Thanksgiving Blessings

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day...hope you did too!

I had been feeling quite ill all the way to Wednesday, and was very thankful

that I felt much better on Thursday so that I could prepare the meal!

My mom, Bri and I all work together to make the meal, both separately (the day before),

and corporately the day of.  We work well together and things turned out great!

Afterward we played some carpetball (my mom was beating everyone!)

It was a blessing that my nephew drove several hours to come - he entertained us with

lots of stories! :)

Three generations played some foos ball

I am most thankful for time spent with family...it's priceless!

I thank God for the blessings He has bestowed on us once again this year.

IT IS A GOOD THING TO GIVE THANKS UNTO THE LORD, AND TO SING PRAISES UNTO THY NAME, O MOST HIGH:

Psalm 92:1



May I Have a Thankful Heart

MAY I HAVE A THANKFUL HEART

It's so easy to be thankful

When our barns are brimming o'er,

When earth's harvest fills our table,

Doting friends knock at our door.

It's so easy to be thankful

When our way is bright and fair,

When we walk in perfect wholeness,

And we have enough to spare.

But what about the barren times

When thick darkness clouds our day;

Do we offer God thanksgiving

For the trials that come our way?

For our earthly tribulations

Are a blessing from God's hand,

For there are lessons to be learned

That adversities demand.

So may I have a thankful heart,

One that's full of grateful praise.

May I recognize God's blessings

Come disguised in diffrent ways.

Writtten by:  Linda J. Stevenson

This was sent to me by my dear friend Marie.

I have been facebooking daily about my blessings this November,

and I thought this was just a beautiful reminder about

gratitude and thankfulness.

Hope it blesses you!

Soldiers in the Battle

Our family listened to a wonderful message on Sunday by Dr. Scott Pauley about Enduring Hardness          In that wonderful message was this poem, a wonderful reminder that we Christians are indeed in a battle daily, and that we are Soldiers in the army of GOD.                       I am a Soldier

Cindye Coates I am a soldier, a prayer warrior, of the army of my God. The Lord Jesus Christ is my Commanding Officer. The Holy Bible is my code of conduct. Faith, Prayer and the Word are my weapons of warfare. I have been taught by the Holy Spirit, trained by experience, tried by adversity, and tested by fire. I am a volunteer in this army, and I am enlisted for eternity. I will either retire in this army at the Rapture or die in this Army; but I will not get out, sell out, be talked out. I am faithful, capable, and dependable. If my God needs me, I am there. I am a soldier, a prayer warrior.   I am not a baby. I do not need to be pampered, petted, primed up, pumped up, picked up, or pepped up. I am a soldier, a prayer warrior. No one has to call me, remind me, write me, visit me, entice me, or lure me. I am a solider, a prayer warrior.  I am not a wimp. I am in place, saluting my King, obeying His orders, praising His name and building His Kingdom! I am a soldier, a prayer warrior. No one has to send me flowers, gifts, food, cards, candy, or give me handouts. I do not need to be cuddled, cradled, cared for, or catered to. I am committed. I cannot have my feelings hurt bad enough to turn me around. I cannot be discouraged enough to turn me aside. I cannot lose enough to cause me to quit.

Choosing Thankfulness

I've learned a lot of lessons over the last year of my illness.

But, one of the biggest things I learned about myself, is that I lacked thankfulness!

Another thing I learned, is that I really do have a lot to be thankful FOR!

Not only that, but, I also learned that thankfulness to God is a command--and, a choice.

So now, I purposely try to choose to be thankful daily.

I started keeping a thankfulness journal last year, and now I'm up to over 1300 thankfulness entries!

When I feel down, I can pick that journal up, and have a tangible reminder of all the blessings that

God has bestowed on me. :)

November is such a wonderul month--kind of dedicated to thanksgiving.

I hope it's a wonderful time of reflection for us all as we consider the blessing God has poured forth on us!

There's always something to be thankful to God for!

Are You Bored?

Someone sent me an email with the title Are You Bored?

And, it reminded me of when my kids were young...and they said that they were "bored". :)

Well, they found out quickly that you weren't allowed to say that in our home.

We should never be bored!

My remedy?

I made up a list of Productive Activities and posted it on the frig.

If all of their school work and chores were done, they could choose something off of

this list to do.

If they didn't do this--and slipped and said that they were bored--they got a really crummy job to do instead. I had a list for those also for me to choose from. :)

Like...cleaning the grout with a toothbrush :)

Some ideas from the list:

• Write/make a card for a grandparent
• Read a book
• Gardening
• Memory Verse
• Play with Legos or Lincoln Logs
• Walk the Dog
• Play the Piano

I had quite a few items on the list, so that there should be plenty to choose from even over a period of time.

It solved our problem, and helped them to develop a good habit of using their time wisely.

I try to apply this to myself too. I try to have plenty of things "waiting in the wings" for me to do, so that I never feel bored.

Hope this inspires you today to find some new, creative things to use your time.