Elisabeth Elliot: The praise of God ought to be the pulse of a Christian's life. Don't you think so? Do you wake up in the morning with these words on your lips, "May Jesus Christ be praised"? That's suggested to us by a hymn. "When morning gilds the skies, my heart awaking cries, 'May Jesus Christ be praised.'"

Lisa Barry: So much of what we say and do in a day is without thought. We go back and forth from being grateful to complaining many times in a 24-hour period. But have you ever wondered, if someone were keeping score, just how many tallies you'd have in the grateful column and how many you'd have in the complaining column? I have a feeling if I saw a tally board like that for me, I'd be surprised at the breakdown. I'll bet most of us complain much more than we think, just because it's so accepted in our society. Whether you're facing disappointment, loneliness or just irritation in your day-to-day living, I think you'll find a reason to praise after you hear what Elisabeth Elliot has to say. Let's get started with this Thursday 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 today about a subject that I need probably more than you do: Gratitude.

I am very, very, very grateful for so many things, but I know that I'm not grateful enough for everything that comes into my life. So it's something that I've been thinking about and I wanted to talk to you about, and so we've been talking about this for several days. I asked the question at the beginning, "Are you a complainer or a thanker?"

Gratitude will transform your life. Do you remember the story of the ten lepers whom Jesus healed? They walked away, but one of them turned around and said, "Thank you." Jesus said to the man, "Where are the nine? Were there not ten lepers cleansed? Where are the nine?"

Perhaps that is a pretty accurate assessment of the percentage of people who are truly grateful. Maybe only about 10%. Well, I want to be in the grateful 10%. Do you? It takes practice for some of us. I'm one, by nature, whose tendency is to complain. Oh, well, I could say that's just the way I am. I'm a complainer. I have a critical mind. No. I can't get away with using an excuse like that. A true Christian is grateful. Gratitude is certainly one of the characteristics of the holy men and women of God whose lives I want to emulate.

I have another letter today from a listener to this program. She says, "I've tried to describe you to some of my friends, and when I get stuck, I just say, 'The women's libbers would hate Elisabeth Elliot.'" One friend replied, "Oh, good. She sounds like my kind of woman." Thanks for that encouragement.

My correspondent goes on to say, "I'm the eldest. I was the social butterfly type and I didn't like to learn homemaking skills. Oddly, I still held as my utmost desire to be a wife and mother. That was the only career I ever wanted. But I was bossy, bullheaded and totally unprepared for the chores of homemaking.

I am committed to being home full-time for my children. I'm so glad that my mother was home for us five. I have a three-year-old and we expect our next child in about two months. Being home full-time hasn't been for me all it should have been. I still wanted the same social life and to be involved at church as I was before children.

Well, you can imagine the stress and chaos that resulted. During 1989, God seemed to be calling me to spend more and more time at home and less and less time running around. I like to say it this way: What good is it if I'm ministering to people at church and my friends when I can't properly minister to my own family's needs? If I'm out 'saving souls' and neglecting my children and they go to hell, God will hold me accountable for my children first.

I finally heard the call to motherhood and wifery, which has been there all along. I feel such peace. There are people at church who disapprove, but I don't have to answer to them ultimately. I know I'm where God wants me to be. I've said all this to say, 'Thank you for your program of Friday, January 5th.' Actually, all of that week's programs were wonderfully helpful.

Thank you for the encouragement. Sometimes I wonder if I'm cut out for the job, but it doesn't change my commitment. Elisabeth, thank you for your commitment. Thank you for being a sane voice in a chaotic, ungodly world." Well, thank you, Julia. I surely do appreciate that letter.

About 100 years or so ago, H. L. Sidney Leer wrote this: "A bright, happy soul, rejoicing in all God's gifts, seeing cause for thankfulness and gladness in everything, counting up mercies rather than trials, looking at the bright side, even of sickness, bereavement and death, what a very fountain of goodness and love of Christ such a one is! I remember one, who worn with sickness and sleepless nights, answered to the question if nights did not seem interminable, 'Oh, no. I lie still and count up my blessings.'"

That's a good piece of advice for those of you who have insomnia. Lie still and count up your blessings.

I love George Herbert's poem written back in the 17^th century on gratefulness. "Thou, that hast given so much to me, give one thing more: a grateful heart. See how Thy beggar works on Thee by art, but Thou didst reckon, when at first Thy word our hearts and hands did crave, what it would come to at the worst to save. Perpetual mockings at Thy door, tears sullying Thy transparent rooms, gift upon gift, much would have more, and comes. This not withstanding, Thou wentest on and didst allow us all our noise. Nay, Thou hast made a sigh and groan Thy joys. Wherefore, I cry, and cry again, and in no quiet canst Thou be, till I a thankful heart obtain of Thee. Not thankful when it pleaseth me, as if Thy blessings had spare days, but such a heart whose pulse may be Thy praise."

I want to read those last few lines again. "Not thankful when it pleaseth me, as if Thy blessings had spare days, but such a heart whose pulse may be Thy praise." The praise of God ought to be the pulse of a Christian's life. Don't you think so?

Do you wake up in the morning with these words on your lips, "May Jesus Christ be praised"? That's suggested to us by a hymn. "When morning gilds the skies, my heart awaking cries, 'May Jesus Christ be praised!' Alike at work and prayer, to Jesus I repair. May Jesus Christ be praised."

Brother Lawrence, that monk of several hundred years ago, who was assigned work in the kitchen, praised the Lord continually among the pots and pans. He found it just as possible to be practicing the presence of God in the kitchen, with people demanding this and that and running here and there, as he did in private in his quiet time in his cell. The practice of the presence of God certainly involves thanksgiving.

You know, a lack of gratitude is really a pretty serious sin. Did you know that it is actually categorized along with idolatry and sexual sin? Look at 1 Corinthians 10. He says, "These things happened as symbols to warn us not to set our desires on evil things, as they did. Do not be idolaters, like some of them. As Scripture has it, the people sat down to feast and rose up to revel. Let us not commit fornication, as some of them did, and 23,000 died in one day. Let us not put the power of the Lord to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by serpents."

Then listen to this in verse 10: "Do not grumble against God, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the Destroyer." The word "Destroyer" is capitalized. It's one of the names for Satan, the enemy of our souls.

If you grumble against God and fail to thank Him, I think that's the work of the Destroyer. Of course, he is out to destroy you as well as his enemy, God. The true Christian is thankful for all things. How is it possible to be thankful for all things? Because we trust Him. Trust is the ground of our thanksgiving. Let's not be grumblers, classed along with idolaters and fornicators. But let's be praisers, thankers, whose lives are characterized by a bright, cheerful, sunny spirit.

Lisa Barry: As we close for today, I just want to take a minute to express my gratitude for all of you who listen so faithfully each week. Your letters of encouragement and suggestion give us the direction we need, and you really put wind in our sails.

From time to time, we ask you to write and tell us how this program is impacting your life. Are we speaking to the issues that concern you? Have we missed any? Maybe you've made a change in your life as a result of something you heard Elisabeth say. Would you write and tell us about it? You'd be amazed at how much other women are helped by hearing real-life examples of change and growth.

The other thing I'd like to ask you to consider is your financial support of this program. I know you hear requests like this from many sources, and we don't want to make this need detract from the message. But the simple truth is that this program is kept on the cutting edge by people like you, who offer small and large gifts alike. I think we all feel more a part of a program that we invest in. If Elisabeth Elliot is saying things that you hope keep being said for years to come, then here is where your investment will yield fruitful returns. So many lives are being changed, and you are a part of that. Did you realize that? Your faithful gifts are transformed into changed lives. So keep that in mind as you write your letter today, and we thank you in advance for your faithful and generous support.

Here's our address: Gateway To Joy, Box 82500, Lincoln, Nebraska, 68501. Our Internet ministry address is gatewaytojoy.org. Gateway To Joy has been a production of Back to the Bible.

Well, Elisabeth wraps up this practical series on gratitude tomorrow, so plan to be here then when she talks about cultivating a quiet spirit. This is Lisa Barry, wishing you a grateful thanksgiving.