 season in the natural, but we are declaring decreeing that it is a new season with you and God to receive your breakthrough because God has great plans for you. We're so glad you're joining us on Hope Today. We have an action pack show to encourage you and to uplift your spirit. I'm here with Tom and Anna and tell us about our topic that we are going to be diving into today. Yes, I'm looking forward to this topic today because sometimes we all need a friend to shake us from our pity party and remind us to be grateful and humble in the midst of hard, even devastating circumstances. If that's you today, well, you're in luck because we're here for you. You're welcome. Our guest today, Michelle Howell, joins us in just a few minutes to share how your heart attitude can change your life even if your circumstances don't change. You guys, I just love this, okay? Because I think each one of us, we've been on this earth long enough that we have walked through devastating circumstances and we have a choice of either just like crying on the ground and staying stuck there or going through our grief and then picking ourselves up or having a friend pick us up. I like what you said about shake. Sometimes we need somebody to grab us by the shoulders and say, you know, we still got to praise the Lord here. We still got to trust him. You know, I had a great time last evening. I was invited to come down and speak. Gene and I are volunteering with the Dream Center down at their feeding, you know, their meal that they have for the community and a great time and got a chance to share in their chapel. They got they get to hear me first and then they get to eat, you know, and it was just fun. I had a really wonderful time. You know, we get to meet the people and help to serve the food. It's great. It's great. All the work that the Pittsburgh Dream Center is doing in McKeesport and I had a wonderful evening as well. My voice is shot because we want to show you this picture. Congratulations to Amani Christian Academy. It is their 30th anniversary at the school for the first time in history. They beat Union last night at North Allegheny. They are going to states. It's an amazing accomplishment for the team and it's been such a beautiful story. You know, it's you know, some of the basketball coaches that are saying the boys know that are playing on the team that it is all God and you know, a little brief history about Amani Christian Academy. It's located in East Hills, which is a really underserved community here in the Pittsburgh area. And so it's just really beautiful. That's like Chris, you know, Christ centered school. They know Jesus is at the center of it all and a little background. It was actually started by Bishop Clay at Petro International Ministries in his house. So to see 30 years later to where it's grown. So this is a really big deal for them. So congratulations Amani. They're going to the championship game. They're going to the states. They're going to Hershey on Thursday, the Amani Saints. So keep them in your prayers. Let's support them. It's an awesome story. And I mean, I'm just going to say this. Like I was screaming like an auntie like, let's go, you know, you scream in the stands like they can hear you. And I was like, come on. And I mean, so it was really beautiful. So I'm just trying to rest my voice when it's great. Keep that, keep that at fire because we're going to need that kind of encouragement while we play Stump the Hosts. Okay, so maybe we need cheered on here and maybe you can cheer us on and you can play along with us. We haven't seen these questions. So this is the first time so play along. Here's the first one. What's the final book in the Old Testament called Zachariah? No. Or is it Zephanine? It's Malachi. Or is my Italian pastries say Malachi? It's an Italian prophet. No, it's not very confident. I thought it was. I thought it was Zachariah because I remember there's a book called Z for that. I agree with Sydney. I think it's it's it's Malachi. Okay. Okay, it's like I'm just gonna tell you right now. You're both wrong. Oh, you're right. Oh, there's a little bit of circles. I thought there was a little bit of circles. All right, Tom helped us out and our second question is who is the blind person that Jesus healed? Bartimaeus, right? Blind Bartimaeus. Bartimaeus. Okay, Bartimaeus. Final answer. Hey, where's our sound effects? We need our sound effects. Okay. I don't know. It must be broken today. Final question. What was the name of the wicked queen whom Esther replaced Wicked? Vasty. I know this. It's Vasty. It's Queen Vasty. Yep. Ding, ding, ding, ding. All right. All right. Hey, producers, come on now. We're too good. Oh, we got sound effects there too. We hear you, Rick. We didn't have to scream. I'm here on Hope Today and bring some joy into your home. And today we're going to bring more joy because our guest today, Michelle Howe, is here to give us a wake-up call from our pity parties so we can live a life of joy and peace even in the hardest circumstances. In her book, Grace and Gratitude for Everyday Life, Michelle shares real stories of real people who have chosen a positive mindset when they could have grumbled and complain. So get ready to change your life by changing your thoughts. Michelle, welcome to Hope Today. Thank you for having me. It's a real pleasure to be here. Well, it's such a joy to have you because in this world we definitely go through trials and tribulations. I mean, the Bible even tells us that and yet Jesus says to take heart. And I feel like that that's what your book is encouraging us to do. So tell us a little bit about your heart and why you felt this was so needed. Well, you know, three years ago when COVID hit, everyone's life was really upended, mine included. And you know, we went through some early weeks where no one knew what was really happening and then things came out and we started to adjust. But I thought personally for myself, I was in need of a gratitude reboot. I didn't find myself waking up in the morning, being excited about life, about what the Lord was doing. It was more anxiety and fearfulness and uncertainty. And it didn't take long before I realized I needed to change. So the really the book was birthed through that process. And it's been nothing but a blessing to me to really study scripture to see what God says about thankful, grateful hearts and the power that we have when we obey him. And this book is a it's not really a light read. It's not really a heavy read. It's kind of in between. But it's all about people's stories and how they were facing dire circumstances. I mean, life threatening hard situations and how the Lord enabled them to face them day by day moment by moment. But one of the key factors in each of the stories that I tell was the men and the women in the book all realized that if they didn't hone a heart of gratitude day by day hour by hour, minute by minute, they were going to sink under their circumstances. So I kind of unpack all the scriptures that talk about giving thanks no matter what. And that really is how the you know the book idea got started and how it developed. I really do appreciate how you use real life stories of real people because when we hear conversations about yes, practice grace, practice humility in the midst of those dark times, be thankful for these circumstances. We're like, yeah, well, you don't know what I'm going through. But there's so many stories in this book that we can identify with one of them and be like, wow, look at how that person is dealing with that same hardship. So how does it begin to change us when we're intentional intentional about gratitude? Well, I think the first thing we have to do is honor what the Lord says about renewing our mind every day and people say, well, how do I do that? I'm like open your Bible every morning, every evening, every afternoon, all through the day really but take time, make it a priority to renew your mind for a variety of reasons. But one of the main reasons that I think it's so important is that the Lord shows us who he is all through the Old Testament and New Testament. And Jesus, as we know, is the perfect representation of God the Father. And I like to ask women when I'm speaking to them, how do you develop trust with somebody that you don't know? You don't trust people that you don't know. And that's not a bad thing. You have people at the groove that they're trustworthy. But God shows us who he is all throughout scripture. And we have no clue about his promises and his faithfulness and his goodness and his strength and power and his sovereignty that can comfort us when we're facing challenges and trials and going through grief and sorrow. So what do we do first? We have to open the book and study the verses that tell us who he is. And then we can rest, really rest in the character of God because he does promise us throughout scripture he will never, never, never, never into infinity leave us. He will always be with us and he gives us grace that we need for today. Not tomorrow, but for today. And I think that we have to really start, as you said earlier in the show, with the book. Right, because if we don't allow God's word to shape who God is to us, then that means we're allowing the world to shape our image of God and what we think of him and just our experiences and trying to figure it out like in our own mind. We're like, oh, well, this is what I think of God and it might be wrong. And so I just love that you start there. So out of all the stories that you share, do you have one in particular that you just really would love to share? Yeah, there is one. There's a couple that are my favorites. It was one that it really hit me when I had this gentleman tell me a story. So he had an elderly father in his 80s. He's still in his own home and he could still be there, but his adult son had to visit every day just to kind of oversee, kind of clean up, make sure he was eating right. Well, his dad, you know, we would think his dad would be grateful and thankful and just like, oh, son, you're here. Well, his dad was the opposite and treated him and continues to treat him very poorly. But the son would grit his teeth, pray, and he'd say, Lord, give me what I need. Give me the grace to serve my father, you know, unconditionally. And you know, his dad has not changed, but the young man, not younger man in his 40s, has gone in with a different attitude and with a grateful attitude. And he started really, as he was driving to his dad's house every day, he would say, Lord, I don't know what I'm going to encounter. It probably won't be easy. He's not going to be thankful. He's not going to be grateful. He's not going to ever tell me, oh, son, I love you. He was a really a can'tankerous older man. And the son said, I can do this in your strength. And he said, help me to start being grateful for everything that I could be grateful for. So he made his gratitude list every time he got in the car heading towards his dad's. Now, did it change? No, his dad was still disagreeable, unkind and ungrateful and unthankful. But the son changed. And he realized that he had to serve as unto the Lord as we all do. And so it went so much bigger than its circumstances, which are not fun when you're serving someone. And just a just even a little thank you would go a long way. We all appreciate being appreciated. Well, then he realized he was doing it for the wrong reason. He had to do it unto the Lord. And he would be Jesus' feet in hands and voice to his dance. So he changed. And again, the situation is still not any different except he's different. And it was so telling to me. I thought, oh, my circumstances may not change, but God can change me in the circumstance. So I can be that grateful, thankful, joyful woman no matter what I'm facing. Michelle, I love that story and love those real life examples because this is the kind of thing I think we can all say, oh, good Christians, we say, yeah, we need to have gratitude. But then when the rubber meets the road, when that major disappointment, maybe it's a life-altering thing or maybe it's just a malaise of kind of hope deferred, how do we really walk in this? That we can walk in. What are the things that we need to have in place or the things we need to do to really walk in an attitude of gratitude? Well, you know, going back to just knowing who God is and knowing Scripture, we really have to, we have to know what the Word says. And if we know what the Word says, if we take time daily to even jot down, let's say two verses and put them in your phone, put them on cards, carry them with you. And throughout the day, when you're dealing with whatever your hardship is, you can look and reorient yourself so that you are looking at your life through the lens of eternity. And when we look at our life and our situations, no matter how hard they are, we know the end, we know that we're redeemed, we know we'll be in eternity with Christ, there'll be no more suffering, pain, sorrow, tears, none of that. I think what I struggle with and what a lot of people struggle with is we get too caught up in our day-to-day circumstances and we aren't looking heavenward. And the Lord says, keep your eyes fixed on me, and then I will give you peace. So there's my part and there's God's part. My part, when I am depressed, discouraged, upset, anxious, whatever adjective or feeling I'm feeling on that day, I need to submit myself under God's sovereignty and know that everything I'm encountering has first sifted through his lens. And that has to comfort me because he's sovereign and he's good. And everything he does is good, even though it doesn't look like that, maybe when we're in the midst of our trials. And also, remember what the goal for Jesus is for us is that he wants to conform us into his image. So anytime I go through a trial, anytime I'm disappointed, anytime I have to set aside my expectations, the Lord is inside working to redeem me and to sanctify me so that I reflect him to a world that's watching. I think so we go back to the beginning. We have to look at everything through the lens of eternity. Know he's doing a good work in us despite the bad or the evil that might surround us and know that he will not, you know, we are victors in him. And we may not see victory even in our lifetime, but on the other side all will be made well because he is our righteous judge and our loving Heavenly Father. Right. Michelle, I just appreciate too how you talk about that God uses our hard circumstances to mold us into his likeness. And so often when we're going through something that's painful, we're just like, God fix this, fix this, bring the healing. And yet what God wants to do is such a deeper working in our hearts. Like truly the miracle is what happens in us and if it's involving other people, what he's trying to work in them to make that healing, that deliverance, that much more beautiful. And so it is so important to just stay patient through that. One of the other aspects that you talked about was forgiveness and how important it is for us to be able to forgive those who have hurt us, but also forgive ourselves whenever we have done something in the past and ask Jesus for forgiveness and then also move on from that. Yeah, I like to refer to, you know, first John 1-9 where he says he cleanses us from all unrighteousness if we confess our sins, you know, and from the east, from the west. He remembers them no more. I think that we are often listening to the wrong voice. We are listening to the accuser. And rightfully so, when we sin, we must ask for forgiveness from the Lord and those we've hurt or sinned against. But then we have to walk forward. The Lord doesn't want us to be bound by our past failings, weaknesses, sins, whatever it is. And we all have them because we know Scripture says we are but dust and the Lord knows our cruelty. However, when we connect the fact that we are forgiven, that we are airs, joint airs of salvation with Christ forever. So we are eternally secure. No matter what we go through here, no matter how much we failed or struggled or sinned once we're forgiven, it's for all eternity, but we should be grateful for that. And I think too, if we really put into perspective the great sin that the Lord has paid the price for, for each of us, we should have hearts overflowing with gratitude. And when I go back just to that foundational place in my faith, no matter what is happening around me, I'm like, get a grip, Michelle. This is not that bad. Okay, it's hard. You feel like you're suffering. You don't know what tomorrow's going to bring, but you're eternally secure. You are forgiven. You are bound with Christ forever. And he, he is your strength. He is our peace. And he gives us what we need day by day. If we aren't thankful for that, we have to go back just to basics because that will change how we view today. You know, Michelle, all of us, we're just naturally self-focused. We tend to, you know, we think, even Zoom meetings, we see ourselves now in the meetings, I mean even more self-focused. What is it, what can we do to, to move away from that? Because doesn't self-focus cause a lot of the problems in, in this not having the proper gratitude? It really does because the more self-focused we are, the more generally self-deficient we think we are, where we can be prideful, we can be independent, all the things the Lord really hates. And he wants us to be 100% dependent upon him forever. I mean, our every breath is controlled by Jesus Christ. He holds the universe together by the word of his power. And so we should be humble, compassionate, merciful, caring people that are thinking about other people and serving them. But we can't be free in Christ and free to serve others if we are not confident of who the Lord is and that he's promised to meet our every need. When I know, because Scripture tells me that God has promised to meet my every need, I can forget about myself and I can look at you and meet your need. And that's what it's all about is us learning to be self-forgetful people because we rest in his provision for us and it's all about that. But again, if we don't know the Word, we don't know his promises for us and then they hinder us from being selfless and self-forgetful. Michelle, we have just a little bit of time left, like 30 seconds. I was wondering if you could pray for that person today who's in devastating circumstance and really needs that hope and ability to be grateful. Sure. Oh Heavenly Father, we just thank you for this time together. We thank you for your provision in Christ that just sets us free, Lord. Help us to look at our circumstances as hard and hopeless as they may appear. That you are the God who overcomes and that we rise up from your victory, Lord, no matter what situation we're in. Draw near to us and help us to sense your presence today. In Jesus' name, amen. Well, Michelle, thank you so much for your heart and for bringing so much of God's truth into our conversation today. Again, your book is Grace and Gratitude for Everyday Life. We just appreciate all that you're doing. May God bless everything you put your hand to. Thanks for being with us. Thank you so much. And we're so thankful that you are still with us here on Hope Today. We have some of God's word to bring to you right after this break. When Laura called our 24-7 prayer line, she had so much fear that she didn't want to leave her house. She had lost her husband of 54 years, just six months earlier. Laura was flipping through TV stations when she came across Cornerstone Television. She felt compelled to call. One of our prayer partners talked, listened, and prayed with her for 45 minutes. At the end, Laura said how much the ministry had helped relieve her fear. Praise God for how He's using CTVN. When you give, you become part of what He's doing. This month, when you give, we'll send wild expectance as our way of saying, thank you. This book will inspire you to live your life as God intended. To give and request your copy, visit us online at ctvn.org slash donate or call us at 888-665-4483. Hope happens here. What a great discussion about gratitude. Boy, it's so important in our lives to have gratitude. And we have a scripture along those lines, Philippians 2, 14 through 16. Now this is not the message Bible, so it's going to sound different than you've probably heard in church, but I think it shed some light on things as well. Do everything readily and cheerfully, no bickering, no second guessing aloud. Go out into the world uncorrupted, a breath of fresh air in this squalid and polluted society. Provide people with a glimpse of good living and of the living God. Carry the light giving message into the night, so I'll have good cause to be proud of you on that day that Christ returns. You'll be living proof that I didn't go to all this work for nothing. So be that light, Sidney. Tell me about what that means to you. Well, the one part that just sticks out is about being like carrying the light of Jesus. And I think it is so important in the midst of our afflictions and the midst of the things that we're walking through, that we just have to connect to the source and that is our Heavenly Father through Jesus, through Yeshua, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, that no matter what we're walking through, He will undergird and undertake for us and carry and lift us up. And, you know, even in this season, I know there's so many shakings, there's so many things that are happening internally, and maybe today that you just need to be reminded that you are the light in the midst of the darkness, that God has allowed you to walk through things, and we just declare and decree over you just victory, that you are going to be victorious in every situation. And when you start to fix your mind and meditate on the things that God has done for you and how He's been with you, like those are the things, Anna, that I do even in my life when things are looking dark or looking bleak. I begin to remind myself of the goodness of the Lord and I begin to remind myself of how good He is and the things that He has done. Sometimes you have to rehearse the victories over and over in your mind that if He did it before, He's going to do it again. Yeah, that's right. And I mean, remember, our words have power. So what are you speaking out of your mouth about the circumstances that you're going through? You can either speak life into your circumstances or you can speak death into them and keep dragging yourself down. But you have so much life through the scripture, through truth, through the power of God's word to speak into your own heart and into that situation. Like, remember that God is working in your heart. He has something that He wants to do in you and through you, through this hard circumstance. It is very true that He will never waste our pain, but when we're faithful to give it to Him, that He is faithful to bring so much beauty out of it. And I tell you what, one of my very favorite scriptures is Isaiah 52 where the people of God, they've been taken captive in Babylon and like the scripture tells us how they're just like wailing and howling and laying in ashes. Like, God, save me, lift me up from this horrible situation. And God is like, wake up, child of God, wake up into who you are. Like, you have already been redeemed. I have given you everything. Like, it is time to stand up and it says, clothe yourself with strength. How do we do that? We do it with God's word. It is strength for our bones to face whatever circumstance we're in because the Lord has set us free and He's calling us to walk in that freedom, in that victory. That is ours, Tom. You know, when we think about, it says that we will live as lights in this world, in this crooked and perverse generation. You know, we've talked a lot and we should about God being glorified in our healing and our victories and all those things. You know, another way God's glorified? And I mean, He is really glorified when we go through a hard time with the peace of God in us, with the strength of God in us. Look, I know it's not easy. I've been that person in the ashes, like Ann, I was just quoting. I've been that person complaining and disputing with God about the way things are going. But when we can go through, when we can get ahold of God's perspective, and again, it's not easy, but it's there. If we can get ahold of God's perspective, then we become lights and people say, wow, yeah, it's great that you were blessed last week, but now you're going through a tough time and I see God even more in you. As you're just sharing, Tom, God just really put my heart, there's someone watching right now that you're hearing about us talking about the light, but you're in the midst of the darkness. And the only way to cross over just to let you know that there's two kingdoms. There's a kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness. And unless you give yourself, unless you declare, decree in your heart that Jesus is the savior and you lay your life before him and you give up your old ways and you come to Christ, we can only go to the Father except through Christ and Christ alone. There is no other way to the Father. There's all these different religions and people are trying to find the way. No, Jesus says I am the way, I am the truth, and I am the light. And if you need that today and you've been wayward or you don't know where you stand when it comes to this God thing, and we just want to encourage you today, have you considered Jesus? Give your life to Jesus today. Give your life to Jesus today. Don't run from him. Surrender all. Today is a day of salvation. That is the greatest hope that we have. That is why we are able to have gratitude and know that we have grace in our lives because he prayed it all, Jesus Christ. And because he got up again, you can get up again too. Thanks. Have a good day.