Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and it’s no surprise I love books!
Welcome to this special edition of Joni and Friends as we begin Thanksgiving week and, yes, I do love books! Especially the old classics… a couple years ago Discovery House Publishers came out with a modern English edition of the Pilgrim’s Progress – what a great read! Then there’s the Puritans, Jeremiah Burroughs… there are the old classics by Andrew Murray and Oswald Chambers. As with anything that’s a favorite, I occasionally find it hard to loan some of these treasures out, you know, to let certain books go. I’m afraid I won’t get them back. And you know what? Sometimes I don’t.
At first, that irked me. Long ago I loaned my old JB Phillips Bible that I had gotten when I was in high school Young Life and first got saved, I loaned it to someone, but to this day, I can’t remember who. I’d love to have it back because my old high school Bible contains my handwritten scribbles – it was the one I used before I broke my neck. Plus, it was the first book I read in the hospital after I learned to turn pages with a mouth stick. But after a year or more of searching around and asking, I had to finally mentally let go of that Bible; I realized, “If that Bible can be used to help bring someone closer to Jesus, then great. That’s what a Bible is for; no matter how sentimental it is.”
Speaking of letting treasures go, the story is told of a missionary who loved her books. Some she gladly loaned out, but others – her favorites – she kept stored in a footlocker under her bed. One night she heard a scratching sound. After searching, she discovered the noise was coming from her footlocker. When she opened it, she found an enormous pile of dust. Termites had destroyed her precious books. That which she had tried to keep for herself, now belonged to no one. Jesus says in Luke 17:33, “Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.” So, friend, I ask you…
What favorite things do you hold too tightly: your privacy, your best friend, your weekend time to yourself, or maybe your clothes closet? (You wouldn’t dare think of giving some of your best things to the Goodwill.) Maybe you’re holding on to the intimacy of your neighborhood Bible study – you find yourself thinking: “Dare you and the group open it up to others?!” Well, we need to remember the lesson learned from that missionary. Luke 17 tells it like it is, and it’s a great verse to start off Thanksgiving week, because one of the hallmarks of a grateful spirit is the happy ability to give yourself away. So I pray for you this week that you will have the courage to open your arms and release those things you treasure… and do so with a spirit of gratitude… and while those arms of yours are opened, feel free to unfold the blessings that God gives you in return.
And speaking of giving things away, I have a little something I’d like to give you today – it’s a booklet I wrote entitled “A Thankful Heart in a World of Hurt.” It includes several heartwarming stories about cultivating that attitude of gratitude I’ve been talking about, and you can get your free copy just by visiting my radio page today at joniandfriends.org. And while you’re there, I’ve posted a video in which I share some of the things I am thankful for; the blessings I’ve received over these last few months of chemotherapy – it’s behind me and I couldn’t be happier. I’ve got a lot to be grateful for this Thanksgiving Day. Again, you can see that video at joniandfriends.org and get your free booklet while you’re there. Finally, make this a week where you happily lose your life for Christ’s sake… it’s something you’ll never regret.
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JONI AND FRIENDS
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Agoura Hills, CA 91376
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