Elisabeth Elliot: Most of the time our children are doing whatever it is they've seen somebody else do. They are great imitators. If you and I are people whose lives are characterized by humdudgeons, the chances are very good that our children are going to follow that example.

Lisa Barry: Humdudgeons? When was the last time you used that word? In fact, when was the last time you even heard of a word like that? Well, we'll find out exactly what it means in just a few minutes. This is Lisa Barry, inviting you to stay tuned for Day 2 in a week-long series on gratitude.

Have you ever wondered just who should be grateful? Well, I guess people who have had good things happen to them. Now someone might retort, "Well, good stuff rarely happens to me, so I couldn't possibly be expected to be grateful. You have no idea what my kids put me through every day." Well, so does that let you off the hook? Elisabeth Elliot gives us the answer next on today's edition of Gateway To Joy.

Elisabeth Elliot: "You are loved with an everlasting love." That's what the Bible says. "And underneath are the everlasting arms." This is your friend Elisabeth Elliot, talking with you again today about gratitude.

Don't you think there's far too much whining among Christians? We're the ones with the most reason for gratitude. We're also the ones who know whom to thank. There's so much reason for gratitude, so much more reason than there is for whining. Yet we're petulant, fretful, peevish, irritable, querulous. Maybe our homes are full of humdudgeons.

Do you know that word? Well, every time I look up a word in the dictionary, I find myself completely fascinated in reading the page on which that word occurs. It was in this way that I came across this wonderful word, "humdudgeon." Never heard it before. Never have heard it used. But I think it's high time we introduced it into our vocabulary. I taught it to my grandchildren and said, "We don't want any humdudgeons around here." A humdudgeon is a loud complaint about a trifle. It's spelled H-U-M-D-U-D-G-E-O-N. Humdudgeon: a loud complaint about a trifle.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of those among most of us Christians. When we hear our children making loud complaints about trifles, the chances are very good, unsettlingly good, that they are following the example of their parents. Right?

A young mother told me that when her son was misbehaving, her husband came to her afterwards, as he had watched this incident, and he said, "Honey, tell me, is there something in my behavior that is giving this child the clues that he can act like this?" Think about that one. Most of the time our children are doing whatever it is they have seen somebody else do. They are great imitators. If you and I are people whose lives are characterized by humdudgeons, the chances are very good that our children are going to follow that example.

Well, maybe you're thinking, "I've got plenty of reasons to be miserable today. If you knew my situation, Elisabeth Elliot, it's all very well for you to talk. You're sitting in a nifty radio studio, sounding very smooth and self-assured. But you're not where I am."

Well, you're right. I'm not where you are. I am sitting in a very comfortable place. Am I smooth and self-assured? Well, I don't know your situation. I'm not where you are. But I know the One who knows your situation. I know the One who stands at the door and knocks. He says, "If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in."

Whatever your misery may be, did you know that there is One who stands at the door knocking? He wants to enter in to that situation. He wants to sit down with you and have supper with you. That's what the Bible says. And you with him.

Maybe you have spent your time complaining and mumbling and groaning and making loud humdudgeons, forgetting to open the door on which there is a gentle knock. Jesus never barges in without knocking on the door. He comes in when you open it. Maybe you've forgotten to invite Him into this situation and ask Him to sit down with you and put things right.

He is there. He has seen it all. He knows. He understands. Please don't forget this: Jesus Christ gave His very life's blood to save you not only from your sins, not only from hell itself, but He gave His life's blood to save you from the world's kind of reaction to your troubles. Shouldn't this be one of the most outstanding characteristics of us Christians? Our reactions to troubles-and we have the same kinds of troubles that other people have, Christian or non-Christian-but the distinctive should be that our reactions are so radically different.

I read to you yesterday from Paul's letter to the Romans about being full of joy in the midst of trouble, rejoicing under pressure and affliction and hardship. Now to the world, that is nonsense. To the Christian, it's life and peace.

Jesus Christ gave His life's blood to save us from the world's kind of reactions. He has many things to say to you and me through His prophets and apostles in the Bible. One of my favorite prophets is Habakkuk. Habakkuk has some wonderful things to say. I take some of my instructions as a writer from what Habakkuk says in the early part of this book. "I will stand at my post. I will take up my position on the watchtower. I will watch to learn what He will say through me, and what I shall reply when I am challenged."

As a writer and a speaker, of course I take very seriously the fact that God may want to say something through me. How will I know what it is? I have to take up my stand, take up my position on the watchtower, and watch to learn what He will say. Watch to learn what He will say through me.

Then the very last part of the Book of Habakkuk is a ringing praise to God, a song of praise. He talks about some rather frightening things in his book. In verse 15 he says, "When Thou dost tread the sea with Thy horses, the mighty waters boil. I hear, and my belly quakes. My lips quiver at the sound; trembling comes over my bones and my feet totter in their tracks. I sigh for the day of distress to dawn over my assailants."

Then verses 17-19, a hymn of praise. Listen to this: "Although the fig tree does not burgeon, the vines bear no fruit, the olive crop fails, the orchards yield no food, the fold is bereft of its flock and there are no cattle in the stalls, yet I will exult in the Lord and rejoice in the God of my deliverance. The Lord God is my strength, who makes my feet nimble as a hind's and sets me to range the heights."

The prophet's hopes have obviously been dashed. Things promised have not happened. Results looked for have failed. There's nothing to eat. The investments have fizzled. The job is lost. Disappointments of all kinds. What does he say? "Yet will I rejoice. Yet will I rejoice. I will joy." Now that should be the characteristic of holy people--that kind of gratitude. No matter whether the fig tree isn't bearing fruit, nor the vines, nor the olive crop, no matter if the orchards are yielding no food and the fold is bereft of its flock and there are no cattle in the stalls, yet I will exult in the Lord and rejoice in the God of my deliverance. The Lord God is my strength.

Nothing changes the fact that the Lord God is my strength. Nothing changes the fact that He is the God of my deliverance. In His time, He will deliver me. Maybe right now things look bleak, indeed. You see no way out of your situation, no light at the end of the tunnel. But if you start praising Him right now, you might be surprised at how that light grows brighter. If you affirm your faith that He is the God of your deliverance, that He is your strength, then you have something to be thankful for, don't you?

I want to read a letter that reminds me of the prophet Habakkuk himself. She says, "In November, we had our seventh child. I home educate three older children. They are ages 7, 9 and 10. At times, I feel the strong pressure against large families: environmental irresponsibility, depriving the children, and all other such arguments. Home education, my lack of career advancement, is a financial struggle on one income, though my husband is a lawyer. I ache for the struggles of other families. If milk is a luxury in our home, what of those with less? I am not complaining, I hope. I am privileged beyond imagining. How I view my life when I reflect in the Lord: He showers bountiful riches on me. Imagine, seven lovely children, personally handcrafted, designed and thought of by the loving Creator, and sent into my family, a loving, responsible husband, a godly church, and friends are a few of my blessings."

That woman is thankful for everything she has. For those of you who feel that you have a great deal less, start thanking God for what you do have, instead of complaining about what you don't have. I need this lesson myself today. May God help us to be thankers rather than makers of humdudgeons.

Lisa Barry: One lesson I've applied in my life is to keep myself from the things that make me feel ungrateful. Things like model homes and fashion magazines. I may come away with a creative idea or two, but I leave with the overall feeling that I'm missing out. So let's decide to employ the age-old concept of "out with the bad, in with the good" and we'll be well on our way to living more grateful lives.

If having a copy of this series would be a helpful reminder for you, then the title you'll want to ask for is GRATITUDE. The cost is $7, and that includes shipping and handling charges. Send that, along with your request, to Gateway To Joy, Box 82500, Lincoln, Nebraska, 68501. Or call 1-800-759-4JOY. That's 1-800-759-4569. Our Internet ministry address is gatewaytojoy.org. Gateway To Joy has been a production of Back to the Bible.

Tomorrow Elisabeth offers more reasons to give thanks the next time we meet for Gateway To Joy.