MAGNIFY The Lord With Me

It's hard to believe that the holiday season is upon us and that Thanksgiving is right around the corner; yet I look forward to being able to set aside time to pause and reflect on the many things I have to be thankful for.

A few years ago for Thanksgiving, I remember we had some close family friends over to enjoy the holiday, and I remember after we ate passing out small magnifying glasses to everyone as I asked the question, "What do you think a magnifying glass has to do with Thanksgiving." Thoughts and guesses were uttered until I passed out this simple verse typed out in the smallest of print. With magnifying glasses poised, the words were enlarged and the answer to my question was revealed:

""I will praise the name of God with song and MAGNIFY HIM with THANKSGIVING." Psalm 69:30

For the next several minutes, everyone was given the task of pairing up and coming up with a list from A to Z of attributes of God that they were thankful for; and we, then, shared those answers with one another.... "Almighty, Awesome, Amazing, All-in-All.....Beautiful, Benevolent, Big....Compassionate, Caring, Creative, Commanding......" and the list went on through the alphabet. It was so much fun to see what we came up with, and we enjoyed the blessing of MAGNIFYING God with THANKSGIVING together in prayer after reflecting on just how BIG and GREAT of a God He was and is.

But so I am reminded, again, that these thoughts and this task should not be reserved for a certain day or special time of the year. MAGNIFYING God with thanksgiving should be an everyday occurrence in my life!  To often times, though,  wouldn't you agree, that it is our circumstance or situation that looms BIG in our minds and it is, sadly, God who is small in our eyes? We can easily become anxious, fearful, worried, irritable, angry, bitter or resentful when life around us does not go like we want it to and our difficulties and problems can seem SO BIG. But we have the opportunity, however, to MAGNIFY God when we posses an "attitude of gratitude" toward Him and allow for those thoughts of thanksgiving to enlarge our understanding of whom He is and trust in what He is doing!

True heartfelt gratitude and appreciation is to be the heartbeat and pulse of my life each and everyday. It's more than simply looking for the good or striving to maintain a positive outlook on life. It is not simply being thankful for those relationships that I am glad to have as a part of my life or being grateful for those things that make my life easier.  True thanksgiving is to flavor my prayers and characterize my day to day life.

So as another week unfolds before me and I begin to think about the Thanksgiving holiday, I want to be continually mindful of the truth that true thanksgiving consciously and consistently fixes my eyes on God and looks to MAGNIFY Him by daily reflecting on His attributes and purposefully praising Him WITH THANKSGIVING for what He has done and is doing.   So how about it...........

""O, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together." Psalm 34:3

Little Corners

Years ago I a read a story to my boys entitled, "Little Corners," by Isabella Aiden, and it went something like this...

Georgia Willis, who helped in the kitchen, was rubbing the knives. Somebody had been careless and let one get rusty, but Georgia rubbed with all her might, rubbed, and sang softly a little song, "In the world is darkness, so we must shine. You in your small corner, and I in mine."

"Why do you rub at the knives forever like that?" asked Mary. Mary was the cook. "Because they are in my corner," Georgia said, brightly. "You in your small corner, you know, and I in mine." I will do the best I can; that is all I can do."  "I would not waste my strength," said Mary. "I know that no one will notice." "The Lord will," replied Georgia; and then she sang her song again, "You in your small corner, and I in mine."

"Cooking the dinner is in my corner, I suppose." said Mary to herself. "If that child must do what she can, I suppose I must. If Jesus knows about knives, it is likely that He does about dinners." And she took particular pains. "Mary, the dinner was very nicely cooked today," Miss Emma said. "That is due to Georgia," said Mary, with a pleased face. Then she told about the knives.

Miss Emma was in charge of ironing ruffles; she was tired and warn. "Helen will not care whether they are fluted or not," she thought, "I will hurry them over." But after she heard about the knives, she resolved to do her best. "How beautifully my dress is done!" Helen said. Emma laughing, answered, "That is owing to Georgia." Then she told about the knives.....

"No," said Helen to a her friend who urged, "I really cannot go this evening with you. I am to go to prayer meeting; my 'corner' is there."  "Your what? What do you mean," asked Helen.  Then Helen told about the knives.

"Well," the friend said, "if you will not go with me, perhaps I will go with you" and they went to the prayer meeting."

"You helped us ever so much with the singing this evening," their pastor said to them as they were going home. "It was an encouragement to me to have you here."  "It was owing to our Georgia," said Helen. "She seemed to think she must do what she could, if it were only to clean the knives."

"I believe I will go in here again," said the minister, stopping before a poor little house. "I said yesterday it was no use to try to talk to this bitter-hearted man; but I must do what I can."

In the house, a sick man was lying. Again and again the minister had called, but the invalid would not listen to him. Tonight the minister said, "I have come to tell you a little story." Then he told him about Georgia Willis, about the knives and the little corner, and her "doing what she could." The sick man wiped the tears from his eyes, and said, "Thank you pastor for coming by. I will find my corner, too. I will shine for Jesus." This sick man, you see, was Georgia's father....

But Georgia knew nothing about all this, and the next morning she took to her assigned task and brightened her knives and sang cheerily -

"In the world is darkness, so we must shine. You in your small corner, and I in mine."

And so it is that I pray, that I might faithfully serve and brightly shine -- in my small corner  -- so that in some small way, I, too, might be able to encouraged and stimulate others to be drawn all the more to my Savior!

Welcome, again, to my small corner. :)