Say “hello.” Say “hi.” Say “good day.” Say “good morning.” These are simple greetings that can make or lift someone’s day. Do you know greetings are very important? One reason they exists is to acknowledge the ‘there-ness’ of an individual. Jesus talked about greeting one another. On one occasion He said to greet one another with an holy kiss. Surely, He didn’t mean every time we see each other to kiss one another, but to greet with the spirit of love, caring, respect, and gentleness as He does us.

Simply acknowledging the ‘there-ness’ of a person lets them know  they are not being ignored, they matter. We can be grateful God acknowledges us and wants us to know we matter with His greetings of love, mercy, and grace everyday. So go ahead today, say hello, hi, good day, good morning to someone, and let them know you appreciate their “there-ness.” Who knows… you might just be that someone God chooses to lift or touch a person life in a special way. Hello.

“And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him.” (Matthew 28:9)

“And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” (Luke 1:28)

“Greet one another with the kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.” (1 Peter 5:14)

I will keep on thanking God for His greeting of love everyday.  By Hertistine Washington/keeponthanking.com

Sometimes no matter what is going on in life (making you kind of crazy), I dare you to gratitude it! Yes, just say, “thank you, Lord” while you’re in that situation. I’ve come to realize after all that thinking and planning what to do, how can I fix it, what’s going on…. sometimes I just had to pause and say “Lord, thank you.” Yes, thank Him that things are not as bad as they could be. Then thank Him that I know that! Thank Him that I’m still living and breathing while in that situation.

I shared that to say, at this time in my life I know that it pays to gratitude it, and I pray you will too (what ever “it” is)! Yes, gratitude it! That’s my stamp on what comes, what may. I’m learning when I put a gratitude stamp on any issue or circumstance, things seems to look better. With God, I know it is better. So let me encourage you.

As we know, whenever we send a package, the postal clerk always put a stamp on it. This indicates that it is ready for delivery from your hands to his. No matter what route it will take, we can be assured that it’s going! It’s out of our hand and reach! No need to worry about the route it will take, or the hands it will pass through. We can be confident that our package is on the way! That’s how it is when we gratitude it. We’ve made the decision to thank and trust God for His way of  delivery in any situation. Now… the method of delivery may not look so “good” to us, but we can ‘gratitude it’ by thanking God that He “is” Good!

“Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving and perform your vows to the Most High,” Psalm 50:14.

I will keep on thanking God, in spite of.   By Hertistine Washington/keeponthanking.com

Have you ever hung onto anything? Think a minute, what was it? Whether good or bad, why did you keep hanging on? What was about it that caused you to not let go, to stay with it? Could it be that whatever it was, you felt it was worth the effort? Was it so valuable that you were willing to suffer hurt or harm before letting go? Surely in life, as there are things we must let go of, there are others we must hang on to. That which is most important, I encourage you to hang on in there.

That’s the way I feel about God’s Word. It’s too valuable to let go. There are blessings in hanging on to it. Like Jacob, who hung on to the angel’s heel, refusing to let go because of the blessing in store. Thankful, God’s Word lets us know that this too shall pass; that we can make it if we hold on.

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105).

“The unfolding of your word gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple” (Psalm 119:130).

I will keep on thanking God that I have something to hang on to that will get me through the toughest of times. Hanging on to His Word keeps me form being hung up on many things.

What a long word I used to think and visualize… R E S U R R E C T I O N! Growing up, and even as a young adult, I had trouble spelling this word. I always had trouble with whether it included two r’s or two s’s. I did recall, however, it was one or the other. Finally, one day I got it, not only in the grammatical sense but the spiritual sense. When I began to read my Bible, and to pay attention in scripture what Jesus did for me, I realized how important it was to remember this word. Jesus said, “I am the Resurrection and the Life.” “This truly is worth remembering,” I thought. I grew to understand not only did He rise from the grave for me, He also suffered, died, and was buried for me. I can now say with the joy of the Lord in my heart, thank you Jesus you didn’t stay down in the grave; You got up!

I’m so grateful I don’t have to wait until Easter to celebrate the RISEN Lord. Neither do you. Because He rose, all who accept Him as Savior can rise in saving grace with praise and thanksgiving ‘everyday’ for who He is, what He has done, is doing, and what He will do.

“Jesus said to her, “‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,”‘ ( John 11:25).

I will keep on thanking Jesus, the RISEN Lord!  By Hertistine Washington/keeponthanking.com

I’m remembering as a child, whenever I got sick with a cold, my mom would give me a daily dose of cough medicine. The purpose of the cough medicine was to stop the cough, even though the cold lingered. Many times the cough medicine didn’t taste so good, but I still managed to swallow it down. For I believed my mom when she told me it was good for me… just take it. As I continued to take my daily dose, I began to not only stop coughing, but to feel much better. I will forever be thankful of how my mom cared for me when I needed her most.

Now that I’m no longer a child, I still look for my daily dose… not of cough medicine, but God’s grace. I can count on it. It’s there every morning and every night, and throughout the day. Thankful, it can’t be purchased from a store, nor stored in a bottle, and has an expiration date. It is God’s grace. It is good for all times and for whatever may ail me or you. And it will provide strength to press through the darkest of times, even to the light of day. I will forever be grateful for God’s amazing daily grace.

“But he said to me, “‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”‘ (2 Corinthians 12:9).

“For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace” (John 1:16).

I will keep on thanking God for His ever abiding grace.  By Hertistine Washington/ keeponthanking.com

Storms may come, storms may go.

Some comes fast; others slow.

No need to run; no need to hide,

As long as in Christ Jesus, you abide.

Remember…  on the Sea of Galilee,

Only Jesus was able to calm the wind,

and the sea.

Just stay the coarse; He won’t leave our side,

In His bosom, we can surely reside.

“And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace be still!” and the wind cease, and there was a great calm.” (Mark 4:39).

I will keep on thanking God for his protection in the storm.   By Hertistine Washington/keeponthanking.com

Dear Lord, hear this simple prayer of gratitude. Lord, I thank you because of who You are; You are Lord God almighty; You are the redeemer of my soul; You are greater than the greatest on earth and the universe; You are high, yet You come low; You are with me wherever I go;  You are my constant comforter, carrier, and companion. Indeed, there is no one like you.

No need I to run in trying to keep up with You, for You are already before me. Thank You, Lord; You are God from the rising of the sun until the going down of the same. Therefore, my heart is filled with gratitude whether sunshine, cloudy, or rain. Lord, I thank You, amen.

“Therefore you are great, O LORD God, For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears” (2 Samuel 7:22).

I will keep on thanking the Lord because of who He is.  Hertistine Washington/keeponthanking.com

Greetings,

All glory be to God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! I’m so thankful to share with you my new book, “Sacred and Intimate Lives of Husbands and Wives; Helpful Hints on Embracing the Marriage Journey.” I’ve learned marriage is better when it’s done God’s way, according to His plan.

Copies are available today at amazon.com, barnesandnobles.com, and booksamillion.com.

I will keep on thanking  God for your prayers and support.  By Hertistine Washington/keeponthanking.com

Come in, Jesus. You are welcome in this place. What a gracious invitation to be invited in, especially someone like Jesus: The Lord, The Savior, The Redeemer; our helper, provider, protector, restorer! Why not invite Him in today? He will not disappoint. He will not waste your time, for He is not a waster, but a great benefactor. He is a life changer. He will come into your heart, mind, soul, spirit, and into your home, business, travels, and into your life as a whole to make a change for the better. If strength, He has it; if peace, He is it; if comfort, He’ll spread His wings over you as a mother hen her chicks. He will not leave you comfortless in your doubts, worries, or fears. So invite Him in today and watch how you profit. I assure you, you’ll never want Him to go away.

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20).

I will keep on thanking God for willing to come to me.  By Hertistine Washington/keeponthanking.com

The Holy Bible bares record that “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). This is to say that to have faith is to believe we have those things that we are hoping for, even though we cannot see them with the physical eye. We must stand firm in our belief, in the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Let me further encourage you, faith must be firm in order to stand firm. It must be solid; concrete. Wouldn’t you agree it’s easier to stand steady on a solid surface than an unstable or shaky one? So I ask, is your faith firm, or is it wavering, uncertain, doubtful, squishy, or soft? Know that this kind of faith cannot stand the least severe of storms. Be mindful, neither can it build the kind that will triumph over opposition, though at times we do fall short. But thanks be to God, faith that is firm is strong, and will stand the storm. When the wind blows, it will not fail. When the floods come, it will keep us from drowning in defeat. I pray and hope that we will maintain a firmness in our faith as Paul hoped to see in the Colossians, and the kind that Jesus encouraged His disciples.

“For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ. Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgivings” (Colossians 2:5-7).

“Have faith in God” (Mark 11:22).

I will keep on thanking God for the determination and courage to hold on to my faith in Him, no matter how I feel, what I see, or what may happen.   By Hertistine Washington/keeponthanking.com

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