One way of cultivating thankfulness (and I do believe that spiritual growth requires a lot of cultivation – whilst I may hate gardening in the natural realm, I’m learning that there’s no substitute for regular pruning, weeding and cultivating in the spiritual realm!) is to regularly show appreciation for other people. It helps us to have an outlook that focuses on others more than on ourselves and it helps the people to whom we show appreciation to feel valued and noticed. So often, people serve faithfully and regularly, but we get used to this and fail to consider the sacrifices they make and the difference their service brings to our lives.

We train our children in good manners, saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’, because appreciation oils the wheels of service. We need not only to express our appreciation of God in praise, worship and thanksgiving, but also to express our appreciation of other people. Thank you notes, sending flowers, giving small gifts and simply showing good manners in how we treat people are all ways of showing appreciation. Such things send out the message that we value the person, recognise the contribution they make and respect them.

Appreciation is needed in the home (not taking Mum for granted for all the washing, ironing, cleaning, cooking and organising she does, thanking Dad for emptying the bins and fixing the broken stuff, for example) and at work (not assuming X will always make drinks or buy the milk or do the photocopying but appreciating that he does these things) and in the church. THANK YOU to all who serve at GPCC so faithfully in so many different, often unseen, and frequently unacknowledged roles. You really are valued by us and appreciated!

It has been a busy week at church at all the usual groups. Keep on praying for the Monday night youth club, which has seen over 40 children attend in recent weeks, and for the Parent & Toddler group on Friday mornings, where we have over 12 babies and toddlers and even more adults! Pray for the volunteers who help at these groups and for good conversations as we get alongside people of all ages.

This weekend, we have our usual Communion service tomorrow morning at 10.30 a.m. and a dedication service in the evening at 6 p.m., so please pray for both services. It’s especially poignant to do a dedication service so close after doing a funeral service for a 94 year old man, as it reminds us of the cycles of life. We are so grateful that God is present with us from conception to our final breath.

The WEA is running some taster sessions for different arts and crafts throughout March. If anyone is interested in creative writing, the next session is at the Snap Tin Cafe at the Factory (formerly the Dearne Enterprise Centre) on Barnburgh Lane from 10 a.m. until 12 noon on Thursday 23rd March. The session is free and open to all.

The men are meeting together for takeaway and DVD night on Saturday 25th March at 6 p.m. at church. Bring along a DVD of your choice and a vote will be taken as to which one will be chosen! The next men’s gathering will be a go-karting expedition, so please see Garry if you are interested in this.

Don’t forget as well the Watoto Children’s Choir concert, which is on Saturday 1st April at 6.30 p.m. at Grimethorpe Pentecostal Church:

As someone who would describe herself as Eeyore rather than Tigger in the personality stakes, I would not say that thankfulness is an inherent part of my nature. I remember, however, being extremely challenged as a young Christian when I discovered Eph 5:20 (‘Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.’) Not only are we commanded to give thanks always and in all circumstances (1 Thess 5:18), we are commanded to give thanks to God the Father for everything.

I had to wrestle through this verse for some time. How could I give thanks to God for things that were blatantly evil? How could I give thanks to God for things which were completely contrary to what I had prayed for? How could I give thanks to God for things that I vehemently hated?

I squirmed and wriggled my way through these difficult questions to reach the conclusion that God could issue us with this commandment because He is good through and through and is able to bring good from every circumstance He allows into our lives. (Rom 8:28) Throughout life, we can give thanks for everything – even the tragedies, heartache, loneliness, hurt and devastation we experience at times – because we know that God will have the last word and no plan of His will be thwarted.

Thankfulness is, therefore, a habit to be cultivated, something which grows the more we practise it. I don’t always feel thankful, but the actual giving of thanks is something we do as a conscious choice, an act of the will, not of the emotions. Giving thanks is probably one of the most important spiritual things we do, shaping our characters because we recognise God in everything as we learn to give thanks in and for everything.

BBC Radio Sheffield is devoting the whole of 17^th March to ‘Good News Friday’, seeking stories of good news in our local communities. The news so often seems to focus on one disaster after another and can be very depressing, so it’s great to hear of the media recognising the power of good news and celebrating the good things that are going on in the community. The Metro newspaper (free on buses and trains) also regularly features a ‘Good Deed Feed’ in its letters’ page, with people reporting on the kindnesses and help they’ve received from people in society. These stories are tremendously encouraging.

One of the things we need to do regularly is to pause and give thanks for all the good things we have in life. Embracing thankfulness is an essential part of spiritual growth. Some of us are more naturally positive and thankful than others, but the need for thankfulness runs through the entire Bible (see 1 Thess 5:18, 1 Chron 16:34, Ps 7:17, Ps 118:1, Jer 33:11, 1 Cor 15:57, just to whet your appetite!) It’s also recognised more generally: Cicero, the ancient philosopher, once said, ‘Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.’ Psychological studies reinforce these truths; there are 17 benefits of gratitude listed here:

• Reduce depression
• Get promotions at work
• Improve our self esteem
• Increase our energy
• Develop a strong immune system
• Decrease blood pressure
• Increase sleep quality
• Reduce and cope with negative stress
• Eat healthier
• Have deeper friendships
• Increase productivity
• Improve job performance
• Become more likable
• Reach goals faster
• Increase feelings of happiness and wellbeing
• Reduce negative emotions such as envy, hatred, and anger
• Increase positive emotions such as love and empathy

The first step to thankfulness is to stop and think. ‘Count your blessings; name them one by one,’ the hymn says. As we do this, we realise how much God has blessed us and we can grow spiritually by reflecting on God’s goodness and help to us.

They were a workforce of 8,580, men aged between 30 and 50 at the peak of their prime. What an asset to any employer! To put it in context, the pottery firms in North Staffordshire employ 8,500. It’s not a huge number like employers like Tesco or other retail companies, but it’s not an inconsiderable number either.

What did they do, these men in the prime of their life? Was their work hugely significant? You bet. So significant it’s recorded in the Bible for us to learn about thousands of years later…

But when you read about the actual work, it’s easy to skip over this chapter (Numbers 4) with a glazed look in our eyes. The actual work done by these magnificent men involved sorting out the transportation of the ark of the covenant and the Tabernacle during the wilderness wanderings. Day in, day out, they were responsible for covering the items such as curtains, utensils, the lampstand and altar and carrying them, along with the crossbars, posts, bases, tent pegs and ropes which were all part of the worship of God.

The Kohathites, Gershonites and Merarites were given this sacred job. They weren’t the ones to go out in battle. Their job looks to us nowadays rather like ours: repetitive, mundane, brain-numbing and pretty boring, if we are honest. And yet it was sacred work, appointed by God.

Yesterday, I had the privilege of leading a military funeral at our church for a 94 year old Goldthorpe man (Tom Nowell) who had served in the Duke of Wellington’s Regiment in the Korean War in the 1950s. Many former army colleagues as well as a large number of other regimental people came to the funeral to pay their respects. A military funeral, it turns out, owes a lot to Old Testament heritage.

Standard bearers carried the distinctive flags of different regiments, lowered and raised at specific times in the service. This wonderful man, John Hammond, played the bugle at the funeral:

He arrived at 9.20 a.m. in civilian clothes, took the time to change into his uniform, and practised his bugle assiduously in the quiet of a small room. His actual role in the funeral took less than 5 minutes, to play the ‘Last Post’ and the ‘Reveille‘, with consummate sweetness and utter professionalism. Yet this was his role, his work, and he did it perfectly.

An army of church volunteers (well, a small corps, maybe) performed their own roles skilfully and professionally: greeting people, showing them to seats, making drinks, serving food, tidying away, pressing buttons to make music play. By 2.30 p.m., the building was restored to its usual order, with no fuss or bother. It reminded me very much of these faithful Israelites, taking down the Tabernacle paraphernalia, packing it all up and moving on.

Is this work exciting? No. Is it special? Most certainly. It is special because it honours God and His people and because He tells us that anything we do in His name will not be forgotten, even giving a cup of cold water to someone in need. Don’t be disheartened by the ordinary and the mundane. God is there in the detail.

If there’s anything I need to let go of, it is probably a tendency to worry. For many of us, worry is so much a part of our everyday lives that we simply can’t imagine a life without it. ‘I just can’t help it,’ we say defensively if anyone challenges our neurotic tendencies. ‘It’s just the way I am.’  Our lives revolve around the ‘what ifs?’, hypothetical places devoid of hypothetical grace (because grace is real, not hypothetical.)

Jesus is unequivocal, however, in telling us not to worry (see Matt 6:25-34). He gives us reasons not to worry – the fact that we are loved by a heavenly Father who is more than able to provide for all our needs. He also reminds us that we do have a choice in this matter, for He urges us ‘do not let your hearts be troubled.’ (Jn 14:1), which certainly implies we can either allow worry to take root or we can ask for help in banishing it. The fact is that if God’s Spirit lives in us, we have access to power that is stronger than our old nature. Worry is a learned habit that can be unlearned. It is a hard battle, to be sure, but we can learn not to worry by letting worry shape our prayers: ‘Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the centre of your life.’ (Phil 4:6-7, The Message)

We can make a conscious choice at this time not to worry. Every time worry creeps back into our thoughts and minds, we can pray, asking God for the faith and grace to trust Him instead of letting worry take over our lives. Just as in a military battle, ground has to be claimed slowly, so we have to be prepared to win the battle against worry one worry at a time, so to speak. As we choose faith over worry, we find God’s peace, which passes all understanding, is able to come and settle our hearts, enabling us to hear God’s voice above the raging storms of life.