When was the last time you felt awed by the wonder of life?
Believe me, awesome was not the first word that came to mind when an alarm went off at 2:00 a.m. in our living room. Three Loud Tweets every thirty seconds. Jose checked the smoke detectors. He tried to disarm a motion sensor, but it was electronically wired with no off switch. What was making that noise? An hour later, it continued. Three Loud Tweets. Every. Thirty. Seconds.
We shut the bedroom door, put in earplugs, and tried to sleep. When my alarm clock sounded at 6:00 a.m., I groaned and went into the kitchen to make coffee to the tune of Three Loud Tweets. Every. Thirty. Seconds. The tweeting continued through several telephone calls to our security company until 9:30, when Jose happened to discover an additional smoke detector we’d never even seen. Dead battery.
But you know what? Even with the unseen smoke detector beeping, my French roast coffee still tasted heavenly. The breakfast my dear husband cooked blessed me, and a lovely rain pattered on the windowpanes. The beeping sound almost made me miss the beauty of the morning.
Just like that tweeting alarm, life gets loud, and we miss its beauty for all the noise.
Awesome may not be the first word that comes to our minds as we wolf down an early dinner to take the kids to sports practice or chase them down when it’s bath time. At the office or in line at the grocery story, we wonder where life’s wonder went.
Wonder is all around us, but we miss it.
We zoom down freeways and drive into the garage at night without looking at the stars. We wrestle the kids to bed without rejoicing because they’re fearfully and wonderfully made. We eat on the run without noticing how an apple tastes amazing.
We lose touch with the awe of our Creator and His Works.
During the month of November, I’m on a mission to reconnect with God’s wonder and pursue the joyful life. I hope to do two things:
Get in Touch with God’s Greatness
When we slow down enough to behold the beauty of a simple flower or look up at the color of the sky, we’re inspired to praise our Creator. As we read Scripture, our picture of Him grows bigger, and we can’t help but praise His greatness.
Thank Him for His Wonders
We forget that even the food we buy at the supermarket is a gift from God’s hand. How much more should we give Him thanks for wonders like these?
- Marriage: such a blessing even when quality time is hard to come by.
- A baby: so miraculous even though she cries at night.
- A teenager: awe-inspiring even though he sometimes explodes.
Will you join me for 30 Days of Thanks and Praise?
Let’s take a few moments every day to step away from the noise of life and remember the wonder of God and His gifts. Each evening before bed, and each morning upon rising:
1. Whisper a word of praise to God. One simple sentence is enough.
2. Thank Him for three blessings.
Morning and evening: a word of praise and thanks for three blessings.
Are you with me, friend? I’d love to know your thoughts.
Join the Faith Spilling Over Facebook Community for 30 Days of Thanks and Praise. Look for a daily word of encouragement.
Linking up with Holly Barrett’s Testimony Tuesday, Kelly Balarie’s RaRaLinkup, Holley Gerth’s Coffee for your Heart, Jennifer Dukes Lee’s Tell His Story, Arabah Joy’s Grace and Truth, and Faith ‘n Friends. Check out these communities for more encouragement.
I’m in
So glad, Judy!
What a beautifully written, poignant piece that echoes my heart today! Yes, there is so much to be grateful for! I too began a daily gratitude list for November (on Twitter @LindaWPerkins). Grateful for you and your encouraging words too, Betsy! Have a blessed day!
Thanks so much for your encouragement, Linda. I look forward to joining you on Twitter! May your day be blessed as well.
Such a great idea, Betsy. Especially in this month of Thanksgiving, when the holiday (and gratitude) are skipped over for the most part by the rest of the world. Three and one, twice a day. Sounds like a great prescription for joy to me!
Thank you, Sabra. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Beats Christmas for me. I love the idea of cultivating gratitude. It does renew our joy.
Beautiful 🙂
Hi Betsy! I have had our smoke detector go off at night too. I drives me nuts! I guess it’s supposed to…sure does it’s job!
But your point is so good. How many times do I miss the beauty because I’m busy being upset at all the noise around me? I would say ‘a lot’. Your plan of thanks and praise is just the thing to get me thinking about the good things that God brings each day. I know I’m blessed, but listing them is proof!
I know you’ll have a blessed month,
Ceil
Thanks, Ceil. I don’t want to miss the beauty in life, either. Amazing how just as I wrote this post and began my thanks and praise month, I’ve had many challenges crop up, but I want to keep my eyes on Him! I pray you’ll be blessed as you list God’s gifts.
I’m in. God gives so many blessings to us that we miss because we don’t notice them when they come to us. This will be a great way to stop and notice His blessings
Glad you’re in, Teresa. May God open our eyes!
I’m re-reading the Spirituality of Gratitude to get my heart ready for thanksgiving, and was arrested by this truth: Gratitude allows us to SEE the good. The author uses Joshua and Caleb as an example. Same land, same giants, but they looked at it and saw GOOD, God’s provision for His people. The other ten looked at it and saw danger and despair. That’s me. As you said above, I don’t want to miss the beauty in life. Gratitude will help me to truly see.
Oh wow. Same land, same giants. DIFFERENT FOCUS. I’ll have to look that book up. Gratitude is life-changing for me.
I’m in! I’ve been in the habit of writing down my blessings and things I”m grateful for each morning–but I love the idea of writing down something at night, too–maybe it would help with those nights I can’t sleep if I have fresh blessings percolating in my mind :).
I jot things down too, Anita. This month I’m adding a once sentence prayer of praise before my gratitude list. But at night, I don’t write it down. I just tell God as I get ready for bed. He hears me, and it does my heart good.
I love this, Betsy and when I saw you begin this on Facebook, I knew you were going to be pointing to God in the loud and messy rather than worrying about what’s happening in your day to day. I’m in for giving thanks because I already try to look at each day for the good rather than what went wrong.
Thanks for your encouragement, Mary. I want to look for the good, look on the bright side, and look on the praiseworthy. What we focus on grows in our minds!
So great, Betsy! There is always room for more wonder and praise. He is certainly worthy of all we have to give!
Amen, Tiffany! There’s always room for more wonder. For sure.
Betsy,
Yes…Love your post and your heart 🙂 Thank you!
Thanks for reading, Dolly. 🙂
This is a great challenge, Betsy. I’ve been part of a One Thousand Gifts study the past few weeks, so it’s gotten me back in the habit of writing down 3 blessings a day. I hope to continue it. Thanks for the encouragement to do so!
I jot mine down too. Then I love going back later to re-read. Brings back good memories and more thanks!
What a beautiful reminder to give God thanks, Betsy. Sometimes I get so distracted by the little things that I forget see the big things God is doing. I pray that we can see His hand at work in every aspect of our lives as we focus more on gratitude and praises. Sending you blessings! – Marva @ sunSPARKLEshine
Distraction? I’m the queen of distraction, Marva. Definitely understand where you’re coming from. I’m working on FOCUS this month and giving God praise!
Good Morning, Betsy!
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been praying about a way that I could encourage other bloggers who have been encouraging me. Through your ministry, posts, words, comments, and faithfulness—your life has been a blessing to mine, and I wanted others to know about you!
So, I compiled a list of those bloggers who I’ve personally found to be the MOST INSPIRATIONAL on the web.
You are ONE Of these bloggers – in my estimation!
You can find the link to the list where you are featured here: http://www.melanieredd.com/the-100-most-inspiring-christian-blogs-on-the-web/
I’ve also signed up to get your emails, and tried to follow you on your social media outlets!
I pray that God will encourage you today through these simple acts~
Melanie
Thank you, Melanie. I AM encouraged. Thank you so much. May the Lord bless you today.
Love this, Betsy! The most beautiful gratitudes are all about the daily graces, the ongoing gifts God gives us. He is so awesome, His creation so magnificent.
I’m glad to celebrate thanksgiving with you, lovely lady!
;-}
Amen, Linda! Those daily graces are the most life-changing of all. I’m celebrating all month (even when it gets hard!) 🙂
Amen. I try to wake up and immediately thank God for whatever comes to mind. I want to get in all the thanks before I start lifting up all the requests :). Plus, it makes me see how much I truly have to be thankful for. It shifts my spirit.
Shifts our spirits. I like that, Alecia. Gratitude certainly does that. Like you, I need my eyes opened to what I already have, before lifting up all those requests. 🙂
Betsy, This year I guess you could say I made a “New Year’s Resolution”. I purposed to enjoy life and God’s creation to the fullest, appreciating every small detail. In the last couple of months, I have used my blog to help me be more intentional about it, but also to leave a legacy to my children and their children and so on.
There is nothing better than to be fully present in the moment in His presence.
Thanks for sharing! 🙂
That is beautiful, Karen. Blessings to you as you continue counting His gifts.
This is great, Betsy! I’ve been putting out fires since I finished October’s challenge … and I need to s-l-o-w down … and be intentional about Thanksgiving this month. (btw – a couple of weeks ago our digital phone went out in the middle of the night … yes, the “trouble” beep for our alarm kept us awake!)
Your digital phone? Oh no! I don’t know how you did the October challenge, Dianne. My hat’s off to you! Blessings as you seek to slow down.
Betsy, this is such an inspirational and rewarding way of remembering in November! Life is full of wonder but we miss so much in our busyness. Thank you for this great reminder. Belated blessings from your neighbour at #TellHisStory this week. 🙂
Thanks for stopping by from Tell His Story. Life gets messy, even in November, but I’m counting my blessings as best I can.
I love this! I struggle all the time with being so caught up with life and the stress that comes with it that I miss the beauty that God wove right into life. I want to start praying that God would help me open my eyes to the wonderful things that are right in front of me and that He would pattern my thoughts in that way. Thanks so much for the inspiration : )
Yes, Meredith. It’s easy to get caught up with life, right. Let’s pray for open eyes! I’m with you there.
We’re definitely thinking alike this month. As you know – I’m in!
So glad, Deb!
This is beautiful and I absolutely love this piece of wisdom, “…life gets loud, and we miss its beauty for all the noise.” Thank you so much for sharing this with us at Grace & Truth! It’s wonderful, and I’m in too! 🙂
I’m glad you’re in, Holly! Life does get loud, doesn’t it? I’m trying to keep things down to a dull roar around here and keep on giving thanks!
We can miss the beauty for all the noise … I pray I smell the coffee, appreciate the gestures, listen to the soothing rain falling on the windowsill. Thank you, Betsy, for the reminder to quiet my heart to appreciate God’s greatness. : )
Saw your words on Kristi’s site … so thankful I did. : )