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WisconsinChristianNews.com
Volume 27, Issue 1
Healthy Homes & Families Natural, Biblical, Healthy Living Grattitude or GRRRR- attitude By Chris McMahan April 2026 Two thousand gratitude instead of a grrrr-attitude? for good, for those who are called ac- cording to His purpose.”
but it begins in our hearts with an at- titude that agrees with the prior Scrip- ture verse. We can give thanks in all circumstances when we truly believe that God has either ordained or al- lowed the circumstance, and has not forsaken us during the difficult time.
they are only true when our heart agrees with them. If our heart grum- bles, then our lives cannot truly be thankful. If our heart has a Grrrrr—at- titude, our lives cannot proclaim true praise. On the other hand, no matter what is going on around us, if our heart is filled with a great love for the Lord and a humble submission to whatever He allows in our life, out of our heart and our mouth will flow grace and gratitude. Psalm 19:14 (ESV), “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” So, the next time that life hands you lemons…don’t have a grrrr attitude. Instead, remember God’s goodness and faithfulness to you…and choose GRATITUDE. Remember and praise Him! We can always be thankful for our good God, even in the hardest of times. He has a marvelous way of taking life’s lemons and creating spir- itual lemonade from them. Philippians 4:6-7 (ESV), “do not be anxious about anything, but in every- thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all under- standing, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Chris McMahan Email: Happy1970@icloud.com
It’s simple! God doesn’t call us to be thankful FOR the difficult moments, but rather, IN the difficult moments. He doesn’t expect us to jump for joy when life is rough and tough; but He
years ago, the Bible told us that “a grateful heart is good medicine.” Proverb 17.
Our heart attitude toward life and the Lord will largely determine if we show gratitude or have a grrrr atti- tude.
does expect us to have hearts that are quick to over- flow with gratitude for His promised goodness and pro- vision during a dif- ficult time.
Today, a scientific Harvard study has shown that gratitude reduces depres- sion by 35%. It would seem that there has long been support for the opinion that we should have an attitude of gratitude. I like to think of myself as a very thankful person…especially when I get what I want! I’m thankful for my family, my home, my job, the food we eat daily…so many things to be thankful for! But life doesn’t always give us the lemonade we crave… sometimes it hands us a bowl full of sour lemons. Can we be thankful for those? Not only can we be thankful in the not-so-sweet moments in life, but as Christians, we are called to be thank- ful in these moments. When the car breaks down, when the money runs low, when the child is sick, when the weather is bad, when the friend is dis- tant…all are opportunities for grat- itude. It’s much easier, of course, to have a “GRRRR” attitude during these times.
Do I feel like I am entitled to a particular set of circumstances in my life? That hard- ships should be reserved for others and not for myself? That ill- ness may be a curse of this world, but shall not fall near my camp? Do I feel that the Lord ought to or- chestrate my cir-
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (English Standard Version), “Rejoice always, pray without ceas- ing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
Scripture also tells us that the hard time holds great value to redeem and perfect our lives, if we will let it. James 1:2-4 (ESV), “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces stead- fastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” Romans 8:28 (English Standard Version), “And we know that for those who love God all things work together
cumstances in such a way that they are pleasing to me? Does He owe me a measure of obedience? Should He care for my life by allowing only “good,” (as I define it), to enter? My perspective on my life and my Lord affect my attitude. True gratitude and praise can only come from a heart in alignment and inclined to the Lord. Gratitude is an expression of thanks for who I know God to be, what I know Him to do, and how I trust Him when a trying time hits. The mouth can say many nice things, but
From our earliest moments, most of us are taught to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you.’ It often is so automated, that we don’t even think about what is coming out of our mouths. Giving thanks, on one hand, is one of the easiest things to do, because it is merely a word that comes out of the mouth; and on the other hand, is one of the hardest things to do, because thankfulness may exit our bodies in the form of words from our mouths,
So, what’s the secret to turning life’s lemons into lemonade and showing
Jesus Loves the Little Children
By Ray LeBlanc April 2026
them in his sermons to illustrate Bible Scriptures. This attracted the children as they sat amazed. These were dirt-poor children who couldn’t afford the luxury of going to the zoo; they would all sit up front, spellbound with the ani- mals and illusions while receiving the gospel of Jesus. These children were all of different races, different creeds, different backgrounds, different skin colors, all out of poverty. Not very clean, a little smelly, barefoot in some cases, dirty, yet cramped together, not caring where the other child next to
went home and wrote this song, not for the children but aimed at the adults, to teach them a lesson about God’s love. Today when we hear this song, we don’t know the sig- nificance behind the lyrics, as it reflected upon the culture of the people gathered around Pastor Wooston’s flock. Anguished in his spirit, seeing the racism, division, and strife caused by each group’s ethnicity refusing to co-mingle with each other, the following words were penned as he sought God for answers to deal with this crisis he found fo- menting in his congregation. There are additional lyrics that are very rarely sung in this song, but further emphasize the meaning Pastor Wooston tried to con- vey. May you reflect upon this song we sing, but now see it through the lens it was intended for, mainly to the adults that were unwilling to rub shoulders with their fellow men in Christ because of their prejudices. Jesus calls the children dear, “Come to me and never fear. For I love the little children of the world; I will take you by the hand, Lead you to the better land. For I love the little children of the world.” Jesus loves the little children. All the children of the world. Red and yellow, black and white, all are pre- cious in His sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world. Jesus died for all the children, all the children of the world. Red and yellow, black and white, all are precious in His sight, Jesus died for all the children of the world. Jesus is the Shepherd, true. And He’ll always stand by you. For He loves the little children of the world. He’s a Sav- ior, great and strong, and He’ll shield you from the wrong, for He loves the little children of the world. I am coming, Lord, to Thee, and your soldier I will be. For You love the little children of the world. And Your cross I’ll always bear, and for You I’ll do and dare, for You love the little children of the world.
“Jesus said, Suffer the little children unto Me!” (Matthew 19:14). “At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ And Jesus called a little child unto Him, and set him in the midst of them,
and said, ‘Verily I say unto you, except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in My name receiveth Me. But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in Me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.” (Matthew 18:1-6). Jesus loves little children! Philadelphia, 12 years after the civil war, around 1877 the city of brotherly love became the city of hate and division. An influx of immigrants, from all over the world arrived in huge numbers and freed slaves migrated up north to Pennsylvania, increasing the black population from 4% to 20%. At the same time, a massive influx of Irish settlers came to Philly by the boatload — (750,000). Not to mention Germans, Italians, and other na- tionalities, settling into this area. In just a short time, over 2 million people landed in Philadelphia, with all their own ideas and beliefs, resulting in a hotbed of bigotry, distrust, jeal- ousy, strife, and anger. There were riots in the streets, fight- ing among all the different factions, killings, burning of schools, and churches. About this time, there was a Pastor named Clarence Woos- ton. He was a preacher and illusionist, and his sleight of hand was so good he wrote a book on using illusions that even drew the attention of the famous Harry Houdini. He’d also use animals he secured from the local zoo, and use
them came from, or who they were. So, as Reverend Wooston tried to gather the congregation together, he noticed that the adults started to take their chil- dren from up front and separate themselves from others with their children — they were not willing to mingle with those that were not of their own kind, self segregation, prejudiced, unwilling to rub shoulders with strangers from another land. So it became blacks with blacks, whites with whites, Italians, Irish, Germans all dividing. This broke the preacher’s heart, because as he was trying to unite, the devil wanted them all to fight! He was so grieved seeing what was happening at one Sunday service that he
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