Making daily deposits in a Thank Bank helps maintain an attitude of gratitudeall year long
My Thank Bank sits beside my bed. I look at it each night. It reminds me what to do before I sleep. When I deposit gratitude for God’s hand in my life, I have no need for counting bedtime sheep.
My Thank Bank (like a Piggy Bank) is for using all the time. I have pocket change of blessings every day. Enough to eat, a place to sleep, and evidence I’m loved are little things the Good Lord sends my way.
Those dimes and quarters all add up when placed within the bank. So, too, my blessings even though they’re small. By telling God I’m grateful every day throughout the year, it’s Thanksgiving summer, winter, spring and fall.
Wheaton College alumnus Michael Gerson was a Presidential speech writer and syndicated columnist
Saint Michael of Wheaton like Anselm and Paul gifted words to those needing to speak. With eloquent reason and faith-grounded thought, Michael strengthened the hopeful and weak.
He gave a Bush fire that brilliantly burned as the White House became holy ground. And like Gershwin, Mike Gerson made simple words sing through his adjectives, adverbs and nouns.
And today we are grieving the death of a man who gave life through the columns he wrote. Through Saint Michael of Wheaton, Christ’s Kingdom has grown by a journalist’s penchant for notes.
The lyrics of this new hymn invite the grateful worshiper to lift his hands in praise
With gratitude we raise our hands toward Heaven in praise and worship of the God we serve. We have been blessed with mercies beyond number. God’s faithfulness exceeds what we deserve. With hands held high, we reach to One who loves us much like a child who longs to be embraced.
With gratitude we raise our hands toward Heaven convinced our world is governed by God’s plan. When violence disrupts the peace we pray for, when prejudice and fear divide our land, with hands held high submitting to God’s purpose, we gratefully declare that God is love.
With gratitude we raise our hands toward Heaven acknowledging the One who’s in control. We humbly bow before our Lord and Maker relinquishing our bodies, minds and souls. With hands held high, we gratefully surrender to One who works all things for God’s own good.
Greg Asimakoupoulos interviews Karolyn Grimes about her role in The Bishop’s Wife
Last month was Breast Cancer Awareness month. But for the last twenty-five years or so, October has also been observed as Pastor Appreciation Month. Churches throughout the country look for tangible ways to recognize pastors and priests for the contribution they make in our lives.
Needless-to-say, clergy serve on the frontlines of warring factors in our culture. They play a significant role in combatting injustice and self-destructive tendencies. Often, however, their efforts are overlooked. Their attempts at compassion are easily camouflaged. At the retirement community where I serve as chaplain, we recently invited area clergy to our campus and honored them with a special lunch and a small gift. They were grateful.
Having been in the ministry for more than four decades, I know firsthand the joys and challenges pastors face week in and week out year after year. Someone has aptly stated that the clergy person’s rewards are out of this world. But the struggles he or she faces are very much in the here-and-now.
One of those challenges common to the typical clergyman is taming the inner beast known as ego. What pastor or priest has not wanted to grow his congregation or parish? What person of the cloth has not looked for tangible ways to earn the respect and recognition of his or her peers? Who of them has not known the hunger for power and influence that becomes insatiable at times?
While that unhealthy hunger is hardly abnormal, it is also hardly new. The lust for power and recognition has cost too many celebrity pastors their reputation. The inner conflict that can destroy the gifted has been dramatized on the silver screen over the decades.
One of those films celebrates its 75th anniversary this year. “The Bishop’s Wife” starring David Niven, Loretta Young and Cary Grant portrays the inner struggle of an ambition-driven cleric. Although this timeless picture was remade in 1996 as “The Preacher’s Wife” (with Whitney Houston and Denzel Washington), there is no replacing the original. I ought to know. “The Bishop’s Wife” is this chaplain’s wife’s favorite Christmas film. We watch it every year.
One of the actors in “The Bishop’s Wife” is a friend of mine. Karolyn Grimes, who played the part of Debby (the Bishop’s young daughter) is now eighty-two years old. Karolyn was also in “It’s a Wonderful Life” (my favorite Christmas movie) as George Bailey’s daughter Zuzu. Having spent time with Karolyn, I know that playing the role of the bishop’s daughter was a highlight of her young acting career.
Curiously, Karolyn once told me that David Niven (who portrayed the ego-motivated minister in “The Bishop’s Wife”) had his own struggles as an actor. He didn’t like children. Karolyn related much better to Cary Grant, whose angelic role on screen was replicated in real life.
As with Frank Capra’s “Wonderful” film about Mary Bailey’s husband George, “The Bishop’s Wife” deals with a dark plot. In both black-and-white classics, we see desperate men calling on God for guidance. In the underrated movie that exposes the over-ambitious clergyman, the film ends with a redemptive conclusion. The bishop discovers his identity is not tied to the construction of a new cathedral. Instead, he finds (with the help of an angel) that his life and ministry is most fulfilled by serving those most in need of his care. And those include his wife and daughter.
As one who has tasted the sweet (but forbidden) fruit of ambition, I understand the seductive nature of success. A bout with clinical depression thirty years ago proved to be the reality check I needed. An undisciplined ego demands a high cost. Examining my motives, I determined to invest my limited energy in those around me. As a result, this chaplain’s wife can attest to my contentment and hers.
And so, I commend to you “The Bishop’s Wife.” This movie celebrating a milestone anniversary offers a glimpse of the humanity of those clothed in holy garb. But it also reminds us that investing in people (and not brick-and-mortar) results in the most lasting value.
Greg’s book, “Zuzu’s Wonderful Life“ is listed on the BOOKS menu at $16.50 Lulu Books.
Greg’s book, “Finding God in It’s a Wonderful Life“ is listed on the BOOKS menu at $2.99-$14.99 Lulu Books.
My Rhymes and Reasons 