Sun 29 Nov 2009
“God knows that you can stand that trial; He would not give it to you if you could not. It is His trust in you that explains the trials of life, however bitter they may be. God knows our strength, and He measures it to the last inch; and a trial was never given to any man that was greater than that man’s strength, through God, to bear it.”
—Streams in the Desert
I am so thankful to be better after having a cold and spending most of the last couple of days in the bed! I’m looking forward to catching up on some things around the house. This is the second cold I’ve had in a month; all of us were sick last month, but now it’s mainly my oldest and I. I hope that God sees fit for us to remain well for a good while now, especially through Christmas.
 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. ~Psalms 19:14
Sat 28 Nov 2009
“For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required” (Luke 12:48b).
I am so thankful for my Bibles. They are precious to me, and, with all the notes in them, are just like a journal chronicling my struggles, triumphs, and thoughts. Last week my Sunday School teacher told us when her son went off to military training, he wanted one of his mother’s well-marked Bibles to carry with him. He carried it proudly in front of the other men. I hope that my girls will always treasure the Bibles I leave behind.
I am also grateful for all the devotionals, spiritual books, CDs, radio, Internet websites, and other resources that we are able to freely access here in America. We are truly blessed and have no excuse not to be growing in our Christian lives daily.
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. ~Psalms 19:14
Fri 27 Nov 2009
I’m thankful that
Tomorrow is always fresh with no mistakes in it.
—Anne Shirley, Anne of Green Gables
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. ~Psalms 19:14
Thu 26 Nov 2009
So once in every year we throng
Upon a day apart,
To praise the Lord with feast and song
In thankfulness of heart.
—Arthur Guiterman, The First Thanksgiving
We had such a wonderful time gathered with our family today. A couple of years ago, all of us could not be together when my sister-in-love was in the hospital because her water broke at 24 weeks. Praise God that this year we could all be together, happy and healthy.
I am so thankful for memories of past Thanksgivings with family who are gone to heaven now. How I wish I could visit with them now and have my children know them.
Holidays are very hard for single mothers, with the memories of the past and painful reality that you sit alone amongst the couples. Please remember them this holiday season.
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. ~Psalms 19:14
Wed 25 Nov 2009
“[I am] grateful to live in a country where living below the poverty level of income can still mean having enough.”
— Lisa B.
I am so thankful for our country. She has her flaws, but she’s still the greatest country on earth. I am so thankful that we have a day set aside for Thanksgiving. America is one of only 2 countries to celebrate the holiday (Canada is the other). Just being born in this country, no matter how great or terrible your life has been, is one of the biggest blessings a person could ever have. There is true hope, potential, and a future for anyone willing to work for it.
As Christians, we need to pray for our country more than ever. Nothing will move things more than Christians truly obeying the Word and praying.
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. ~Psalms 19:14
Tue 24 Nov 2009
“A dog wags its tail with its heart.”
—Martin Buxbaum
I am so thankful for our pets, Autumn the cat, Missy the puppy, and Teddy the neighbor’s dog. Each one of them bring such joy and fun to our lives. How good God was to give mankind the special joy of pets!
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. ~Psalms 19:14
Mon 23 Nov 2009
“A merry heart doeth good like a medicine” (Proverbs 17:22).
A friend called tonight, and we had several good belly laughs, some with tears. Good medicine, just like the Bible says.
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. ~Psalms 19:14
Sun 22 Nov 2009
“Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart” (Psalm 37:4).
I am so thankful for God granting the desires of our hearts, even when they are not prayed for. For instance, I’ve always wanted curly hair, but was not born with it. I’d never heard of anyone growing curly hair that was not born with it, and never prayed for my hair to be curly. After I met my girls’ father, I found that his hair had been totally straight as a child—we have pictures to prove this—but completely kinked up as he went through puberty. This was the first and only instance that I had heard of this happening. As an adult, I got perms about once a year to get the curls I wanted. I stopped getting permanents several years ago, because I was concerned about the health risks of the chemicals involved. To my utter surprise, over a year ago, my hair started getting curly. Most of my hair has soft curls now. I can comb it out straight, or dampen it and let it dry into curls on its own. Perhaps it has been a change of my hormones; I just don’t know, but I keep thanking God for giving me the desire of my heart, even when I did not pray for it! Sometimes I still can’t believe it—after all those years of getting perms!
I’d always wanted a little girl with curls, but none of my girls had curls. I was disappointed, but did not pray about it; I just accepted it. Lo, and behold, my middle daughter has hair just like her father’s. It was straight until she got to be about 13, but then has curled up into beautiful tight ringlets. God again gave me the desire of my heart, even though I’d already given up on it, and it was years down the road.
When I was expecting my second child, I wanted my oldest daughter to have a little sister, because I had not had the joy of having a sister. I did pray for her to get a sister, but was totally surprised when God did answer this voiced desire of my heart. I couldn’t believe that I could be so blessed! During the third pregnancy, I again wanted another daughter, so that my children could enjoy being sisters. I was so shocked to find out during an ultrasound that I was having another girl! I was thrilled and over the moon! If I had remained married, I would have loved to have had some boys, because I think boys need brothers, but that was not to pass. It looks like I’ll get my boys when my daughters marry someday.:)
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. ~Psalms 19:14
Sat 21 Nov 2009
“The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.” (Psalm 18:2).
I am so grateful for God’s protection in my life. There are some things that God did not spare me from, but there are some really big things God has protected me from.
He has protected me physically many times, but the most frightening time was when I was a teenage girl. My friend and I were playing on the front porch, and proceeded to leave the porch to go to the yard. Right next to the brick that we used as a step was a very tall metal TV antenna fastened to the house and buried in the ground. My brother and I were accustomed to using it as our handrail, since there was not one for the brick step; many times we’d swing off the porch holding onto it. That particular day as I leapt off the porch holding onto the antenna, it began to fall. I was terrified of being in trouble with my dad, so I tried to hold the antenna up. It was too heavy and was falling fast. My mom, who has what we call “the gift”, felt she needed to immediately go check on me. She burst out of the front door and screamed for me to run. I did, and, seconds later, the antenna hit the electricity wire leading to the house. It literally fried several things in our house—the TV and Atari game my brother was playing at the time was one of them. My dad’s CB radio (he was a trucker) was actually melted onto his desk. There were several other appliances ruined, too. I was just a few feet of being electrocuted when God sent my mom out of the house to warn me. Praise God for what He did that day! Not only was I not hurt, neither was anyone else, especially my brother.
In another instance from my teenage years, my mother and I were in town alone for my monthly dental visit to have my braces adjusted. Mama didn’t (and still doesn’t) drive, so we’d have to wait on my grandpa to come get us. We were downtown, and Mama wanted to go to the street corner to see if she could spot her dad, but she needed me to stay where I was in case I saw him. Mama was just going 1/2 block up the street, and I was a teenage girl, so it seemed fine. After Mama left, a shopkeeper came out of the store and was watching me in a way that made me feel uncomfortable. I believe he asked me something, too, but I can’t remember for sure. He then made his way up the street, in what appeared to me that he was looking to see where my mother had gone. I noticed him coming back toward me, and I felt for sure I needed to get out of there. I left my post, walked quickly past this man, and found my mom. I had no tangible reason to distrust this man, but it was a gut feeling, a feeling I believe God put there. A week later, I read in the newspaper that this man was arrested for murder! He killed a “friend” in a fit of anger. If that was the type man he was, he could very well have had evil intentions for me. I still don’t know it, but I believe God protected me from this man.
Has God ever done something like this in your life—saved you mere “inches” from death or serious harm?
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. ~Psalms 19:14
Fri 20 Nov 2009
“But godliness with contentment is great gain…And having food and raiment let us be therewith content” (1 Timothy 6:6,8).
I am so thankful that, despite our problems and our situation, we have a wonderful home to live in, plenty of food, nice clothes to wear, and so many extras. We have a lot more than many people have. God has been so good to us!
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. ~Psalms 19:14
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