Tag: gratitude

Pastor’s Notes 9/4/2026

Posted on by Wende Gonzales

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits—who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the Pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good as long as you live so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. –Psalm 103:1-5

Psalm 103 is a song of thanksgiving, traditionally attributed to David. It is not so much a prayer asking God for something as it is a reminder to the one praying of what God has already done. David begins by speaking to his own soul: “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all God’s benefits.”

That phrase, “do not forget,” is important. David knows how easily we can receive God’s goodness without really noticing it. We enjoy the gifts of life, the people who surround us, and the moments of peace. We appreciate the food on our tables, the beauty of creation, and the countless ways we experience God’s presence. But it is easy to take our daily blessings for granted.

Thanksgiving is more than saying “thank you.” It is an intentional practice of remembering where our blessings come from and recognizing that God’s presence has been woven through our lives all along.

This Sunday we will gather around Psalm 103 and consider what it means to cultivate a grateful heart. As we worship, we will also dedicate and bless the new and gently used children’s books our congregation has been collecting for distribution at the Regional Disciples Women’s Retreat.

If you have a children’s book you would like to contribute, please bring it with you Sunday. These books will become gifts of love to children we may never meet, and we will take a moment to bless both the books and those who will receive them.

Together we will consider the goodness of God that surrounds us, often in ways we have simply stopped noticing. I look forward to worshipping with you in the Chapel or on YouTube.

Brett

Pastor’s Notes – 11/17/2023

Posted on by Wende Gonzales

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?  – Matthew 6:25

Every time I see the words “don’t worry” together in a sentence, my mind automatically goes to the Bobby McFerrin song from my youth, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” I would bop around the house singing the tune incessantly, it was such an earworm of a song. The concept of happiness being the opposite of worry takes me back to a simpler and most likely child-like time.

Life experience has taught me that the opposite of worry is more likely gratitude than happiness, so the lyrics should really be “don’t fret over the things that could go wrong but be grateful in the things that are working out.” This faithful solution runs counter to everything I learned growing up (Iowans by nature tend to be fatalistic I’m afraid).

Our gospel writers try to remind us that anxiety doesn’t add a single hour to one’s life, but apparently people throughout time have been unconvinced. It is easy for us to overlook Matthew’s advice in 6:33, “strive first for the kingdom of God.”

As Fred Craddock and Eugene Boring teach it, Matthew wants to relate his key word dikaiosyne (or righteousness/justice) to the eternal reign of God as well as having trust in God’s providential care as we walk this earthly life.

This Sunday we will celebrate Thanksgiving Sunday. We will focus our attention and prayer on the things we are grateful for having in this life rather than being consumed by that which we don’t. If nothing else, it is a good place to start in our praise for God our creator. I look forward to worshiping with you on Sunday.

Brett