Thankful #16...

I am thankful for being satisfied.

I think back on how hard I have worked for some “thing”.

I worked hard for the dining room table that still sits across the room from me. I bought is at Plum Fun Discount Furniture so many years ago I can’t recall…it is solid oak. The chairs are beginning to show a lot of wear, the tabletop needs resurfacing yet again, and one of the claw feet has some chew marks from a puppy the boys brought in long ago.

I worked hard for the sofa I am sitting on, (the same one I spent a few sleepless hours on last night….!!) It is very heavy, wonderful fabric, very well made. It it the best piece of living room furniture we have owned…much better than the three cheap sofas we have had.

I am thankful for the camper that sits outside under it’s own shelter. I worked hard to pay for it and the camper barn that it sits under. It is not as fancy a camper as the ones they make now, it doesn’t have as many slides as they make them with now, but does have one. It is much nicer than the camper my parents had when I was young, and certainly better than the tent we camped with when our boys were little. Definitely not a needed item…

I am thankful for king sized maple bedroom suit in our bedroom, I worked hard for it. It provides me with more sleeping space than I had when we slept on a full sized bed. Kerry Pinkham has some long legs…..

We never had a matched bedroom suit until I bought this one. When they began to unload it, he said he thought they’d brought the wrong one, this was a really fancy one.

No…it was right.

He asked how much I’d paid for it and I advised him that if he wanted to be able to sleep when he laid down on it, he probably shouldn’t know. It was an expensive purchase for us, especially at that time. But I worked hard, and I paid for it.

All of those things were expensive. They aren’t the finest things in the world, but they are much finer than what we once had, but certainly they are not necessary.

We could eat sitting on the floor. Many do. Dirt floors in fact.

We could sleep on the floor. Many do.

We don’t need a little house to pull around behind the vehicle I have. That little house is more shelter than a large number of people enjoy.

These are examples of things I have become satisfied with. Regrettably, there were many things I worked hard for that didn’t satisfy for long. Much of my work has been for things that I no longer even have….things that I became dissatisfied with, and discarded.

I am thankful to have come to the place in my life where I am satisfied more easily.

Oh don’t get me wrong, I often still have the desires for the new, the better, more of , the latest…(for those of you who know me well, you’ll know my weakness for a nice handbag.)


I heard it once said that happiness is not having what you want…it is wanting what you have. I have learned how true that is.

Solomon, who was the wisest of men, wrote this…“Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless. As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owner except to feast his eyes on them? (Ecc. 5:10-11)

The quest for having what will make you happy is a lie. You can’t earn it, create it, or buy it. There is only One Source of life and true happiness. Only He can give and provide what He alone created.


“ A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without Him, who can eat or find enjoyment? To the man who pleases Him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness…”(Eccc. 2:24-26)


“ Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him and He will do this..”(Ps: 37:4-5)

Thankful #15...

I am thankful for my simple way of life.

Things tend to start getting really complicated this time of year. Holiday plans overlap. People get over extended both in time and energy. Sometimes even financially…

I have determined that I will not get caught up in it or stressed about it.


Starting right now........

Thankful #14....

11-15-11
I am thankful for Bible Study Fellowship.

You may have heard about BSF. Maybe not. The organization has been around since the 1950s and there are classes literally around the world…over a thousand of them.

There is no ‘church’ affiliation, no denominational name tag associated with it…( there ARE name tags….everyone wears one with their name displayed big enough for everyone to see it and use it.)

Daily questions give a place to start for individual personal Bible study. When classes meet once a week, there is a time for small groups to discuss the insights gained from that personal time in God‘s Word.

Challenging lectures bring more information and application to what everyone has studied personally the week before, having privately sat at the foot of our Lord, Bible in hand, prayerfully and expectantly listening for the teaching and guidance of His Holy Spirit within.

Study notes given out after the lecture provide even more teaching and application as well as the questions for the upcoming week.

I’ve been churched since before I have memory. I knew how to read. I knew and purchased all the various resources …. commentaries, dictionaries, etc.

This method of study is so very different.

I’ve learned so much.

“ In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son…(Heb.1:1-2)

I have the help He promised….“.. the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” (John 14:26)


The most important thing I’ve learned in my years of BSF is that God does indeed speak to every single person thru His written Word by the power of His Holy Spirit.

He speaks to me. I don’t have to have the right commentary. I have a very personal Teacher.

Thankful #13...

I am thankful for immediate answers.

More often than not, waiting is involved. I’m better at waiting than I was at one time, but I’m not any better at liking the wait.

I like immediate service, immediate responses…and I like immediate answers to my prayers.

More often than not, I have to wait for all of them.

But, occasionally I get an immediate answer, and I must admit…it is usually quite startling when I do. God has such a sense of humor sometimes…. Here is my latest immediate answer…

Do not fret.

Trust in the LORD and do good

Delight yourself in the LORD

Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him

Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways.

Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil.

Turn from evil and do good; then you will dwell in the land forever.

Wait for the LORD and keep His way. He will exalt you to inherit the land
(select verses from Psalm 37)

When frustrated and disturbed, (that sounds better than mad as a wet hen…) I think of all sorts of ways to respond…(that sounds better than retaliate)

And when I ask God to show me how to walk thru it, He needs only to remind me of what I already know. Hence the latest message from Psalm 37.…

Fretting is useless.

I am responsible for my choices, either to do good….or not so good.

Handling it in my own human manner is just telling Him that I don’t trust Him to take care of it.

Taking charge and setting everyone straight is not committing my way to Him, but committing to my own agenda.

Waiting is the smart thing to do because I don’t see the big picture nor do I know other people’s heart.

What something ‘looks like’ is not always what it is. God will have His way ultimately…He just sometimes has a purpose for it taking longer than it ‘looks like’ it should take.

My temper and imagination will only lead to my own wrong thoughts and behavior.
I have a choice. I can continue to look at my wrong thoughts and consider them…or I can on purpose turn FROM them and choose life instead of death.

I can believe that God WILL keep His promises, that He IS KEEPING His promises even now, and especially when I don’t see nor understand the mechanics of His ways.

Thankful #12...

Today I am thank for grandchildren.

I remember eleven years ago today getting a call that my first would be arriving within hours.

The time was a bit early, but circumstances demanded an early delivery...so we headed off to the hospital and got there just in time to see our son hovering over a tiny little baby girl in a hospital nursery. Chesley was here, healthy, and precious.

She was our first experience as far as grand children went…and our first experience at little girls. They are indeed different than the two little boys born to us. Their grandfather had no daughters, and had no sisters. Boy was he in for surprises !

What a joy it is to be a grandparent. Grandchildren are just that. Grand children. Grand indeed.

What a legacy born to us.

“Children's children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children…”(Prov. 17:6)

What a responsibility.

“A good man leaves an inheritance for his children's children..”(Prov. 13:22)

We can’t eat cake and ice-cream with our firstborn grand-daughter on this, her birthday. We are geographically separated. (…another reason to be thankful for technology !! )

But we will never be separated in heart.

How we love you Chesley. Happy birthday sweetie…

Thankful #11....

I am thankful for rest.

Rest, as in going to bed and actually sleeping all night.
And rest, as in sleeping late!!

Rest, as in sitting with coffee for as long as you want.
Rest, as in reading whatever you want, and for however long you want.

Rest as in no agenda, no demands on my time or energy.

All of those things and a list of dozens more define what we think of as rest.

But here is where REAL rest comes from…. "Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest….”(the words of Jesus, Matthew 11:28 emphasis mine)

When I find myself so very weary, often it is not a weariness that can be recuperated from by a good night’s sleep. It is weariness that is a result of getting out from under the yoke with Jesus, pulling the weight of my life in my own strength. When I do that, it doesn’t take long for me to wear myself out.


“ Moses said to the LORD, "You have been telling me, 'Lead these people,' but You have not let me know whom You will send with me. You have said, 'I know you by name and you have found favor with Me.' If You are pleased with me, teach me Your ways so I may know You and continue to find favor with You. Remember that this nation is Your people." The LORD replied, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." (Ex. 33:12-14)

Moses was called by God to shepherd His people out of bondage, thru a wilderness, to a promised place.

Moses knew the landscapes and the dangers. He knew the Egyptians, and he knew the life of a nomad shepherd. He had his hands full…but he was never asked to do it in his own ability.

I’m certainly not Moses. but I’m called by God to be a beacon of His Light, leading people out of bondage, pointing the way to His promised land.

And if you wear The Name of Jesus Christ….you too are called. Jesus Himself said, “….go and make disciples …and teach them…”(Matt. 28:20)

Like Moses, I am not left to my own ability. I don’t have the cloud guiding me by day and fire by night, I have the indwelling Holy Spirit of God within.



If Moses couldn’t do it alone, who am I to think I can…..

Thankful #10

I am thankful for today.

Thankful that it is over.

Thankful that all todays aren’t like this one was…


And I’m thankful for the encouragement and hope from God’s Word about days like today….

“But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first.”(Hebrews 3:13-14)

“…as long as it is today….:”

That includes this day.

Encourage one another. And if there’s nobody encouraging you...for those who share in Christ, He provides encouragement Himself. He comes in The Person of The Holy Spirit to encourage.

I am thankful for today, and thankful for the Comforter Who helped me get thru it.