Thankful Heart

I have so much to be thankful for, my heart is overflowing with gratitude and joy!

I am eternally thankful for my relationship with Jesus. He has not only saved me from my sins but has freed me from them and has filled me with joy!

I am extremely blessed with an amazing, loving, fun, wonderful family!

My parents are loving, generous, encouraging, always there when I need them.

My sister is one of my best friends. She is thoughtful, kind, fun, a great listener and a joy to be around.

My brother-in-law is the brother I have always wanted! He is a lot of fun, he is kind and helpful!

My niece K has grown into a beautiful young lady. I can't believe she is 10 years old already! She is loving, fun, kind. She has a sweet and tender heart. She is an amazing volleyball player. I love her SO much!

My nephew R is a bundle of fun! He makes me laugh and I love to watch him love life! He is adventurous. He is a great brother and friend!

My nephew D brings me great joy! He is a bundle of energy and a lot of fun! When he gives me a hug, there is SO much love that comes with it. Long after the hug is over I can still feel the love.

I am thankful for each and every one of my friends! I know I can count on my friends for support, encouragement, prayer, laughs, fun, joy, and whatever I need in the moment.

I am thankful for all God has done in my life. I am thankful for the good times and all the many blessings as well as the hard times, the difficult times, the challenges and struggles that have stretched me and my faith.

I am thankful for my home and for my wonderful roomie, Diane! I am blessed to live with one of my best friends and right next door to another one of my best friends. I am thankful for the roof over my head, the food I have to eat and everything else God has given me that I need to live and for everything "extra" that He gives me.

I am thankful for my job...for the wonderful staff I work with, for the students I teach and their families.

I could write more of all I have been blessed with and I want to continue to remember all of my blessings each and every day. I want to live a life of gratitude, not just a season.

What are you thankful for?

My Musings

I have been pondering and musing on "healing" and "God's healing" a lot the last few days. I know God heals...the Bible says He is our healer. But what have been on my mind and in my heart are questions...why is it that God heals some quickly, others it seems to take a long time? why are some healed here on Earth, and others are healed when they pass from this world into heaven? I know God's timing and His will, plans and purposes are perfect. God is sovereign and He is glorified in all He does.

In my humanness I want the healing to come instantly. When I pray many times for a friend (or myself) who is sick or has a disease and they still are sick, I know God has heard me. I know He is answering. I know He is working and healing. I have faith and trust God and His timing. It is just not always easy. "I believe, help me in my unbelief."

I want to share something I read, posted by my dear friend, Beck Hofseth, whose son, Daniel is fighting LEMS. I have written about him before and I am continually praying for him and his family. He was diagnosed with LEMS in April of 2010. I used to get frustrated and wonder what God was doing...what He was waiting for...why He hadn't healed Daniel...then I read the following post by Becky and it totally changed my perspective...

"I continue to read on the subject of healing. Last night’s reading brought new light on the story of Jesus healing the blind man. With it came the reminder to avoid an “all or nothing” view of praying. Piper writes, “One time Jesus took a blind man out of town, touched his eyes and asked, ‘Do you see anything?’ Imagine that! He said, ‘anything,’ not ‘everything’? And in fact, the man could not see everything. He said, ‘I see men, for I see them like trees walking about.’ So Jesus touched him again. And Mark 8:25 says, ‘He was restored and began to see everything clearly.’”

Piper asks, “In praying for healing should we not be encouraged to break the ‘all or nothing’ habit and pray that today something powerful be done by God in the body of our loved one? And tomorrow something more? And the next day something more? If Jesus touched a man twice, should we not expect to touch the sick often before they are healed?”

“I am finding it helpful to see my prayers as God’s appointed injections of his healing power. And like many antibiotics, the dosage (of prayer) must be continued over time. Each prayer makes its contribution. An antibiotic pill is not an ‘all or nothing’ treatment. You keep on taking them ‘till the bottle is empty. And each prayer carries a measure of divine power—sometimes more, sometimes less, but always effecting ‘something’ good if prayed in faith.”

“So don’t let an ‘all or nothing’ mentality impede your perseverance. Pray for total healing and total salvation. But don’t prejudge God’s timing. Until the total work is done keep praying that God do ‘something’ today to help, and believe that he will. Always pray and don’t lose heart.” (The "All or Nothing" Impediment to Prayer, Piper)

This brought me great comfort and hope and helped me to focus my prayers and my heart to look for how God was working and had already worked. I need to keep my focus on all God is and has done in every thing I pray about, including healing. My search and study on healing has just begun and I will be sharing more of what I am learning...

In Everything Give Thanks

I decided to spend this month focusing on being thankful...it is easy to be thankful when things are going good and I really do have many amazing blessings to be thankful for. What God has impressed upon me is being thankful when things are not going good...am I thankful when I feel sick or am in pain? am I thankful when the day is chaotic and doesn't go as I had planned? am I thankful when things cause me to be sad or disappointed? it is not easy and it is not my first thought to be thankful that "this" is happening. but what I am learning to do is to ask God what He wants to teach me or show me in "this" and then it is easier to be thankful for it. this is a process and a journey that He has me on. it is not an overnight thing. I am not immediately thankful, but am growing in my thankfulness.

Thank you, God, for helping me and teaching me how to be thankful in all things!