Season of Gratitude
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Hi! I’m Heather - a passionate lover of Jesus & my family. Here on the blog is where I share about faith, family and lifestyle favorites. Looking for something specific? Use the search bar below!
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Even though AZ is still in triple-digit temperatures coming into September, I still like to pretend it’s Fall! As an Arizona native who has been cooped up indoors to escape the scorching summer heat for months…you learn to celebrate the change of the season…even if we don’t get the vast color spectrum of changing leaves adorning our scenery. (At least not here in the city limits).
School is back in session. Football is about to kick off. And soon we’ll get to enjoy a hot pumpkin-flavored coffee on our patio while wearing our favorite sweater. PRAISE. THE. LORD!
rejoice always
What a command, right?! I mean, that’s easy when things are going well….but real life isn’t always pretty; we all are facing battles most don’t even know about…AS I am typing this I got a phone call that one of our teens got in a fight at school. He’s injured. Yikes! Yet I will rejoice that The Lord is still good…He has our family in the palm of His hands. He is our healer. He is our Redeemer. He is on the throne and in control and we entrust our lives to Him.
pray continually
I find myself being challenged with envy sometimes when I hear my favorite pastor, Brian Guerin continually encourage us to get alone in “The Nook of Knowing Him”. Taking time away from the demands of life to simply be still with the Lord in the secret place. I wish I were able to prioritize His presence more and carve out dedicated, uninterrupted time soaking in His presence as I once was able in seasons past. But I have two little babies and am usually sleep-deprived. In all honesty, in this season, I find it challenging to even find time to take an uninterrupted shower and put on normal clothes. Yet, I realize that though I’m unable to make time to be with Him, I know that He is always with ME. He is with me each moment of the day caring for my babies and maintaining our home. He sees and understands the demands of the season of life we are in and yet still invites us to pray without ceasing - yes sometimes even while changing diapers, cleaning up toys and doing never-ending piles of dishes and laundry.
give thanks in all circumstances
Gratitude is the key to the gate of His glory. It is the password to His presence. We cannot enter in without it. Proof: “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.” (Psalm 100:4-5 KJV)
God bless my husband who has been enduring a challenging season at work. He’s currently on an assignment that is testing him spiritually, emotionally and physically. It’s likely the cause of a reemergence of a past heart condition with which he has been miraculously healed which has landed him in the ER twice over the past couple of weeks. THANKFULLY, we have a strong, Holy Spirit-filled family that is bound together in a prayer campaign covering him in prayer every day of the week. The enemy has messed with the wrong man! He is blessed and highly favored and no weapon formed against him will prosper, in Jesus’ name!
What is god’s will for your life?
This: Rejoice always. Pray continually. Give thanks in all circumstances. This it. Simple. Yet, so often, we get caught up in circumstances or the minutia of lesser details like which career path to pursue, who to date or marry, and what role in the church we can lead. Details like these are more important to us than God, I think. Because beneath the surface of the roles we play in this life is the heart in which we live this life out. Want to ensure you are at the center of God’s will? Simple, then learn to rejoice always, pray continually and give thanks in all circumstances. Bingo.
Download this free printable and post it where you’ll see the reminder most: Your desk, by the Kitchen Sink or your bathroom counter. (Also makes for a great phone wallpaper). I’d love to see where you post it and hear your glory stories of how it’s ministering to you. Snap a pic and post on Instagram and tag me @heather.schissel. Praying with you as we learn and grow together in the likeness of Christ’s image. Be blessed.
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