Drinking From My Saucer

See that cup of coffee down below?  Some of the coffee has spilled out of the cup and rests in the saucer, so I promptly drank it out of the saucer.  I didn't spill by accident, though.  I did it on purpose to get in the habit of drinking from my saucer.  Why?

Here's why.  This morning at church, the first song we sang from the hymnal was, "Count your Blessings, Name them One by One."  It's an old one.  Oftentimes, we'll stop after the chorus between each verse and allow people to stand and testify regarding something for which they are really thankful to God.  Keep in mind these are widows and widowers, people who have lost spouses and/or children yet they are thankful to God for the many blessings in their lives.  Praise God from Whom all blessings flow.

It's perspective, right?  How do you look at it?  Is the glass half empty or is the glass half full.  Or maybe, there's another option.  Perhaps, despite hardships and trials, you realize that your cup isn't half empty or half full.  You come to realize that your cup is running over, filling your saucer, thanks to God.  That's how I aim to look at things.  It reminds me of a song that says just that.  You can click on the video below to listen and read the lyrics below the video.  

I've never made a fortune
It's probably too late now
Oh but I don't worry about that much
'Cause I'm happy anyhow
As I go along life's journey
I'm reaping better than I sow
I'm drinking from my saucer
'Cause my cup has overflowed

Ain't got a lot of riches
Sometimes the going's rough
But I've got a friend in Jesus
And that makes me rich enough
I thank God for His blessings on me
And the mercy that He's bestowed
I'm drinking from my saucer
'Cause my cup has overflowed

O, sure I've been thru some storms
And yes I'm sure there were times when my
well my faith musta got a little thin
But you know what it seemed like
One day all at once those dark clouds broke
And that old sun she started shinin' again
So Lord, help me not to grumble & complain
About the tough rows I have hoed
I'm drinking from my saucer
'Cause my cup has overflowed

And if I should go on living
If the way gets steep and rough
I won't ask for other blessings
'Cause I'm already blessed enough
May I never be too busy
To help another bear his load
And I'll keep drinkin from my saucer, Lord
'Cause my cup has overflowed
Yes I'll keep drinking from my saucer, Lord
'Cause my cup has overflowed
My cup has overflowed

An Attitude of Gratitude

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  I hope you and your family had a nice celebration.  We have so much to be thankful for.  I heard it said this week that a thankful spirit and a complaining spirit are like two roommates that cannot live under the same roof.  Someone has to pack their bags and leave!  Let's make sure we show the complaining spirit the door.

I knew this Thanksgiving was going to be a good one.  We do have a tremendous amount of things to thank our Lord for.  One of them is in the center of the photo below.  It's Benjamin.  He's standing up and walking!  Praise God.

Are things back to normal?  No.  Are things perfect?  No.  But he is alive and he is improving day by day and we can't stop thanking God and praising Him.  It's from Him that all blessings flow.  We had all of our kids with us, my Mom and Dad, my sister, her husband and her kids.  We gathered and laughed and talked and enjoyed one another's company.

In the photo above you can see that Laura Lee has opened some old family photo albums that she's looking at, remembering her childhood and reliving old memories and good times.  It's always good to remember the past that we're anchored to and be thankful for our families, the love we share and the God we serve.

We got so busy visiting, that I forgot to take photos when we were all eating.  I took this one when we were almost finished and the rest of the crew was visiting in the den.  We had a delicious meal with loads of leftovers.  No one left hungry, that's for sure.

We had turkey, ham, and beef brisket and more casseroles than you could shake a stick at.  I asked to help Tricia in the kitchen and she put me in charge of making a zucchini casserole that my grandmother, Bumby, used to make.  It's more like a soufflé.  There are lots of eggs in it.  Well, I have a confession to make.  I wasn't as diligent as I should have been and apparently, some egg shell made its way into the casserole (it's in the bottom of the photo below).  Several of us were chewing the crunchy casserole, having to spit out eggshell on a napkin.  I did not do a good job with this.  A lady at church today told me that this was a slick scheme of mine to not get asked to help in the kitchen next year!  

We didn't get a photo of Laura Lee before she took off back to Baton Rouge, but here is a shot of my Mom, Benjamin, my Dad, Russ and Tricia.

God has been so good to us!  We are incredibly thankful for all the works of His Mighty Hand.

A Grateful Thanksgiving

 

Thanksgiving has to be one of my favorite holidays.  It is a time where we gather together and enjoy each other's company.  Before asking a blessing on the food and eating, my Dad read Psalm 100, A Thanksgiving Psalm:

100 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.

2 Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.

3 Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

5 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

We then held hands in a circle and prayed, thanking Almighty God for the many blessings in our lives.  To be totally frank, 2020 has been a hard year, Covid-19, two devastating hurricanes, politics, civil unrest, financial uncertainties, stress and anxiety.  I could go on and on, but you understand, you have lived it too.

As a person with many faults, I easily fall into discouragement, especially in the upheaval that has defined 2020.  The Psalm my Dad read and the overall theme of the holiday of Thanksgiving tells us to look beyond our circumstances and to our King.  He sits on the throne and is in control.  We are blessed beyond measure.  He is God and He is Good.  

Happy Thanksgiving All!

It's A Great Day to be Alive

Image Credit

Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: Philippians 4:11

Today was NOT a beautiful day.  I awoke to overcast, grey skies with a strong north wind and temperatures in the mid 40's and drizzling rain.  I put on another pot of coffee when I got to the office and waited for a break in the rain before I went outside to take inventory of the various products we have on hand.  Dreary days have a way of affecting your mood and outlook.

There's a country music song from about 20 years ago, written by Darrell Scott and sung by Travis Tritt, that speaks to me about NOT letting dreary weather or circumstances affect your state of mind. It's about being optimistic despite undergoing hard times and finding things to be thankful for even when the sun's not shining.  The chorus actually says, "I know the sun's still shinin' when I close my eyes..."  To me, that says that everything's going to be alright.  Being content in simple things, like cooking rice, growing out your beard, or making soup is an attribute that is almost forgotten in today's world in which we constantly compare ourselves to "the Joneses" and manufacture offenses and grievances.

I've posted the video below.  You can click the arrow to watch.  I've also posted the lyrics below.   I hope it makes your day a little bit brighter!

I got rice cooking in the microwave
I got a three day beard I don't plan to shave
It's a goofy thing but I just gotta say, hey,
I'm doing alright

Yeah I think I'll make me some home-made soup
I'm feeling pretty good and that's the truth
It's neither drink nor drug induced, no,
I'm just doing alright

And it's a great day to be alive
I know the sun's still shining
When I close my eyes
There's some hard times in the neighborhood
But why can't every day be just this good

It's been fifteen years since I left home
I said good luck to every seed I'd sown
Gave it my best and then I left it alone
I hope they're doing alright

Now I look in the mirror and what do I see
A lone wolf there staring back at me
Long in the tooth but harmless as can be
Lord I guess he's doin' alright

And it's a great day to be alive
I know the sun's still shining
When I close my eyes
There's some hard times in the neighborhood
But why can't every day be just this good

Sometimes it's lonely, sometimes it's only me
And the shadows that fill this room
Sometimes I'm falling, desperately calling
Howling at the moon, ah-ooh, ah-ooh

Well, I might go get me a new tattoo
Or take my old Harley for three day cruise
Might even grow me a fu man chu

And it's a great day to be alive
I know the sun's still shining
When I close my eyes
There's some hard times in the neighborhood
But why can't every day be just this good

And it's a great day to be alive
I know the sun's still shining
When I close my eyes
There's some hard times in the neighborhood
But why can't every day be just this good, ah-ooh, oh yeah

Gifts From Above

Our preacher was giving a sermon in which he was making the point that often times we don't look UP to give God thanks for the many blessings we have in our lives.  He told the story about some hogs that he has in a pen under some oak trees.  He said he was watching them and as a fat acorn fell out of the tree, they would run over and gobble it up, never looking up to see where it came from.  Many times we're like that old hog.  When we are showered with blessings, we don't look up and thank God.

Today Tricia and I walked outside underneath the live oak trees.  There was a constant crunching under our feet from stepping on gazillions of acorns.

We don't have hogs, but we do have goats - four of them, to be precise.  The majority of the live oaks don't stretch above the pasture, so the goats don't have access to most of the acorns hitting the ground.

Tricia got a rake and a #10 can and filled it up several times, pouring hundreds of acorns over the fence.  The cows and goats came a running.  The cows sniffed around curiously, but they don't eat acorns.

The goats, however, were a different story.  They feasted.  All we saw is their lips moving rapidly and heard the crunching of hundreds of acorns being devoured.

Unfortunately, like the hogs in the preacher's sermon, the goats didn't look up and give thanks for the 'showers of blessing' in the form of acorns.

A Thankful Heart

I'm sure many of you are familiar with this photo:

Grace by Enstrom Image Credit

This hung from the wall of my grandmother (Bumby) and grandfather's (Poppy) home for years.  It now hangs in the home of my Mom and Dad.  It is a very simple picture that is so interesting.  It is funny how something so ordinary and simple can invoke complicated thoughts and emotions.  I can remember looking at it from the eyes of a small boy to today.

Just looking at it, the word Gratitude comes to mind.  Here is a very ordinary man bowed in prayer.  It is sort of dark and dreary in the room - a room devoid of any decoration or frills.  The gentleman is not threadbare, but he's not elaborately dressed either.  He seems to be clean and humble.

There are very few items in the photo - a simple loaf of bread, for one.  It immediately makes me think of "Give us this day, our Daily Bread..." from the Lord's Prayer. There is a knife to cut the bread with.  Then there is a bowl with a spoon in it. Whatever it is, it looks very plain, maybe broth or a simple soup.  Finally, there is a big book.  I'm going to assume it is a Bible.  And then there are glasses that convey that the man's eyesight is not what it once was.  He is a humble man of humble means.

Then there's what you don't see.  The man is alone.  Or is he?  I think his God is with him.  I would imagine that he doesn't merely read the Bible, he studies it, deliberately. He mines out the Truth.  He depends upon the wisdom found therein like the very air he breathes.  I would think that in studying, he has come to know His Creator and is thankful for what he has.  The man's demeanor signifies to me that his happiness, his joy, his faith, is not dependent upon health and wealth.  His love for God is not conditional upon material things. He has come to a deep understanding of what true treasure is from those beloved words of Jesus:

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:19-21

I used to listen to Paul Harvey at lunchtime when I was farming.  I always liked his "Rest of the Story" commentaries.  Here is the story behind the picture or painting of Grace from This Website:

THE STORY OF "GRACE" A much-loved world famous picture
		Back in the year of 1918, a bearded, saintly, old man, with foot-scrapers to sell, called on Eric Enstrom at his photography studio in the tiny mining town of Bovey, Minnesota.From this chance encounter a world famous photographic study was created. Today Enstrom's picture "GRACE", showing the elderly peddler with head bowed in a mealtime prayer of thanksgiving, is known and loved throughout the world. "There was something about the old gentleman's face that immediately impressed me. I saw that he had a kind face... there weren't any harsh lines in it," Enstrom said in recalling the 1918 visit of Charles Wilden to his studio. It happened that Enstrom, at that time, was preparing a portfolio of pictures to take with him to a convention of the Minnesota Photographer's Association. "I wanted to take a picture that would show people that even though they had to do without many things because of the war they still had much to be thankful for," Enstom said. On a small table, Enstrom placed a family book, some spectacles, a bowl of gruel, a loaf of bread, and a knife on the table. Then he had Wilden pose in an manner of prayer... praying with folded hands to his brow before partaking of a meager meal. To bow his head in prayer seemed to be characteristic of the elderly visitor, Enstrom recalled, for he struck the pose very easily and naturally. As soon as the negative was developed, Enstrom was sure he had something special... a picture that seemed to say, "This man doesn't have much of earthly goods, but he has more than most people because he has a thankful heart." That Enstrom's camera had captured "something special" is an appraisal widely shared. Today many "GRACE" pictures hang in homes, restaurants and in churches across America. Prints have also been shipped to mission stations and other places around the world. The early "GRACE" pictures were printed either in black and white, or in sepia (brown tone). Later, Enstrom's daughter, Mrs. Rhoda Nyberg, of Coleraine, Minnesota, began hand-painting them in oils, and interest in the picture mounted. Enstrom remembers that his best customers for the picture in the early 1920's were people traveling through Bovey, Minnesota who saw the picture in his studio window. As soon as one framed print was sold, he'd make another to take its place. After nearly a half-century as a professional photographer, a career dating back to 1900 in Minneapolis and to 1907 at Bovey, Minnesota, Enstrom listed "GRACE" as the best of the thousands of pictures he has taken.

Mr. Enstrom did indeed capture "something special" with that photograph and it is a good reminder to me to work on having an attitude of gratitude and thankfulness. I'm reminded of the third verse to the old hymn, " Count Your Blessings," by Johnson Oatman, Jr.:

When you look at others with their lands and gold, 

Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold,

Count your many blessings money cannot buy, 

Your reward in Heaven, nor your home on high.

Count your blessings name them one by one,

Count your blessings, see what God hath done,

Count your blessings, name them one by one,

Count your many blessings, see what God hath done.

Amen!