Oh Give Thanks To The Lord

"It is good to give thanks to the LORD, And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; To declare Your loving kindness in the morning, And Your faithfulness every night." Psalm 92:1-2

"Today upon a bus, I saw a lovely maid with golden
hair; I envied her--she seemed so happy, and how, I
wished I were so fair; When suddenly she rose to
leave, I saw her hobble down the aisle; she had one
foot and wore a crutch, but as she passed, a smile.
Oh God, forgive me when I whine, I have two feet--the
world is mine.

"And when I stopped to buy some sweets, the lad who
served me had such charm; he seemed to radiate good
cheer, his manner was so kind and warm; I said, 'It's
nice to deal with you, such courtesy I seldom find';
he turned and said, 'Oh, thank you sir.' And then I
saw that he was blind. Oh, God, forgive me when I
whine, I have two eyes, and the world is mine.

"Then, when walking down the street, I saw a child
with eyes of blue; he stood and watched the others
play, it seemed he knew not what to do; I stopped a
moment, then I said, 'Why don't you join the others,
dear?' He looked ahead without a word, and then I
knew he could not hear. Oh God, forgive me when I
whine, I have two ears, the world is mine.

"With feet to take me where I'd go / with eyes to see
the sunsets glow / with ears to hear what I would know
/ I am blessed indeed / The world is mine / oh, God,
forgive me when I whine."

Courtesy of: http://www.actsweb.org/encounter/daily.php

25 Day of Thanks

Thanksgiving day is a jewel, to set in the hearts of honest men; but be careful that you do not take the day, and leave out the gratitude. E.P. Powell

Day 1: Customers who have become friends.

Day 2: The right to vote and bring my children to experience it with me.

Day 3: A daughter who always gets green smiles at school and loves going every day. Almost. :)

Day 4: Warm, comfy beds for all my family. And although the garbage truck wakes us up early some mornings, I am thankful for garbage service.

Day 5: A great day with Ms Erin on her field trip - a play, the park & a bowling birthday party.

Day 6: Quiet Saturday at home with no where to go, beautiful weather courtesy of our Creator.

Who does not thank for little, will not thank for much. Estonian proverb 

Day 7: A great worship service and opportunity to learn more about God, waking up to the sun, mending fences.

Day 8: A proper working washer & dryer for mounds of laundry, flu vaccinations, Erin & Luke playing so well together, children who forgive me, a God who uses those same children to remind me of my faults, a supportive husband who helps with sick children. whew!

Day 9: The chance to go early Christmas shopping with my little man.

Day 10: A healthy family. And I may retract that statement about the flu vaccine. It was a doozy.

Day 11: I am thankful for the veterans who served. I am thankful for not having the desire for a bigger car, bigger house, bigger notes. Contentment and the Lord who provides it.

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." Hebrews 13:5

Day 12: I am thankful for my husband (who is also celebrating his birthday today) just the way he likes it best. All by himself! :)

Day 13: No rain on our girl scout zoo trip. Nosespray for the stuffies. My grandma who is 80 years old today.

Day 14: Sunday dinner, cooked by someone other than me!

Day 15: A Mom who always helps me out with the the kids, a husband who will go to Wal Mart with me in the rain because our cupboards are bare. My oh so comfy bed.

Day 16 - 18: I am a slacker. A few rough days and I completely fell off the thankful wagon. I am thankful God isn't so easily discouraged with me!

Do not get tired of doing what is good. Don't get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time. Galations 6:9
Day 19: I am thankful for a daughter who brings encouragement to others who may not receive it often. Thankful for a little man who is "happy mama came to my school today".

Day 20:  Early Christmas shopping and a honey who helps me sneak gifts to the car. The kids excited to see early Christmas decorations and the little people nativity to play with.

Day 21: The opportunity to live in a country that I can get on my knees to give thanks and not be persecuted for it.

Thanksgiving, after all, is a word of action. W.J. Cameron

Day 22: A week of no school!

Day 23: I'm thankful for washable paint and for teachers. I don't know how they take care of other peoples children every day. Also for little snuggles in the morning.

Day 24:  I'm thankful that after FOUR HOURS in the kitchen, I am done and dishes are clean. I'm also thankful I don't have to go shopping Friday!

Day 25: I'm thankful for a day with my family. For Jesus who loves me in spite of all my faults. And for dressing. Happy Thanksgiving!

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations. Psalm 100:4-5

~Fall In South LA~

Sink Sank Sunk

There is a little girl in Erin's kindergarten class. I'll call her Amy. Amy is not a good student. She has no social skills. She always has a runny nose. She won't sit in her chair. Or listen. Or do her work correctly. She gets her conduct card pulled nearly every day. She frequents the office. Word is she has never been to Wal-Mart. I'm certain her home life is not ideal. One day I was at school to pick Erin up a bit before the bell rang. Amy had escaped. No one knew where she was, she snuck out of her class and was no where to be found. Turns out she was on the bus already. All by herself.

 She needs prayers.

Proverbs 22:9

He who has a generous eye will be blessed,

For he gives of his bread to the poor.

Needless to say Amy is not the most popular. Most of the children grow impatient with her. Erin & I have talked about her situation and how Jesus wants us to treat everyone the same, with love. Even when they are different. Even when they are not the nicest to us, we should still be nice to them.

Yesterday morning I stopped by the school to drop off water bottles for Erin's class and before I left Erin's teacher stopped me.

 

She said, "I just wanted to tell you that you have a special little girl. Erin is so patient and compassionate when it comes to Amy. When I am at my end and have long grown frustrated with her along with many of the students, Erin is still encouraging. She says "Look! Amy sneezed into her elbow! She did her work and is still in her chair!"

 

"Erin helps other children with their work when I am not yet able to get to them. When another teacher came in a few days ago, Erin got a book from the bin and started reading to the class. She is my "student teacher"."

Psalm 116:4-6
Then I called on the name of the LORD: “LORD, save me!”
The LORD is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion.

The LORD protects the unwary; when I was brought low, he saved me.

So, even when we think things are not sinking in....They are listening, watching, learning. Have patience. God is patient with us every single day.

~Cypress & Squirrel~

Friendly Competition

This summer Erin decided she finally wanted to swim underwater...

After she saw her friend Hallie doing it so well.

This summer Erin also learned to ride her bike with no training wheels...

Because Anna could.

Today, Erin mastered the monkey bars at the zoo.

Motivation? Erica & Aleicyn.

Sometimes, all the girl needs is just a little inspiration to do just as well as others. She gets that from her Dad.

All it took was a little determination & competitive nature. She had the skill all along.



This also happened to be our first ever Girl Scout outing. About half of our troop came.

We also had a tagalong. Oh wait, cookie reference.

We saw a newborn giraffe, less than 24 hours old. We were told to walk quietly around her & the mom giraffe. She was a new mom. That's all we need to say about that. I pictured her charging us if we disturbed her little one napping.

Luke obviously still has some unresolved goat issues leftover from our last trip.

We had a good time. And as always, it's just not a good day until someone leaves crying.

Surprise Visitor

If Jesus Came to Your House

"Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of

the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with

unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of

the Lord, are being transformed into the same image

from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the

Lord." 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 (NIV)

"If Jesus came to your house to spend a day or two, If

He came unexpectedly, I wonder what you'd do. Oh, I

know you'd give your nicest Room to such an honored

Guest, And all the food you'd serve to Him would be

the very best, And you would keep assuring Him you're

glad to have Him there--That serving Him in your home

is joy beyond compare.

But when you saw Him coming would you meet Him at the

door, With arms outstretched in welcome to your

Heavenly Visitor? Or would you have to change your

clothes before you let Him in, Or hide some magazines

and put the Bibles where they'd been? Would you turn

off the radio and hope He hadn't heard, And wish you

hadn't uttered that last, loud, hasty word? Would you

hide your worldly music and put some hymn books out?

Could you let Jesus walk right in, or would you rush about?

And I wonder ... if the Savior spent a day or two with

you, Would you go right on doing the things you always

do? Would you keep right on saying the things you

always say? Would life for you continue as it does

from day to day? Would your family conversation keep

up its usual pace, And would you find it hard each

meal to say a table grace? Would you sing the songs

you always sing and read the books you read, And let

Him know the things on which your mind and spirit feed?

Would you take Jesus with you everywhere you'd planned

to go? Or would you maybe change your plans for just a

day or so? Would you be glad to have Him meet your

very closest friends, Or would you hope they'd stay

away until His visit ends? Would you be glad to have

Him stay forever on and on, Or would you sigh with

great relief when He at last was gone? It might be

interesting to know the things that you would do If

Jesus came in person to spend some time with you."

- Author Unknown

http://www.actsweb.org/encounter/daily.php 

The Power Of Thankfulness

The scriptures urge believers to maintain a spirit of thanksgiving to God in all circumstances. He doesn't need our thanks, but we desperately need reminders that we are created beings dependent upon our Maker. Acknowledging God as the source of all things frees us from the lie that we won't need Him.

Unfortunately, children are born with a propensity toward discontent. Parents can help their children guard against that propensity by encouraging gratitude and explaining that we give thanks because it...

Makes us rich: The endless pursuit of more creates artificial poverty. The discipline of gratitude, by contrast, brings natural wealth by freeing us from the snare of comparisons and unrealistic expectations.

Cures our bent: According to the apostle Paul, contentment is a discipline we learn, not a feeling we experience. It is impossible to be truly grateful and discontent at the same moment.

Gives us joy:  A major part of joy in life is expressing gratitude to the One who meets our needs. Like helium fills a deflated balloon and lifts it to the heavens, thankfulness connects our spirit to the Source of all joy.

By: Kurt Bruner

Can't we all put this into practice and record one thing we are thankful for each day?