A New 'Nooma' ? - Great meditation on Thankfulness

Once upon a time lots of people got very excited about Rob Bells 'Nooma' DVDs, at the time a new and clever way to communicate. They're still worth a look:


There are now Christian DVDs everywhere, but these have grabbed me recently. A local church is doing a series on '7 life-changing habits', here's the clip for 'Thankfulness', and each theme comes with an accompanying pdf for personal or small group use.



"we are already the richest and most well-developed generation in history, and yet we are also the most in debt, medicated, depressed, overweight, stressed-out, addicted generation in history."

Fuel for a good life

Some helpful words written as a meditation on Titus 2, about how we become a people 'zealous to do good':

(we go) beyond a Reformation commitment to sola gratia (by grace alone) – it may suggest sola gratitudine (living by gratitude alone), in which a life eager to do good is motivated 
 - not by pride (you’re better than this)
 - threat (you’d better do this) 
 - or guilt (if only you’d done this) 
but simply by unforced, confident, cheerful gratitude.  

If your zeal for good works is slipping, don’t look to the law, look to the grace of God in saving you.

2013, Year of Thankfulness

Assuming we get through the next 48 hours, Tina has a great idea for the next 12 months:

Even when life is limited or painful, we have much to be thankful for.  Colour, sound, texture, relationships, beauty in faces and bodies and art and clothing, different flavours of food, the riches of the natural world, material goods of all kinds, freedom of speech and conscience.

God waits to receive our thanks.  Not because he’s a grudging giver like me.  Because gratitude does us and our world immense good.  So many influences in our society work to make us dissatisfied with what we have, when materially we’re phenomenally rich by comparison with most other people on the planet, and we’re spiritually rich in the riches of Christ.

I’m going to unilaterally declare this the Year of Thankfulness.  Join me?  Let’s try to thank God for more things every day, and marinate our lives in gratitude. 

The phrase 'aggressively thankful' has stuck with me from a talk I heard a couple of years ago - a church member who consciously looks out for things to affirm and praise in other people, and writes several notes a week to people to say thankyou. I guess for a few of us that will come naturally, for the rest it will be a spiritual discipline, but a good one. 

Tina's blog is Portishead Pilgrim.