Being Thankful Will Help You At The Finish Line

January has been a long walk for many of us.

For some, it brought fresh beginnings and renewed energy.

For others, it came with unexpected challenges, lingering worries, or unanswered prayers. And now, here we are—January 31, the finish line of the first month of the year.

This is a good place to pause… and to be thankful.

Gratitude isn’t just about thanking God when everything goes right. Real thankfulness shows up when the road is hard, when progress is slow, and when we’re still waiting for clarity. Being thankful doesn’t deny the struggle—it declares that the struggle does not have the final word.

You may not be where you hoped you’d be by now.

You may still be hurting, healing, or holding on.

But if you’ve made it to today, there is something powerful to recognize:

You’re still standing.

And that alone is worth thanking God for.

The Bible reminds us in 1 Thessalonians 5:18:

“In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

Notice it doesn’t say for everything—but in everything.

Be thankful for:

The breath you took this morning The strength that carried you through January The lessons learned, even the hard ones The grace that met you when you felt weak

Gratitude has a way of changing our perspective. It doesn’t always change our circumstances, but it changes us. A thankful heart sees possibilities instead of problems. It finds hope in small victories and peace in God’s faithfulness.

As you close this month, don’t rush past the goodness hidden in it. Thank God for what He did, for what He protected you from, and even for what He’s still working on behind the scenes.

January may be ending, but God isn’t finished.

Walk into February with a thankful heart and a trusting spirit. What lies ahead may surprise you—in the best way.

Prayer Thought:

“Lord, thank You for carrying me through this month. I may not understand everything, but I trust You in all things. Help me walk forward with gratitude, faith, and hope. Amen.”

Slow steps still move forward.

Grateful hearts still grow stronger.

And thankful people never walk alone.

— End January thankful… and begin tomorrow hopeful. 🙏✨

Start Your Day Off Right Series 1/30

https://youtube.com/shorts/URV6A7v-K8A?si=z0M4ZVhKDVGSUMEY

Here is some food for your Daily Bread!

1/30– Start Your Day Off Right Series

Quote:

The best solution seldom requires that someone be right and someone else be wrong.

Story:

Robert Fulghum wrote in the Kansas City Times, “Most of what I really need to know about how to live, and what to do, and how to be, I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sandbox at nursery school. 

These are the things I learned: Share everything. Play fair. Don’t hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Don’t take things that aren’t yours. Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody . . . When you go out into the world, watch for traffic, hold hands, and stick together. ” This writer has captured part of what Jesus meant when he said, “Unless you become like little children, you won’t enter the kingdom of heaven.”    

Scripture:

1 Corinthians 14:20

Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men.

Humor:

Think I have used before:

The patient’s family gathered to hear what the specialists had to say. “Things don’t look good. The only chance is a brain transplant. This is an experimental procedure. It might work, but the bad news is that brains are very expensive, and you will have to pay the costs yourselves.”

“Well, how much does a brain cost?” asked the relatives.

“For a male brain, $500,000. For a female brain, $200,000.”

Some of the younger male relatives tried to look shocked, but the men nodded in understanding, and a few actually smirked. Then the patient’s daughter asked, 

“Why the difference in price between male brains and female brains?”

“A standard pricing practice,” said the head of the team. “Women’s brains have to be marked down because they are used.”

Would You Like To Be an Uncommon Man

1/30–UNCOMMEN Leaders: Who’s in Your Five?

Leadership guru Jim Rohn said, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”

An old mobile marketing campaign asked, “Who’s in your five?”

It’s common for guys in their 20’s can rattle off names quickly. On their wedding day, you’ll find their five flanking them. But it doesn’t take long for those five to start fading from the picture. It’s natural to lose friends over time. People change. People move. All too often, few take their place.

We become known more by our titles, our accomplishments, or our kids. Increasingly we are known as “the boss,” “the guy who built that company, “runs in those triathlons,” or “Johnny’s dad.”

We become known by what we do more than who we are. In an article titled, “The Friendship Crisis,” The Washington Post recently quoted from an American Sociological Review stating “that the number of close friends for adults is declining, with the modal number of close friendship in 1985 being three, while in 2004 the modal number was zero. 

The percentage of adults who report having no close friends at all has increased from 36 percent in 1985 to 53.4 percent by 2004.”

An ancient Proverb says, “An isolated man seeks out his own desires (or can be translated: destruction), he breaks out against all sound judgement.”

Isolated men create chaos. Their names litter the headlines, our prisons, and our neighborhoods. Men who shoot up movie theaters, live a double life, or simply escape to a virtual world after work.

Back in 1965, Martin Luther King Jr said, “What we are facing today is the fact that through our scientific and technological genius we’ve made of this world a neighborhood. 

And now through our moral and ethical commitment we must make of it a brotherhood.”

Leadership can be lonely, but you don’t have to go it alone.

Guys in your five ask you the tough questions. They challenge you to risk. They give you permission to be who you are. They value you for who you are more than what you do.

So it begs the question, “Who’s in your five?” And if you are struggling to lift up more than one or two fingers, it’s time to build your brotherhood.

Schedule a lunch or virtual coffee with them. Reconnect. Be challenged. Watch your leadership deepen.

Be UNCOMMEN.

Always Make Room For God And The Man Of God

https://youtu.be/XFgh3YzA99M?si=4QAPZBh9vpznY_7I

2 Kings 4:8-11. And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread. And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually. Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick: and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither. And it fell on a day, that he came thither, and he turned into the chamber, and lay there.

Start Your Day Off Right Series 1/29

https://youtube.com/shorts/wr0jW6Tnz0M?si=5DzqWBA37H3_WscF

Here is some food for your Daily Bread!

Start Your Day Off Right Series 1/29

Quote:

Story—

Illustration:  Do you like blackberries?   Aren’t they wonderful when mixed with ice cream?   So sweet and delightful.

   What does it take to gather blackberries?     Well you have to crawl through the vines which are covered with prickly thorns.    These thorns will scratch your skin if you’re not very careful.

What can you do?    Well one good idea is to protect yourself with heavy clothing.   Another is to be extremely cautious when walking through the vines.

How can that help us in the congregation?

   Well if we have the right attitude toward our brothers, that can be compared with the protective clothing.   Being thoughtful and considerate can be compared with the cautious moving through the vines.

Remembering that our brothers intentions are good and they’re trying to work out their own salvation too, we won’t be scratched.

What do you do if you are scratched?    In the case of actual blackberries, you don’t take the thorn and keep jabbing it into your skin over and over do you.    Neither do you flee from the patch.   You want those berries.

   So, too, with our brothers and sisters.    We love their wonderful qualities and want to be near them.     So when we do get scratched (or scratch others), apply the soothing ointment of love over those wounds.

Scripture:

2 Peter 3:8

But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

Humor: It reminds me of the man who was sizing up God by ask”“asking, “God, how long is a million years to you?” God said, “A million years is like a second.” Then the man asked, “How much is a million dollars to you?” God said, “A million dollars is like a penny.” The man smiled and said, “Could you spare a penny?” God smiled back and said, “Sure, just wait a second.”

Before You Judge Others, Judge Yourself First

A serviceman once wrote about a moment of comedy he had witnessed in the army. It happened during a company inspection at the Redstone Arsenal in Alabama. 

The inspection was being conducted by a full colonel. Everything had gone smoothly until the officer came to a certain soldier, looked him up and down and snapped, “Button that pocket, trooper!” The soldier, more than a little rattled, stammered, “Right now, sir?” “Of course, right now!” was the reply. 

Whereupon the soldier very on carefully reached out and buttoned the flap on the colonel’s shirt pocket. The officer had been quick to note the youngster’s uniform problem, but hadn’t noticed his own. 

For some reason, we seem to be the same way. The faults of others stick out like a missing tooth, while our own are often hard to spot. Small specks in other people seem major, while the planks in our own eye seem excusable (Mat_7:1-5). 

Let’s quit dwelling on the faults of others all the time. The church needs builders and workers-not a wrecking crew. Work on your own faults, then seek to help others in a spirit of gentleness.

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The Steps Of A Good Man Are Ordered By The Lord

https://youtu.be/AYVAt8sx2do?si=BlCngl43CoKR3tFA

Psalms 27:23-25. The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD:
and he delighteth in his way.
Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down:
for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.
I have been young, and now am old;
yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken,
nor his seed begging bread.