Thanks but no Thanks

 

800 Faith based Pre-marital and Marriage coaching? Do you need it? 

 

I got some exciting news… looks like we have just about nailed the location for our next TDA conference in March of 2020… I should know more in just a few days and i will keep you posted. 

 

Jeff - Cousin

 

TDAgiantslayer@gmail.com

 

Thankful for the challenges in life.

 

People who talk Jesus and don’t live it.

People who talk behind my back and malign my character.

People who owe me money that I will never see.

People who tell me that I am the best pastor ever only to leave a few weeks later because of something I said.

I am thankful for these situations so that I can love, forgive and learn more to be like Christ. I am also thankful because it reminds me that I too have played these roles in others lives and I need to ask for forgiveness.

 

I am thankful for financial hardships. For not being able to buy my wife the necklace or give her extra money for Christmas or birthdays. I am thankful for having to stretch a penny even when it makes me look cheap. I am thankful for having to work a 3rd and sometimes 4th job… even when I feel like at my age I have earned the right to be in a big church with a big salary and worry free. I am thankful that I have to check my balance in my account before I fill up my car with gas. I am thankful that through all these things God has showed me that I can trust him and that he is my source. I do not need to stress or fret- but simply trust that he knows where I am at and he will supply all my needs according to his riches and glory. 

 

I am thankful for having gifts that I feel are underused and not fully engaged due to my current situation. I am thankful that I feel like I have the street cred and the talent to do so much more and yet feel like I am spinning my wheels. I am thankful weekly for having to remind myself that I am called to change the world but can’t even seem to change my small little ministry. I am thankful in all these because it is my calling to serve, preach, teach and lead regardless of the size of audience. I am thankful that in all things God truly does the work and all I am called to do is serve him and not man, men or millions.

 

I am thankful for friends and family who have back slidden in their walk and in their commitment to Christ. I am thankful for the hate speech from some extended family members to other family members. I am thankful that they are perfect and seem to know everyones flaws but their own. I am thankful that they are alcoholics, two faced, scripture twisting, and blind as they sleep in their own lukewarm river of apathy. I am thankful because it reminds me to pray for them and to cry for them and to fast for them. I am thankful because it reminds me I can love those that are easiest to hate… family. I am thankful because it reminds me of what Christ went through with the human race, and that I do not want to live any different than he did.

 

I am thankful for getting older. For having to warm up just to get out of bed. I am thankful for the aches and pains and the stretch marks and the age spots. I am thankful that I catch women looking at me in the mall only to realize they are looking at my sons standing next to me. I am thankful that my energy level is only going to go down from here. I am thankful that as I get older I feel like I am losing touch with technology, what’s hip and how to connect with people under 30. I am thankful for my ever growing bald spot and my need for stronger glasses. I am thankful that I have lived life beyond 3 cancers, a broken neck and a brain tumor. I am thankful that I have been given a desire to live my fullest even as I age. I am thankful that God has given me wisdom and insight over the years and that I feel more dangerous to the devil than ever before. 

 

I am thankful my marriage is still not perfect. I am thankful that we still argue and fight and even go a few hours without talking to each other. I am thankful that we still are complete opposites in almost every way. I am thankful that she talks soft and I am deaf so I can never hear her. I am thankful that people at church and out and about see us and think we have the perfect marriage and we never fight and sex is still smoking hot and daily. I am thankful that my wife is still as hard as ever to figure out and drives me nuts with music, the thermostat, how I drive and my compulsion to never admit I am wrong. I am thankful that married life has given my many opportunities to want a divorce but to say no- my God is greater. I am thankful because if it not for a hard beginning I would not be as close to Christ as I am now. I am thankful for our teamwork that has brought us out of the dark times and gives us a foundation in which to speak to others about marriage with some validity and confidence. 

 

I am thankful for being a pastor, a job in which you are more undervalued, under appreciated and overwhelmed than most people will ever understand. I am thankful for giving more of myself and time than most ever will in their jobs. I am thankful that I struggle to stay fresh spiritually some seasons in life and that it will show in my ministry and Sunday morning life. I am thankful that People will come and listen to sermons for years and never fully commit to discipline themselves or growing in their faith… but will be quick to pick out your flaws. I am thankful that people judge you by your actions but only judge themselves by their intentions. I am thankful that people will smile, pray, sing and shout their love for Jesus and then take jabs at myself and others in a passive aggressive way. I am thankful because it is the perfect mirror in which to keep myself in check and guard my heart. I am thankful that hard people can create in my a soft heart when I let God do his work. I am thankful that we are all ministers and we will all be judged accordingly. I am thankful that as hard as Pastoring is… It gives me a genuine no excuse day to tell people about Jesus.

 

What are you thankful for? is it the hard stuff? I hope it is. Don’t just waste today thanking God for the easy good stuff because it is the hard stuff that is of greatest value to you.