It was at times during the winter months I would suffer from a dry eye syndrome. Dry eye is not a matter of life or death situation, but it can be a very annoying and painful one. I learned that it is a chronic condition caused by inadequate tear production or rapid tear evaporation. Symptoms include stinging, burning, redness of the eyes, and a gritty sensation. It can make you feel like something is constantly stuck in your eye.

From my experience, I had all the above symptoms. No matter how I rubbed my eyes, the irritation will not go away. To help remedy this condition someone told me that my eyes might be suffering from a lack of moisture, tear production. Sure enough, after a visit to the doctor, that was the case. I was told to purchase some eye drops to help restore the moisture that my tear ducts were not providing adequately. And would you know, in a couple of days, my dry eye syndrome was gone! The irritation left. Praise be to God! The redness disappeared. The stuck feeling was no more. My eyes became clear again. I could see comfortably. Unfortunately, at times I still encounter a dry eye syndrome. But thankfully, I know what to do to remedy the condition.

You may ask, what’s the moral of this little dry eye story? There can be many, but consider this: continually staring into an unhealthy, painful, or disturbing situation can produce a dry eye effect. Sometimes tears are needed to release or remove an irritation. That being said, in life there will be times you may need to cry or shade a few tears just to prevent you from experiencing the annoyance that a dry eye can cause. With that, how many of us try to hold back the tears? Hold back the pain we may feel? Tears are needful. However, the kind of tears I am speaking of are not only physical tears, but the tears that are produced by spiritually crying unto the Lord. He can clear up our interrupted spiritual vision and provide us with the best insight/eyesight anytime we are presented with an unhealthy, painful, or disturbing situation. He will provide the release if we allow Him. So, let your tears flow to Him. I assure you, none will be wasted.

“You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book? Psalm 56:8 ESV

“I cried aloud to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy hill.” Psalm 3:4 ESV

Let us pray: Dear Lord, I will keep on thanking you that I can cry out to you, and get relief when confronted with unhealthy, annoying, painful, and/or irritating situations. Thank you that you are aware of my suffering and my pain, in Jesus name, amen.

Books Available:

• In the Midst of This, amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, inspirebooks.com, walmart.com

• Sacred and Intimate Lives of Husbands and Wives, amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, inspirebooks.com,

• Something to Thank About from A to Z, amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, xulonpress.com

With love and gratitude, I pray the blessings of the Lord be with you always!

By Hertistine Washington / keeponthanking.com

I sit with myself and God in my backyard. I listen, I hear, I pray:

Thank You, God, for another day.

Feeling so blessed, free from stress,

As in this moment I experience God’s rest.

Yes, I sit with myself and God in the backyard, embracing His comfort of love,

As I look toward the sky above.

The sky so blue; the clouds so white; the air so fresh;

As the wind blows upon my chest;

I sit with myself and God in the backyard, trusting in His today’s care,

That no matter what, He will ever be there,

To be my shield and my guard,

As I sit with myself and God in my backyard.

“Be still, and know that I am God.” ESV Psalm 46:10

Let us pray: Dear Lord, I will keep on thanking you that you are my quiet place, in Jesus name, amen.

Books Available:

• In the Midst of This, amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, inspirebook.com, walmart.com

• Sacred and Intimate Lives of Husbands and Wives, amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, inspirebook.com

• Something to Thank About from A to Z, amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, xulonpress.com

With love and gratitude, I pray the blessings of the Lord be with you always!

By Hertistine Washington / keeponthanking.com

The most important post I can ever post is, He Is Risen! No other post is more meaningful because this post sustains and gives evidence to all others! Thank you, Lord, for rising for the dead! You are LORD of all! You have the victory!

I thank Him for showing me this wonderful view from my window this Resurrection Sunday. He is Risen!

Please pray with me: Dear Lord, I will keep on thanking you for rising from the dead declaring victory over the grave, the world, sin, and death, in Jesus name, amen.

“He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.” Matthew 28:6 ESV

With love and gratitude, may the blessings of the Lord be with you this Resurrection Sunday!

By Hertistine Washington / keeponthanking.com

Lord, we thank you for what you did on Calvary, being lifted up for all the world to see.

Not for you, but for others and me, paying the price of sin that all may be free!

How can we say thanks for all you have done, from the rising and setting of the sun?

Praising you for shedding your precious blood, as our souls filled with love for you do flood!

God the Father, God the Spirit, God the Son, we give you all glory. For when you said, “It is finished,” it was done!

And on the third day you rose, declaring Salvation’s victory for each and every soul.

Now in all that be, how do we say thanks for all done by thee?

Hallelujah, to to our God who died for you and me on Calvary!

“And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull). they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots.” Matthew 27:33-35 ESV

“But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. He who saw it has borne witness__his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth__that you also may believe.” John 19:33-35 ESV

Let us pray: Dear Lord, I will keep on thanking you for what you did for me on Calvary, dying for all to be set free from the penalty of sin. Thank you for paying sin’s debt in full, in Jesus name, amen!

Books available:

• In the Midst of This, amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, inspirebooks.com, walmart.com

• Sacred and Intimate Lives of Husbands and Wives, amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, inspirebooks.com

• Something to Thank About from A to Z, amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, xulonpress.com

With love and gratitude, I pray the blessings of the Lord be with you always!

By Hertistine Washington / keeponthanking.com

There is nothing, absolutely nothing that compares to sacred love. It’s a love that encompasses and surpasses everything in creation. It is lasting, not temporal; powerful, not weak; strong, not flimsy; good, not bad; kind, not mean; great, not small; forgiving, not stubborn; compassionate, not heartless; supportive, not competitive. When you possess a love like this, you have a love that endures forever. With this I shout, what a love, what a love, what a mighty mighty great love! This kind of love can only come from one source, God! When you embrace this kind of love, you are now ready to love God’s way. So I urge you to hold on to sacred love, godly love. It has been proven to stand the test of time.

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” John 15:12

“Let all that you do be done in love.” 1 Corinthians 16:14

Let us pray: Dear Lord, I will keep on thanking you for your great love that helps me to love your way, in Jesus name, amen.

With love and gratitude, I pray the blessings of the Lord be with you always!

Books available:

• In the Midst of This. amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, inspirebooks.com, walmart.com

• Sacred and Intimate Lives of Husbands and Wives, amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, inspirebooks.com

• Something to Thank About from A to Z, amazon.com, xulonpress.com, barnesandnoble.com

By Hertistine Washington / keeponthanking.com

Happy first week of the New Year! No, it’s not too late to say Happy New Year to anyone. So keeponthanking.com is saying Happy New Year to you! Also thank you for your yearly support. That said, I hope in these first seven days of this new year you’ve found something to be glad about; something that will jump-start your heart with gladness. I pray that your gladness is inspired with the love and gratitude that comes with knowing God. I pray also that the thing/s which may have made you sad last year is no longer an issue, and it is replaced with a heart full of glad tidings in Jesus name.

Yes, we have something to be thankful and glad about. Being that there are so many reasons to be glad, I hope the three I share will jump-start your heart with gladness this year. God’s Word reminds us: “The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad”( Isaiah 126:3). That alone is enough to be glad; knowing the Lord has done great things… for us! Yes, for us! For you! For me! For everyone He has done great things! Simply search the Scriptures and your heart. It also informs us, “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24). And let us not forget what David said in Psalm 122:1, “I was glad when they said to me, “‘Let us go into the house of the Lord!”‘ Oh, what three great reasons to jump-start your heart with gladness this year!

Therefore I encourage you, don’t walk in sadness (nor madness for that matter), but with gladness of heart to know you are blessed beyond measure to see a brand new year by the mercy and grace of our loving God. Fill your heart with gladness. It’s not too late. Start now.

Let us pray: Dear Lord, I will keep on thanking you for filling my heart with gladness and reminding me I always have something to be glad about in the mighty name of Jesus, amen.

With love and gratitude, may the blessings of the Lord be with you always!

Place your book order today:

• In the Midst of This, amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, inspirebooks.com, walmart.com

• Something to Thank About for A to Z, amazon.com, xulonpress.com, barnesandnoble.com

• Sacred and Intimate Lives of husbands and Wives, amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, inspirebooks.com

by Hertistine Washington / keeponthanking.com

Happy first day of the last month of this year, December! Aren’t you glad to be alive to say, thank you Lord, for another day! This day. This moment. Right now. This time. Thankful that the spirit of gratitude helps our hearts to shine. So grateful. So grateful I am for You, Jesus, God’s Holy Lamb.

December, a month we as Christians join in celebrating Jesus’s birth more than any other month. He is worthy. He is worthy indeed as on the cross, He did bleed. Thankful that you are: Giver of Grace to run this race; Giver of Hope to help us cope; Giver of Life, our willing Sacrifice; Giver of Salvation without a price. So, thank you, Lord, for another day to say, “Thank You, Lord.”

This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24

Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift! 2 Corinthians 9:15

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:57

Let us pray: Dear Lord, I will keeponthanking you for another day in the mighty name of Jesus, amen.

With love and gratitude, may the blessings of the Lord be with you always!

Books available for order:

• In the Midst of This, amazon.com barnsandnoble.com, inspirebooks.com, walmart.com

• Something to Thank About from A to Z, amazon.com xulonpress.com, barnesandnoble.com

• Sacred and Intimate Lives of Husbands and Wives, amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, inspirebooks.com

By Hertistine Washington / keeponthanking.com

Despite the chaos that’s been happening this year in our country, I hope you can have a summer calm down. For me, when life becomes an uproar, there’s one place I hope to be. It is in a place of calm. A place where no matter what is going on, I can be calm on the inside. This calmness I call peace. Speaking for myself, when peace arrives calmness abides. Even when the tides seem not to recede, I know then, it is calmness that I need.

Has anyone ever said to you, “Calm down?” I was reminded to do just that the other day. I was also reminded calmness is a great state to be, even when the storm has not passed over. I must still be calm. So, how do I attain this calm down for the summer despite the chaos? It is by trusting in God by way of the Holy Spirit, who helps me through believing prayer based on His Word. Then and only then do I get to experience His peace that transcends all understanding, which is always available for me when I trust Him. With that said, how do you keep calm when things around you seem to be in an uproar? What do you do? Where do you go? Who helps you to remain calm? I encourage you to try God.

Just saying, when we choose to trust God, there is calm. We can calm down from the voices in our head, from the anxiety in our hearts, and from the fears and situations trying to overwhelm our minds. I don’t know about you, but when I calm down I can think clearly. I can focus. My spirit is settled. My mind is at peace. My body is at ease. My soul is satisfied. Being that I have reached this state of calmness, I am now ready to move forward in God with peace, love, and gratitude.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made know to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7 ESV).

Please pray with me: Dear Lord, I will keep on thanking you for your peace that transcends all understanding which keeps me calm in Jesus name, amen.

With love and gratitude, may the blessings of the Lord be with you always, and wishing you a summer calm down filled with joy, happiness, and relaxation!

Books available:

• Something to Thank About form A to Z, xulonpress.com, amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com

• Sacred and Intimate Lives of Husbands and Wives, amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com

By Hertistine Washington / keeponthanking.com

Most of us have in our possession a magnifying glass. Why do you think we have them? Here’s a simple answer. We have them so we can get a closer look at something. To see better. To make things BIGGER.

Well, I tell you, there is someone who will never need a magnifying glass. He has perfect sight. He can see the smallest things in a big way. His name is Jesus. He always sees in perfection. He sees the small print as if it was huge. He sees the tiny crack in the pavement. He sees the good and the evil. He even sees the hurt in your heart that’s not visible to anyone else. Why not tell Him about it. He won’t magnify it. If you trust Him, He can make it as small as if it wasn’t there at all. So if you are hurting today in some way, magnify Jesus despite your pain. He knows it there. Be confident He is able to give you comfort, assurance, and a hope.

As we are in the Resurrection season of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (EASTER), let’s continue to magnify Him that all may see who suffered, died, and rose to save humanity.

“I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the LORD; let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!” Psalm 34:1-3 ESV

Please pray with me: Dear Lord, I will keep on thanking You for what You have done for me on Calvary. You are worthy of all praise and deserves to be magnified to the utmost in Jesus name, amen.

With love and gratitude, may the blessings of the Lord be with you always!

Books available:

• Something to Thank About from A to Z, xulonpress.com, amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com
• Sacred and Intimate Lives of Husbands and Wives, amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com

By Hertistine Washington