Thankful Thursday

Thankful Thursday - Always Give Thanks

9/5/2015

I love the progression of those verses: rejoice; pray; give thanks. And I love the fervor with which it says to do these things: always; without ceasing, in everything. There's always room for thanks.

Today I'm Thankful For:

Roses still blooming in my garden.

Coffee and chatting about things of the Lord with a neighbor.

Being able to share the Gospel with a woman in our community.

My husband loves his new part-time job.

God's faithful provision for us over the past 11 months as we've struggled with unemployment for 9 of those months.

Mike and I went to see the movie, "War Room," Sunday afternoon. I'm thankful for the impact it's having in the lives of people that are going to see it. What an incredible encouragement to have a prayer strategy.

My son, Adam's wedding September 12, and adding Macady and her 6-year-old son, Brenden, to our family. Colorado, here we come in just a few days! I've still got several things I must do for the wedding, and we leave out next week. Prayers appreciated, my friends.

What Are You Thankful For?

Grab a button from the sidebar, pin it to your post, or put a link in your post directly to this post, then come back here and sign up using the Linky below. Please put the direct link to your Thankful Thursday post. The Link Up will be LIVE until Monday morning. Be sure to visit the person who linked up before you and comment on their post. And, of course, you are more than welcome to visit as many others in the community as you have time.

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Thankful Thursday - Peace of Mind

8/27/2015

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This world we live in is rocked daily by terror, strife, threats, senseless violence, financial uncertainties, and heart-wrenching health problems. But God...I love this phrase found in Scripture.

But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
Psalm 86:15

What a peace of mind comes from knowing His peace that passes understanding.
It’s guaranteed to us when we fix our minds on an unwavering, trustworthy God.

You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed (fixed) on You:
because he trusts in You.
Isaiah 26:3

This week I'm Thankful For:

I thank You, O God, for the relief and satisfaction of mind that comes with the firm assurance that You govern the world; everything is under Your sovereign direction.

I thank You, O God, for this stunning truth: You are wise, good, and omnipotent.
You’ve promised to make all things work together for good for those who love You.

"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."
Romans 8:28

I thank You, O God, for the comfort You give when I realize my seemingly insignificant life, my problems teetering on the overwhelming, my complex relationships are not beyond You. You are able.

What Are You Thankful For?

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Thankful Thursday - Thanks Be to God Who....

8/20/2015

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Oh, my dear friends, I'm struggling with something right now. Would you pray with me? My struggle--feeling like my life is full of loose ends and incomplete projects. I find myself overwhelmed by decisions regarding the incomplete projects causing a paralysis of the thought and action. I love the simple life, and yet I find myself sucked into well-meaning projects because I believe in them and hence, all these incomplete projects.

Enter feelings of failure. Writing deadlines past. Etsy Store with nothing in it. Blog posts not scheduled because they're not complete. Two websites and struggling with how to combine them into one and save money. A list of people to call and not one called. Ad nauseam.

And then this came in my email today.

A Word from the Word from an old college professor, in his 80's and still going strong in ministry.

Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. 2 Corinthians 2:14

There are times in life one may feel defeated, beaten down, and without strength. This is never God’s way for us. When defeated one is not being lead by Christ because “God…leads us in triumph in Christ.” During our difficult circumstances, God wants to be our strength and sufficiency so that we can spread the fragrance of Christ in every place.

Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God. 2 Corinthians 3:5

Paul the Apostle did not consider himself sufficient. As Paul, we must trust Christ as the sufficient One and gain our strength from Him. As we do, Christ will lead us in triumph and use us to be an appealing and effective ambassador for Him.

Am I living in defeat depending on my own strength — or am I being lead in triumph in Christ? Whom will I choose to trust for my sufficiency — myself or Him? Am I allowing Christ to lead me in a such way that I reflect His character and likeness to others?

Because He ALWAYS leads us in triumph in Christ I can....

Give thanks NOW. When I'm feeling defeated, that's not of Him. I need to give thanks in advance for what He's leading me to triumph in; and that would be to be diffusing His fragrance.

God has not called me to confusion. That would be satan--the author of confusion. He's called me to be a fragrance of His knowledge and grace. So in order for me to walk in triumph I'm going to need to weed out the things that are confusing me, pull those weeds of doubt and confusion, and make pathways of grace.

So pray for me, friends. I'm in over my head in a couple of areas of my life and it's going to take some work to pull those weeds out.

This week I'm thankful for:
~ Being blessed by being the blessing. Our ministry is changing its focus, entering a new phase. That required me to get rid of thousands of books; library books, textbooks, diagnostic tools, and manipulatives. I will no longer be focusing on educational consulting. The ministry will keep the counseling focus, and will be adding various kinds of retreats/intensives. A new Christian school in the bush of Kenya benefited, as did another Christian school just down the road from me. A local day care became the new home for most of my pre-school materials. And then there were the 20 home school families that will have curriculum and books for years to come.

~ I'm thankful for the sweet, albeit short, visit with my daughter, son-in-law, and 4 granddaughters the past few days.

~ I'm thankful I finally have my Mother of the Groom clothes together! It only took 14 hours of shopping over 2 days. Did I mention I don't enjoy shopping? But I must say, I'm very thankful for the bargains the Lord lead me to.

And what about you? What are you thankful for today?

Grab a button from the sidebar, pin it to your post, or put a link in your post directly to this post, then come back here and sign up using the Linky below. Please put the direct link to your Thankful Thursday post. The Link Up will be LIVE until Monday morning. Be sure to visit the person who linked up before you and comment on their post. And, of course, you are more than welcome to visit as many others in the community as you have time.

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Slight Delay!

8/20/2015

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I'm traveling today and forgot to get Thankful Thursday up Wednesday night. I'll get the post and link up this afternoon. So very sorry!

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Thankful Thursday - The List

8/13/2015

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I love lists. They help me stay on track, remind me of appointments and events, anything I don't want to forget I write it down.
Right now, one of my lists consists of things I need to pack when we go to Colorado for our son Adam's wedding next month. I definitely don't need help remembering Adam and Macady's big day, but I do need help in the area of thinking through the clothing and needed accessories. The wedding will be in an apple orchard and the reception in a repurposed barn. Mike and I have never owned cowboy boots before, so we're pretty excited about scootin' around in our boots. But my biggest fear is forgetting that I have them stored in boxes under the bed. Hence the list.

The List That Changes Everything

Ann Voskamp's book, 'One Thousand Gifts,' reminds us to keep a gratitude list, to count the gifts He's given us each and every day. Counting the gifts helps us to remember to give thanks in all things....red roses still blooming despite the hot summer, fresh mint growing in the garden, deer walking across the lawn, a phone call from a friend...the counting is endless...celebrating both my adult daughter's birthdays last week...Mike loving his new job...the unexpected help Adam and Macady received from a pastor and his wife as they moved Macady into the home they'll share after they're married... it's a list of endless thanks, nothing will ever be checked off that it's been accomplished. Creating this list has changed how I view God and life itself.

Here's one of my favorite to-do lists. I actually use this one every day. What about you, are you a list maker?

Do you keep a prayer list?

If so, would you please rememberDenise, one of our Thankful Thursday community sisters, and a very dear friend of mine. Her husband, Eddie had to have a double ventricle pacemaker put in Wednesday. If all goes well he'll be able to return home Thursday, but his recovery is two - 4 weeks. He's the only one with an income, so he's concerned about making ends meet. Denise called his work and she thinks everything will be okay. Please pray for Eddie's speedy recovery and strength for Denise as she cares for him.

What are you thankful for this week?

Grab a button from the sidebar, pin it to your post, or put a link in your post directly to this post, then come back here and sign up using the Linky below. Please put the direct link to your Thankful Thursday post. The Link Up will be LIVE until Monday morning. Be sure to visit the person who linked up before you and comment on their post. And, of course, you are more than welcome to visit as many others in the community as you have time.

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Thankful Thursday - Every Breath a Gift

8/6/2015

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Some weeks seem to fly by faster than others. This is one of those weeks.

This week I'm thankful for every breath I draw. I see it as a gift from God, a gift of His love for me. My senses have been keenly aware of how fragile life is. This past week new life drew their first breath and a passing life drew their last.

I've experienced birthday's celebrating the day friends and loved ones drew their first breath, the end of an era for our ministry and a new life breathed into the next chapter of ministry in the Snowbird community. All of these things are beautiful displays of God's matchless love.

This is just a taste of what my week included, but this I will declare, every breath is a gift from God and I will thank Him for each breath I draw through His matchless love.

I'm thankful hubby and I were able to have a date day over the weekend. We went "elk hunting" in the Great Smokies National Park. We managed to enjoy about a dozen of a herd that now boasts about 120. They're being reintroduced into the park. They are such magnificent animals. I was rather close to this one. I wasn't expecting to make eye contact with him. LOL

I'm also thankful for being able to enjoy the blue moon Friday evening. When the moon first rose it was actually bright red - more like a blood moon! But as the sun set it took on a crisp white color. It was simply beautiful!

What are you thankful for this week?

Grab a button from the sidebar, pin it to your post, or put a link in your post directly to this post, then come back here and sign up using the Linky below. Please put the direct link to your Thankful Thursday post. The Link Up will be LIVE until Monday morning. Be sure to visit the person who linked up before you and comment on their post. And, of course, you are more than welcome to visit as many others in the community as you have time.

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Thankful Thursday - There's Always Something!

7/29/2015

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I honestly don't know where the time goes, but here we are for our last Thankful Thursday for the month of July! We've managed to be birthday free over the past 7 days. But have no fear, there's 2 coming up next week - my 2 amazing daughters will be ____ and ____. I honestly don't want to say their ages because that would make me really old, too! LOL

Here's my thankful list for the week.

My oldest daughter, Missy, broke her shoulder while being a counselor at her church's kids camp. I never heard of extreme rock, paper, scissors, but that's what they were doing when she ran into a wall. She's in a great deal of pain, but I'm thankful for pain medicine, that it wasn't any worse, and she won't need surgery.

While Missy was recuperating at home, her two children were with us. You may recall from last week that Logan went on a long day hike with my hubby (his Pappy). They could only do a day hike because Logan broke his collarbone in 2 places while in CO in June. Lana and I helped with a VBS the first part of the week as you may recall. Now for the rest of the week.

YaY for Camp Marmi/Pappy!

It's our tradition to have our grandkids with us for a week of grandparent and cousin time.
This year was a little different, but I think they enjoyed being with each other, playing games, going to the beach at the lake, playing guitar, sitting outside at night on the front porch talking and laughing, having a burping contest with Marmi... you know, all the normal things grandparents and grandkids do together. My 7-year-old granddaughter thought the burping contest was the best time ever! I guess I'm being nominated for the Grandmother of the Year! I'm thankful we had no injuries and lots of fun together. The house is way to empty now.

Next year, my 4 granddaughters who are missionaries in Kenya will not be with us for Camp. As a matter of fact, Logan won't be either. He's spending the summer in Kenya with his Aunt, Uncle, and cousins. I'm hoping our soon-to-be step grandson, Brenden, will be able to join us next summer. Otherwise Lana and I will just have to go to Dollywood or take a road trip.

And one last photo celebrating red, white, and blue (and some green of course!) for the month of July. Can you spot the hint of blue in the center? Yes, there's ALWAYS something to be thankful for...always. There are moments and surprises everywhere. You need only to stop, look, and listen.

What are you thankful for?

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Thankful Thursday - Smiles

7/23/2015

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Of all the things in life that could possibly make me smile, these would be my top three; my faith, my family and friends, and being surrounded by God's magnificent creation.

I know I left the community up in the air last week. I apologize for the lack of communication. I'm sorry. Life has been upside-down, inside-out, and backwards the past 3 weeks. When I went to the Lord and ask for strength, it became clear He wanted me to take a break from social media and trust Him regarding a few things I was fretting over. Actually, I fully intended to post last Thursday, I had this picture of my granddaughter in place and the first paragraph, but I felt God telling me, "No, wait. Trust me and get your heart aligned with Mine." And so I walked away. It was difficult for me, and very uncharacteristic of me. But I had great peace inside and a smile on my face, so I knew it was the right thing to do. I promise to stop by over the weekend and visit your post from last week and this week.

Last week our family celebrated our granddaughter, Skylar's 6th birthday at the local Mexican Restaurant. She wanted to wear the sombrero AND let the staff put cream on her face. This child is full of boundless energy, and lots of love and laughter. She definitely brings a smile to faces of anyone around her. I'm thankful for the blessing of our sweet granddaughter.

I'm also thankful the impromptu storm that blew through Skylar's birthday celebration caused minimal damage in the area. It brought straight-line winds, a possible tornado, and heavy rains.

The drive back and forth across the mountains from our home in TN to our ministry house in NC is a source of inspiration for me. This month, God decided to wrap the shoulders of the road with a beautiful patchwork quilt that continually puts a smile on my face.

Saturday was my husband's birthday. We shared a celebratory lunch with our other daughter and her family. Mike was all smiles and thrilled to have some friend chicken from Tupelo Honey's. I'm thankful for my honey. <3

From there, Mike and our grandson, Logan, spent a few days together while our granddaughter, Lana and I went back to our ministry house in NC to help with VBS. This was her first experience being a leader. She did an amazing job as our music leader! I'm so proud of 13-year-old, Lana! I can't wait to see what God has in store for her. She put a smile on a lot of faces this week. I'm thankful for Lana, and I'm thankful for all the children who came out to VBS and all the crew leaders. It was a tremendous week.

What are you thankful for?

Grab a button from the sidebar, pin it to your post, and then come back here and sign up using the Linky below. Please put the direct link to your Thankful Thursday post. The Link Up will be LIVE until Monday morning. Be sure to visit the person who linked up before you and comment on their post. And, of course, you are more than welcome to visit as many others in the community as you have time.

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The Blessing of Friendship

7/9/2015

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Bernie and Julie, Marsha and Mike

My life is blessed with friends. Some I would call "middle of the night friends." The ones you know you can call on any given day, or in the middle of the night. This weekend Mike and I were blessed to have a couple celebrate the 4th with us that is on that list of "middle of the night friends." We've been friends for 45 years and can't imagine doing life without them. We went to college together, got married the same year, raised our children together, and we've been in ministry together over the years. This weekend, Julie and I talked about how we muddled through those years, made some mistakes, and somehow our kids still managed to turn out relatively unscathed and love us--warts and all.

Today, I’m thankful for friends both old and new. Friends that I’ve been privileged to walk with for more years, and others that are newer, but our hearts and lives are now intertwined on this amazing journey through life.

What a blessing to have friends that are willing to hold my feet to the fire at times and at other times simply sit by the fire and fellowship.

As iron sharpens iron, that’s what I love about my friends. Each of us desiring to walk humbly with God and all the while moving in rhythm and harmony like a set of knitting needles.

That’s the beauty of friendship, the knitting together of hearts in love. Each of us different and yet woven together for one purpose. The beauty of friendship is in the giving of ourselves to one another, of giving a word of encouragement or an act of kindness. The world can be a cold and harsh place. I'm thankful for friends who chose to be a blessing.

And I love seeing the beauty of new friendships being created here through our Thankful Thursday community. We are knitting (linking) our blogs and hearts together through gratitude. We're sharing in each others joys, sorrows, victories and challenges.

My dear friend, Ann Voskamp, posted these beautiful words on Facebook Wednesday.

The Gift of Friendship

...we all just need people we can turn to & be real & messy & honest & say to each other:
By His grace alone,
I offer you the gift of gritty & raw friendship:
To accept you & affirm you.
To believe in you & be there for you.
To support God's dreams for you & support your arms.
To give you the gift of knees in prayer.
To give you the gift of hands in help.
To give you the gift of heart in friendship.
I offer you the gift of being your Jonathan, your Barnabas, your Ruth,
by the grace of Jesus alone.
‪#‎1000gifts‬

And so, to all of my friends, both old and new, I offer you the gift of gritty & raw friendship: to accept you and affirm you, and all the other beautiful things Ann eloquently expressed. I am thankful for each and every one of you. I’m thankful the Lord has seen fit to knit us together in this tapestry of life.

What are you thankful for today?

Grab a button from the sidebar, pin it to your post, (or put a direct link in your post to our Thankful Thursday page) and then come back here and sign up using the Linky below. Please put the direct link to your Thankful Thursday post. The Link Up will be LIVE until Monday morning. Be sure to visit the person who linked up before you and comment on their post. And, of course, you are more than welcome to visit as many others in the community as you have time.

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Thankful for His Goodness and Mercy

7/3/2015

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What are you thankful for today?

I'm just going to be honest; this has been a week of highs and lows for me. I can't quite pinpoint the uneasiness in my spirit. I'm praying, asking God to reveal anything I need to deal with or to quiet my spirit with His love. Maybe it's world events, or the overly compassionate person I tend to be, and I've just bitten off more than I can chew lately. Whatever it is, I'm praying it will go away. We have some dear friends Mike and I have known since college days (you know, those days when the dinosaurs roamed the earth! LOL) coming Friday for the 4th weekend. It's always fun getting together with treasured friends.

In spite of how I've been feeling, I'm always encouraged when I reflect on His goodness and mercy, and this week He has showered me with both.

His Goodness:

After being unemployed for almost nine months, Mike was offered a part-time job doing what he loves to do - talk about hiking and camping! He calls it his dream job.
God's continued goodness and faithfulness upon us during these "lean" months. I'm so thankful to have a husband who handles our money wisely. During this nine-month period, we've still lived comfortably, but frugally.
Monday evening I sat on the front porch watching the sunset and the moon rise. All the while I was listening to a few lone birds still awake and calling the last of their flock home. Simultaneously, the crickets serenaded the fireflies dancing across the lawn. It's the simple pleasures that sooth my soul. Thank you, Lord.

His Mercy:

Our daughter, Missy, and her family travelled safely by car to Colorado to visit my son, her brother, Adam. VERY long drive from Alabama!
While they were out site-seeing on Sunday, they stopped by a beautiful creek. My two grandchildren, Lana (13) and Logan (15) got into the water and climbing around rocks in the water near some turbulent rapids. Lana got her foot wedged in between rocks on the creek floor and couldn't get it out. The more she tried, the more stuck she got. The water was pushing against her, and she struggled to keep her head above water. My son jumped into the water and fought to keep her head above water while she slowly was able to get her foot unstuck. My daughter said it was a pretty scary and tense several minutes while they worked to free her and hold her up all at the same time. So very thankful for God's merciful hand upon Lana.
Tuesday Logan went out on a bike trail by himself and had a biking accident. He flipped over the handlebars and broke his collar bone. We're thankful he had a helmet on, it could've been much worse. He ended up in the ER, saw a surgeon, and then had to have surgery to put a metal plate in over his collarbone to help it heal. They released him after waking up from surgery. Wednesday was spent resting and sleeping due to pain meds. I'm thankful for the care he received by passersby until my daughter got there, and also for all the hospital staff. Missy said they were all great.

Grab a button from the sidebar pin it to your post, (or put a direct link in your post to our Thankful Thursday page) and then come back here and sign up using the Linky below. Please put the direct link to your Thankful Thursday post. The Link Up will be LIVE until Monday morning. Be sure to visit the person who linked up before you and comment on their post. And, of course, you are more than welcome to visit as many others in the community as you have time.

There's a book giveaway going on over at my Simply Grace page!

You can head over here to enter to win a copy of Laurie Coombs book, "Letters from My Father's Murderer: A Journey of Forgiveness." The drawing closes Monday, July 6 at 6:00 AM EASTERN Time. A winner will be announced later in the day Monday evening.

This book tells the extraordinary true story of grace, mercy, and the redemptive power of God. If you long to understand and experience true forgiveness, then you want to read this book!

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Thankful Thursday - Always Give Thanks

Today I'm Thankful For:

What Are You Thankful For?

Thankful Thursday - Peace of Mind

This week I'm Thankful For:

What Are You Thankful For?

Thankful Thursday - Thanks Be to God Who....

And then this came in my email today.

Because He ALWAYS leads us in triumph in Christ I can....

And what about you? What are you thankful for today?

Slight Delay!

Thankful Thursday - The List

The List That Changes Everything

Do you keep a prayer list?

What are you thankful for this week?

Thankful Thursday - Every Breath a Gift

What are you thankful for this week?

Thankful Thursday - There's Always Something!

Here's my thankful list for the week.

What are you thankful for?

Thankful Thursday - Smiles

What are you thankful for?

The Blessing of Friendship

The Gift of Friendship

What are you thankful for today?

Thankful for His Goodness and Mercy

What are you thankful for today?

There's a book giveaway going on over at my Simply Grace page!

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