Category: A Season of Thanksgiving

My heart is full of thanksgiving after a wonderful weekend!

I know I am woefully behind on listing my blessings, so I intend to catch up today.

Day 17 – I am SO thankful for my brother, Michael, and his sweet wife, Jennifer.  They are family and they are friends; and that is such a great blessing to me!

 

Day 18 – I am thankful for the pianists (and other musicians) of our church.  They do a difficult job, and usually without any thanks or praise.  They work so hard to make the singers sound good, and are often overlooked or ignored for their sacrifice of time and energy.  I praise the Lord for the incredible musicians who are willing to work with me!  I am able to share my talent ONLY because they share theirs so freely with me!

Day 19 – I am grateful – really, beyond what my words can express – for our new vehicle.  I know we got it several months ago, but it is still "new" to me!  Yesterday, we left the house around 8:30 a.m. and did not roll back into our driveway until after 7 p.m.  But we were comfortable, we were safe, we made good time, we didn't go broke paying for gas, we had a great sound system and places to sit our drinks and to store Ike's wheelchair.  It's a wonderful vehicle for us, and we are still amazed and thankful for it!

 

Day 20 – TODAY – I am thankful for friendship.  I am blessed to have people in my life who share my passion for music, my enjoyment of books, my love of all things Vera Bradley!, my weird sense of humor, and my fondness for techy-stuff!  Some of my friends are family, as I mentioned above, but some are just people who have come along side me at some point in my life, and decided to spend some time getting to know me.

 
 
   

I have lost many more friends in my lifetime than I care to count.  Some of those losses still grieve me, due to the "unnecessariness" of them.  Some friends I have lost to Heaven, and those only make me sad because I feel sorry for me.  I am still thankful for their friendship and I am glad they are at home with their Friend who sticks closer than a brother.

I love that God allows us to share our lives with others.  I'm so glad that I have not been called to lead the life of a hermit.  I don't think I would be a very happy recluse!

My soul is revived by the company of a true friend.  My mind is expanded as I listen to their ideas and opinions.  My life is more enjoyable when I laugh with my girlfriends.  My emotions feel more balanced when my attention is taken from myself, my thoughts, my feelings and focused on the hurt or joy of another.

Friendship is precious.  And in this day and age, it is also multifaceted and international.  Some of my closest friends live across the world from me, and yet we speak on a nearly-daily basis. 

God was good to allow us friendships…

And I am very thankful for them!

Take a moment today to thank the Lord for your true friends, and ask Him to help you be a good friend too!

In Him,

Alesha

 

Colossians 3:15 "And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful."

 

Today, I am thankful for trials.  Temptations.  Adversity.  Difficulties.  Troubles.  Annoyances.  Hardships.  Irritations.  Suffering.

Well, you get the idea, yeah?

Now, don't get me wrong.  I am not thanking the Lord for a particular temptation this morning.  I am just not that spiritual…yet.

But I do understand – intellectually and Biblically – that these troubles do an important work in our lives.

They refine us.  They make us stronger.  They teach us more of the character of our God.  They remind us how frail we are in the flesh.  They draw our eyes to God.

Most importantly, I believe, is the truth that the hardships of life drive us to our knees.

It is not easy to endure them, although we are admonished to do so.

 

II Timothy 2:3 "Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ."

 

However, it does a great work in our hearts and lives if we persevere through the temptations and adversities.

Dear friend, please don't lose heart in the midst of your difficulties.  Especially, if you struggling with some private trial.

I read this today, and it helped me:

"Your crown of glory lies embedded in the very heart of these things – those hardships and trials that are pressing you this very hour, week, and month of your life. 

The hardest things are not those that the world knows of.  Down in your secret soul unseen and unknown by any but Jesus, there is a little trial that you would not dare to metion, that is harder for you to bear than martyrdom. 

There, beloved, lies your crown.  God help you to overcome, and sometime wear it."

I'm sure some problem has come to your mind while you read this today.  If so, try to find it in your heart to thank the Lord for that trial.  I promise that your attitude of thankfulness will go a long way toward helping you through the difficulty.

Today, I am wishing you the blessing of peace that comes with gratitude,

Alesha

Today, I'm thankful for hot water.

 

I know…it doesn't sound very spiritual, does it?  I don't even have a verse to go with it! 😉

But, nevertheless, that is what my heart is full of gratitude to the Lord for today.

 

Hot water.

Running water.

Indoor plumbing.

Electricity.

A roof over my head.

All the little things I take for granted every day.

Today, I'm going to try to notice them, and give thanks to the Lord for them.

 

Oh…and hot coffee…yeah…that's a good thing to be thankful for, too!

 

🙂

I pray that today, no matter your difficult circumstances, you will look for the simple everyday things for which you can give thanks.

 

In Him,

Alesha

 

Mark 8:[6] And he commanded the people to sit down on the ground: and he
took the seven loaves, and gave thanks, and brake, and gave to his
disciples to set before them; and they did set them before the people.
[7] And they had a few small fishes: and he blessed, and commanded to set them also before them.
[8] So they did eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets.
[9] And they that had eaten were about four thousand: and he sent them away.

 

Today, I am thankful for miracles.

The Lord has fed our family when we had no money and no groceries.

He has given us a place to live when we had no job, no money and no family in the area.

He has given us 3 – THREE – vehicles!

God gave us a child, when we were unable to conceive one.

The Lord has blessed us with favor and jobs, when we had nothing to commend us to our employers.

He has put people in our lives to mentor us, to show us how to teach, how to preach, how to parent, how to advocate for our child, how to be a friend.

God has protected us time after time from people who meant to prey on our marriage, on our convictions, on our beliefs, on our family.

My God has performed SO many miracles on my behalf!  Sometimes I read the stories in the Bible, and think,

"Oh, that's nothing!  You should see what God has done in MY life!!!"

I am just that blessed!

Thank You, Father, for the miracle that is my life.

Blessings,

Alesha

 

 

 

 

 

James 4:[13] Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into
such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:
[14]
Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life?
It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then
vanisheth away.
[15] For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.

 

Luke 12:[22] And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you,
Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body,
what ye shall put on.
[23] The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment.
[24]
Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have
storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better
than the fowls?
[25] And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit?
[26] If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest?
[27]
Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and
yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like
one of these.
[28] If then God so clothe the grass, which is
to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more
will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?
[29] And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind.
[30] For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.
[31] But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.

 

I am so, so thankful that I do not know what tomorrow holds for me.

I know for a fact that I would not be happy with that revelation, and would spend all my "todays" trying to properly prepare for or delay the inevitable occurrences.

No, I do not want to know about tomorrow – its sorrow or its joy.

But I am happy that I can say I know WHO knows about tomorrow…and I trust Him to make everything "ok" as I walk through each circumstance with my hand held securely in His.

The saying is trite, but it is true,

"I don't know what tomorrow holds, but I know Who holds tomorrow."

Do you know the God of tomorrow?  I pray that you do.

Blessings,

Alesha

 

Luke 17:[11] And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.
[12] And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:
[13] And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.
[14]
And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the
priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.
[15] And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,
[16] And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.
[17] And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?
[18] There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.
[19] And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.

 

Yesterday, during our church services, our choir sang a song with the following line:

"The chains that bound me no longer hold me."

Every time I sang the words, my heart just filled up with gratitude for the ways that Christ has set me free.

Oh, I was not dying from a disease of the body, like the 1 thankful leper in the above Scriptures; but rather, I was a spiritual leper – dying from a sin-diseased soul.

I was bound by chains of sin, and had no power to loose myself from the shackles that were dragging me to Hell.

However, Jesus had mercy on me, when I called out to him for salvation. 

He made me clean.

He broke the chains of sin that bound me.

I am no longer shackled, but can live a life of freedom and joy and thanksgiving because of the wonderful work Jesus Christ has done in my life.

He is my Great Physician.

He is my Deliverer.

He is my Saviour.

Praise His Holy Name for His work of salvation in my life!!!

I am so, so thankful…

And I pray that you know Him as your Saviour, too.

If you do not know the freedom of salvation, please feel free to leave a comment here or send an email to the "email me" link right below my picture.  I would be thrilled and honored to share with you how Jesus saved me.

In Him,

Alesha

 

 

 

 

Romans 1:9 "For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;"

Ephesians 1:16 "Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;"

I Thessalonians 1:2 "We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers"

Philemon 1:4 "I thank my God, making mention of thee always in my prayers,"

 

Today, I am so SO thankful for friends and family who pray for me…

Because I know they DO pray for me…a LOT!

In fact, if you are reading this, YOU have probably prayed for me…

And I am so grateful for that!  Thank You!!!

It leaves me feeling that I am in debt to those who lift my name to the Lord, and I try my best to pray for them often, too.

I also appreciate that the Holy Spirit often leads me to pray for this one or that one, without even knowing their needs or struggles.  When they come to mind, I try to pray as I want them to pray for me.

Prayer is such a priviledge.

It is communing with our Heavenly Father.  It is an act of intimate conversation.  It is something we should never take for granted. 

Thank you, Lord, for letting me pray, and thank You, too, for the pray-ers who pray for me!

In Him,

Alesha