His Benefits

Kari Patterson > Sacred Mundane > His Benefits
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This morning I read this, one of my favorite lines of Scripture:

Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name!

Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.  (Ps. 103:1-2)

Now this is obvious, but why would God tell us to “forget not” all His benefits?  Because we forget!  We’re called to remember, recount, retell, and rejoice in all that God has done for us!  You might be thinking, well it’s easy for you to do right now because you just got good news that you’re moving.  But it was last weekend, before I knew anything of any move, that God really showed me the importance of thankfulness (read Repenting…again).  So, on the eve of our move, as we transition to this new season, I wanted to reflect and review these past 13+ months, and forget not all His benefits during this time.  The list could go on forever. He’s 20…

  1. We saved over $20,000 in mortgage and bills by living here (I guess technically we didn’t save it because we don’t have it, but we didn’t spend that much!).
  2. Dutch has the most amazing relationship with Oma and Papa that will never be taken away.
  3. Jeff and I have weathered significant storms and our roots are deeper.
  4. “I had heard of [God] by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees [Him].” Job 42:5
  5. We’ve met sweet and precious people out here in this small town.
  6. I learned that I am not defined by what I do.
  7. Jeff learned he is not defined by what he does.
  8. We pared down our belongings significantly and got organized!
  9. Jeff has established a wonderful relationship with our dear Pastor Dale, friend and mentor.
  10. I had help with Dutch and the house through my horrid first-trimester sickness.
  11. We were able to share daily joys and sorrows with my parents.
  12. We learned priceless life lessons from them about selflessness, humility, and godliness.This blog was birthed!!!!
  13. We’ve had the glorious rushing river right outside our bedroom window.
  14. We’ve had countless hours throwing rocks in the river, feeding hay to the horsies, walking hundreds of miles up and down the driveway.
  15. We’ve picked berries, planted a garden, harvested loads of basil for fresh pesto, patronized the library (!).
  16. Jeff has racked up hundreds of miles on his bike riding too and from work.
  17. I’ve enjoyed my share of lazy hours lounging in the pool reading novels.
  18. I learned that the world will not fall apart if the refrigerator is not clean.
  19. We have a million memories we will look back on and laugh about for years and years to come.

I wish there were words to somehow convey how incredibly indebted I am to God and to my parents for their grace.  God, gentle, loving, tender, forgiving, but firm, refusing to just give me my own way, but loving me enough to take me through the fire, letting the dross rise to the surface, revealing the ugliness I’d rather cover up.  My parents, endlessly patient, never taking offense no matter how cross a mood I was in, never demanding their own way, always ready to serve, help, love, give.  Ever living to bless us.  I pray that Jeff and I can be 1/2 the godly parents and grandparents that Bill and Karen Zyp are.  I am humbled beyond words by their lives (and I’ve seen them up close!)

So, this season is closing…we head to the beach tomorrow morning with other family, and be sure to check out tomorrow’s LiveDifferent Post on Permeating Culture, but I’ll be unplugged Saturday and Sunday, and from then on I’ll be writing from a new spot.  New adventures ahead, new challenges, joys, struggles, lessons.  Stay tuned.  Thanks for reading, and consider today His benefits and forget them not.

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