A Thankful Heart: Not Counting The Days Anymore

I decided to change my daily posts for this thankful heart blog and, instead, post as God leads me.  I believe that is the direction He is leading me.  I have been focusing on blessing others in my thankfulness journey as well as blogging about thankfulness.  I just came to realize that I am not able to get on the computer as much as I thought I did, and there are bigger things God needs me to deal with in real life right now.  I am not quitting, just changing the frequency of these posts.

So, I am not counting the days anymore.  Not on this blog, and not in real life.  I am not counting down to the next school break, the next vacation, the next whatever, because it is in the counting down that we miss out on the simple pleasures of life.  I am thankful every day, and the lesson I learned from doing it daily was that there is always something for which to give thanks.  I am capable of pressing through a writer's block and accomplish a goal.  Pressing in to God's word gave me fresh understanding of the future and hope I have in Him.

"For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.  For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."  

John 1:16-17 

Today, I am thankful for God's sweet grace that is poured out on me time and time again.  I drop the ball so many times, and I fail Him so often.  When I look up, He is waiting there with arms wide open to love me and bring me to a place of healing.  For that, I am truly thankful.  I just don't know where I would be without His ever-present grace.  

Do you believe that you have been redeemed from the curse of the law and given life  and grace through Christ Jesus?  If you have never trusted Him or taken Him at His word, let me encourage you to do so today.  Set your heart on Him, and believe that He wants to redeem you, and cover you with His grace today.  To learn more about how to follow Jesus, visit this post here.  Believe me when I say, your life will never be the same when you say yes to Him.

A Thankful Heart: Day 34 - Why I Write

Linking up at Lisa-Jo's place again today for Five Minute Friday.  Click the link, and join us!  

I don't consider myself a dynamic writer.  I write because I love it, it is an outlet for me, and I believe God has led me to this venue as my art.  When I was younger, I was very artistic.  I drew and painted hundreds of pictures that were pretty good for someone of my age.  I lost the drive to be artistic in that way as I began my twenties, but the desire to write was so big.  At one time, I had 40 pen pals.  I'm serious!  

I had dreams of writing a book, writing more seriously.  I am a blogger that has stage-fright, as Lisa Jo put it in her blog yesterday.  I don't have a lot of readers, my blog isn't what I dream it will become, and I feel so far away from making that dream a reality.  This is the true part of being a blogger: I think most of us feel a little bit of stage fright as we share our heart to the world who reads us.  There might be fear in what people think of us, or fear that no one will think of us.  Either way, it is something to overcome.  

I just celebrated my 40th birthday a month ago.  There are days that I struggle with where I am in life.  How many different directions my life could have gone... if I had done x.  But, the truth is, I know I am right where God would have me.  Even on the days that I struggle with being a stay at home mom, and not fully understanding my worth, even on those days, I know I am where I God wants me.  So, for me, writing is a beautiful outlet to discover myself, what I believe, and how God would use me.  

"Write about what really interests you, whether it is real things or imaginary things, and nothing else."  C.S. Lewis

The reason I started this Thankful journal is because of my 40th birthday.  Ann Voskamp's blog post about her 40th birthday inspired me to make some changes in my attitude toward life and the direction I was heading.  So, the thankful heart part of my blog was born.  I am spending one year writing about what I am thankful for.  I have missed a few days here and there because I am not always able to get on the computer.  But, I have kept up with it, and plan to finish the year out with thankfulness.  That's the true part of who I am.  I am a thankful person, and that's what I want the world to see.  

End.

Sorry I'm a bit all over the place on this one.  I'm exhausted!  

A Thankful Heart: Day 33 - That Your Joy May Be Full

You might remember singing the song "this is my commandment that you love one another, that your joy may be full".  This quote from C.S. Lewis reminded me of that song and the verse that inspired it.

John 15:11 - "These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full."

Why does God want our joy to be full?  What does that mean for us?  What allows our joy to be full?  

The scriptures leading up to and after John 15:11 are the instructions for having a joyful life. The answer is overwhelmingly LOVE.  Love abiding in us, God's love abiding in us allows us to walk joyfully because we are not holding onto anger and resentment toward anyone.  Instead, we see them with the eyes of love, almost with rose colored glasses.  It's as if we see people as Christ sees them.  

We know we are capable of loving like Jesus does.  We are able to grow in areas where we are weak.  Where we are weak, He is strong.  The first and greatest commandment (Matthew 22:35-38) is that we love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul and mind.  We are also to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:39-40)  Jesus is our example for everything.  If we don't know where to start, we look at Jesus and find our answer.  Abide in Him, and He will abide in you.  His love will abide in you.

One thing I have learned is that it is hard to be angry at someone you are praying for.  If you find someone is hard to love, start praying for them.  I guarantee God will change your heart for that person.  He will knit your heart to them, and they won't even realize it.  I speak this from experience.  Some of my best friends were people I could not stand to be around when I first met them.  But God laid them on my heart, and as I began to pray for them, He filled me with a deeper love for them, and I saw them differently.  

When we choose to love people as God loves them, joy fills our hearts, our thoughts, our talk, our complete lives.  Let's choose love today.  God wants us to walk in joy.  Joy is not contingent upon our circumstances.  This is important to know.  It is completely contingent on your walk with God and your love walk.  We are more effective at pointing people to Christ when our joy tank is full.  Have you ever met a grumpy Christian and then they told you about Jesus?  Would you want what they have?  No!  Let them see that in all circumstances we can give thanks, and walk in love with joy following us wherever we go.  I am walking this out, too!

Father, we know that when our faith is put to the test, it is proved genuine.  We rejoice in you with a glorious, inexpressible joy.  Thank you for giving us joy in our journey.  I pray that our joy will be full as we choose to love others, and to bless them as you have blessed and loved us.  Thank you for the promises in your word that lead us back to you, to a relationship with you, that stands the test of time.  We love you, God.  I lift up my friends to you and ask you to fill their love buckets up so they can be a light of joy wherever they go, a beacon of light that points them to Jesus.  In Jesus Name, Amen!

A Thankful Heart: Days 31 & 32 - Encouragement From The Lord

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.  Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you." Jeremiah 29:11-12

This is such a well known verse.  There is so much depth to it, but what I feel like God was showing me last night was that He desires for us to walk in hope.  I was so encouraged last night as I was thinking about how God has been lifting me out of years-long depression and self-pity.  I read a message from someone on twitter about negative thinking being a lack of faith, but the Holy Spirit really spoke to me and this is what I wrote afterward in my journal.  

Negative thinking, gossip, anxiety, depression, etc all generally stem from loss of hope, not lack of faith.  Hope is what keeps our eyes, and our mouths for that matter, out of those dark areas of life.  A person who has their eyes fixed on Jesus is full of hope, even in seemingly hopeless situations.  A person who is full of hope can't walk in depression, the two are polar opposites.  

Tonight, I'm thanking God for the promises in His word to give us hope!  Don't lose your hope!  He has a plan for you, my friend, and His plan gives us a future and a hope.  He hears us when we pray, that promise is given throughout His word, but it is plainly stated in Jeremiah 29:12.  Let us take hope, hold fast to the confession of our faith for He is faithful who promised.  

Do you feel like you have lost hope?  Do you feel that you don't have much of a future to look forward to?  Press in, friend.  God draws close to us as we draw close to Him.  It's not always easy to break unnecessary habits to make time for him.  I am guilty of watching too much tv and using the computer too much to escape instead of diving into His word to get full of life.  That is the best place to build our hope and feel full of His presence.  He desires you, my friend.   

Father, I lift up everyone who feels lost, or without hope.  I thank you for your word, that you have promised to give us a future and a hope.  I pray for peace over those who have no peace, and thank you for the peace that passes all understanding to guard their hearts and their minds in Christ.  I ask that you would cover my friends in peace, and give them a new hope for their lives, a new view of their future, Lord.  I thank you, Father, that you are a very present help in times of trouble, and that you care about every detail in our lives.  You see the broken hearted and are close to them.  I pray that they would feel your presence even now, that they would know you are drawing them in to you.  In Jesus Name, Amen.

A Thankful Heart: Day 30 - For All The She's

Joining the Five Minute Friday crew again over at Lisa Jo's page.  Go check out her page and link up with us!  You'll be glad you did!  Today's word prompt is "She".

Go.

She gave birth to me and trained me up in the ways of the Lord.  She is my shoulder to cry on, my sounding board, the one who prays for me relentlessly.  She is wise, a prayer warrior, full of the love of Jesus and the peace of God.  She is my precious mom.

She was the first friend that I connected with on a deep level.  She remains one of my closest friends, though I only get to see her about 3-4 times a year.  She walks in wisdom, and I rely on her for all the details about my life.  With her, I can allow myself to be completely me without a hint of a mask.  She is Sarah.

She was one of my first friends out of high school.  I was amazed because I had never met someone so energetic and enthusiastic about anything like she was.  She was from Idaho and moved here to Texas just for bible school.  She and I took lots of fun road trips and day trips. She left an indelible mark on my life to live for Jesus with complete abandon.  She is Heather.  

She was my very first true "mommy" friend.  She is strong and fun, and has taught me to be a little stronger and have a little more fun.  She works hard and is a fantastic mom.  She continues to grow in the Lord and because of her leading a bible study group, I have met many more "she's".  She has been there for me through thick and thin.  She is Julie.

There are SO many other she's.  I wish I had another 15 minutes to write, but alas, my 5 minutes is up.  I will add a poem that I love and that was the first thing that came to mind when I saw the prompt:

She Walks In Beauty

By George Gordon Lord Byron

She walks in Beauty, like the night Of cloudless climes and starry skies; And all that's best of dark and bright Meet in her aspect and her eyes: Thus mellowed to that tender light Which Heaven to gaudy day denies. One shade the more, one ray the less, Had half impaired the nameless grace Which waves in every raven tress, Or softly lightens o'er her face; Where thoughts serenely sweet express, How pure, how dear their dwelling-place. And on that cheek, and o'er that brow, So soft, so calm, yet eloquent, The smiles that win, the tints that glow, But tell of days in goodness spent, A mind at peace with all below, A heart whose love is innocent!

A Thankful Heart: Day 29 - Pressing In

There are days that I would rather hide under my covers than to do anything else.  On those days, such as today, I have to press through and press in to God.  I made a choice today that while my kids were at school, I would turn up my worship music as loud as I could and fill the house with worship to my loving Father.  It's not always easy to do this, but that's why it is the "sacrifice of praise" that pleases God.  

Hebrews 13:15 "Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name."

If you are feeling down or lonely or moody or whatever, let me invite you to open God's word, have a seat for a while and enter into His presence.  Set the mood in your home, in your heart to welcome Him in like you would a good friend.  Let His presence take over whatever may be on your mind bringing you down, let His great love for you flood your heart as you sit with Him for a moment.  I can attest that it will change the direction of your day. 

Be encouraged, friend.  God sees, He knows, and He understands whatever you are going through.  He loves you with an everlasting love and longs to show you His great love for you.  Press in.  Here is some encouragement to do just that:

Philippians 3:12-16 "Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. 16 Only let us hold true to what we have attained."

Praise God!  He wants to reveal to us things about our future.  Let's press in to Him, toward the goal set before us, to lead people to Him.  Let's take our eyes off ourselves and look to Him, who gives us all hope.  

Father, we look to you today.  You are our future, our hope, our everything.  We love you and honor you today.  Thank you for loving us through our weaknesses, for giving us the tools we need to live fully for you.  Father, we make a choice to press in today, to seek you with our whole hearts.  We invite you in to our living room, our bedroom, our workplace, wherever we are, you are welcome.  Open our eyes, God, to know you more, to come to a deeper understanding of your love for us.  Help us to take our eyes off ourselves and put them squarely on you, God.  Thank you for setting us free from the things that easily get us off track!  We bring the sacrifice of praise to you, today, Lord!  Praise you, Father God!  In Jesus Name, Amen!

A Thankful Heart: Day 24 - 28 - Growing Faith

I have not really had any computer time for 4 days.  Our anniversary was this weekend, so I didn't think computer time was so important. Then my dear husband worked from home yesterday, so I couldn't use the computer again.  So, I'm catching up with 5 days of thankfulness in this one blog.  I apologize in advance if it is all over the place.  

My bible study group is doing the Beth Moore study "Believing God" for this semester.  We are only on week 2 and I am LOVING this study.  I can already tell that my faith is stretching and growing in ways that I did not even realize needed to be stretched and grown.  I've been a Christian for a very long time.  I grew up quoting scripture, learned to pray God's word over my circumstances at an early age, and knowing all the "right" words and phrases to use around other Christians.  The problem is that this led to complacency and apathy on my part in my late 20's / early 30's.  I am just now getting a new understanding of what it means to be a follower of Christ, and to live fully devoted to following Him.  

I am excited to see new truths in His word that I never understood or even read before, and I'm just as excited to get reacquainted with the one's I have known since I was 5.  Even in our times of crisis/apathy/laziness, God is working in us.  He is always working in us to bring us closer to Him and for His glory.  It's easy to look back and see the handiwork of God woven throughout the times that I was furthest from Him.  I am thankful that He never leaves nor forsakes us.  

Deuteronomy 31:6 - "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."

Hebrews 13:8 - "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."

Thank God for His promises, they are the same, yesterday, today and forever.  He never leaves us or forsakes us.  He is always there no matter how far away we think we are from Him.  He is always drawing us back to Him.  If God feels silent or distant from you today, know that He is really not that far from you at all.  Turn to Him, lean hard on Him and trust that He is right there waiting for you to run to Him.  

Love to you all.  I hope you have a blessed day!  I promise to get back into the swing of things soon.  No computer time really takes a bite out of blogging.  

A Thankful Heart: Day 23 - Showing Mercy

"No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good,

    and this is what he requires of you:

to do what is right, to love mercy,

    and to walk humbly with your God."  Micah 6:8 (NLT)

What does it mean for us to love mercy?  Mercy here can also be interchanged with kindness. So, in a sense, we should love showing kindness to others.  God is our greatest example of showing mercy.  We can look to Him to find how we should show mercy to others.  

I have written a few posts about God's mercy toward us (here and here), but never about the spiritual gift of mercy.  The gift of mercy is a ministry of helps.  Someone with the gift of mercy tends to respond to the needs of others, whether it is spiritual, emotional, physical, etc.  They also tend to be prayer warriors, and feel the NEED to pray often.  Prayer is a way to express to God their heart.  Their hearts are strongly knit with other sensitive people.  

This is a gift that I walk in, and feel is one of my stronger spiritual gifts.  I need to ask myself, and ask God this; where would you have me show mercy today?  How can I lead someone closer to You through mercy, Lord?    

I am joining in on Five Minute Friday again.  You can join us, too.  Hop on over to Lisa-Jo's page to get all the information about Five Minute Friday!

A Thankful Heart: Day 22 - Never Forget

12 years ago today, I was asleep in my old bedroom at my parents house.  I was 28 years old, and staying with them to prepare for my wedding.  It was only 4 days away.  My mom came running into my room and told me to hurry and turn on the tv.  I couldn't believe my eyes as I saw footage of a plane flying into the World Trade Center.  Then, as I was sitting there, I said "is that a second plane?"  It was.  

I am not thankful that these events took place, but I am thankful for what they taught me.  When faced with crisis and tragedy, our nation comes together like none other.  People reaching out to other people, working to help others is what it's all about.  When your eyes are focused on yourself, you miss the message of reaching out to your neighbor.  I was so focused on my wedding, and whether or not it would even happen in the days that followed that I couldn't even focus on what others were going through.  

We spent a lot of time during our honeymoon watching footage on the news channels.  We were so engrossed in what was going on in the world.  At one point, we just decided that we HAD to turn it off so we could enjoy our first week as a married couple.  I am thankful that Todd was not at the Boston airport that day.  He was scheduled to fly out the next day out of Boston to Houston.  I am sure I would have been much more of a mess if he had been flying.  I am thankful that he and his parents made it to the wedding, the day of, just in time for the ceremony.  I am thankful that he loved me enough to travel by bus, without sleep for 48 hours just to be there in time.  

I think back on all the events of September 11, and I can't help but be thankful for the good things that came out of the tragic stories.  We will never forget.

A Thankful Heart: Day 21 - Thankful to serve

I have returned to serving at Lighthouse Christian Ministries.  I took the summer off to enjoy being with my boys each day.  I missed being here all summer, so it feels really good to be back now. 

 

The thing is, serving here is a much bigger blessing to me than I could ever be to them.  I love what this ministry does, who they reach, the changes that take place in people's lives, and the gospel centered approach to meeting needs. 

 

I am truly thankful for this ministry, and I'm truly thankful to get to serve here.

 

It's short and sweet today.  I'm just thankful.

 

A Thankful Heart: Day 20 - Change Your Prayers, Change Your World

What would it look like if our prayers didn't focus on our material wants, but instead focused on serving God better.  How would our world (and I mean our small part of the world) change?  What if we dared to believe God and take Him at His word?  What if our prayers were less about gaining satisfaction for ourselves, but more focused on growing in Him?  

I ask these questions because they were brought to mind while I was praying one day recently. It was a gentle nudge by the Holy Spirit, but a glaring review of my prayer life played in my mind. What have I been praying for?  I don't necessarily pray for "things" like cars, house stuff, clothes and such, but my prayers weren't really fruitful either.  It didn't seem like I was reaching the heart of God in my prayer time.  Let me preface this by saying that I believe God hears all prayers, even if it is just "God help me."  This is not to belittle those times when we just don't know what to pray.  Here is the promise about that.

Instead, in those times when you are pressing in to God, reaching out to him in heartfelt prayer, let's focus our eyes on His divine will for us.  What if we switched our prayers from being self-focused to being God-focused?  What does this look like for us?  One thing I know for sure is that it looks like thankfulness.  In all things, we give thanks.  In. ALL. things.  If we can change our prayers from "will you give me" to one of praise and thanksgiving, or to asking Him to change us to be more like Him, we will revolutionize our life and world.  

Revival can't happen without people willing to be revived.  The word revival means "renewed attention to or interest in something, a new presentation of something old, restoration of force, validity or effect."  We talk a lot about revival in the church, but unless we understand what that means, we will never realize the full extent of it, and live it out.  People in revival are movers and shakers.  They are people out feeding the homeless in the hot Texas sun.  They are reaching people in their native languages on rainy days in the trailer park.  They don't do this stuff and see it as a hardship, they do it because they have been revived themselves.  

We might get a thrill or sense of excitement after leaving a conference or meeting, but that is not where true revival begins.  True revival begins when we seek after God with our whole heart and begin to pray new prayers in our fellowship with Him.  Our prayers change from a self-centered place to a God-centered place.  I think of the person whose heart has been revived in a real physical sense of the word.  They were dead on the table, and the doctors revived them. Friend, God wants to do that in YOU!  You may feel spiritually dead on the table, but he's ready to revive you!  

Isaiah 57:15 - "For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:

“I dwell in the high and holy place,

and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit,

to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite."

Acts 3:19-21 "Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago."

So, let's change our perspective, and change our world!  Let's change our prayers to ask God what He would show us and do through us instead of asking Him to give us more stuff.  

Father, we come boldly before your throne of grace.  We thank you for the work you are doing in us!  Thank you for changing us by your Spirit from glory to glory.  Let the words our mouth and the meditation of our hearts be pleasing in your sight, Lord.  Create in us a clean heart, and renew the right spirit in us, let us be a light in a dark world.  Enlighten our eyes to understand what you've called us to do in this world.  Help us to walk more fully in your word and in your will, and help us to understand the direction you would have us go.  In Jesus Name, Amen!

A Thankful Heart: Day 19 - The Gift of Friendship

Believe it or not, the bible has a lot to say about friendships.  There are examples of friendship woven throughout the scripture, and plenty of scriptures that speak to how to be a friend.  God created us to have fellowship, and be part of one another's lives.  Indeed, he created us for Him first, to be our first friend, our everlasting friend.  

Jesus himself is our greatest example.  He had disciples, but he had three that we would probably call confidant's or closest friends.  Peter, James and John.  Flawed but forgiven. Deeply loved by Jesus himself.  They were the one's he wanted with him in his final hours of prayer before he was arrested.   

Jesus is also seen as being close to Mary, Martha and Lazarus.  John 11:5 says Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.  Later, when Lazarus dies, the bible simply says "Jesus wept."  Imagine the kind of deep friendship Jesus would have with someone that their death would make him weep.  The One who creates all things is weeping over one friend in the world.  It just amazes me.

I could go on.  I love the stories of David and Jonathan and how their hearts were knit together. Ruth and Naomi, Elisha and Elijah, Moses and Joseph.  

Today I am truly thankful for the gift of friendship.  We were not meant to go through life alone or isolated.  I know there are times and seasons in every person's life where you separate yourself for renewal, but that is not meant to be a way of life.  

I am so thankful for these lovely ladies who helped celebrate my 40th birthday this weekend. My birthday, of course, was 3 weeks ago.  But, they made a point to make sure I was celebrated sufficiently, and more than sufficiently.  We started the evening out at my dear friend's house and then moved from there to a hibachi/sushi restaurant.  After that, we ended the evening at the skating rink where I busted my bum.  I'm still feeling it, but it was so worth it, and I would do it again one hundred times over if I could.  

This blessing of friendship is how I can see God's great love for me.  He knows my need and desire to be loved, and he fills it through my girlfriends (my husband, too, of course.)  I don't get the opportunity to spend a lot of time with my girls, but when I do, it's fun, life-affirming, and precious to me.  God always reminds me of his greatness, his mercy and his grace through each one of these ladies through our talks, life experiences, and laughter together.  

Father, thank you for blessing my life with each person that I call friend.  The one's in the picture above, and the one's dear to my heart.  I ask that you would bless them and keep them.  Help us all lead each other closer to you through our conversations.  Let our words be life-giving words to help exhort each other to live more fully in you.  I pray that you would meet each need of my dear sisters, whatever it may be, and let them know how loved they are.  I ask you to help me show them your great love for them.  In Jesus name, Amen!

A Thankful Heart: Day 18 - All in the Name

When my parents named me, they weren't really thinking of the meaning of what they named me.  In fact, my mom wanted to name me Chantal, but my dad didn't like that too much.  So, one day he came home from work and said what about Chandra.  And that is literally how I got my name.  

My name comes from the Sanskrit, referring to a moon goddess.  Some people, who study names, have interpreted it to mean "illustrious", "outshines the stars", "eminent".  It's a unique name, for a unique person.  But, the truth is that we are all unique, even if our name was number one on the baby list for 5 years in a row.  Some people name their kids based on the meaning, as if it to say I will prophesy this over your life.  I know people with names that mean "bad", but they are not bad.  No, your name does not have to determine your destiny.  The purpose of all this is that there is only one name that truly has the prophesying power over our lives.

The name of Jesus is the only name in the entire world that can change our thinking, change our direction, change our future.  There is nothing more powerful than the name of Jesus.  There is no sweeter name than the name of Jesus.  Nothing can bring peace into a situation like the name of Jesus.  

John 14:13-14 "Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If you ask me anything in my  name, I will do it."

Imagine having a name so powerful that someone can just use authority based on saying your name.  Jesus has that authority.  The work on the cross authorized us to speak his name with authority and have results.  Hallelujah!  I can't tell you how many times I've been in situations that were causing a great deal of stress or panic, and all I could do was just say "Jesus" and there was an immediate peace that came over me.  

I am so thankful for a personal God, one who wants me to know His name intimately.  I don't know of anyone else who desires me to know His name and what it means more than my God. Friend, if you have nothing else, let me encourage you to call on his name.  When everything else seems to be falling apart, just say his name and let His peace wash over you... because it will.

Father, I lift up anyone who feels overwhelmed by life, by the distractions in this world and I pray for peace over them.  I pray that the name and person of Jesus will become more real to them than what they see as reality right now.  I ask that right now they would know true peace in whatever they may be facing.  Thank you, Jesus, for the sacrifice you made on our behalf, for giving us the power and authority through your name to speak life into our situations.  In Jesus Name, Amen!

A Thankful Heart: Day 17 - Red Letter Words

It's Five Minute Friday, y'all!  If you're new to that, please go visit Lisa-Jo Baker's page to get the skinny on the "rules" and link up with us!  Today's word prompt is "Red".

Red letter words.  

These are the words that bring life.  They are words from a living, breathing, powerful Savior. One who seeks our hearts, and longs to have fellowship with us.  Here, in his red letter words, he speaks to us, gives us instruction on how to live and lives out what he preaches.  

I am thankful that I can have fellowship with the One who has saved me, who loves me with an everlasting love.  In these red letter words, written for all of eternity, for all who desire to know him, they can read them like a letter written directly to him.

I am thankful that these red letters give me a glimpse into who he was as a man, as a teacher, as God himself.  What power lies in these red letters?  It is up to us to get to know them, to apply them and live them.

This is one of my favorite passages from the Red Letters:

Mark 11:22-25

And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God.  Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.  Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.  And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”

From the DC Talk song, The Red Letters:

There is love in the red letters

There is truth in the red letters

There is hope for the hopeless

Peace and forgiveness

There is life in the red letters

In the red letters

A Thankful Heart: Day 16 - It Takes a Village or Community

It takes a village to raise a child.  - African proverb

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.  Philippians 2:3-4

I'm feeling reminiscent today.  I'm thinking of all the women who helped shape and form me into who I am now.  Of course, I grew and formed opinions on things on my own, but those developmental years were rich with women who loved the Lord.  These women were openly flawed, yet quick to give it over to God.  They were imperfect, but had much to give and teach us young ladies.  I feel so blessed to have had that in my life.  

I think of everyone to my children's pastor at one church, to the youth pastor I worked under at another as a young adult, to my mom's friends, to my friend's moms, and I could go on, but you get the idea.  There were lots of women around.  They were and still are very important to me, and I'm so thankful for their influence over my life.  Of course my parents were the greatest influence in my life, but these other ladies helped guide and reinforce the things my parents taught us.  

I desire that for my boys, that they would have godly men in their lives to help shape them.  My husband and I are good, but I'd love them to have men in their life who can teach them what we can't, what we don't know.  We are all members of a body, and we work together to raise our children in the ways of the Lord.  

My 4 year old has suddenly developed separation anxiety as he started school this week.  He has always been very happy-go-lucky, easy going, joyful, but he is also very strong-willed.  I need my village to help encourage me as I help him get over this fear of being away from me, though I don't really think it is fear at all.  I think he just wants to be with me, or he thinks that I might be having fun without him.  But I believe that my community will help me overcome this hurdle, and I pray that they will help him overcome this hurdle, too. 

So, today, I give thanks to God for bringing such powerful, beautiful, loving, gentle, strong, and just amazing women into my life as a child through even now as an adult.  I thank Him for showing His love for me in that way.  I praise Him for instilling principles in me at an early age that were reinforced by so many women along the way.  I ask, Father God, that you would do the same for my boys.  Let men rise up to bless them, teach them, guide them in your truth.  I pray that they would have a village to look back on, a community that will help reinforce the truths they learn at home.  I ask You, God, to help Todd and I train them up in the way they should go, and that you would send leaders to help with that training.  In Jesus Name, Amen!

A Thankful Heart: Days 12-15 - Rise and Shine

Arise [from the depression and prostration in which circumstances have kept you—rise to a new life]! Shine (be radiant with the glory of the Lord), for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you! Isaiah 60:1 (AMP)

Praise God for His promises!  I have struggled with depression on and off for nearly 3 years.  I read this verse this morning, and I believe it is THE word from God, for me.  It's time for us, as a church, to arise and shine.  It's time for us to move forward in the gifts and calling He has placed on our lives.  He has big things for us to accomplish  in this hour, in this season.  He has called us out of darkness and into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9).  There is a great hope and expectancy in these words from the prophet Isaiah.  Your light has come!  The Glory of the Lord has risen upon you!  

Take heart dear friends.  If you feel like you are in a season of depression or just feeling down, know that God is bringing you out of that.  He has a future and a hope for you.  He has great things for you, just keep your eyes on Him.  Let's keep our eyes on Him together.

Father, thank you for this promise in your word.  Thank you for bringing us out of darkness and into your marvelous light, for redeeming us, and finding us righteous in Christ.  I pray over everyone who is going through depression.  I ask that you would fill their hearts with hope, cover them with your peace and let Your love flow down to them through unexpected sources.  Thank you for your living water, for the word, and the hope we find in you.  You are so good to us, God! I praise you for all the wonderful things you are doing around us, for the work you are doing in us, for the blessings you have given us, and for the changes taking place in us.  I thank you that your glory will be seen upon us, for your face shining toward us so that all who see us can have hope in You, so that you will be glorified.  In Jesus Name, Amen!