ALL POSTS

We can't really know God when we're constantly in motion. We can't experience his presence when we're always thinking about the next thing on our to-do list. We can't hear his voice when our minds are cluttered with a thousand different concerns. Knowing God requires us to be still. So we have to make room for God.

Saying no is hard. Really hard. We worry about disappointing people. We worry about missing out. We worry about what others will think of us. We worry that if we say no to something, we're somehow failing.

When we're constantly choosing to do one more thing instead of spending time with God, we're communicating what we really worship. We're showing what we really believe is most important. And it's not God.

At Christmas, we get so busy that we don't really see what's right in front of us. We don't see Jesus waiting for us to make room for him in our lives. And before we know it, Christmas has come and gone, and we missed what mattered most.

When Christmas doesn't feel magical enough, we think the solution is to do more. So we bake more cookies, attend more parties, buy more presents, and put up more decorations. We fill our schedules with so much Christmas activity that there's no room left for anything else. But maybe part of the reason we feel let down at Christmas is that we keep filling our lives with everything except what matters the most.

Busyness can make us feel productive. It makes us feel like we're accomplishing something important. But sometimes, maybe even most of the time, our busyness keeps us from what matters most.

Our gratitude deepens our relationship with God. Our thanksgiving builds our faith. Our memory markers become resources we can draw on when times get hard again. And we discover that living with gratitude isn't just something we do for God, it's something that changes us from the inside out.

Many of us keep little mementos from important moments in our lives. Concert tickets. Photos. Cards from people we love. And why do we keep these things? Because we know that memories fade. What feels vivid and unforgettable today can become fuzzy and distant tomorrow. So we keep reminders.

We need to be just as intentional about thanking God when things go well as we are about crying out to God when things go wrong. When we're in crisis, we don't have trouble being intentional about prayer. But when God answers? We need to be equally intentional about expressing gratitude.

When we're in trouble, we pray desperately. We cry out to God. We beg for help. We promise we'll be so grateful if God just comes through for us. And when God does come through and answers our prayer, what do we do? We move on.