Shirlee Abbott

Missed Gratitude for Temptations Avoided

Posted on November 19, 2025 by Shirlee Abbott

Matthew 6:13 (NIV)
… lead us not into temptation …

Over the years, I’ve prayed those words hundreds of times. I picture God stringing caution tape across my path, setting up a detour or closing a gate. And yet I’ve never said Thank You for that caution tape, those detours and the closed gates.

I can only image the trouble I’d be in without God’s restraining hand.

Good morning, Lord. Thank You for the many times You’ve led me away from temptation. Forgive me for the many times I crashed through Your closed gate and chased after my own foolish desires. Teach me to listen to Your words of warning, follow Your instructions and move between the good guardrails of Your protection.

Posted in Constructive Thought, Morning Prayer | Tagged gratitude, lead us not into temptation, Matthew 6:13 | 2 Comments

Missed Gratitude for Beans

Posted on November 18, 2025 by Shirlee Abbott

I don’t know that I’ve ever thanked God for the lowly bean. Fiber, protein and vitamins packed into every bite. Low-cost, big impact. Available almost everywhere. Sounds like good planning on the part of the Creator. And overlooked by me.

On the other hand, I’m consistently grateful for the coffee bean and the cocoa bean.

Psalm 34:8 (NIV)
Taste and see that the Lord is good …

Tastes good, good for me — all deserving of gratitude.

Good morning, Lord. I tend to be grateful for what I like and overlook the good things that are less appealing. I could be eating the exact same manna every day, the same flavor and texture meeting my nutritional needs from childhood to old age. I thank You for the wide variety of food on my table — some I find delightful, some not so much — but all good.

Posted in Constructive Thought, Morning Prayer | Tagged beans, good for us, Psalm 34:8, tastes good | 6 Comments

Two Weeks of Missed Gratitude

Posted on November 17, 2025 by Shirlee Abbott

With Thanksgiving Day a couple weeks away, I want to focus on blessings I’ve never given a second thought.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NIV)
Give thanks in all circumstances …

All circumstances? I’ve missed more than a few.

How about you?

Good morning, Lord. I don’t mean to be ungrateful, but I have been. I’ve taken credit for blessings that came straight from You, good made possible by Your grace and not my deliberate action. Your hand was behind events I counted as luck or coincidence. Add routine provision and care I take for granted … O God, I owe You a great debt of thanks.

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Count Again

Posted on November 14, 2025 by Shirlee Abbott

I’ve been counting all wrong.

James 1:2-4 (NKJV)
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

My trials are positives, not negatives. Assets, not liabilities. Pros, not cons.

My trials count as joy, not misery.

Good morning, Lord. Frankly, when it comes to trials and troubles … I’m not feeling the joy. But without hard times, I’d be self-absorbed, stubborn, hard-hearted. Open my eyes to the benefits of lessons learned the hard way. Walk with me through the trials. Work Your perfect will in me. Fill me with the joy of the Lord.

Posted in Constructive Thought, Morning Prayer | Tagged assets and liabilities, count as joy, James 1:2-4, keeping count, positives and negatives, trials | 2 Comments

Let’s Not Count

Posted on November 13, 2025 by Shirlee Abbott

Matthew 18:21-22 (NIV)
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

Is Jesus suggesting we keep a detailed tally? I think not. If we keep count, it’s probably not true forgiveness.

Forgive, and let it go — the way Christ forgives us.

Good morning, Lord. You taught us to pray “forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matthew 6:12). Are there folks I haven’t forgiven, acts for which I still carry a grudge? I need to stop keeping count of offenses, to let go of my desire to get even. Teach me to forgive as I have been forgiven. Teach me to love others the way You love me.

Posted in Constructive Thought, Morning Prayer | Tagged forgiveness, keeping count, Matthew 18:21-22, Matthew 6:12 | Comments Off

Let’s Keep Count

Posted on November 12, 2025 by Shirlee Abbott

Psalm 103:2 (NLT)
Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me.

It’s easy to focus on what we lack, to keep a list of things we wish we had. The psalmist focused on the good things he already had.

Let’s be like the psalmist. Let’s count our blessings.

Good morning, Lord. I grab my shopping list, with nary a thought about the good things in my cupboards and closets. My neighbor gets something new, and I want one too — not remembering what I already have. I focus on what I want, not what I have. Teach me to count my blessings, Lord, fill my heart with gratitude.

Posted in Constructive Thought, Morning Prayer | Tagged Count Your Blessings, Psalm 103:2 | 2 Comments

Who’s Not Counting?

Posted on November 11, 2025 by Shirlee Abbott

The same God who keeps track of our tears and the hairs on our heads isn’t keeping count of our sins.

Isaiah 43:25 (NIV)
I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.

Amazing grace, amazing love!

Good morning, Lord. I can’t begin to keep track of my sins — they are too many. You have the ability to keep count but choose not to. I thank You for Your mercy and grace — mercy that doesn’t punish me as I deserve and grace that grants me blessings I don’t deserve. Surely, Your goodness is beyond measure.

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Who’s Counting?

Posted on November 10, 2025 by Shirlee Abbott

God is counting …

Luke 12:7 (NIV)
Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

Psalm 56:8
… list my tears on your scroll—
are they not in your record?

God keeps track of every hair and every tear. Amazing!

I can’t even count the strands I pull off my hairbrush every morning. And my tears? How many from physical pain, how many in anger, how many in grief? I have no idea. But our All-Knowing God keeps count … and remembers.

Good morning, Lord. You count the hairs on my head and the stars in the universe. You know so much, and I know so little. You know not only what I say and do, but also what I think. You know me at my worst — even so, You love me. How can it be? I stand before You in awe and gratitude.

Posted in Constructive Thought, Morning Prayer | Tagged hairs, keeping count, Luke 12:7, Psalm 56:8, tears | Comments Off

Magnify the Lord, Diminish Yourself

Posted on November 7, 2025 by Shirlee Abbott

“If you cannot magnify God, it probably is because you are magnifying yourself. May the Lord cut self down and make nothing of you, and then you will make everything of him. When you sink in your own estimation, then will God rise in your esteem.”
Charles Spurgeon, 1880
The Key-Note of a Choice Sonnet

Good morning, Lord. I want to understand, as John the Baptist did, that You must increase and I must decrease (John 3:30). Teach me to let go of my worldly desires and embrace Your eternal truth. I want to honor You above all else, to live for Your glory and not my own.

Posted in Morning Prayer, Timeless Wisdom | Tagged Charles Spurgeon, John 3:30, magnify the Lord | Comments Off

Magnify the Lord, Diminish the Deception

Posted on November 6, 2025 by Shirlee Abbott

We have an enemy who specializes in deception.

Revelation 12:9 (TLV)
And the great dragon was thrown down—the ancient serpent, called the devil and satan, who deceives the whole world.

More focus on God, less attention to the enemy’s lies.
Magnify the Lord, diminish the deception.

Good morning, Lord. Teach me Your truth. Grant me the discernment to ignore the whispers of the enemy and obey the nudges of Your Spirit. Fill my mind with Your Word, leaving no room for Satan’s lies. Guide me in the path of righteousness for Your sake, O God (Psalm 23:3).

Posted in Constructive Thought, Morning Prayer | Tagged magnify the Lord, Psalm 23:3, Revelation 12:9, Satan | Comments Off