Peace and Quiet

All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

2 Corinthians 4: 15

Three things I’m thankful for:

1) My late grandmothers. I had the best grandmothers in the world. I always said my Nanny taught me about God, cooking, tending, and nurturing, and my Grandma taught me how to be a lady, get quality clothing for bargain prices, and to enjoy the occasional Peanut Buster Parfait from DQ. As you can tell, the two women were very different - and I loved them both equally. When/if I ever become a grandparent (no rush, kiddos), I’ll use them as my model and hope to be a wonderful Nana myself!

2) Fishing. Yes, I’m thankful for fishing - my dad taught me how to fish almost at the same time I learned to walk. Many of our days were spent out on the lake fishing, swimming, skiing. Our fishing days supplied us with food - we weren’t, and I’m still not - the ”catch-and-release” kind of fisherman. I fish to put food on our table, and am thankful for each and every one I’ve ever caught, and ever eaten. I’m even thankful for that really big one that got away…

3) S … I know - you’re all thinking I’m going to say SHOPPING on Black Friday - but I’m not a shopper. Yes, I’ll probably be out in the throngs today, but for the experience of being out there only. I’ll be thankful to get OUT of the crowds after a few hours! And I’m thankful for any bargains that all of us - you included - might find!

My “S” word is one that will probably make some of the ladies cringe. I’m thankful for SPORTS! Specifically, college football season. I was raised on Alabama football, and I love this time of year. Tomorrow is our biggest game of the year, and our biggest rivalry of the year - against the War Eagles of Auburn. Roll Tide!  

 So, what are you thankful for today?

And another question for you - has making these lists help your heart to overflow with gratitude? It sure has mine. Re-read today’s verse “may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.’ Thanks be to the Glory of God!!

Thanks for letting me share! I think I’ll continue the lists through the end of November!

PS - I MUST add one more thankful for today - I’m so thankful for leftover turkey. Seriously. It makes the best sandwich that you can’t get any other time of year!

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.

Psalm 100:4

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Three things I’m thankful for today:

1) Being able to visit with my family this year. We missed the Thanksgiving celebration last year, and I’m so thankful we can be together again this year. I treasure the time spent with my two sons and one future daughter-in-law - they are funny, and smart, and precious.

2) Laughter. I love to laugh and this week will be full of it. Making people laugh puts a smile in my heart, too.

3) Food and the hands that prepared each and every dish we’ll devour this week. Many of us may not have an abundance this year - but each dish will still be special. As a teen learning to cook, I never understood why the food my mother or grandmother prepared tasted better than something I made, even when following their recipe exactly. I realized later that it was the love stirred into the pot that made the food taste extra yummy.

Don’t we serve such an awesome God?

So what are you thankful for today?

Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; make music to our God on the harp.

Psalm 147:7

My thankful list for today:

1) I’m thankful for music - I LOVE to praise and worship with all sorts of music. I love classical, rock, country, Southern gospel, contemporary gospel, jazz, swing, pop, 50s-70s pop, 80s-90s country. I love Sandi Patty, Andy Griffith, Elvis Presley, Larnelle Harris, Barry Manilow, Alabama, Beethoven, Mozart, Vivaldi, Josh Turner - I’m sharing all of these so you’ll see just how varied my tastes really are! I also love almost every musical instrument ever made, and am so thankful my boys learned to play many of them. I’m also a sap for Christmas music and marching bands.

2) I thank God for my senses - I’m thankful to hear all that music I so love, to see my children and critters and colors, to smell and taste all varieties of food, smell flowers. I’m also nutty about touching textures too - if a piece of clothing doesn’t “feel” right, I don’t buy it. I’m thankful I can read words and experience all the different colors God created, and that He has given me a special eye for photography.

3) I thank God for our vehicle. We have only one, but it’s all we really need, and it’s paid in full. It looks sharp, provides for my hubby’s long commute, and keeps us safe to travel.

So what are you thankful for today?
 

I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving.

Psalm 69:30

As I’ve thought about these lists, something else occurs to me that I’d like to share. All of our stuff - our possessions, our money, our food, clothing, shelter, EVERYTHING belongs to God. He is gracious and generous enough to allow us to have anything we do have - and even when it seems like we may lose everything, He can replace it. Just ask Job.

Even though the world - and our own actions - make us THINK that WE have provided for ourselves, that’s FALSE. Only God can provide for us. He may ALLOW us to earn a living, and ALLOW us to use our talents to provide for our families - but He is the giver of all good things. We don’t do it alone.

Three things I’m thankful for:

1) My critters. I have one dog as a pet - a beautiful, spoiled rotten 7-year-old German shepherd mix, that we love like a child. She sleeps with us, watches over us, protects us, and runs from screaming fireworks or shotgun blasts. We also have dozens of other critters - but they’re all part of the nature around us. I have DOZENS of funny-looking squirrels that entertain me on a daily basis right outside my window - until we moved here, I’d never seen multi-colored squirrels like this. (You can see a picture of one on my Web site.) We also have lizards - most of them are skinks, but I think there are others I haven’t yet identified. Birds by the hundreds flock here, too, of all shapes and sizes. The largest are the turkey vultures we spotted up in a dead tree one year. I so wish I’d had my camera! God’s creativity with all the different forms of nature is astounding, and I thank Him for sharing some of it with us.

2) My electronics. I always said I was meant to be born during this day and age - I’m a geek. I love my computer, and have been accused of being addicted. I thank God for the technology that allows me to stay connected with my friends and family at the touch of a button.

3) My home. We have a tiny little cabin, set under a magnificent old oak tree. Our house is only one bedroom, but it’s big enough for us most of the time and it just feels so homey. Despite a heat pump that I bad-mouth almost daily during the winter for blowing cold air when I’m freezing, it still keeps us warm and dry. And the big windows allow me to watch the critters in action. I thank God for my home.

What are you thankful for today?

These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng.

Psalm 42:4 (NIV)

This week, with the holiday, I’m going to do something a bit different, and I invite you to join me in the comments. As many of us gather with family or friends, we can lead the procession with shouts of joy and thanksgiving!

A writer buddy, Robin Lee Hatcher, has been sharing three things daily that she is thankful for - I think she’s doing it all month. But since I decided to do this late, we’ll just do it for this entire week. Include your lists in the comments - your list may bring to mind something we all need to be thankful for.

1) I’m so incredibly thankful for my spouse. I have the most precious, loving husband a girl could ever hope for - a man I can truly call honorable. I admire him, respect him, love him, and look forward to spending the rest of my life with him.

2) I’m so incredibly thankful for my two sons. They made it to adulthood, despite many obstacle courses along their paths. They are strong, intelligent, independent, kind, and loving. A mother truly could not be more proud - but I think the trials and tribulations that we’ve all gone through over the years has helped me appreciate the outcome much more than if it had been easier.

3) I’m so incredibly thankful for my friends. God has placed special people in my path over the years - people who nurture me, mentor me, pray for me, and others who let me nurture them, mentor them, pray for them. It’s amazing how all that works out, and I know it’s all because of God’s hand in it.

So what three things are you thankful for today? Yes, this list tends to make you want to write more than three - but we’ll add three more tomorrow!

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.

1 Peter 4: 12-13 (NASB)

Friends, when life gets really difficult, don’t jump to the conclusion that God isn’t on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner.

1 Peter 4: 12-13 (The Message) 

 Yes, I’m repeating myself again, but with good reason. I’d like to pose a question to you. When reading your Bible, do you ever just feel like shouting for joy, whooping and hollering praises and Hallelujahs until your voice is gone?

This verse causes that reaction in me. Whooo-wheee! Hallelujah! Glory is just around the corner - that’s enough to shout about, isn’t it?

This verse was again under the Depression category of my list of God’s promises. I’m not purposely focusing on depression, but until I get to the end, if the Lord uses the verses to speak to me, I’m going to share it with you.

The words “as though some strange thing were happening to you” just jumped right off the page at me this morning. Many times over the past several months, I’ve made that very comment - and so have several of my friends and prayer partners. Even our real estate agent made that comment - we’ve had a house on the market for almost 3 years now - with 10 different contracts that have all fallen through. We’ve had one contract on it since June - and it’s still on it. We just cannot get the house closed.

We’ve wondered why, we’ve questioned what we’re doing wrong, we’ve begged and pleaded with God to move mountains to get it closed - and our prayers have not yet been answered. Today, it seems like I got an answer to my question of WHY with this verse - maybe it’s a spiritual refining process!

So, instead of whining and complaining and worrying, I’m just gonna rejoice and shout HALLELUJAH!

Are you going through your own difficult times? Could it be a spiritual refining process for you, too? Would you join me in rejoicing and shouting Hallelujah to our Savior and Lord?

Thank you, Jesus! Amen!

“Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”

Isaiah 41:10

I continue to look at God’s Promises each week - they are so rich with wisdom and comfort. And again today, I discovered this promise under the Depression category. 

Meditate on this verse today - piece by piece. Think of each section between commas, and then each period.

Do not fear

I am with you

Do not anxiously look about you

I am your God

I will strenghten you

I will help you

I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Folks, I don’t know about you, but I WANT God to be my God, I want Him to be with me, I want Him to strengthen me, I want Him to help me, I want Him to uphold me. So I want and need to do the rest of it - I need not fear, and I need not look anxiously about me. Seems simple on paper, doesn’t it? Do we believe His promises, or don’t we?

Lord, give us the strength we need not to fear, not to look anxiously about us. We want you to be our God - our one and only God. We want you to be with us, to strengthen us, to help us, to uphold us. We love you, Lord, and we praise you. Thank you for Who you are. In Jesus’ wonderful name, Amen.

Is anyone crying for help? God is listening, ready to rescue you.

Psalm 34:17 (The Message)

The righteous cry, and the LORD hears and delivers them out of their troubles.

Psalm 34:17 (New American Standard)

Yes, the same verse, with just a slight difference - enough that I wanted to share both of them. One may speak to you more than the other.

This time of year, many of us suffer depression for a whole host of reasons. And with the economy in trouble, and the future more uncertain than ever, I’m sure this year will be a bit more difficult than usual.

As I was scrolling through my list of God’s Promises, the verse above jumped out at me. Yesterday, I spent a couple of hours just crying out to God, and putting words to paper. When I finished, it had a similar cadence, similar feel to it that some of David’s cries have in the Psalms. Instantly upon realizing that, I felt not so alone. Or guilty for whining/complaining/griping/worrying/crying. Do you ever feel that guilt? I can’t seem to get rid of it!

But this list of promises - God has been teaching me to TRUST that His promises are for ME, just like they are for YOU, just like they were for people in the past and will be for people in the future. He doesn’t pick and choose when to keep His promises to whom - He keeps His promises to all of us.

Well, THIS is one of His promises - He hears our cries, and He rescues us from our troubles.

Lord, just give us the faith we need, and the wisdom we need, to believe that promise. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

PS - Our friend Nancy Arant Williams has started her own blog here at Today. Loved and Protected is filled with wisdom, and encouragement, and hope. Stop by and pay her a visit - you’ll be blessed.

I lift you high in praise, my God, O my King! and I’ll bless your name into eternity. I’ll bless you every day, and keep it up from now to eternity.

God is magnificent, he can never be praised enough. There are no boundaries to his greatness.

Generation after generation stands in awe of your work; each one tells stories of your mighty acts.

Your beauty and splendor have everyone talking; I compose songs on your wonders.

Your marvelous doings are headline news; I could write a book full of the details of your greatness.

The fame of your goodness spreads across the country; your righteousness is on everyone’s lips.

God is all mercy and grace - not quick to anger, is rich in love.

God is good to one and all; everything he does is suffused with grace.

Creation and creatures applaud you, God, your holy people bless you.

They talk about the glories of your rule, they exclaim over your splendor.

Letting the whole world know of your power for good, the lavish splendor of your kingdom.

Your kingdom is a kingdom eternal, you never get voted out of office.

God always does what he says, and is gracious in everything he does.

God gives a hand to those down on their luck, gives a fresh start to those ready to quit.

All eyes are on you, expectant; you give them their meals on time.

Generous to a fault, you lavish your favor on all creatures.

Everything God does is right - the trademark on all his works is love.

God’s there, listening for all who pray, for all who pray and mean it.

He does what’s best for those who fear him - hears them call out, and saves them.

God sticks by all who love him, but it’s all over for those who don’t.

My mouth is filled with God’s praise.

Let everything living bless him, bless his holy name from now to eternity.

Psalm 145 (The Message)

We’re studying 1 Samuel in Bible Study, and this week, the lesson pointed to several of David’s Psalms that he wrote as he went through the various trials detailed in Samuel. It’s encouraging to read his praises, tucked in the middle of other poems crying out to God for help.

Very much like our own prayer lives today, isn’t it?

Do you need some encouragement? Pick up the Bible, flip to Psalms, and just start reading. You’ll hear David’s cries, and well as his praises, and it won’t be long before praises are pouring from your lips - and your heart - as well.

Open up before God, keep nothing back; he’ll do whatever needs to be done. He’ll validate your life in the clear light of day and stamp you with approval at high noon.

Psalm 37: 5-6

God is so mighty, so awesome, so amazing. Yet sometimes, we feel ashamed to take our dirty selves, our filthy choices, our muddy mistakes to Him - much like when Adam and Eve hid in the Garden, ashamed of their nakedness.

We forget that He knows all about it. And loves us anyway. And forgives us. And gives us 2nd chances … and 3rd … and 4th, and so on and so on. He wants a relationship with us. He wants us to know - to believe - that He loves us, and wants us to love Him. He is the validation we all seek - the validation we’ll receive from no one else, nothing else.

Pour out yourself to Him. Hold nothing back. Pour out your hopes, your dreams, your needs, your wants, your fears, your worries. Lay it all at His feet, and then just wait. Be observant. Watch Him work in mysterious, wonderous ways that can only be His.

Have you ever discovered this simple fact? The more you look for God - in everything - the more you’ll see Him at work.