Inspirations

  I love music!    Not just any music,  but uplifting music.   Music holds the power  of the spoken word of God.   I am grateful for music  that connects me to God.  For me, there is nothing better  than a worship song to make my spirit soar.    When I am completely stressed  and overwhelmed by the cares of this world,  I thank God that I can take my phone,  put on the mp3 player  and it seems only a few minutes  before the stress is gone and  I am praising God.   How it happens,   I have no clue,  but I know that it does happen.   I thank God that he gives us  songs that can calm  our troubled spirit and make us one with him.    I am grateful that  we do not have to have a great voice, he cares that we praise him;  that our heart is in tune with him.     

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, Genesis 3:8               On days when I am faced with things beyond my control.  When my troubles seem to overwhelm me,  one of the most calming things that I can do is head outside and go for a long walk.   As I walk,  I find my muddled mind cleared  and I can clearly see the mind of God.   My worries disappear as I set my focus on God and my peace is restored.   As I commune with God,  my spirit and soul are renewed so that I can face my problems with new energy.   Thank you, God, for those long walks when the air is warm,  and I can enjoy nature.   These times are a blessing.   Other times, my walks are more fun than anything else.   My mind and heart is already calm, so I revel in the creation of God. ...

 I woke up this morning and went to work.   I wanted to stay in bed and sleep a little longer, but I chose to do the adult thing  and crawl out of my comfortable, warm bed. I often choose what I want to eat, and wear. In fact, sometimes we have so many choices it's hard for people like me to make decisions. I thank God that everyone makes choices, no one is exempt. I thank Him for the good choices I have made, like living for him and following him. I also thank him for the bad choices I have made. They were learning and growing experiences. I thank God that he loves us regardless of our choices. I am grateful that most choices are not fatal or irreversible.

But his mother  treasured  all these things in her heart.  Luke 2:19 As I grow older, my memories have grown sweeter each year. Thank you for my precious memories.  Memories of long walks in the woods. and a winter when there was snow overtops of the trees.                                yes, it did happen.   I wish I had taken pictures. I'm thankful for the many memories we   created in this house                                              I'm thankful for the memories of playing softball. with the pastor of our church. As he stepped to the plate, he said,  "You need to move back further" to the outfield. They laughed until he hit the ball a mile over their heads and into the woods.  He did not run the bases; he walked each...

From the beginning of time, when we were created, God intended us to grow and mature.  Plants start as a seed.   Imagine if potatoes or apples stayed the same size as they were when you put them in the ground,  or watermelon never got any bigger than what it was as a seed.     We would all starve!  Imagine your cat staying the same size as she was the day she was born.   I know kittens and puppies are fun,  but I am sure that it would only take a few days or weeks for us to grow tired of them. As parents, we would panic if our children did not grow.   We love them as babies, but they are not supposed to stay babies.   We want them to grow and become toddlers and teens and adults.   I think God wants us to grow spiritually too.    I imagine he takes as much joy in our growth spiritually as we take in our growth into adults.   I am blessed to see that my children have grown into responsible adults but more tha...

 As I think about the things for which I am Thankful.  I want to say, "Thank you, God, for the family that God has blessed me with.    God blessed me with a husband that fills in the gaps in my personality.   I can not imagine my life without him.  So glad you blessed me with him, God. God also blessed me with amazing children each with unique personalities and likes and loves, but I could not imagine my life without them. God has also blessed me with some sisters in Christ.   You have taught me many things, over the years. We encourage each other in our faith.   Share coffee and dreams disappointments and struggles.  But often, we just love each other. You are the friends I needed but was afraid to ask for. There are so many others, my church family. What would I do without you? You loved me first. And friends that though separated by miles are near to my heart. I love you all and I thank God for all of you.

  I  am thankful today for the valuable gift of time. What a blessing that it is given to each person with impartiality. No one gets more or less than twenty-four hours in a day. Each person is responsible for how they use their time. I am reminded not to  spend all my time working, I can use my time to invest in people.  I can give time to my children and family, help an elderly person, Listen to someone who is struggling. I am grateful that  as time moves on, it  can change things, but mostly, it changes how we see things.  Often a moment,  changes everything as well. I am grateful for the reminder to live well; and make time for what really matters.

  We go to the sink and get some water from the faucet to drink.  We put some water in a pan so we can cook. We toss clothes in a washer, push a button, and wallah we wash clothes. We jump in the shower and hot and cold water is at our disposal. None of us would dream of using dirty, muddy water for any of these tasks. I am grateful that I have clean water to use. It's easy to take the blessing of water for granted, using it without a second thought. So, thank you, God, for the blessing of water. Some people live in places with little to no water, and it's not fresh. Their water is dirty and they  share it with animals. So as you drink some crisp, clean, refreshing water Thank God that you have this luxury. It's easy to forget that not everyone is blessed with clean water. Here is a  link that you can use if you want to help people in other countries to have fresh water. http://waterwellsforafrica.org/

  Today, as I sit here sipping a cup of steaming hot coffee that is perfect for the cold fall day, I am Thankful that God inspired someone to use beans in this way and I am thankful that I can afford the luxury. There are so many other simple pleasures that I enjoy, lunch with my husband,  or shopping with a friend. I am thankful for smiles  and hugs, or a simple gesture that can lift my spirits. Another thing that I enjoy is sitting on the porch in the summer soaking up the sun. The list of  what you enjoy is probably way different than this, however, I am sure that you have your own list of things you enjoy, your simple pleasures. I am thankful that God gives us these things that give us a little enjoyment to settle the chaos in a crazy life.

I am thankful that in all the craziness,  I serve a God who is alive. He is not limited by what limits me. He is stronger than any problem I face. He only needs to speak and his words are done. He is wiser than anything I am going through. He can see the beginning and end of every situation and he will help. What a comfort it is to know that the God of the universe knows me and cares for me.   He loves me enough that he died for me.   How awesome is that!!

                                   I am thankful for the word of God, that I can meditate on and hide in my heart. It is a two-edged sword, sweeter than honey to my lips as I read it. It brings me healing and life. What an excellent book the word of God is! It has words that encourage me when I'm sad; calm me when I'm scared. It corrects me  and brings me back in line with God. At other times, The word of God gives me the courage of a lion, and joy in my heart. I am thankful that God gives us his word. He didn't put us here on this planet, and leave us to figure everything out for ourselves. He gave us his word so that by it, we could know how to live, and please him.

  Growing up, I got sick easily. So thank you, God, for being my healer.                                   Now I am blessed with good health, thanks to God.   I still get sick once in a while and have had some problems,  like an ornery gallbladder.   It's no longer with me.   They spend many hours studying and learning their skill.  Then they spend many more sleepless nights on call.   They are always on call, and everyone wants free a diagnosis, go figure.  I am also grateful for medicine that we can take when we are sick,  and the men and women that God gave the wisdom to harness the field of medicine. Thank you, God, for health and when we do get sick thank you for being the God who heals no matter if the healing comes through the wisdom of doctors or divine intervention we know that any healing is from your hand.

  Thank you, God, for my pets. They often provide love, companionship, and devotion. They calm me down when I am upset, and cheer me when I am sad. They often demand so little and give so much.  Our pets depend on us for most of their care and yet they are often happy to see us at the end of a long day.  Thank you, that there are a variety of pets so that no matter what my preference and personality, there is a pet for me. Whether your pet crawls, or walks, or flies is warm-blooded or cold  Thank you, God, for our pets.

  My day can get crazy! Appointments, work,  family obligations,  church, it all takes a toll on me. I end up tired, cranky And easily irritated. I am around people every day, tons of them. All of them have needs and burdens, Just like me. Desiring to help, I often come away feeling overwhelmed, Drained, Emotionally exhausted. In our pleasure-driven society,  where going places and doing things seems to be the hallmark of success, I am thankful for Our Lord's example of going away to be himself. He hid away from the “world,” so he could get recharged. “After he had dismissed them,  he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone,” If the Son of God needed alone time, brothers and sisters, So, do we. I thank God for the times when I can be alone with him, Even if it means getting up early Or staying up late just to have that time. I find myself better able to help others, When I have found a place and time to b...

As we go through our day, we are often faced with things that irritate or annoy us. Someone steals our parking spot Washing the dishes McDonald's messed up our order We spill our drink We lose our keys again We lock ourselves out of the apartment/house We get a flat Shoveling Snow These are all things that can annoy us and make our day sad if we let them. Tonight after work I went to get my jacket only to discover that it was missing.   That in itself is not a problem.  Don't misunderstand me, I like the coat, but I rarely form attachments to articles to things.   However, my keys were in the jacket pocket.  Having no keys meant that I would have no transportation home.  Did I mention it was cold?  It was freezing.  It was irritating because I had to call my husband and have him bring another set of keys.   I was irritated until I put the situation in perspective. The fact that my keys were missing means I have a ...

Some days are rough. Things seem to start  out bad and go downhill. I am thankful that, on days like these, We can rest in your loving hands  knowing that not all days are bad, and tough times don't last. They are but a moment, like a cloudburst  that lasts a short time and passes on.  Sometimes, if we look, we can find a beautiful rainbow on our not so good day. We can find a promise of better days. I am also thankful that because of the bad days,  I can appreciate the good days even more. After all, how would I know good days if there weren't some bad days? for the days when everything is as it should be. 

I am thankful that God offers forgiveness.  When my sins loom in front of me, and I'm faced with a mountain of guilt I can take it to God. He is the only one who can cancel our sentence. Because of that, I can  offer others that same forgiveness  when they hurt me. I am thankful that there is nothing I can do that God will not forgive when I ask. There is no pit so deep that God's hand is not deeper still, to lift us out of the hole of sin and hold us close to his heart.

I am thankful for each new day. Each day is a chance to start over. Yesterday, with all of its problems and struggles, is over, gone, poof. I may have made a mess of things yesterday, but I can try again today, and tomorrow, if necessary. When I am having a bad day, I am thankful that I have hope that tomorrow will be better. I have the privilege of making today the best day it can possibly be. With each day I can choose to; laugh more than I did yesterday, Be kinder than I was yesterday, love more than I did yesterday, dream bigger dreams than I have ever dreamed. What a blessing that Yesterday does not define today. No matter how bad yesterday was, today may be different. I don't have to live in yesterday's failures. Each new day offers hope that things will be different than yesterday, and it will be because no two days are ever exactly alike.

I am thankful for the times when I can sit with a cup of coffee  and catch up with what's going  in my children's life. Often our lives are busy and our work schedules don't allow us to get together, so it's always a special treat  when we can sit and swap stories  and encourage each other.

                                                                                                                                                                      Today we celebrate my son's birthday. Birthdays only occur once a year. Everyone has them. I love celebrating a birthday, whether it's mine or someone else's. It's a time for letting a person know that you love them, and are glad that they're alive. How we celebrate is unique. I personally prefer something small. A few friends, dinner, cake and some gifts; Others love a big party with all t...