Comments on: Thanksgiving versus Thanks-Living

By: Skip

Skip — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 05:08:56 +0000

Great thoughts on the complex timetable of God and seeing miracles happen over years and not just minutes, like we always assume they must be.

By: Wanda

Wanda — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 07:17:53 +0000

I agree wholeheartedly with your article in that we should be just as thankful for the painful growth in our lives as we are for the weather. We all know that it’s not easy to address the strained relations and painful experiences in our lives, but no-one, not even God, expects us to be perfect, do everything flawless and know the answers straight away. Thank you Ben, this article really hit the spot.

By: Niles

Niles — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 06:54:25 +0000

Last Sunday after church, I was speaking with a few of my friends and mentioned that I would be transferring to a different school, one closer to home. One of my friends jokingly said to me, “Behave yourself and don’t party too hard, now.”
In reply, I told him that partying like that probably wouldn’t happen because I would ruin my dad’s reputation.
The next words that came out of my friend’s mouth shocked me. He told me, “You should worry more about your heavenly father’s reputation, he is everywhere after all.”
His statement caused me to think more about my relationship with God. For pretty much my entire life, I had been doing the right thing but had established no credibility, no witness. I was raised in a Christian home, and had used my parents’ Christianity as a crutch. When my friends in high school asked me to do something I knew was wrong, rather than tell them about my faith, I used the lame excuse “my parents won’t let me.” This worked well until I got to college. I began to create new excuses to do the right thing such as, “not during soccer season,” or “I’m too tired right now.”
I realize now that maybe I have been ashamed to be a child of God. Not ashamed because of what people might think of me because of God, but ashamed because of what people might think of God because of me. I am far from perfect, and I thank God for forgiveness, and the redeeming blood of Christ.
Now, as I face this ongoing challenge to defend God’s perfect truth as an imperfect man, I want to ask you to pray for me.

By: David

David — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 04:39:21 +0000

That’s awesome. My relationship with my dad is strained for really stupid reasons (some of them my fault) and I always feel like I’m walking on eggshells when I’m around him. My relationship with the rest of my family has also improved; learning about what honor is to God has done wonders.