Dogs can teach us about life. If only we would take heed to the treasures they teach us. Gracie Lou is our 12.5 year old English Springer. She is beyond happy to see us each time we walk through the front door. She is so grateful for every meal that we place in her food bowl. She's ecstatic when she gets a dog bone. She loves serving as my husband's fishing partner, always ready to help land the fish. She doesn't know about the challenges of life that we humans deal with. She's a dog.
This last week, I found out that Gracie Lou has liver cancer. We don't know how long she has on this earth, but we do know her days are numbered. Periodically, I can see a look in her eyes as if to say "I don't feel like I used to.....something's not right." But, she is so happy, so grateful, and treasures the simple things that come her way each day. The morning paper. A treat. A good meal. Cuddle time. Scrambled eggs on Saturdays. Swimming in her baby pool. Gracie Lou doesn't know about cancer, death, or the horrible atrocities that you and I hear and read about in the news. She's a dog.
Even though Gracie Lou is probably hurting, she continues to force herself to respond with the same exuberance and the same gratitude with her family. She loves life and even though a horrible cancer is taking over her body, she remains grateful. She lives with a beautiful spirit that I want more of.
Life can do a number on us. Somehow, as time marches on, we begin to have expectations. We lose a spirit of gratitude, because we expect things to go our way. Things don't always go our way. We forget that every meal, every breath, every life experience is a precious gift from God. We take for granted having a home, enjoying a meal, having family and friends, working a job and yes, even God. You see, God is the giver of all good gifts. He tells us in the Bible "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5;18)
How can you and I practice a life of gratitude? First and foremost, eliminate complaining from your life. Just quit. You can do it. Secondly, reflect and speak about what you're thankful for. Consistently tell those around you how much you appreciate them. Thank your spouse, friend, co-worker or children-even for the little things. Thank God as well! He love to be appreciated! Finally, seek to become a man or woman of gratitude. Let gratitude ooze out of you...even when life doesn't go your way. Today, I'm grateful for Gracie Lou, her life and the days we have left with her. Knowing what I know now makes me appreciate every moment. Yes, she's teaching me a lot these days.
Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain for the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.
Monday, November 18, 2013
Monday, November 11, 2013
Counting on the Cowboys?
My husband recently bought home something that others might find little interest in.... Cowboy Duct Tape. Yep, that's right. Cowboy duct tape. Of course, I also have Cowboy T-shirts, visors, coffee mugs, and sunglasses. But duct tape? I've thought about using it to keep from screaming at the television when things don't go so well for the boys. It seems like you can never quite count on which boys are going to show up on a Sunday. The good Cowboys or the bad Cowboys?
I've been a Cowboy fan all my life. I love the Cowboys! But, you know what? I can't count on the Cowboys to win. I want to. But, I just can't. They let me down way too often. There are some days where I don't want to don my T-shirt...call it feeling humiliated on their behalf. Maybe, there will be a day where I can always count on them. But, I doubt it. Our teams eventually let us down. So will people.
What can you really count on in this life? Honestly, I think the answer is God and God alone. I know. You may not think you can always count on God. Maybe you feel he let you down sometime in your life and you just can't reconcile that. He didn't do what you wanted Him to do. But the truth is, He is always trustworthy, whether you think so or not. He will never let you down. I can't hope in people, teams or circumstances to turn out the way I want them to. But I can hope in God.
As you start your day, consider this beautiful compilation of scriptures taken from Max Lucado's book 'God Will Carry You Through': "I look up to the hills, but where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not let you be defeated. He who guards you never sleeps. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, the Lord surrounds his people now and forever. You are my help. Because of your protection, I sing. Our help comes form the Lord, who made heaven and earth." (Psalm 121:1-3; Psalm 125:2; Psalm 63:7; Psalm 124:8) You can count on God. Begin your day looking to Him. He will never let you down. The Cowboys will.
Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain for the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.
I've been a Cowboy fan all my life. I love the Cowboys! But, you know what? I can't count on the Cowboys to win. I want to. But, I just can't. They let me down way too often. There are some days where I don't want to don my T-shirt...call it feeling humiliated on their behalf. Maybe, there will be a day where I can always count on them. But, I doubt it. Our teams eventually let us down. So will people.
What can you really count on in this life? Honestly, I think the answer is God and God alone. I know. You may not think you can always count on God. Maybe you feel he let you down sometime in your life and you just can't reconcile that. He didn't do what you wanted Him to do. But the truth is, He is always trustworthy, whether you think so or not. He will never let you down. I can't hope in people, teams or circumstances to turn out the way I want them to. But I can hope in God.
As you start your day, consider this beautiful compilation of scriptures taken from Max Lucado's book 'God Will Carry You Through': "I look up to the hills, but where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not let you be defeated. He who guards you never sleeps. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, the Lord surrounds his people now and forever. You are my help. Because of your protection, I sing. Our help comes form the Lord, who made heaven and earth." (Psalm 121:1-3; Psalm 125:2; Psalm 63:7; Psalm 124:8) You can count on God. Begin your day looking to Him. He will never let you down. The Cowboys will.
Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain for the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.
Remembering the Cost
It was November, 2007. A cold, dark and cloudy day. I remember standing motionlessly, staring at thousands of shoes through a giant glass window. No, I wasn't at Macy's holiday window on Michigan Avenue. I was at Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum in Poland. I remember staring in horror at over 25,000 pairs of shoes behind a huge glass case. My friend and I stared in silence for a long time. It was said that those shoes had been collected in one day at the peak of the horrible atrocities there. My heart broke as I tried to fathom such loss of human life.
I can't always comprehend fully the freedoms we have here in the United Sates. Freedom is all I've known. When we're so used to having it so good, we forget to give thanks. To appreciate. To take note of those who've gone before us to give us the amazing freedoms we have. I've not been extremely faithful about praying for those who are protecting our great country. I often walk pass a soldier and forget to say "thanks." I can sometimes not even give thought to why we celebrate a holiday like Veterans' Day. Perhaps, today is a reminder to do so. We live in a great nation. We are free to attend the church of our choice. We are free to have a bible. We are free to vote for our leaders. We are free.
Today, we celebrate Veterans Day. It was the eleventh hour of the eleventh day in the eleventh month in 1918 when the world celebrated, as a treaty was signed ending World War I. Today, Americans honor the service and sacrifice of our armed forces in the past and present. We understand that our freedom came with a cost. Take that moment today and give thanks for those who've gone before you for your freedoms. Take time to write a note or email to someone in the armed forces, thanking them for their service. Say "thanks" to the servicemen and women who cross your path today. Finally, thank God for this great country and for the freedoms that we have. We have so much to be grateful for! Begin this day with a grateful heart. Life may not be going for you the way you want, but you can still give thanks!
"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13
"I thank my God every time I remember you." Philippians 1:3
Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain for the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.
I can't always comprehend fully the freedoms we have here in the United Sates. Freedom is all I've known. When we're so used to having it so good, we forget to give thanks. To appreciate. To take note of those who've gone before us to give us the amazing freedoms we have. I've not been extremely faithful about praying for those who are protecting our great country. I often walk pass a soldier and forget to say "thanks." I can sometimes not even give thought to why we celebrate a holiday like Veterans' Day. Perhaps, today is a reminder to do so. We live in a great nation. We are free to attend the church of our choice. We are free to have a bible. We are free to vote for our leaders. We are free.
Today, we celebrate Veterans Day. It was the eleventh hour of the eleventh day in the eleventh month in 1918 when the world celebrated, as a treaty was signed ending World War I. Today, Americans honor the service and sacrifice of our armed forces in the past and present. We understand that our freedom came with a cost. Take that moment today and give thanks for those who've gone before you for your freedoms. Take time to write a note or email to someone in the armed forces, thanking them for their service. Say "thanks" to the servicemen and women who cross your path today. Finally, thank God for this great country and for the freedoms that we have. We have so much to be grateful for! Begin this day with a grateful heart. Life may not be going for you the way you want, but you can still give thanks!
"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13
"I thank my God every time I remember you." Philippians 1:3
Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain for the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
The Power of a Cookie
I went to prison this past weekend. Dolph Briscoe Prison in Dilley, Texas. Barred windows. High walls. Barbed wire. Razor circular wire at the top of the fences for prison security. Not a pleasant place.
This past weekend, my husband and I served on a KAIROS weekend. Our volunteer team of men hosted 42 inmates over the course of a weekend. In addition, a group of us women worked in an old gas station transformed into a kitchen in downtown Dilley. Preparing meals. Packing cookies. Praying for inmates. Enjoying the reports each evening from our team of guys.
The inmates came that weekend with an assortment of emotions...anger, hatred, apathy, loneliness, depression, and without hope. They learned about the gift of forgiveness. They saw God's love demonstrated in countless tangible ways. As the weekend went on, the prison was transformed with laughter, hugs, dancing, singing, praying, honest conversations and visible hope. Can you imagine over 100 men (volunteers and inmates) linking arms, singing to the top of their lungs "Lean on Me?" In one little weekend, that cold, dark prison gym was turned into a place of hope. Hope in God and love for one another.
Some of the inmates desire to be a part of the weekend for one thing- cookies. We bring in thousands of cookies during our KAIROS weekend. Yummy chocolate chip cookies. These guys never get cookies. We pack them in bags of 9. Each day they get a bag. Can you imagine what it feels like to receive a bag of fresh cookies? These guys feel loved. Love through a bag of cookies. The cookies also become a tool of restoring relationships. One night, the inmates are given a second bag of cookies and told to share the bag with someone they've wronged and ask forgiveness. Finally, the cookies are dispensed to all 1300 inmates, including maximum security inmates. As our guys left the prison one night, they passed a group of inmates playing soccer. The inmates yelled out "Cookies! Cookies! Thanks for the cookies! The power of a cookie.
If you're reading this, you're probably not prison. You are not confined to a cell. You have a life and are free. But sometimes, you may still live like you're in prison. Confined. Angry. Hurt. Not forgiving those you need to forgive. Not making wrongs right. Messed up relationships. Today is a new start. Start up! Realize God's love for you Then, go and love others. You don't even need a bag of cookies. Just affirm them. Notice them. Care about them. And if need be, forgive them. Never forget, there are a lot of prisoners walking around in the free world. God comes to set the prisoners free.
"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." 2 Corinthians 3:17
Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain for the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.
This past weekend, my husband and I served on a KAIROS weekend. Our volunteer team of men hosted 42 inmates over the course of a weekend. In addition, a group of us women worked in an old gas station transformed into a kitchen in downtown Dilley. Preparing meals. Packing cookies. Praying for inmates. Enjoying the reports each evening from our team of guys.
The inmates came that weekend with an assortment of emotions...anger, hatred, apathy, loneliness, depression, and without hope. They learned about the gift of forgiveness. They saw God's love demonstrated in countless tangible ways. As the weekend went on, the prison was transformed with laughter, hugs, dancing, singing, praying, honest conversations and visible hope. Can you imagine over 100 men (volunteers and inmates) linking arms, singing to the top of their lungs "Lean on Me?" In one little weekend, that cold, dark prison gym was turned into a place of hope. Hope in God and love for one another.
Some of the inmates desire to be a part of the weekend for one thing- cookies. We bring in thousands of cookies during our KAIROS weekend. Yummy chocolate chip cookies. These guys never get cookies. We pack them in bags of 9. Each day they get a bag. Can you imagine what it feels like to receive a bag of fresh cookies? These guys feel loved. Love through a bag of cookies. The cookies also become a tool of restoring relationships. One night, the inmates are given a second bag of cookies and told to share the bag with someone they've wronged and ask forgiveness. Finally, the cookies are dispensed to all 1300 inmates, including maximum security inmates. As our guys left the prison one night, they passed a group of inmates playing soccer. The inmates yelled out "Cookies! Cookies! Thanks for the cookies! The power of a cookie.
If you're reading this, you're probably not prison. You are not confined to a cell. You have a life and are free. But sometimes, you may still live like you're in prison. Confined. Angry. Hurt. Not forgiving those you need to forgive. Not making wrongs right. Messed up relationships. Today is a new start. Start up! Realize God's love for you Then, go and love others. You don't even need a bag of cookies. Just affirm them. Notice them. Care about them. And if need be, forgive them. Never forget, there are a lot of prisoners walking around in the free world. God comes to set the prisoners free.
"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." 2 Corinthians 3:17
Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain for the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.
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