A Little Random Thankfulness

Honestly, it's been one of those weeks where I've struggled just to get up and get moving each day. I'm tired and nothing seems to be slowing down to give me a chance to catch up. Not meaning to complain, more to explain why this may seem a little choppy and I'm sticking to simple bullet points tonight. :)

So, here we go...

I am thankful....

• that God will see me thru this week and every week that follows.  He will see that I am caught up on my rest and provide my tired mind the opportunity to slow down.
• for my family that keeps me going and never ceases to bring a smile to my face.
• for the Bible Study I've been participating in.. if you get the chance, check out "One In a Million" by Priscilla Shirer.  It's a great study about how God is with us, sees us thru, and teaches us as we journey through the wildernesses in our lives.
• for a church that is committed to our children and teaching them of God's love.  There is always something going on for them, providing them with great fun, wonderful ways to learn of God and about His Word, and a safe place for them to be as they grow up.
• for my warm and cozy bed where I can lay my head down tonight and ssssllllleeeepppppp. :)
• for the opportunity to share with each of you every week the many blessings the Lord has given me.

Happy Thankful Thursday!


What are you thankful for today? Join us in sharing our thanksgivings this week by visiting Lynn at "Spiritually Unequal Marriage".

We are Chosen

"While it's true that Israel was chosen by God then and Christians are chosen by God now, we should not understand chosen as a synonym for favorite. The point of our "chosen-ness" is as a means to an end -- so we can shine as light for those to whom God wants to demonstrate love. With our exalted state comes a call to share it with all who will respond."

Excerpt from Coffee Cup Bible Studies - "Kona w/ Jonah" by Sandra Glahn


Does this statement speak to you as it does to me? We willingly accept that we are chosen by God, but do we really think about what that means? Do we ACT on what that means?

It's certainly something that I will be thinking and praying about for awhile.....

Saying and Doing

The sailors said to him, "Tell us, whose fault is it that this disaster has overtaken us?  What's your occupation?  Where do you come from?  What's your country?  And who are your people?"  He said to them, "I am Hebrew!  And I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and dry land."  Hearing this, the men became even more afraid and said to him, "What have you done?"  (The men said this because they knew that he was trying to escape from the Lord, because he had previously told them.)  Jonah 1:8-10

In the New International Bible translation, verse 9 in the above passage reads as, "He said to them, 'I am a Hebrew, and I fear the LORD God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land.'"

Notice how Jonah states that he "fears the Lord"? But yet, isn't the Lord exactly the one from whom Jonah is running?

How often in our own lives do we state one thing and do the complete opposite? I'm afraid that I do this more than I probably care to admit.

• Yes, I fully trust in God! -- Do I really always FULLY trust in God?  If so, then why do I doubt, why do I try to take matters into my own hands, why do I worry?
• Yes, I want to share God's love with others! -- But, do I?  Do my actions show that?  Do I take time out of my day to be kind to my neighbors and SHOW them God's love in all my actions?

These are just a few examples, but how I respond to them speaks volumes to me about how I speak one thing, but don't always follow through and show that I truly believe what I said.

Can you imagine being one of the sailors on the ship with Jonah?  They are scared and fearing for their very lives.  They ask Jonah who he is and what is his profession.  He responds that he is a prophet and that he worships and fears God.  But yet, he has already told them that is running from the very thing that God asked him to do.   I believe if I was one of those sailors that I would be questioning how much Jonah really worshipped and feared God.

The same is true in the words we say and how we follow thru in our actions.  The world is watching.  God has called us to be a witness to the world.  What we say and how we live those words is so important to that witness. 

How many times do you hear people say they don't attend church because they know how the church members act when they are outside the church doors?  I am saddened when I hear those words for I know that, unfortunately, there is truth spoken.  Sometimes, we barely make it to the church parking lot after services before we act in unkind and ungodly ways.

Take some time today to really focus on what you believe and how you live out those beliefs.  If you say you fear God, do you?  Are you, like Jonah, instead running away from God?

Love the Rain

Leviticus 26:34 "I shall give you rains in their season, so that the land will yield its produce and the trees of the field will bear their fruit."


Today I am thankful for the rain! We don't see alot of that in Texas this time of year. It tends to be more hot and dry in July around here. However, the last couple of weeks we have seen quite a bit of rain. We even experienced a slight drop in temperatures and humidity for a few days. What a treat!

Our yard is green without any assistance from the sprinklers, too. We have a few more weeds since the rain seems to have encouraged them to grow, but I'm just going to be thankful for them anyway because they are green, green, green. Instead of dry and brown. Woo-hoo!

As I am out in the yard this weekend pulling up all those GREEN weeds, I'm going to be thankful for the rain, rain, rain!! :)

Happy Thankful Thursday!


What are you thankful for today? Join us in sharing our thanksgivings this week by visiting Lynn at "Spiritually Unequal Marriage".

Freedom

For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption, through which we cry, “Abba, Father!” The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him. I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us. For creation awaits with eager expectation the revelation of the children of God; for creation was made subject to futility, not of its own accord but because of the one who subjected it, in hope that creation itself would be set free from slavery to corruption and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God. Romans 8:15-21

Happy 4th!  I pray you enjoy this holiday weekend as we celebrate the freedom we are so blessed to have in this great country.  And, as we celebrate the freedeoms we experience as a country, may we never forget to celebrate the freedom we have in the Lord.