Shirlee Abbott -Shirlee Abbott

Good Thoughts

Posted on November 6, 2024 by Shirlee Abbott

“Every year of my life I grow more convinced that it is wisest and best to fix our attention on the beautiful and the good, and dwell as little as possible on the evil and the false.”
Richard Cecil (1495-1553)

Good thoughts are good for you.

Good morning, Lord. It’s so easy to fall into the pit of negative thinking, to tell myself how bad it all is, to convince myself that it’s all hopeless. Teach me to step into the upward spiral of good thoughts, to see the beauty of Your creation, to repeat the wisdom from Your Word and to put my hope in Your eternal plan.

Posted in Morning Prayer, Timeless Wisdom | Tagged good, good thoughts, Sir Richard Cecil | Leave a comment

A Good Start

Posted on November 5, 2024 by Shirlee Abbott

True goodness starts with God. The more careful attention I give to God and His Word, the more goodness I will absorb. In a spiritual sense, I am what I eat: take in more of God’s Word, be filled with more of His goodness.

Matthew 12:35 (NIV)
A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.

Good morning, Lord. I want to start and end my day with You. Fuel me with enough of Your Word and wisdom to get me through the whole day. Fill me with enough of Your goodness to let my light shine in the darkness, to keep my focus in the midst of distractions, to hold on to hope when a storm rages. May I leave a trail of goodness, in Jesus’ name.

Posted in Constructive Thought, Morning Prayer | Tagged good and evil, Matthew 122:35 | Leave a comment

Good as God

Posted on November 4, 2024 by Shirlee Abbott

In English, good can describe all sorts of things: foods, experiences, weather, people. In the Bible, fruit-of-the-Spirit goodness is tied to the Greek word agathon, meaning inherently good, good by nature. We’ll start with Jesus’ response to the young man who called Him “Good Teacher.”

Mark 10:18 (NIV) –also Luke 18:19
“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered.
“No one is good—except God alone.”

Let’s strive for agathan goodness, to be good like God.

It’s morning, Lord. You are good, and I fall short. I can be cranky, distracted, thoughtless — or worse. But truly, I want to be a good person doing good deeds. Teach me to be more aware of the people around me. Grant me insight into circumstances surrounding us. Empower me to say and do good things — to be as good to others as You are good to me.

Posted in Constructive Thought, Morning Prayer | Tagged agathon, good, Luke 18:19, Mark 10:18 | Leave a comment

Kindness with Forgiveness

Posted on November 1, 2024 by Shirlee Abbott

Ephesians 4:32 (NIV)
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Note to self: Sooner or later, someone will let me down. Be prepared to forgive. It’s the kind thing to do.

Good morning, Lord. You forgive me both for the kind acts I fail to do and for the unkind things I do and say. Teach me to do the same for others. Remind me to overlook their forgetfulness and selfishness. Help me let go of my hurt feelings. Curb my desire to be as unkind to them as they have been to me. Show me how to be more like You.

Posted in Constructive Thought, Morning Prayer | Tagged Ephesians 4:32, forgiveness, kindness | Leave a comment

Kindness to Enemies

Posted on October 31, 2024 by Shirlee Abbott

“A good man is kinder to his enemy
than bad men to their friends.”
Joseph Hall (1574-1656)

Good morning, Lord. I want to be good and kind — like You are. But I find myself judging, trying to decide of someone is worthy of my time and trouble. Teach me to be good to others without keeping score, to grant grace to my friends my enemies and everyone in between — the way You grant grace to me.

Posted in Morning Prayer, Timeless Wisdom | Tagged friends and enemies, Joseph Hall, kindness | Leave a comment

Kindness to the Unkind

Posted on October 30, 2024 by Shirlee Abbott

Luke 6:35 (NIV)
But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.

God is kind to believers and unbelievers, the evil and the good – and he asks the same of us.

Good morning, Lord. Your Word says I should be kind to others as I would have others be kind to me (Luke 6:31). It’s easy for me to be kind to folks who are kind to me. Being kind to rude, hateful and unpleasant people … to be honest, I’d rather not. It’s hard, God, help me!

Posted in Constructive Thought, Morning Prayer | Tagged Do onto others, kindness, Luke 6:31, Luke 6:35 | Leave a comment

Eternal Kindness

Posted on October 29, 2024 by Shirlee Abbott

Ephesians 2:6-7 (GW)
God has brought us back to life together with Christ Jesus and has given us a position in heaven with him. He did this through Christ Jesus out of his generosity to us in order to show his extremely rich kindness in the world to come.

Eternity in heaven … the richest kindness ever, forever!

Good morning, Lord. You are kind to me, now and for eternity. I struggle to be kind for a moment. I can be so wrapped up in myself that I don’t notice others. I let a bad attitude stop me from caring. And, I confess, sometimes I am deliberately unkind. Forgive me. I want to be more like You, God. I want to be instantly and eternally kind.

Posted in Constructive Thought, Morning Prayer | Tagged Ephesians 2:6-7, Heaven, kindness | Leave a comment

The Kindness of the Lord

Posted on October 28, 2024 by Shirlee Abbott

Isaiah 63:7 (NIV)
I will tell of the kindnesses of the Lord,
the deeds for which he is to be praised,
according to all the Lord has done for us ….

Am I giving God credit for all the kindness he has shown to me?

Hmmmm, maybe I should make a list.

Good morning, Lord. Forgive me for overlooking the kindness You show me daily: reliable sunrise and sunset, the varied tastes and smells of the food I eat, the chatter of voices, the comfort of familiar possessions, the intrigue of new information, the sound of laughter, the breeze on my cheek, the air I breathe, the protection I don’t even notice — more than I can ask or think. Thank You.

Posted in Constructive Thought, Morning Prayer | Tagged gratitude, Isaiah 63:7, kindness | Leave a comment

God’s Patience

Posted on October 25, 2024 by Shirlee Abbott

“God’s patience is infinite. Men, like small kettles, boil quickly with wrath at the least wrong. Not so God. If God were as wrathful, the world would have been a heap of ruins long ago.”
Sudhu Sundar Singh (1889-1929)

Good morning, Lord. You are so patient with me and my shortcomings. I am so impatient, with You and with others. I speak before I think, and I judge before I pray. I want a quick fix to every problem, yet I routinely procrastinate. I keep tally of every offense against me and fail to count my blessings.

“I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing” (Romans 7:19), Forgive me, O God. I am a work in progress — thank You for not giving up on me.

Posted in Morning Prayer, Timeless Wisdom | Tagged God's patience, patience, Romans 7:19, Sudhu Sundar Singh | Leave a comment

Understanding Patience

Posted on October 24, 2024 by Shirlee Abbott

Proverbs 14:29 (NIV)
Whoever is patient has great understanding,
but one who is quick-tempered displays folly.

Great understanding doesn’t require an explanation or an end-date. Patience acknowledges God’s wisdom and timing.

Good morning, Lord. It is so easy to complain and ask “why me?” It is much harder to persevere in faith, patiently trusting Your plan. Teach me to take it one day, one hour, one moment at a time, not needing to know what lies ahead. Teach me to trust Your timing.

Posted in Constructive Thought, Morning Prayer | Tagged patience, Proverbs 14:29, understanding | Leave a comment

Shirlee Abbott