CAPA Corner: Thanks

Col 3:15-16

15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. NKJV

Peace ruling in our hearts! What a wonderful admonishment form Paul!  I believe that one of the ways to have peace in our hearts is to focus on what blesses our lives more than focusing on our dilemmas, circumstances and frustrations.

As I contemplated the article for this week, my mind filled with many topics I could wax eloquently about in order to admonish us in some way.  However, as I began to write my thoughts were arrested and even though it is not Thanksgiving, I decided to be thankful! 

So many times we have a tendency to take the positive things in life for granted and focus in on the negative.  Recently I had a discussion with a young parent and I basically said, “Isn’t it amazing how our children can do 20 positive things in a row and not hear a word from us but then forget to accomplish one task, and based upon our mood at the time, we let them hear a variety of not so positive responses!” I went on to say, “Wouldn’t it be awesome if your child could hear praise and thanks from you everyday for at least 5 good things they do?” Wouldn’t that, as Paul says in Colossians, “Admonish us”?

So this week I want to give some thanks for good things! First, I want to take this opportunity to thank Central Speaks for providing the pastors a weekly space called “CAPA Corner”.  Space is valuable to a newspaper!  Yet each week, the pastors of our community are afforded the opportunity to utilize this space to encourage our community.   What a blessing this is for us all!

Pastors are busy people and, at least for me, my turn to write an article never seems to fall at a convenient time!  So next, I want to thank all the pastors who take the time each week to write their article.  We have so many wonderful pastors that serve congregations in our community and having the opportunity to hear from these pastors allows them to encourage us all, but and help to build unity in our community!   

People are busy too!  In our fast paced world of high tech devises and demands on our time, it can be difficult to pause and take time to read a reoccurring article.  However, ever time I write an article someone inevitably comes up to me and says, “Thanks for that article this week.” So finally this week, I want to thank all the people who take the time to read CAPA Corner each week.

As you finish the article this week, pause and consider what and who you can be thankful for.  Are there some things you take for granted?  Has your life become cluttered with the focus on the negative? Maybe spend sometime this weekend thanking children, parents, neighbors, teachers, pastors etc. for all the positive things they do! I’ll bet you will find the peace of God ruling in your hearts!

Ron Erickson, 
Future Hope Ministries