How to Keep & Share A Thankful Heart - A Dose of Encouragement

Who or what are you thankful for & happy about today?

So many times we are drawn to think on the more unpleasant things in life which lead to unhappiness and they can keep us from being thankful for anything when we are in that frame of mind.  


What can we do to keep the right frame of mind and not get into that attitude that can get worse and worse as we dwell on the hurts and unpleasantness caused by others?

We can remember that we are blessed.

There is a little song that we used to sing years ago in church and maybe we should revive it to remind us that we are blessed.

I am blessed, I am blessed,

Every day I walk with Jesus I am blessed.

When I wake up in the morning,

When I lay my head to rest,

I am blessed, I am blessed.

If we are God's child, saved by the grace of Jesus and living by the power of the Holy Spirit then we are blessed more than be could be in any other way.

Being Blessed is not having all the money you want, having great possessions or having a great life which never sees sadness.

Being Blessed is described in Numbers 6 v 24-26 which I learnt as a song in the Presbyterian Church I grew up in as we sang it each time a baby was christened.

We are blessed as Christians because we know:

We are kept in the hand of God 

We are favoured by God 

We are in the Grace of God

We know we have the peace of God

So every day we know we are blessed and we should remember to thank God for His blessings to us.

As we thank God repeatedly we will build up a thankful heart.

As we become more thankful we will also love God more.

As we love God more we will build up a loving heart.

As we love God more we will also become more loving towards others.

As we love others more we will build up a more caring and giving heart.

I'm sure we know people who are very generous and do think often of helping and giving to others but we as Christians have the greatest thing to offer others and that is the Love of God, through the Gospel.

We can't go around saying - Oh I'm better at showing God's Love to others by giving to people rather than telling them about God's Love.

Because of God's love to us we should have a thankful and loving and giving heart which should mean give people out of the abundance of love in our hearts but that should always include the best thing we have and that is telling them about God's Salvation.

Amy Carmichael put it very simply and clearly in this quote below

because 

she knew that we cannot truly love God without giving this gift to others.

 John Wesley entreated us as believers to speak as we truly believe 

because 

he wanted us to act as the bible has also told us.

How to Keep a Thankful Heart?

Recognised how God loves & blesses us each day and remember to thank God each day.

How to Share a Thankful Heart?

React out of the Thankfulness we have which makes us more loving towards others and then we will share the Love of God. 

I Love Butterflies - A Dose of Encouragement

Where do I begin?


I cannot remember when I was not interested in something which had a butterfly on it.

Most people who know me well will be able to tell you that

 I love Butterflies.

I have Butterfly 

     necklaces,    rings,    scarves     &    brooches

 - not sure how many I have but because of these items many people know I love butterflies 


Over the years my family have bought me scarves, vases, bags and necklaces at Christmas time all decorated with butterflies.


Even the Ladies who came to the International Christian Club of Brussels knew I loved them as I was often found with a butterfly brooch pinned to my jacket.
When I was leaving Belgium to return to live in Northern Ireland I was given a lovely white lace Butterfly brooch from one of these ladies as leaving gift.

Isn't it beautiful?

My daughter even had a mug specially printed for me with butterflies on it for my Birthday one year and I featured it in a humorous blog post called 3 More Coffee Mugs

I have bought myself bags with butterfly designs, clothes with butterflies & room decorations with butterflies.

Then there was the time Fred and I spent a lovely afternoon in our home in Belgium taking pictures of the butterflies that were on a bush just outside our lounge window -  I was going to miss the Butterflies

It just makes me smile to see butterflies around the house and in our garden with our Buddleia (butterfly) bush here in Northern Ireland too and we manage to get some nice pictures of the bush in full bloom

 with butterflies around it each summer.

Why do I love Butterflies?

Because they are beautiful, intricately patterned, delicate creatures.

They are also a great reminder of new birth in that they start as caterpillars and turn into beautiful butterflies.

Just like I was once a person marred by my sin and through God's Love and the Grace of Jesus I was able to experience a new birth and share Christ's beauty.

I love to share about the butterfly in Kids Work that I would do to explain to the children that God offers them a new life in Jesus through His blood because of His Love for them.

Children hear that Jesus died on the cross but they need to know that He did this for them individually and that His beauty can become their beauty.  They need to know that he didn't stay dead but rose again and is still alive today so that they can know He talks to God about them and shares in all their feelings.

Children need to feel loved and secure above all else and Jesus wants them to accept His love and assurance that He will never leave them.

But you and I need to know exactly the same thing.

There is something very important that we all need to know.

You and I need to know we are loved and that we are safe and that there is a God planned future for us.

You and I need to experience this new birth and know that we can be beautiful in the eyes of our creator because of His Son.


There is one last Butterfly I would like to share with you today

This Butterfly sits on the Vanity Unit in our ensuite and I see it every day at the start of my day and the end of my day.


I believe in miracles.

Do you?


The Butterfly is an example of a miracle in that it changes from an ugly creature to a beautiful one.

Can you believe in Jesus and experience Him work this miracle in your life too?

I Love the Colour Blue - Coffee & Conversation

Anyone who is around me for any length of time,

      anyone who just even looks at my blog,

           anyone who sees round our home

                can take a good guess

                     that one of the

                          "Things I Love"

just has to be

                    the colour  BLUE.

There is just something about the colour blue that I feel almost everything looks better in blue.

Blue and white together just make everything look so clean & fresh.

My Dining Room is Blue, White and silver with my dinner set of white with blue matching it 

My Living room has accent colours in blue

as well as curtains and cushions with a blue flower.

Our Sun Room's main colour is blue

My outdoor plant pots are blue

Our Patio Furniture is blue and white

My study (where I spend a lot of time) is decorated with pale blue walls and darker blue curtains.


A lot of my clothes are in shades of Blue.



Blue is a refreshing colour.

Blue is a relaxing colour.

Blue is a beautiful colour.

Blue is also an alive colour.

As long as things are made in blue there will be a happy contentment in my life.


People say Blue is a cold colour but not for me.

Blue never makes me blue, it always makes me brighten up.



The family tease me about the colour blue but then most of them have a favourite colour too - a colour they just feel contented with the one their eyes are drawn to when they go to buy clothes or decor for the home.

We are all different with different favourite colours, styles of clothes, jobs, home decor, cars, etc.

God has given us a variety of everything including colours.

If we were not different and unique we would never understand how we could be unique to God but we are and he knows more about us than we do ourselves.

He has given me a great sense of pleasure, contentment and peace in a simple thing like the colour Blue.

Can you stop and reflect on the uniqueness of what God has given you pleasure, contentment & peace in?

10 Bible Verses of Encouragement for Fathers

We all need encouragement and the best place to go is to the Bible.

In this blog Post I have tried to gather some Bible passages or Bible verses which will encourage Fathers.

I do believe that we should not just grab a verse and read it on its own but we should always lift our bibles and read a passage of scripture to make sure that we know the real meaning and context of each of the verses we are putting our trust in. 

I pray that you will do the same and only use this list to guide you as to where you may find help.

So here are 10 Bible verses or short passages for us to turn to

 in times when we need encouragement for

 Fathers. 

1.   Proverbs 3 v 11-12

Discipline your children because of Love

     

and be blessed by the rewards.

 

2.   Ephesians 6 v 4

Train them to do what is right & do it in the right way

And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.

by obeying God's Word.

3.   Colossians 3 v 21

Do not discourage your children; train them whilst encouraging them.

 

Teach them to be obedient to God and show it in your life as the good example.

4.   Proverbs 3 v 1 

Teach them to be obedient to God 

 

and show willing obedience to God in your life as their good example.

5.   Proverbs 3 v 5-6

Show them how to trust God and give Him respect by doing that yourself.  

And see His Godly direction 

6.   Proverbs 3 v 7

Teach them that earthly wisdom is of no benefit 

but to reverence God and follow Him is.

7.   Proverbs 3 v 9

Show God your thanks for his provision and use it wisely.

Honour the Lord with your possessions,
And with the first fruits of all your increase;

Then they will learn to do likewise.

8.   Deuteronomy 11 v 18 - 21

Install God's Word in your heart and mind and teach your children to do the same.

18 Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 

19 You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 

20 And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, 

21 that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, like the days of the heavens above the earth.

Even teach them to memorize God's Word.

You will find some encouragement for memorizing Scripture in our

Memorising Section on the Blog

The Free Printables from all our Verses of Encouragement Posts will also help.

9.   Genesis 22 v 8

Have faith in God that leads your children to have faith in Him also.

And Abraham said, 

“My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.”

Just as Abraham set Isaac a great example of trusting in God.

10.   Proverbs 23 v 24

A righteous father is blessed by seeing the delight of his heart in the life of his children.

 

Isn't this a great one to put a smile on your face to end this post!

10 Things To Do About God's Promises - PLUS Free Printable - Coffee & Conversation

This is just a short blog post to remind you of many of the things God has promised and 

to encourage you to hang on these promises at all times.

Some of the things God has promised

• I Will Be With You
• I Will Protect You
• I Will Always Love You
• I Will Give You Peace
• I Will Hear Your Prayers
• I Will Be Your Strength
• I Will Answer You
• I Will Provide For You
• I Will Comfort You
• I Will Never Leave You
• I Will Abide In You
• I Will Walk With You

Some of the Things The Bible Tells Us That God's Promises are

Great & Precious     -     2 Peter 1 v 3 & 4

"....His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 

by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature...."

Yes & Amen     -     2 Corinthians 1 v 20

Better     -     Hebrews 8 v 6

"He [Jesus] is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises."

Trustworthy     -     Hebrews 10 v 23

"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful."

True     -     Numbers 23 v 19

Fullfilled by God's Power    -     Romans 4 v 20 - 21

"He [Abraham] did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, 

and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform." 

There are 10 things we need to do because of God's Promises

1. Thank God for His Promises
2. Recognise & Learn God's Promises as we Read His Word
3. Remember that many times God's Promises have Conditions 
4. Believe in God's Promises
5. Pray with His Promises in mind
6. Read the Bible with His Promises in mind
7. Tell Others about God's Promises
8. Help Others to Read & Understand His Promises
9. Encourage Others to Trust in God's Promises
10. Rejoice in God's Promises

So no matter what happens don't forget the Promises of God 

and 

read about them often in HIs Word.

Through His Promises we will remember His Love for us

But those Promises would never be worth remembering if if wasn't for 
God Himself

so

Don't Forget the Promise Giver

The Promises are only Great
because of
God

If you would like a reminder of The 10 Things To Do About God's Promises you can download this

Free Printable   (without watermark of course)

If you are interested in learning more about some of God's Promises you can have a look at 

Bible Verses for  10 Great Promises of God.

or 

remembering the things God has Promised in Promises - We Can't Always See Them