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Around the Network: When God Clears His Throat
“Ahem!”
This universal sound, never formally taught, yet instinctively uttered by parents, gets action.
My mother was a believer in its power. If I accepted a gift from someone and turned away before expressing proper appreciation, she would just clear her throat. With that near-guttural sound I instantly knew what she wanted me to do. “Young man, you turn around and say ‘thank you.”
It worked.
Now, as an adult, I’m well-mannered with people, but not always grateful toward God. So He finds unique ways to give gentle, yet firm reminders of the gifts I’ve been given.
Nancy Franson blogs at Out of My Alleged Mind and she recently penned a thought-provoking piece simply called, Ahem.
She reflects on how her children react to this verbal clue, and concludes, “I need similar tools, similar promptings to encourage me to express my gratitude toward God.”
Many members of our High Calling Blogs network are active in Ann Voskamp’s Gratitude Community and are learning how to spot and respond to the divinely-inspired “ahems” in the world around us.
When we begin to look for opportunities to express gratitude, they’ll appear in the most unexpected places.
Lynn Mosher found one when an old oak was removed from her front yard. The tree had provided years of recreation, shade and comfort for her family and now, it was gone. Her “ode to the oak” and application to her own life is a must read.
One of my favorite writers is Lyla Lindquist. Her retelling of the story of the blind man at the pool of Siloam is riveting. Who caused the error, the handicap? Who was at fault? Read Neither to find out. She then sums this miraculous story with the gratitude of He Came Home Seeing.
Do you love God, but struggle with people? A Simple Country Girl convincingly nudges the two together in posts here and here.
It’s easy to forget the promise of a better day, of a coming King. But Melissa Campbell writes of a powerful love song between a bride and her promised One. Stunningly complex and beautifully composed, you’ll savor Dawning.
And speaking of marriages, I was riveted by the retelling of a courtship and engagement of Joelle. She writes of the “scattered, random scraps of white coming together to form my wedding dress” and relates them to the gifts her fiancee brings to the upcoming marriage.
For years, Michael Perkins had convinced his wife that he didn’t make the bed because he couldn’t. It was a ruse. His revelation – and subsequent apology to his wife --led to other shocking confessions about shirking. Read Faking Inability.
Moms, do you ever wonder why it’s so hard to accept compliments and praise? Do you always compare yourself to others – and fall short? Lydia Will calls it “the lie that snakes its way into many a mother’s mindset.” Read The Why of Encouragement.
We don't deal with mortality very well. It’s a silent, unspoken subject. It’s a rare person who embraces it, but Cindy Waldrop, at Great Brain Ideas has decided she wants a party when she dies. And she’s planning it now.
We have a natural inclination to protect our rights, our privacy and to establish a physical and emotional buffer around us. But Kathleen Overby admits that there’s a “grinding ugliness of my space. It was mine. I was there first.” She opens up world to others.
There are plenty more great posts where these came from, and I want to encourage you to dig around High Calling Blogs for yourself. Keep reading. Keep writing.
November’s Featured Posts
Nancy Franson — Ahem
Lynn Mosher — The Old Oak Tree
Lyla Lindquist — Neither and He Came Home Seeing
A Simple Country Girl — Love God, Love People
Melissa Campbell — Dawning
Joelle — The Story
Michael Perkins — Faking Inability
Lydia Will — The Why of Encouragement
Kathleen Overby — My Space
Murano Glass photo by Irene. Used by permission. Post by David Rupert.
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