On giving thanks: A remedy if you find yourself among the nine

If you find yourself among “the nine,” you can become “the one” by writing your memoir.

Confused? Read on.

On his way to Jerusalem, Jesus crossed paths with ten lepers—despised, cut off from society and loved ones, lonely, suffering, and desperate for healing.

They cried to him, “Have mercy on us!”

And he did. He healed them.

Then they all took off—we can imagine their joy!—but one man turned around, fell on his knees, and said thank you.

No doubt the man’s gratitude touched Jesus’ heart, but he couldn’t help but wonder, aloud, “Ten men were healed. Where are the nine others? Where is their thanks?”

Jesus seemed hurt, disappointed, maybe even stunned by their ingratitude.

Ouch!

How many times have you and I failed to thank God for what He has done for us? So often, when we get through something difficult or scary, we simply wheeze, “Whew!” and get on with life. Where’s our gratitude?

Could it be that we crush God’s heart when we fail to thank Him? That He’s disappointed at our ingratitude? Maybe even stunned?

Don’t be “one of the nine.” Be “the one” who deliberately says thanks.

How?

By writing your memoir. Write it as a book full of falling on your knees in gratitude.

Your memoir can include all kinds of interesting, entertaining, humorous, and even wild and crazy stories about everyday stuff—

childhood escapades,

dating,

friendship,

family times,

schooling,

athletics,

adventures,

travel,

falling in love,

raising kids,

homemaking,

careers,

finances,

hobbies,

ministries,

practical jokes,

health (or poor health),

setbacks,

surprises,

death of loved ones,

answered prayers,

—and in all those stories, you can include gratitude and thanksgiving to God.

So, gather your memories and write your stories!

Your stories: An act of worship

Have you read 1 Chronicles 16 lately? If not, take a few minutes to read it below—you’ll be glad you did!

Notice how you can almost hear trumpets sounding and bells ringing and angels singing.

In this chapter, David gave Asaph and his fellow Levites a song of thanksgiving to God. He said:

Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name;

make known…what he has done.

Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts….

Remember the wonders he has done….

Declare his glory...his marvelous deeds….

For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise….

Splendor and majesty are before him;

strength and joy in his dwelling place.

Ascribe to the Lord...the glory due his name.

Bring an offering before him;

worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness....

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

his love endures forever.

                                                                          

And when David finished, “Then all the people shouted ‘Amen’ and ‘Praise the Lord.’” What a worship service! I wish I could have stood among that congregation.

And as if that’s not enough—what’s even more exciting

is that we are doing the same things in our memoirs! 

In our stories,

we are telling others the wonders God has done

and his marvelous deeds on our behalf.

In our memoir stories, we are declaring his glory.

In the process, we are “singing” praise to him,

“Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise!”

One sentence grabbed hold of my heart: “Bring an offering before him; worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.”

I encourage you to lift up to God (1) your process of writing and (2) your finished stories—lift them up to God as your offering to him.

And hand your stories to your readers as an offering to the Lord, too. Do it as an act of worshiping him in the splendor of his holiness. What a privilege we have to honor God in this way.

And we, the writers, together with our readers, 

shout, Amen! And Praise the Lord!

A remedy if you find yourself among the nine

If you find yourself among “the nine,” you can become “the one” by writing your memoir. Confused? Read on.…

On his way to Jerusalem, Jesus crossed paths with ten lepers—despised, cut off from society and their loved ones, lonely, suffering, and desperate for healing.

They cried out to Jesus, “Have mercy on us!”

And he did. He healed them.

Then they all took off—we can only imagine their joy!—but one man turned around, fell on his knees, and praised God in profound gratitude for being healed of his leprosy.

No doubt Jesus’ heart was moved by the man’s gratitude, but he couldn’t help but wonder, aloud: “Ten men were healed. Where are the nine others? Where is their thanks?”

Jesus seems hurt, disappointed, maybe even stunned, by their ingratitude.

Ouch!

How many times have you and I failed to thank God for what He has done for us? So often, when we get through something difficult or scary, we just wheeze, “Whew!” and get on with life. Where’s our gratitude?

Could it be that God is crushed when we fail to thank Him? Hurt? Disappointed in our ingratitude? Maybe even stunned?

Don’t be “one of the nine!” Be the one who made an effort to thank and praise God!

How?

This is where writing your memoir comes in! Write your memoir as a book full of falling on your knees in praise and profound gratitude toward God.

Your memoir can include all kinds of interesting, entertaining, even humorous stories about everyday stuff—

childhood escapades,

dating,

friendships,

family times,

schooling,

adventure,

travel,

falling in love,

homemaking,

raising kids,

careers,

finances,

hobbies,

ministries,

health (or poor health),

setbacks,

surprises,

death of loved ones,

and all of those stories can include gratitude and thanksgiving to God.

So gather up your memories and write your stories!

Related posts:

Gathering up your memories

You Must Be Very Careful

Remember!

Don’t forget your memories

How can you retrieve your memories? 

Humor: Cry, laugh, wait  

Humor: “Like a sneak attack”