Thankful Thursday

Sometimes God blesses me with friends I don't deserve!

Many of my friends might say most of the time that is true. :)

I met my friend Mark back in 2006 as we served together in southern Louisiana

We stayed in touch cross country over the next 5 years, and reconnected in person just before I left Louisiana in 2012

since then we have talked and prayed together on the phone many times. 

Our fellowship has been sweet even though we haven't seen each other in 7 years

but tonight that changes!!

I'm currently in Cincinnati waiting for him and his wife to arrive

we will be spending the next couple of days together visiting the Ark Encounter and the Creation Museum

I'm so thankful.  He has encouraged and challenged me from afar, but it will be so good to give him a hug tonight.

I met my friend Rick on my first visit to Missouri to visit my daughter and son-in-law

we connected as brothers in Christ, and he began praying for me

I can't describe how grateful I am for those prayers

This morning I got to see him at Panera in Rolla, MO and catch up for an hour or so

He told me it was great to see me.

But the pleasure was all mine

I'm thankful for friends who stand with me even though we are separated by many miles

Christ gives us a bond that adds value to relationships, taking them to a higher level 

There are many others who could make the list of faithful friends

I'm thankful God is abundant and extravagant in His gifts to me

And it is especially sweet when I get some face to face time with those who love me from afar.

Thankful Thursday

As I met with my mentor on Saturday, we talked about how God is like a sculptor.  He is shaping me into the man He wants me to be, chiseling, filing, and sanding in just the right places to create a beautiful work of art.  The process is lifelong, and sometimes even painful.  But the end result will be a vessel that brings Him glory.

He knows me completely.  Even before I was born, He saw who I was and had a plan for how He would take me from a man of sin without any thought of Him to a person of worship.  Just like Michelangelo saw king David in the piece of marble even before he started the process of creating a masterpiece, God saw me, and began patiently removing the parts that didn't belong.

I'm thankful God has the blueprint.  He doesn't need my input.  Sometimes I'm confused by the pieces He chisels off, thinking they looked good, or really belonged.  But I need to submit to His refining process.

I'm thankful for God's patience with me.  Even when I resist at times, He continues to work, continues to refine.  He is for me.  What a wonderful truth.  The maker of the universe, the One who placed each star in the heavens, and knows all their names, is intimately involved in my life.  He loves me with an everlasting love.  He sent His Beloved Son to suffer the agony of separation from Himself as He bore my sins on the cross, so that through faith I would not need to suffer that punishment for my sin, but enjoy fellowship with Him eternally. 

I'm thankful He is my Shepherd; going out ahead of me, calling me to follow, showing me where to find food and water for my soul.  At times His voice grows dim.  Not because He has stopped calling, but as a result of me being distracted.  

I'm thankful He isn't controlled by my response.  And I'm grateful His ears are always open to my cries.  I don't have to worry that He will be distracted when I call out to Him.

I'm thankful for His grace and mercy, poured out abundantly in my life.

Thankful Thursday

As I pause on this Thursday evening to reflect on all I have to be thankful for

I'm reminded how blessed I am to be a part of God's family

I'm thankful He rescued me out of the darkness of sin

thankful I have hope as an anchor for my soul

thankful Jesus came in obedience to the Father

thankful for brothers and sisters who would otherwise just be strangers

thankful for a Father who loves me

a Father who corrects and instructs me

I'm thankful for the Holy Spirit who guides and helps me

I know how lost I was before I met Jesus that January night in 1980

I'm thankful God had mercy on me, allowed me to see His grace

I'm thankful He had prepared my heart to repent and receive forgiveness

I'm thankful for people who have encouraged me along my journey

I'm thankful for a new opportunity for growth

on Saturday morning, I will start meeting with a mentor

I'm looking forward to how God will use this in my life 

I'm thankful He patiently works

transforming me and continuing His sanctification process

I'm thankful God walks with me each step of the way

His presence is a comfort, and His wisdom sure comes in handy when I'm facing some difficult situation

I'm thankful there's never anything that surprises Him or stumps Him

I know He knows

I'm His grateful son!

Thankful Thursday

Spent some time at the piano this evening

playing and singing some older hymns and a song I wrote from Ps. 46

time well spent, focusing on God's grandeur and His promises

I'm thankful for music, for the way it has an ability to minister to my soul

I'm thankful God created music

I'm reminded of that each morning as I hear the songs of birds singing their praise

I'm thankful He has put a new song in my mouth

I was singing and whistling as I worked today

I'm thankful for the difference that makes in my day, helping me focus on God and lifting praise to Him

He is worthy of all honor and glory and praise!

I'm thankful for His mighty power

thankful He is kind and gentle

I'm thankful for His faithfulness and mercy

I'm thankful God is sovereign and all knowing

I'm thankful He is patient with me

I'm thankful for the answers to prayer I've seen this week

thankful God invites me to make my requests known to Him and promises to respond when I do

I'm thankful for the beautiful spot God has provided for me to live

thankful for the chance to sit in my backyard a couple evenings this week and just enjoy some down time with my wife as we watched God paint beauty in the evening sky

I'm thankful God designed our bodies to be refreshed by rest

thankful when I wait on Him, He renews my strength

Thankful Thursday

Today is National Day of Prayer

As I do each morning, I started the day off praying with my wife

I'm very thankful for the commitment we share to make that a priority in our relationship

I'm thankful for the privilege of prayer

thankful for God's promise that when I pray He hears and responds

I'm thankful for the power that is released when I pray

Because ultimately, prayer is acknowledging my need for God to be in control of my life and circumstances

God is sovereign.  He is in charge.  He controls everything anyway, so it just makes sense for me to acknowledge that and yield to His control

I'm thankful He is patient with me when I'm slow to understand

I'm thankful God invites me to bring my requests to Him

I'm thankful Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father right now, praying for me

I'm thankful God's Spirit prays for me when I can't find the words to say

prayer is a gift

I want to receive it and put it to good use.