Our dear friend, a wonderful Bible teacher, came and ministered in our church this morning. In his message he mentioned 1 Thessalonians 5:18, "give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus." He spoke about trusting that God is leading you, even when circumstances may tempt us to think otherwise. Resting and trusting, surrendering and relinquishing, God has been speaking to me about these things repeatedly in recent days. (You can see that in this post, and again in this one.) If I really trust that God has everything that comes my way in control, that He always loves me and has my best interest at heart, that He really will cause everything to work together for good in my life, then it's easier to thank Him in all things. I'm still not there, I still don't start thanking God as my first response in all circumstances. I'm working on it, though!
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Since 2009 I've been counting my blessings thanks to the prompting of Ann Voskamp.
I continue to count my thanks
piling up gratitude day by day
in my journal.
(and capturing some of my blessings via my camera or iPhone)
#8277-#8302
4-11-16-
-our youngest daughter, today's her birthday!
-God's help doing our taxes
-a fun evening celebrating our girl's birthday with our nephew and his family
out at the state park where she and her husband are camping
4-12-16-
-trusting, relinquishing, letting go of control
-talking to my two youngest granddaughter's on the phone
-our second born and her family safely home from their vacation in S. Carolina
-hot and spicy potsticker soup for my hubs who has a cold and fever
4-13-16-
-birdsong outside my office window
-getting to see my grandkids after them being gone on spring break
-a letter from the girl I sponsor at Villa Esperanza
4-14-16-
-God's help and wisdom when I ask for it
-a good prayer and worship time
-my husband saving some of my favorite BBC shows for me to watch
4-15-16-
-a yummy breakfast for the hub's day off, (these pancakes, scrambled eggs and sausage)
-a nice relaxing morning
-a late lunch at a restaurant by the river
-taking our two oldest grands to the new Jungle Book movie
-a fun time after the movie at our daughter's house
4-16-16-
-a beautiful Saturday
-going to our grandson's baseball game,
and my friend coming with her grandson to watch the game, too
-a late evening walk
4-17-16-
-wonderful worship
-a great message
-God's help with a problem
-a safe trip this afternoon to see my mother-in-law who is not doing well
-a free hotel room
still following,
Ah, baseball! I miss it so much.
ReplyDeleteI went back to your post about "control" and printed off the list of what we cannot control and what we can. It's worth keeping. I'll also share it with the adult Sunday School class in our very small congregation.
ReplyDelete