A Shocking Hypothetical
The first “Th(i)nkful” Seminar ever was on October 18, 2015, in North Wilkesboro, NC, where my dear friend, Joanna Chapmon, hosted a ladies’ afternoon. I explained and illustrated the skill and benefits of thinking thanks.
Then came the closing exercise. “Each of you has just been diagnosed with third stage cancer. Now, write down on your 3×5 card three things that you’re thankful for in this difficult situation.” Stunned looks turned to thoughtful stares and slowly they began to write. A few minutes later, we were all blessed by the myriad insights the ladies had in response to this hypothetical difficulty.
Th(i)nkful in Action
Now, let me introduce you to Nancy. 
She and her husband are walking through a valley of challenge as her husband Mike deals with 4th stage pancreatic cancer. Nancy is an RN working for the Carolina Center for Behavioral Health.
Since they have been our friends for decades, we prayed when the diagnosis came; we prayed through the treatments; we prayed through the good news; we prayed through the bad news.
Recently, when Mike went through a difficult day of surgery, we prayed again. The next morning I woke to read this Facebook post by Nancy:
Thank you Lord for the blessings of this difficult day.
1. The cadre of believers that surrounded me to carry the load and distract me during surgery
2. The folks that brought me bags of snacks
3. The folks that brought me drinks, change for the vending machine and gave of their precious time to encourage me with their presence.
4. Our surgical oncologist Dr. Nguyen who is immensely skilled and so very kind and compassionate.
5. The friends that wanted to come visit and weren’t offended when we ask them to visit us another day.
6. Michael’s OB/GYN who stopped by twice today to check on him ( if you want to know ask)
7. Our sweet nurse Lisa who did everything she could to help Michael be as comfortable and well taken care of as possible. We are thankful she will be his nurse tomorrow too. And NO she WAS NOT PLAYING CARDS!!!
8. So very, very, thankful for our Pastor Mike Hamlet who was with us at 6:30AM during check in and pre-op and then came back this afternoon because we were struggling and needed his comfort and prayers.
9. For all of you reading this who prayed before, during, and after the surgery. We thank God for you. You have lightened our burden and we are so grateful for you!
10. Karin Brown, we are thinkful.❣
Nancy is wisely putting into action being thankful in all circumstances. She is carving the brain neural pathway of looking for things to think thanks about and expressing them.
So, I’m praising God and giving a shout-out to Nancy, saying “well done!” I feel Nancy is miles ahead of me in implementing thankfulness. I know it’s so hard for her, and yet she is choosing to download the grace to winnow through the glass chards of broken hopes to think gratitude. She can do this with confidence because God is trustworthy and sovereign.
Doer of the Word
Are you actively practicing being th(i)nkful – giving thanks in all things? Most of us are familiar with Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). He spoke with authority; the people were astonished. Jesus ended his talk by using a powerful seaside contrast between the wise man and the foolish man. Remember singing about this as a kid?
The wise man and the foolish had both heard the same messenger and the same message in the same presentation. One acknowledged, but the other implemented. The former felt that he knew better and shaped his life accordingly. It was all great until the storm. The wise man’s house stood on boring rock, back from the edge … and did just fine in the storm.
Be careful of the deception that James wrote about … thinking that because we hear something we really own it (James 1:22). To know you should be giving thanks is not the same as doing it. How can you and your family create a habit of being th(i)nkful?
Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:18.
But our friend Carmen loves God and runs to Him in prayer, with thankfulness.
Marc and their daughter are her joys. She has a strong love for the hurting; that does not mean just humans, but also animals of all kinds. 🙂 She struggles to see someone in pain and works so hard as a doctor to help.
I moved there when I was four years old. I have so many fond memories of that little town, two and a half hours north of Oslo. That is where I learned to speak Norwegian. That is where I began to attend the primary school known as Fagerlund Skole. I had the most amazing teacher, Fru Mørland.
No big deal really, it is just the laundry detergent that she used. The look of the box stuck with me.
Everything can be an absolute mess all around you, but when you let yourself get pulled into that moment and the beauty in such a small thing … you can breathe. In such moments, I am always reminded that God gives opportunity for us to stop and appreciate Him and everything He’s given us ALL THE TIME … it’s up to us to take those opportunities, catch those little breathers, be amazed at the world around us, and be thankful for what we have. 
how Lancelot willingly volunteered to run the gauntlet? There were blades, spikes, swords, bludgeons, paddles, and heavy balls whirling about him at different speeds, and from different directions.
around 10 pm and we arrive in Amanzimtoti, South Africa, on Thursday morning, Lord willing. These past few months we have been so busy preparing and packing … and today we go.
The second category is known as Development – helping the needy by working with them to improve their general living conditions, developing their skills, giving them a hand up and not a hand out. Think of Israel leaving part of the harvest for widows like Ruth in Deuteronomy 24:19-22.
Asset-Based Community Development – is helping a struggling community improve itself by sitting down with residents and inquiring about what they already have.😊 When Moses resisted getting involved with God’s plan, God asked him, “What is that in your hand?” (Exodus 4:2). That’s where we begin. We look at what is, not at what is missing.
This approach promotes a philosophy of thankfulness and a “can do” spirit. In other words, a community looks to its own members to identify what assets are already present around them.
My friend bought a leaf cutter from Hobby Lobby craft store (using the 40% coupon) :). She then went to Walmart and asked if she could have paint-color samples. She took the paint-color sample papers and cut out ‘leaves.’
It displayed the leaves. 
She brought the tree and the leaves to show me one evening when we were speaking at a missions conference at her church.
Th(i)nkful: a determined choice to download grace/strength from the Lord to think thanks about every circumstance in my life and to express that thanks orally or in a written form.
e an alabaster box filled with precious spikenard perfume and poured the ointment on Jesus. Jesus was visiting Bethany six days before his crucifixion and had been invited to a meal at Simon’s house. Resurrected Lazarus was seated at the table, and Martha was serving. Mary took a costly treasure, worth a person’s yearly wage (about $50,000.00 today), and poured it out on Jesus. Her act was taken by Jesus as preparation for His upcoming burial (Mark 14:8). John tells us the house was filled with the odor of the ointment (John 12:3). Imagine spending $50,000 for something that would disappear in a few minutes! She was obviously convinced of who Jesus really was, and must have strongly sensed that his death was close.
and listening at His feet (Luke 10:18-42). He had also come to them in Bethany four days after Lazarus had died and raised him from the dead (John 11). Now, He was again with them in Bethany, and Mary grabbed the opportunity of worshipping Him with probably her greatest treasure, the alabaster flask containing costly spikenard perfume. She didn’t hold back. She poured out her treasure on her even greater Treasure, the Lord Jesus, in preparation for his death and burial. She knew from experience that He had the power to raise people from the dead. Although she may not have known all the details of how Christ would die and rise again, her faith, garbed with devotion, was strong and committed.
I Corinthians 3:12-14 states that at the Evaluation Seat of Christ all our works will be tested by fire. We’re not sure how our works will materialize into fuel nor what this fire will look like, but we are left to ponder the “burn-down factor” – what are we doing here and how that will survive the fire? Jesus said we can actually “lay up treasure in heaven” – pass our time, energies, and finances through an unseen membrane out of this life and into heaven.
th(i)nkful 