Tuesday, November 27, 2007
I miss my dad...
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Thanksgiving '07
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Thanksgiving
Oh give thanks to the Lord for He is good!!
Dad, I have been missing you...
As we all prepare our Thanksgiving celebrations this year, may the Lord find a way into your hearts and home. It's hard sometimes as some of us may be experiencing some sort of struggle and find it difficult to be thankful under the strains of life, but let me encourage you to seek God for a grateful heart.
Yes, I still struggle with losing my dad to cancer and miss him everyday. I think about my cousin Kat who is spending her first Thanksgiving since her mom passed away. I think about my family back in Illinois who have suffered a recent death, one of my cousins who was only 30 years old. I miss my mom, but am grateful for the relationship we share from hundreds of miles away. We think of Ray's son that he hasn't seen or spoken with for years. But I love the Lord and know that He takes care of me and my family and has blessed me a thousand times over.
Proverbs 15:15 says that a cheerful heart is a "continual feast." My dad always had a cheerful heart and that's because he bowed to his Lord in thankfulness, his cheer came from having a grateful heart. I try to remember that everyday, but especially this Thanksgiving. Life pushes us down sometimes. We must remember Proverbs 15:13 that says, heartache crushes the spirit." We don't have to feel guilty if we don't always have a cheerful heart, but we do need to take our cares to the Lord.
(The bottom half of this blog is taken from a writing on christiananswers.net)
Problems will come your way. God will see to it personally that you grow as a Christian. He will allow the storms, to send your roots deep into the soil of His Word. We pray more in the midst of problems, but it's been well said that you will see more from your knees, than you will on your tip toes.
A man once watched a butterfly struggling to get out of its cocoon. In an effort to help it, he took a razor blade, and carefully slit the edge of the cocoon. The butterfly escaped form its problem ... and immediately died.
It is God's way to have the butterfly struggle. It is the struggle that causes its tiny heart to beat fast, and send the life's blood into its wings.
Trials have their purpose. They make us struggle — they bring us to our knees. They are the cocoon in which we often find ourselves. It is there that the life's blood of faith in God helps us spread our wings.
Faith and thanksgiving are close friends. If you have faith in God, you will be thankful because you know His loving hand is upon you, even though you are in a lion's den. That will give you a deep sense of joy, and joy is the barometer of the depth of faith you have in God. Let me give you an example.
Imagine if I said I would give you one million dollars if you ripped out the last page of today's newspaper, and mailed it to me. Of course, you don't believe that I would do that. But imagine if you did. Imagine if you had knowledge of more than 1,000 people who had sent in the page, and every one received their million dollars — no strings attached. More than that. You had actually called me, and I had assured you personally that I would keep my word. If you believed me, wouldn't you have joy? If you didn't believe me — no joy.
The amount of joy you have would be a barometer as to how much you believed my promise.
We have so much to be thankful for. God has given us "exceeding great and precious promises" that are "more to be desired than gold." Do yourself a big favor — believe those promises, thank God continually for them, and "let your joy be full."
An old farmer once had an ungodly relative visit him. After the farmer had bowed his head and thanked God for the food they were about to eat, the relative rudely said, "What did you do that for? There's no God. We live in an age of enlightenment." The old farmer smiled and said, "There is one on the farm who doesn't thank God before he eats." The relative sat up and said, "Who is this enlightened one?" To which the farmer quietly replied, "My pig."
Thanksgiving
Oh give thanks to the Lord for He is good!!
Dad, I have been missing you...
As we all prepare our Thanksgiving celebrations this year, may the Lord find a way into your hearts and home. It's hard sometimes as some of us may be experiencing some sort of struggle and find it difficult to be thankful under the strains of life, but let me encourage you to seek God for a grateful heart.
Yes, I still struggle with losing my dad to cancer and miss him everyday. I think about my cousin Kat who is spending her first Thanksgiving since her mom passed away. I think about my family back in Illinois who have suffered a recent death, one of my cousins who was only 30 years old. I miss my mom, but am grateful for the relationship we share from hundreds of miles away. We think of Ray's son that he hasn't seen or spoken with for years. But I love the Lord and know that He takes care of me and my family and has blessed me a thousand times over.
Proverbs 15:15 says that a cheerful heart is a "continual feast." My dad always had a cheerful heart and that's because he bowed to his Lord in thankfulness, his cheer came from having a grateful heart. I try to remember that everyday, but especially this Thanksgiving. Life pushes us down sometimes. We must remember Proverbs 15:13 that says, heartache crushes the spirit." We don't have to feel guilty if we don't always have a cheerful heart, but we do need to take our cares to the Lord.
(The bottom half of this blog is taken from a writing on christiananswers.net)
Problems will come your way. God will see to it personally that you grow as a Christian. He will allow the storms, to send your roots deep into the soil of His Word. We pray more in the midst of problems, but it's been well said that you will see more from your knees, than you will on your tip toes.
A man once watched a butterfly struggling to get out of its cocoon. In an effort to help it, he took a razor blade, and carefully slit the edge of the cocoon. The butterfly escaped form its problem ... and immediately died.
It is God's way to have the butterfly struggle. It is the struggle that causes its tiny heart to beat fast, and send the life's blood into its wings.
Trials have their purpose. They make us struggle — they bring us to our knees. They are the cocoon in which we often find ourselves. It is there that the life's blood of faith in God helps us spread our wings.
Faith and thanksgiving are close friends. If you have faith in God, you will be thankful because you know His loving hand is upon you, even though you are in a lion's den. That will give you a deep sense of joy, and joy is the barometer of the depth of faith you have in God. Let me give you an example.
Imagine if I said I would give you one million dollars if you ripped out the last page of today's newspaper, and mailed it to me. Of course, you don't believe that I would do that. But imagine if you did. Imagine if you had knowledge of more than 1,000 people who had sent in the page, and every one received their million dollars — no strings attached. More than that. You had actually called me, and I had assured you personally that I would keep my word. If you believed me, wouldn't you have joy? If you didn't believe me — no joy.
The amount of joy you have would be a barometer as to how much you believed my promise.
We have so much to be thankful for. God has given us "exceeding great and precious promises" that are "more to be desired than gold." Do yourself a big favor — believe those promises, thank God continually for them, and "let your joy be full."
An old farmer once had an ungodly relative visit him. After the farmer had bowed his head and thanked God for the food they were about to eat, the relative rudely said, "What did you do that for? There's no God. We live in an age of enlightenment." The old farmer smiled and said, "There is one on the farm who doesn't thank God before he eats." The relative sat up and said, "Who is this enlightened one?" To which the farmer quietly replied, "My pig."
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