the greatest privilege afforded to anyone who calls this great country, HOME. I found in talking with every service person on our ship, THEY ALL WANT TO MOVE TO AMERICA...AND THEY SEE THE NEWS AND KNOW THAT ALL IS NOT PERFECT.

So this Thanksgiving, let's do something different than in years past...forget shopping on Thanksgiving day and spend your time, your energy and your focus on the things (and the people) for whom you are thankful...you will be a better, more loving person as the Christmas holiday draws near...and you just might change the outlook of someone who still thinks that they really don't have that much to be thankful for.

It's the way Christ lived before us and it is the way those that follow Him have been called to live...PRAISING THE SAVIOR ALL THE DAY LONG!

BLESSED BEYOND MEASURE...HOPING IT SHOWS,

WPQ

Poem for the Day:

In harmony with one voice we raise

Our grateful songs of thankful praise.

In song and dance we do proclaim

That we are blessed in Jesus’ name.

May all creation spend each day,

Praising Jesus in every way…

And may the very rocks cry out;

The valleys sing, the mountains shout...

And echo through each humbled heart

As all who know Him do their part….

To sing and worship all our days

With hearts filled with eternal praise.

WPQ 2011

See the rest of today's story at

thankfulpraiseministries.com

Missing Those Who've Gone Home!

At the onset of this another Thanksgiving Holiday, I am reminded that for many of us, this will be our first Thanksgiving when we sit down to enjoy that wonderful meal and as our eyes gaze around the table, we will see that empty chair where Daddy or Mommy was sitting just last year...or perhaps it is a wife or husband no longer in their place....a grandmother or grandfather that helped us hold onto our childhood and shared so many memories no longer sitting next to us....or some other special person that has gone home to be with their Heavenly Father.

Our eyes will well up with tears as we pass the mashed potatoes and we will fight back the urge to cry uncontrollably as we give thanks before partaking of our Thanksgiving meal; but that is to be expected since the hurt and the longing for the one we love is still so very real....and your Heavenly Father knows your sorrow and He wants you to know and understand the words that follow in this poem. My father-in-law went home to Heaven this past January and this season of holidays will be our first without Jeter Lee, a wonderful man that loved everyone he ever meet...it was just his nature to do so.  So if you too are missing someone that held a prominent, loving place in your life, I know you are facing one of the hardest things you will ever do...TO BE THANKFUL IN THIS SEASON OF THANKSGIVING...but lean into these words and find comfort that God only takes the VERY best!

GOD  ONLY  TAKES  THE  VERY  BEST

God only takes the very best

Whose labors are now done;

And brings them home to quiet rest

At the setting of life’s sun.

He saw your loved one was growing tired

Each step, how it took its toll;

So He brought them to His heavenly place

To make them well again and whole.

A golden heart no longer beating….

Tireless hands have now found rest

And in this, we find our comfort….

GOD ONLY TAKES THE VERY BEST!

He only takes the ones He loves

And though they had to part;

We know that they have left behind

Special memories in your heart.

For your loved one is not truly gone,

They  have only slipped away;

On a far and different journey….

Alas, you’ll meet again someday.

And on that wondrous, glorious morn

Oh, how you will be blest….

Home at last in your Father’s arms …

God only takes the VERY BEST!

W. Patrick Queen

August 2007

May your heart be blessed and filled with thanksgiving and praise for the life well-lived and the love bestowed by the one that will be forever missed. Until that time of joyous reunion in the place that is waiting for those who love and trust in the Lord, may His love enfold you and His grace uphold you as you long for your day to be called ...HOME....and the sweet reunion just waiting on that other shore.


BLESSED (AND THANKFUL) BEYOND MEASURE,

WPQ

Taking Time to Be Thankful...

Here’s a new twist to an old saying: Due to the recent financial difficulties, the light at the end of the tunnel has been turned off!

Now, I know that things are not as good as they could be; but, heaven knows they could be worse. So as we approach the upcoming day that we as Americans set aside to give thanks; well, let’s do just that….GIVE THANKS!

In fact, if truth be told, we find in God’s word that giving “THANKS:” is an imperative: in fact, it is a direct command from the Great I AM. Throughout the Psalms, David continually wrote to praise the Lord and to give thanks. In Chapters 106 and 118, he begins each psalm with this admonition, “Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever.”

Time and time again, David reminds us to give thanks…to let our hearts overflow with thanksgiving. In fact, in over 33 passages in the Bible, we are commanded to give thanks to our Father who is the giver of every good gift.

So on this Thursday, as you gather with friends and family members and recount God’s blessing during this past year, don’t look at the shrinking balance in your checking account and lament how poor you are…rather; remember if you have any spare change just lying around the house, you are already wealthier than 75% of the world’s population. Contemplate this…..if you have a roof over your head, clothes on your back and shoes on your feet….. And you eat at least one meal a day; you are living above the poverty level of 85% of those in third world countries.

Yes, times are hard for many of us here in America, but that does not relieve us of God’s command to obedience as we bestow our praise, honor, adoration and gratitude on Him who has given us all that we have and more than we need. However, we should not give thanks to God because it our duty or just to be obedient to his Word, but rather out of love and gratitude for the immeasurable blessings of God on this great nation.

Times may be hard and they may become harder…but we, as followers of Christ, are called to a higher standard of thanksgiving…we are to praise him and give thanks in ALL things…the good and the bad…in the best of times and the worst of times.

Begin today your celebration of this Thanksgiving season by doing the following….set aside some time to make a list of the things for which you can give thanks and after each one, BLESS THE NAME OF JESUS….tell Him, personally, what and why you are thankful and how, even if that blessing were stripped away, you would still give thanks and bless his name…..for scripture tells us, “What shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, yet lose his own soul.”

This Thanksgiving do the one thing that will honor God and bring glory to His name….Tell others how thankful you are that you belong to Jesus. This simple act of telling others that you are a child of the King will elicit praise from your lips and will demonstrate a heart filled and over-flowing with thanksgiving.

It is in every act of worship that we demonstrate our love for our Heavenly Father and in our praise and works of obedience that we show a humble and thankful heart.

SO GO AHEAD AND HAVE A BLESSED AND HAPPY THANKSGIVING this week…and ....May God bless you as never before!

WPQ

Poem for the Day:

In harmony with one voice we raise

Our grateful songs of thankful praise.

In song and dance we do proclaim

That we are blessed in Jesus’ name.

May all creation spend each day,

Praising Jesus in every way…

And may the very rocks cry out;

The valleys sing, the mountains shout...

And echo through each humbled heart

As all who know Him do their part….

To sing and worship all our days

With hearts filled with eternal praise.

WPQ 2011

God's Favor…Your Fervor!

When's the last time you stopped and took a good look at your life? Are things going about as well as you expected? Is your life as joyous and enthusiastic as it was when you first asked Jesus to come into your heart and create a new life within you?

If not, then it may be that you've lost your FERVOR for God and thus, He is holding back His FAVOR!

Now, many theologians would probably debate me on this issue, but let's try a closer examination and see what the Scriptures might have to say on such an important matter. First, let me make sure that you understand my premise…You can't be good enough to win God's favor (the outpouring of His blessings on your life) any more than you can earn your salvation…God doesn't play that game!

He does say, however, in Proverbs 12:2,"A good man obtains favor from the Lord, but a man of evil devices he condemns." And paraphrasing "good" or "righteous" would allow us to use the word, FERVENT…which means stretching or straining…as Paul says in Philippians 3:14, "I press (strain) for the goal for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."

When we have lost our fervor for God, we have placed him in the passenger seat of our life and we have taken over the controls. We no longer strain to be the believer that He has called us to be and it shows in all the areas of our lives. How can God be expected to open up the storehouse of Heaven and shower us with His favor when we have not given Him the proper place in our lives?

If we have lost our enthusiasm for spending time in His Word; become complacent in our prayer life; lost our zeal for sharing the Good News and no longer run after Him with ardent fervor in our hearts; why should we expect our Creator to be more than casually concerned about us and our desire to see an outpouring of His favor on us and our activities?

In Revelation 3:16, we read, "So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth." What does that mean in context of the favor of God?

Simply put… if you are not fervently seeking the Lord in worship and in service for Him, He can hardly be expected to release His favor on you…so if you are a born again believer these days and are not seeing or experience the FAVOR of God in your life, you might want to take your temperature…hot or cold or just lukewarm.

God is waiting and willing to help you regain that fervor that has you straining for the goal of becoming a "sold out" convert for Christ…commissioned and battlefield ready to be all that God wants you to be in the war against our foe…and when you are back in the trenches, you will see the FAVOR of God poured out on you like never before. So, don't delay one more day, fervently seek the face of God and see if He is not willing to shine down His abundant favor on you.

Fervently Following My Commander, Jesus Christ….

WPQ

Poem for the day....

If you are waiting for God's blessings

to fill your life today;

Then you must give Him honor

as you seek to walk His way...

For you are called to live for Jesus

in all you say and do

And be an ardent follower...

 that's what He wants from you.

So if you lost your fervor

 for serving our Lord each day;

Then give your life in obedience

as you seek to walk His way.

Just know that He is waiting,

each blessing to bestow...

For He always walks beside you

no matter where you go!!!!

WPQ © Nov 2018