Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. It’s a new day and I refuse to squander it because there will never be one just like this one again. Since I won’t have the chance to relive it, I’ll be sure to give it everything I’ve got when it comes to what the Living God has Planned out for me and I won’t let the sun go down with regrets. As long as I do what He wants me to do, and I live my Life the way He tells me to Live it, this day will go down as a day to remember for all Eternity. Isn’t that the way you look at each new day too?

It can be so easy for most people to let each day blend into the next without noticing much difference between them (outside of the weather) but that’s because they don’t understand the Significance of each one AND they don’t accept that each day has a Unique Purpose of its own. How bizarre for people to think that the God of all Creation would roll out a new day that has no significance at all….but most people live as if that’s the case. How bizarre to think that the Author of Life would create people just to knock around through life for however many days they’re allotted without a Unique Purpose for each one….but most people live as if that’s the case. The saddest part is that most people live their entire lives that way UNLESS they’re taken to the place where Gratitude is found.

Usually overflowing Gratitude is found when we face GREAT adversity OR when something happens to threaten our number of days. Without a “push” from the God of Love, most people don’t get to a place of Understanding the Significance of Life and how their Life plays into God’s Bigger Picture…and sometimes they run out of allotted time before they ever Fulfill what they born to do. It may seem strange to us that God would use Pain to Prepare His servants for Greater Service, but that’s just the way God works. God created all, and He knows our nature well. He KNOWS that without a little “push” to wake a Servant up, most of us would do nothing Significant at all. God knows that the human heart is incapable of voluntarily stepping into situations that take us beyond our comfort zone and He understands that we’re inclined to take the easy way out in Life. So, He intentionally brings us into Hard Places to Refine us – to build our Dependency – and to drive us deeper into His Grace. Paul was blinded on the road to Damascus and when God opened his eyes (in more ways than one) you can bet Paul understood the Significance of each day from that day forward. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into a fiery furnace and supernaturally protected from harm. You can bet they understood the Significance of each day after that too! I was thrown into a deep pit of adversity and my life was turned upside down in ways most people could never imagine. My understanding of my Significance and my Gratitude for all that He is and all that He does was refined through my pain. So, if you ever find yourself wondering how I can consider each day a Unique Gift with a Unique Purpose of its own, that’s because the God of all Creation chose to Refine ME for a Purpose far greater than myself and it took breaking me down to get me to that place where Gratitude is found and Purpose is Fulfilled.

This day might look like others you’ve seen before by the photo in this post, but you can bet I don’t see it that way. I’ll Live out this new day like the Gift I know it is, and I won’t leave any stoned left unturned. I’ll be looking for what He has for me and I’ll be Willing to step up when He tells me to….and THAT is how and why each new day stands out from the countless others I’ve lived. I found Gratitude the hard way and I Live like it.

This is a day that the Lord has made – when it’s over, it’s gone forever and tomorrow is promised to no one.

Will you LIVE like it?

Will you LOVE like it?

Will you Serve like it?

Will you SHARE Him like it?