 Ephesians 1: 3-4 ~ God blesses people with every spiritual blessing in Christ. I passed out gratitude journals in Room 21 last week. The students were delighted to receive them and eager to write 3 things down that they were thankful for. I encouraged them to understand that a happy, new year begins with a thankful heart first and foremost. I also reminded them that scientists have actually confirmed that gratitude and anxiety cannot coexist. It is a proven fact that when people choose to focus on gratitude rather than their problems, it is much more productive for them in so many ways. Having a thankful heart literally changes the way we perceive everything. We wrote in our gratitude journals today and the first thing on my list was HEAT. Oh yes! We have cold winters here in Canada and I am so thankful that we can enjoy the pleasure of a cozy and warm home and workplace. Some are not so lucky. I often think of homeless people at this time of year and feel so thankful for the comforts that I enjoy, yet often sadly take for granted.  I know I am blessed so much more than I deserve, yet it is still so easy to complain. Why do I do that? I get so disappointed in myself sometimes. It is sad that often what myself and others complain about, some could only dream of. An example could be we could say "I don't like that dinner." Others have no food. Another example could be we say "The Wi-fi is down again!" Others have no electricity, let alone computer access. You get the idea. It is quite humbling when we get a healthy dose of perspective and realize complaining is not the answer, or helpful. The Lord blesses us for many reasons but one of the reasons is so we in turn can be a blessing to others. We are blessed to be a blessing as they say!  Photo by RDNE Stock project at Pexels I love the song Counting My Blessings by Seph Schlueter. I encourage you to check it out by clicking the above link. The lyrics are so powerful and the chorus says Lord, I'm still counting my blessings, For all that You've done in my life, The more that I look in the details, The more of your goodness I find, Father on this side of Heaven, I know that I'll run out of time, But I will keep counting my blessings, Knowing I can't count that high We truly cannot count them all when it comes to our blessings that is for sure. If you don't have a gratitude journal, I strongly encourage you to start this new habit this year. It doesn't have to be fancy, any little notebook will work just fine. Not only will you have a record of all you are thankful for, but incorporating gratitude into your day each day, will also lay a great foundation for a happy and healthy 2025. Tuck that in your heart today. ❤️ Dear Jesus, Thank you for all that you have given us. We are blessed beyond measure and we need to be always mindful of that. May we take what you have given us and be a blessing to all those around us. On the chance that we are tempted to complain about the ups and downs of life, remind us to be thankful instead. In Jesus' name, Amen Sending you a virtual hug and so grateful for YOU! Dana
Tags: thankful heart, gratitude, thankfulness, gratitude journal, blessings, blessed to be a blessing, blessed beyond measure, counting my blessingsCopyright: © 2025 littlelessonslearnedbydana (Dana Romualdi)
0 Comments
 Photo by Anna Kolosyuk on Unsplash I remember in Sunday School a song we used to always sing called His Banner Over Me Is Love. It has a clear message that God loves us unconditionally and it is like if He could wave a banner over our heads 24/7 He absolutely would. The banner would broadcast His pure, never ending love for us for all to see. He is that crazy about you and me. You see, God's love is a form of love that you cannot experience anywhere else. It is pure and called agape love. Through a quick internet search, agape love is explained this way. It is a Greek word that represents the highest form of selfless, unconditional love there is. It is not dependent on what a person is or does, but simply a love that loves someone exactly the way he or she is, period.  Photo by Ben White on Unsplash Agape love is an unfamiliar concept it seems these days. Instead many people feel they must earn love, and feel often fearful of falling from grace and losing love from the ones they care about most. Many people I have interacted with have a hard time believing that God could love them at all, let alone unconditionally. I have chatted with people that have felt that they have sinned too much, have made too many mistakes or poor choices, or fallen so far off the beaten path that there was no hope for them. They are "too far gone" in their eyes. If you are one of those people I cannot stress enough how absolutely wrong that thinking is. Jesus is here for all of us. He cares about all of us, not an elite few. There are only two types of people as my beloved Grandpa Sudds would say: sinners and sinners saved by grace. We are ALL deserving of his agape love, no matter who we are or what we have done.  Photo by Tim Mossholder on Pexels Are you a Christ follower my friend? Do you even realize how much Jesus longs to have a relationship with YOU? He could have made us all little robots, who automatically served Him but instead He gave us freewill. He wants us to come to Him freely, unreservedly and accept this new life and love that only He offers. Won't you accept Him as the Lord of your life today and experience a life and love like you have never known? He is waiting for you with open arms. Please don't wait any longer. Tuck that in your heart today ❤️and repeat this prayer below if you would like to become a follower of Jesus. Dear Jesus, I admit that I am a sinner. I believe that you are God and are able to forgive me of my sins. I ask you to forgive me of my sins and become my personal saviour. Come into my heart and change me into the person I am meant to be. Help me to live for you from this day forward. Thank you for coming into my life and thank you for loving me as I am. In Jesus's name, Amen Sending you a virtual hug, Dana
Tags: salvation, accept Jesus into your heart, agape love, God's love, unconditional love, love of JesusCopyright: © 2025 littlelessonslearnedbydana (Dana Romualdi)  Photo by Samantha Sophia on Unsplash Scripture is such an incredible gift. God's word is still so relevant today, and what He did back then in all those incredible Bible stories, He can still and does do for us today! As a little girl I must confess though, I was not a huge fan of memorizing scripture, especially the reference, which is where it was found in the Bible such as: John 1:10. I didn't truly see the value of any of it at the time. I knew that the Bible was important but having to memorize it in my naive opinion seemed kind of unnecessary. I learned many verses by heart as a young girl and also became very familiar with the books of the Bible doing numerous "sword drills" in our kid's program called Crusaders. For anyone who is not aware of what a sword drill is, it is when you hold your Bible in the air, someone calls out a scripture reference and you race to find it, against others. This at the time seemed like a very fun game, but now I appreciate the bigger picture of this very worthwhile activity.  Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash I remember asking my Mom what the point was of memorizing all these random verses. Her reply was so memorable. She said "So you can write these verses on your heart, and they will be there when you need them." That did make sense, but it all came to full fruition for me as an adult. Time and time again depending on the trial I was facing, the appropriate verse would magically "pop" into my head, just as Mom had promised. You see, it had been written on my heart years ago, and when I needed it most there it was. Let me give you some examples. These are just a few verses that have come to me in various circumstances.  Photo by Bethany Laird on Unsplash ~ In times of fear and loss: Psalms 23 ~ In need of healing: Exodus 15:26 ~ For I am the Lord who heals you. ~ When having any need, big or small: Philipians 4:19 ~ My God shall supply all my needs. ~ When feeling lonely: Proverbs 18:24 ~ There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother, and His name is Jesus. ~ When under spiritual attack or facing adversity: Isaiah 54:17 - No weapon formed against me shall prosper. I could go on and on and I am literally getting goosebumps just typing this. God's word is so relevant, powerful and empowering when we quote it and pray it back over ourselves and our loved ones.  Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash If memorizing scripture is a new concept to you, I encourage you to start now. It is never too late and not just something that children do. Start small. Write a favourite scripture on a recipe card or sticky note and commit it to memory and then chose the next one. It is fun and one or the best tools against the enemy as he HATES scripture and the name of Jesus and will flee from us when we quote God's word. (James 4:7) Here's one to get you started. Matthew 6:33 ~ But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and ALL of these things shall be added unto you! I can't think of a better verse to take into 2025 than that as it states if we put God first, everything else will fall into place. Tuck that in your heart today ❤️. Dear Jesus, I thank you for your Word. It is a gift to us to cherish and we are so blessed to have your words to guide and direct our paths. May we write your word on our hearts so it is there in our times of trial when we need it most. In Jesus's name, Amen Sending you a virtual hug, Dana
Tags: scripture, Bible, God's word, memorize scripture, memory versesCopyright: © 2025 littlelessonslearnedbydana (Dana Romualdi) |
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed
