by Zeke Flores<\/p>\n
The things I see people complain about remind me that we live very pampered lives. A rude cashier, a wrong food order, no WiFi, etc., are all mere inconveniences and reminders of how good life usually is. And -shame on me- I’ve been guilty of it too.<\/p>\n
Then some find themselves in very difficult situations, yet they still manage to honor God and grasp hope despite the seeming hopelessness.<\/p>\n
May God help me to be more thankful for what really matters and less critical of what doesn’t and to know that even if all I possessed were to be taken away, even if I lost my family through some horrific tragedy, even if my health were to deteriorate, I would still be, among men, most richly blessed.<\/p>\n
“Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness; you will be enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing thanksgiving to God<\/em>” (II Corinthians 9:10-11).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Zeke Flores The things I see people complain about remind me that we live very pampered lives. A rude cashier, a wrong food order, no WiFi, etc., are all mere inconveniences and reminders of how good life usually is. And -shame on me- I’ve been guilty of it too. Then some find themselves in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[1039,1087,704],"class_list":["post-89018","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-complaints","tag-gratefulness","tag-thankfulness"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":62873,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-the-seed-still-in-the-barn\/","url_meta":{"origin":89018,"position":0},"title":"Is the Seed Still in the Barn?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 22, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Text: Haggai 2:10-19 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0After the people returned from captivity, work began in rebuilding Israel. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The people quickly laid the foundation of the temple, but the work stagnated. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The people were distracted with rebuilding their own homes and efforts to produce a living. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Over time they became apathetic. For 16\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7751,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-were-the-israels-not-to-mix-two-different-kinds-of-seed\/","url_meta":{"origin":89018,"position":1},"title":"Why were the Israels not to mix two different kinds of seed?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 19, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What is meant by the command not to mix two different kinds of seed in Leviticus 19 and Deuteronomy 22? Would this mean that humans should not selectively breed new hybrids? Answer: \"You shall keep My statutes. You shall not let your livestock breed with another kind. You shall\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":37773,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/we-were-doing-well-a-few-years-ago-but-ive-slipped-into-sexual-sins\/","url_meta":{"origin":89018,"position":2},"title":"We were doing well a few years ago, but I’ve slipped into sexual sins","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 13, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Dear Minister, I came upon your website via Google, and read a few of your articles, and found them to be interesting and very helpful, Thank you. My problem is that I became a \"Born Again\" Christian a few years ago when I was in my mid-thirties. My husband\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10547,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/when-and-why-did-humans-start-eating-meats\/","url_meta":{"origin":89018,"position":3},"title":"When and why did humans start eating meats?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 25, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: When and why did humans start eating meat? Answer: When the world was first created, mankind was given vegetables to eat. \"And God said, \"See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":89401,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-does-your-garden-grow\/","url_meta":{"origin":89018,"position":4},"title":"How Does Your Garden Grow?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 13, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Joe Slater I presume you have your garden in by now. If you're like me, you're looking forward to harvesting those nutritious veggies! Somehow, the store-bought variety doesn't measure up. If you planted okra, what do you expect to harvest? It's a weird question, but you probably know already\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/garden-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9476,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/isnt-it-a-contradiction-when-god-changed-his-mind-about-the-eating-of-animals\/","url_meta":{"origin":89018,"position":5},"title":"Isn’t it a contradiction when God changed His mind about the eating of animals?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 17, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I read\u00a0your article\u00a0about contradictions in the Bible, and I agree most are silly ones and, unfortunately, usually malicious.\u00a0 However, I feel I have something rather genuine to present to you.\u00a0 (Yes, I am a vegan. This will clarify a few things about my perspective.) At the beginning of Genesis\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89018","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89018"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89018\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89018"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}