Thankful 18...

I am thankful for the church. 

I am thankful for the church family.

And most of all, I am thankful to have come to understand that my secure salvation does not lie with either, but is in Christ Jesus alone. 

Now....I better get busy or I'm going to be late getting there to be with all of them today !! 

Thankful 17...

I am thankful for taste.

I have known people who have lost their sense of taste.  Hard to imagine...

I am not as much a fan of food as some people, but I do enjoy a good meal.

I love chocolate.

As I sit and reflect this cool November morning, with my pumpkin spice coffee in hand, I am thankful to be able to enjoy taste. 

God is so creative...............

Thankful 16....

I am thankful for a great staff.

I've been working behinf a styling chair in a hair salon since 1973.  I've worked with quite a few people.  I've learned from each and every one of them.  Some, from the negative.....



I'm not the greatest hairdresser there is.
I'm not the greatest business owner...
I'm not the greatest teacher, or mentor.
I'm not the greatest anything for that matter !

So, why I've been so blessed has nothing to do with my greatness.

 Why God has chosen to bless me in the ways He has is beyond my comprehension.

Tonight, as I reflect on the 16th day of thankfulness, I again count my co-workers as great blessings.

They do good work.
They care for people.
They support each other.
They trust.
They love.


They have my back.
They endure.
They don't give up or give in.
They strive toward their goals.

I've been so blessed to see them reach some of those goals, and enjoy watching them grow toward new goals.

I have a great staff.  And am blessed to call them friends.

Thankful 15....

I am thankful for purposes.


And I am especially thankful to understand a little of what mine is......

"...For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. .." (Jeremiah 29:11)

Who I am is not just an accident or a coincidence.  Certainly, who I have become is a product of the choices I have made.  Some of them wrong ones....

But God has created me with the possibility to choose an incredible life.  

God's truth is that when my life was first sparked, when it first began in my mother's womb... He assigned a plan for my life.  He knew who I would be, and what I could accomplish with His help and guidance. 

 He also knew what I would be without Him. And as from the very beginning, it is my choice to take that path, or devise my own.   

I am thankful that none of us are left to our own devices. We aren't just thrown into life without purpose. Neither are we without help and guidance. 

"But...... my people wouldn't listen to me.....wouldn't obey me...So I let them go their own stubborn way.  I let them follow their own sinful plans"(Ps. 81:11-12)
I too, follow my own plan from time to time.  (Hopefully not on purpose..!!) 

 Somewhere along the way, thru the struggles and wrong choices, I began to understand the purpose of my life.  It is a process. 

and an adventure....

Thankful 14...

I am thankful I can comprehend.
 

Now...I can't comprehend everything !  Some things just go smooth over my blonde head !!! 



But I am so very thankful I can open my Bible and comprehend the printed words. 
 

I am thankful that I can comprehend, but even more than that.....I am thankful to have the Holy Spirit of God to aid my understanding. 


I am thankful that He brings to my mind whatever I have comprehended.


I am thankful He shows me how to apply what I comprehend and remember.




 
 


"....the Counselor, 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)

Thankful 13....

I am thankful for thermostats.

I am thankful it is so easy to change the temperature in my house.  I am thankful to be cool enough, and thankful to be warm enough.

That little device regulates the environment of my home. 





I am thankful for the Holy Spirit of God.  His Presence and power regulates the environment of my spirit.  He keeps me cool when things in my life heat up.  He keeps me warm when I am chilled to the bone with anxiety, dread, or fear. He is able to do all that and more....

......if I ask, allow, and obey. 

 "Dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit.

  Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. Be merciful to those who doubt;   snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.
To Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before hHs glorious presence without fault and with great joy— to the only God our Savior, be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen  (Jude 1:20-25)


Hallelujah.

Thankful 12...

I am thankful for healing.


Some time back, while slicing tomatoes, I sliced a piece of my thumb off.  Literally. 

There was nothing to do except stop the bleeding and wait for new skin to grow over the raw flesh. I protected it, I attended it, did everything I could do to avoid further problems....infection or breaking the wound open again...

Today, by careful inspection, it is detectable that my thumb is misshapen in that place. Consequences of the injury.  (You could see it if I pointed it out to you.)

Today, that thumb feels different.  Consequences of the injury.  (You can't see that, and neither can I....but I am always aware of it.) 

I am thankful that my body can heal.  And even though there are consequences that remain from injuries, bodies can be restored. Some consequences are more obvious than others, some hinder more than others.....damage may remain, but healing is possible.  Restoration is possible.






More than physical healing, I am thankful for spiritual healing.  Every single one of us need it....not just me.

Each of us have a spiritual disease.  Simply put, it is sin.

Sin has caused pain and injury..it has damaged relationships. It cuts and steals away vital parts of our soul.  It makes our spirits bleed and robs us of joy, even life.



You can't be perfect. I don't care who you are or how strong willed you are, you can't be perfect. (And let's be clear....the standard of perfection is God.  Not anyone God granted life to...)

So, that leaves us all in a predicament.  We have the disease.  We are injured.  Broken.

The consequences are often visible....often not. The damage sin wreaks  leaves us vulnerable to further pain and injury. 

Our wounds break open again. Again and again we tend that same wound, trying to bring about healing, trying to fix it, only to have it manifest in another area. 

You can't heal yourself of sin.

But there is One Who can.  He went to such great length to make healing available. And I am so very thankful.

 I am thankful for my healing.  And for yours...



(...and by the way, don't slice tomatoes on a mandoline slicer without the vegetable gaurd.....)