Obtaining Mercy

Whew – how's that for a title?!!

🙂

 

The 22nd was Thanksgiving Day, and I was so incredibly blessed and thankful to spend the day with my family.  We shared a wonderful meal and LOTS of laughter!  It was really, truly the PERFECT Thanksgiving Day.

On the 23rd, I was grateful for Divine Strength and pain relievers.  Doug was sick, and in the bed, the entire day.  That means that the clean up from Thanksgiving dishes and all of Isaac's care was on my shoulders.  I really thought I might collapse in a puddle of tears before the day was finished.  But I made it through the day, due to the quickly-sought prayers of my FB buddies, proper supplements to boost my system and pain reliever in the form of Arnica tablets.  I had never taken them before, but am a HUGE fan now!  I've even taken them for a headache since then, and they worked extremely well.

On the 24th, I was feeling so thankful for the Nativity.  We started putting up our Christmas decoration, and I always start with my many Nativity scenes, which only seems appropriate.  That mind set, of honoring Jesus' birth first, helps me throughout the entire holiday season.  I will be sharing my Nativity sets in another blog.

On the 25th, I was thankful for shared laughter.  I was able to spend a few short moments with several friends at church, and it seemed we all had a funny story to share with each other.  It was nice to throw our heads back and laugh, guffaw, giggle, chortle, roar, snicker and whoop with one another!

On the 26th, let's see…that was yesterday, right???  Oh, YEAH – I was feeling MUCH gratitude for birthday money and the postal service!  I received THIS in the mail:

 

On the 27th Day of this Season of Thanksgiving, I am so glad and thankful for my brother, Phillip!!!  He is a good friend to us, but he is also a good friend to Isaac.  He keeps his eyes and ears open to things that he thinks will help Isaac's life be better. 

Just this week, I made a phone call about a "cherry picker" for our van.  That is a little lift that will be attached to our van, and will pick up Ike's wheelchair and put it into the back of the van.  Isaac will not be in the chair, but it makes one less thing that Doug has to heft up into the vehicle!  Won't that be so nice???  And best of all, the lift has been donated to a local business and there will be no cost to us!

Oh, and Phillip is also the one I call when the dryer smells funny, or the frig is leaking, or when we are out of a/c filters (they are a funny size), or when there is a strange man outside the house when Doug isn't home.  He was also our "go to" man for years when our old truck wasn't working right.

For Thanksgiving, Phillip smoked a lovely turkey and 2 gorgeous pork roasts.  It was a fabulous, scruptious addition to our traditional Thanksgiving dinner.

He has blessed our lives in so many ways, and he is a good brother and we are proud of him. 

 

Well, only a few days left of this special Season of Thanksgiving.  It has been a good month of reflection and gratitude.

Tomorrow, Isaac will be having oral surgery at St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa.  We'd really appreciate your prayers for a successful, problem-free surgery and a good recovery. 

Wishing you a day full of blessings to count,

Alesha

 

I am really, truly, madly, deeply, passionately THANKFUL for my husband today.

He is my best friend.

He is my favorite person to be with.

He inspires the best in me, and forgives the worst.

He is an amazing, incredible, nurturing, accepting father to Isaac, and that fills my heart with joy every day.

Doug dreams BIG, and often scares me with the size of his ambitions; but I know he waits for God's lead and follows unerringly, so I can safely trust him to lead our family into God's will.

He also encourages MY dreams, which pale in comparison to his; but he knows they are important to me, and pushes me farther along than I would ever venture on my own.

I do not deserve the gift that he is, but I am grateful for him every day.

I hope you have a special someone in your life who is a tremendous blessing to you, too!

Blessings,

Alesha

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