Exploring a thankful life

Well, so much for coming back the next day with my Top Ten Thanks!

We’re in the middle of a season of travelling, but I’m glad to be able to stop what I’m doing and take some time to give thanks; to put aside any anxious thoughts, concerns, to-do lists, etc and enjoy this moment, right here and now and look back at some moments that have made up our days recently.

1.  Good conversation, coffee and unexpected lunch with another English lady I’m getting to know here.

2.  A weekend at The Bridge catching up with friends, enjoying warm hospitality, delicious meals, encouraging words, Freckles the dog to stroke, and all in all just feeling loved.

3.  Being able to cook/bake again. Might not be high on everyone’s list of thanks, but I actually find it quite therapeutic!

4.  Spending time with people who are passionate about following Jesus and making Him known, even if this means moving away from the security of the everyday routines for a while.

5.  Getting closer to having this place ready for people (hopefully!) to come and experience a place of retreat, while also advancing God’s kingdom through prayer.

Here’s some moments I’m anticipating:

6.  Seeing family again in a few day’s time.

7.  A trip to Nottingham in April to see some more family members.

8.  Catching up with friends we didn’t get to see last time we were in the U.K.

9.  Having a second read of this great book: A Meal with Jesus by Tim Chester.

10. The mid-week gathering tonight with our church here in Dieppe.

Well, that took some time out from my day of painting the shower room, but well worth stopping for to remember  the moments that make up our days.

Here’s a couple of photos from our recent visit to Prague:

St Charles Church

Even on a cold day there are visitors to this beautiful square

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Life, over these last few weeks has been a mix of some good moments and some times when it’s actually been quite difficult, as I’m sure that’s the way it goes for most of us.

One of the things I’ve noticed is that when it’s not so easy and straightforward, it helps to call to mind thankfulness for the ‘small’ benefits that constantly come our way, but are easily taken for granted.

Like what? I’m sure you’re wondering. Well, these occasions seem to make me more grateful for the fact that I wake up every morning; that there’s food in the cupboard and water at the turn of the tap. More than enough clothes to wear (I may be quoted on this later!) and fresh air to breathe. I know it may all sound a bit trite, but for some people many of these things are a daily battle.

There may be days when it’s a definite choice to give thanks, but it usually doesn’t take long before I realise that, yes, life is complex and tough sometimes, but looking at it from a perspective of gratitude makes me more aware of the consistent and undeserved gifts that come my way.

I’m calling to mind what some of these recent good things have been and they’ll hopefully appear in my top ten list tomorrow.

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Here’s my offering:

1.  Lots of painting (rooms that is, not canvas) accomplished over the last few days.

2.  Delicious veggie takeaway after a busy day doing the above.

3.  Discovered that the Soldes (sales) start here tomorrow so may be able to pick up a few bargains.

4.  Managed to understand the hot water system and now have l’eau chaude at the turn of a tap.

5.  Receiving our first potential booking from people looking for a prayer retreat.

6.  My husband! May sound corny, but he really is my best friend, and it’s just as well because although we’re gradually making friends, we do actually spend quite a lot of our time together.

7.  A book I’m reading at the moment called ‘Finding Sanctuary’ by Abbot Christopher Jamison (remember The Monastery programme – it’s him). It’s not a book to read in one sitting, but it’s thought-provoking.

8.  Candles – I love the atmosphere they bring.

9.  The exercise we get from the half an hour uphill walk to the church – not always quite so thankful on the way up, but love the walk back and the knowledge that it’s doing some good.

10.  Saved the best from today until last. We’ve just been to the Tuesday Prayer and Bible study and the church are doing a Daniel Fast (Jeune de Daniel). It was great and we felt really at home and have been made very welcome. There was a freedom to worship and I’m loving learning all the French songs. So thankful for this particular area of our lives at the moment.

Thanks for reading – hope you’ve found something to give thanks for today.

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Today, as I was purchasing some veggie stuff at the fabulous Saturday market here in Dieppe, I was approached by a woman who asked me if I was from England. Part of me was so pleased to meet another Brit, but another part was conscious that, despite my best efforts to speak French, my accent obviously still leaves a lot to be desired.

Anyway, we chatted for about 10 minutes and then she gave me her card so I could get in touch later. Looking down at the address, I noticed that she had also included her English home, which just happens to be in Eastbourne!

After drinks together in a local restaurant and then back at our place, the whole situation seemed even more uncanny, as we discovered we had two boys very close in age who attended the same school and that we actually have property a couple of streets from each other back in Sussex.

So, I’m thankful that although the plans we had for today went completely out of the window, we were able to spend around seven hours with someone who we will hopefully become good friends with during the coming months.

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Throughout the festive season it’s not always that difficult to be thankful  as there seems so much to be grateful for, (at least for many of us) but it doesn’t seem to take long for the day to day reality to set in and  sometimes it only takes a small thing to go wrong and grumpiness can become the order of the day.

We have had a really great time over the last week, spending it with our generous, funny (in a good way) and loving family; enjoying delicious food and spending time with some of our closest friends, although we missed a few this time round. We enjoyed giving and receiving some really thoughtful gifts and best of all, reflecting on why we were celebrating and Who this season is all about.

However, (did you sense this coming!) the last few days have called for a bit more of a decision to choose thanks, along with quite a lot of talking to myself in order to keep things in perspective. I hope you’re on the edge of your seats at this point!

We arrived back in France on New Year’s Eve, which also happens to be our wedding anniversary, and discovered that we had no electricity in the flat (long story).  As there is no gas at all in the area where we live this meant that everything had gone – lights, tv,  phone, internet (I know, it hit me hard too!), any limited cooking facilities we have at the moment, heating, fridge/freezer – hope the dramatic picture is emerging.

So, New Year’s Eve and our letting agency is closed; a couple of local friends we called were out and we couldn’t get through to the electricity company, let alone understand all the different buttons we had to press when we called.

As you can imagine, it’s been an interesting and cold few days, but that’s it, few days. Some people live their whole lives with no shelter, not much food and as for internet access, what’s that?

So, although I’m glad that hopefully tomorrow life should return to normal, I’m thankful that it brought a reminder that everything is a gift; not to be taken for granted but to be used to bless those who consistently live with very little, and be blessed by them too.

Just in case this is all sounding a bit pious and saintlike, there have definitely been a few grumpy moments and, as I’m sure you’re wondering, the reason I can post this is because it got so cold today that we booked into a hotel for the evening!

How blessed are we to be able to do that?

Here’s a pic of our Christmassy fireplace back in the U.K. decorated by our son Ben:

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As much as I think it’s great and important to constantly live with thankfulness for all the good things that come our way, there’s also a challenge to express gratitude to God, simply for who He is.

Here’s some aspects of His character modelled  in the life of Jesus that I’m thankful for:

1.  No-one is unimportant to him

2.  He loves children

3.  He cares about the details of our lives

4.  No matter what we’ve done, he’s made a way for it to be forgiven

5.  He enjoys eating and drinking with people, whoever they are

6.  He loves us so much and wants us to love him freely, so he’s given us the ability to choose

7.  Everything’s turned upside down with him – the first are last, the poor are rich, the weak are strong

8.  He shows us how this works by coming to the world in the smallest form as a baby, even though he’s huge and the creator of the world

9.  He doesn’t ask us to do things that he hasn’t already done, i.e. love our enemies, etc

10. He calls us the apple of his eye, and sings over us

There’s so much more and these truths never change, no matter what kind of day you might be having. Even if you’ve travelled some distance for another tin of paint only to discover it’s a completely different shade to the first one, in spite of having the same name!

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