thankful Archives - Kristin Saatzer

Thanks-living

November 20, 2018 By Kristin Saatzer 6 Comments

“The one who offers thanksgiving as His sacrifice glorifies me.”

Psalm 50:23b ESV

November has not been kind to California. We lament as stories of suffering and death and horror continue to assault us. Have mercy, Lord. Have mercy!

As we roll into Thanksgiving we see “Give Thanks” signs in stores and homes. We scroll through Facebook and read posts of gratefulness. However, for some, coming up with a blessing is like finding a black cat on a moonless night. Seemingly impossible. Too much pain in the heart to search for good. Where does one begin after losing a child in a shooting or losing a home or an entire town to a fire?

A friend of mine who lost her child, once shared with me that she found it took too much effort in her grief-crippled state to come up with something she could be thankful for. She said it was a sacrifice to try to do so.Continue Reading

I Would Have Lost Heart… The Practice of Gratitude: Part 8

November 26, 2017 By Kristin Saatzer 4 Comments

The Practice of Gratitude: Part 8

Psalm 27:13-14 New King James Version (NKJV)

¹³I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
That I would see the goodness of the Lord
In the land of the living.

¹⁴Wait on the Lord;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the Lord!

I would have lost heart, the scripture says…

I am the blessed mother of four amazing dudes. This passage of scripture from Psalm 27 was a familiar one when my circus was young. I returned to these words often. I truly would have lost heart unless I believed these wild ones would grow up with just a teaspoon of civility. I grabbed courage as I prayed they would show goodness to one another at some point in their maturity (goodness in the land of my living!) My life was a bevy of chaos, broken things, fights, noise, emotional outbursts, and fun. Little piggies ate at my table and monkeys climbed my kitchen. I agree with those who say that parenting is not for cowards or the faint of heart. Still, I was thankful for it all.

My youngest is now 13 and my brood is mostly civilized. Thank you, Jesus! My prayers for them continue, even more so. As I glance back at the tragic global events of this fall, I must find the courage to release my sons to fly in such a world.

Have you found yourself losing heart these days? I sure have. The news has given us some tough pills to swallow lately.

I would have lost heart

Yet! There is good on this globe. This is where I connect the dots between our scripture above and The Practice of Gratitude. In all the events this fall, natural and human-made disasters, we saw people acting bravely. Good people risked their lives for others. We’ve read of generosity beyond measure. The goodness of the Lord in the Land of the living, we do not need to mine deep to discover it.

When I focus on the negative and heartbreaking, and the world my boys face, I lose heart. Therefore, the antidote is a practice of gratitude.

As I have shared in earlier blogs, I keep a journal where I record my gratitude. As of today, I have a list of 5,146. Here’s a few from my list this week: apple pie, four boys together for Thanksgiving, didn’t have to drive today, phone time with sis, health insurance, breath in my lungs, friendship with Sarah, orange/red/purple leaves, yellow/green butterflies in my yard… I wait on Him here as I jot down sweet blessings. He fills me with the courage to face the scary. Oh, how God strengthens my heart. Every. Single. Day.

Intentional gratitude changed my life.

Intentional gratitude changes my days.

Do not lose heart, my friend. Wait on God, be of good courage, and He will strengthen your heart. I challenge you to record your gratefulness. Mine for the goodness of the Lord in the Land of the Living. It will change your life. It will change your days.

“How precious are My children who remember to thank Me at all times. They can walk through the darkest days with joy in their hearts because they know that the Light of My Presence is still shining on them.”

~Jesus Calling

Photo by Magda Fou on Unsplash

Grateful for Dental Pain?

August 1, 2017 By Kristin Saatzer 3 Comments

The Practice of Gratitude Part 7

Some dental pain is the worst kind of pain! Can I get an Amen?

And I am no stranger to pain. At times, it has been my constant companion. I will spare you my list of experiences with this formidable foe. Just know: I know of what I speak.

These last 10 days I endured almost unrelenting tooth fun. I am close to awarding this experience with my “worst-pain- ever” prize. The torture stopped for a few hours during the numbness of a root canal. Never had I looked forward to a dentist visit like the one I did that day, knowing I’d have a few pain-free hours. Twisted, I know.

Are you still with me? Because root canals and dental pain make for catchy, riveting blog posts. Something to brighten a day, right? If you are still here, thank you for staying. You are my support group today and you should get your own prize.

So, how can I be grateful for level 10 dental pain? God reminded me through this trial, that I do best when I go to gratefulness. Consequently, each day, I took out my gratitude journal and listed things like the following: medical insurance, dental care, friends that pray and check in, a greater empathy for those in acute pain, my mom and sister’s concern, my husband sitting up with me at night in my tears. This is good stuff.

As I go even deeper in my contemplation of these 10 days, I find I am profoundly grateful for God’s presence. You see, during the severest nights, when I couldn’t pray, I cried out to my Jesus. I cried out His name repeatedly.Continue Reading

Can We Talk About Complaining?

April 5, 2017 By Kristin Saatzer 2 Comments

The Practice of Gratitude Part 4

Tramping at dusk through a field of weeds with my 12-year-old, Micah, my eye was on the prize: a porta potty. As we got closer, I saw the door bolted shut. Nooooooo! My bladder was ready to explode. About to utter my feelings on the situation, I heard Micah call through the weeds, “Remember, you said you aren’t going to complain for 40 days and you asked us to hold you accountable.”

Oh. Ya.

You see, a few days before, I had proclaimed to my family that I was giving up complaining in the 40-days leading up to Easter. I asked them to call me out when they hear me (or, in Micah’s case, before they hear me). In my practice of gratitude, I’ve noticed that complaining and thankfulness don’t get along well. Therefore, I chose the Lenten season to take it to the next level by banishing the whiner in me.

And it is HARD (oops, I just complained).

As I grow in my practice of gratitude, my complaining needs to decrease. I want to trade grumbling for gratitude.

This 40-day fast has been eye-opening. I’ve discovered I tend to grumble when I’m tired, hot, my computer acts up, I don’t get my way, or have a full bladder while walking through weeds. I’ve learned that I whine more than I thought I did. When beginning this exercise, I did not think it would be as challenging as it has been. Nor did I realize how irritated I would become when “caught” by family members.

In Philippians 2:14, the Bible is clear on the subject: Do everything without complaining. Just typing that sentence makes me want to complain. Yet I have committed to grow in gratitude, so I embrace these 40-days of deliberate non-grumbling. As I feel a grievance coming on, I try to flip it and find something I can be grateful for instead. I am learning to reframe my view in any given situation. I fear this will be a lifelong process.

So, how about you? How are you doing in the Complaint Department? Would you like to join me in examining your outlook? Your complain-o-meter? Your inner whiner? Your outer grumbler? Let’s look for treasure in the weeds and note how our attitude and mental health changes along the way. Not to mention, how pleasant we’ll be to hang out with.