Thankful Thursday

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

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Sometimes we get so wrapped up in our day to day lives, so inundated with doom and gloom from the news and those around us who are feeling the pinch, we forget to thank God for all He has done for us. But, as you can see (and probably already knew!) it's right there, in the Bible that we are to be joyful, pray continually and give thanks NO MATTER WHAT, in all circumstances.

That's a tough one, I know. When your furnace is broken, you have no idea how you're going to pay for it and winter is coming; when the bills are piling up and no money is coming in; when you lose a loved one; when everything looks grim, how in the world are we to be thankful? What are we to thank God for when nothing looks positive?

It's very important that we look to the positives in our lives. Did you wake up this morning? Well, thank God that you did! Do you have a family that loves you? Do you have a church family that prays for you? Are you assured of your Salvation through the Blood of Jesus? Well then, we need to get on our knees and thank God that we do!

So, to help myself and in the process anyone who stops by here, I've decided to start a Thankful Thursday posting. I will post here a few things that I am thanking God for today. I encourage you to do the same.

I will be making a button soon for people to grab to put on your blog to show that you've taken part in Thankful Thursday.

Here is my Thankful Thursday list:

1. My new Homestead. We wouldn't be here without God's help.
2. My children and husband. They are truly the most important thing to me here on this earth.
3. I have heat!
4. I have a Heavenly Father that I can put my trust in. He will not fail me!
5. I have food in my cupboards to feed my family, where so many don't.

I could go on and on, but I think I'll stop at 5.

What are you thankful for this Thursday?

Where Do I Fit In?

Where do I fit in? That's a question that has been plaguing me for some time now. I just didn't realize that was what was bothering me.

I've been doing a lot of thinking (as I mentioned in a previous post) about myself, God's plan for me, the state of the world economy, etc. And that has brought me to a realization that I am missing out on what God's plan for me really is.

I've been spending too much time lately in the carnal (self driven) world. I haven't been paying enough attention to what really matters, my relationship with God. The things I do don't make Him happy. They hardly make me happy for crying out loud!

Because I've been short circuiting the power that God sends to me with my grumbling and my carnal (self driven) thinking, I'm missing out on His blessings, and my ministry. God has a ministry for all of us. The problem is, what is it?

I'm going to be doing a lot of praying and meditating on His word, listening for Him, for His guidence. Where does He want me to be?

Do you know? Because I sure don't! ;)

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. A lot of thinking. I've also noticed that God is really speaking to me about something.

We all know that things aren't great in the economical part of our lives. Markets are falling, banks are being bought out, mortgages are being called in, jobs are being lost, and the list goes on and on and on.

It's pretty scary stuff isn't it? It can make a person want to hide under a blanket and never come out. If we dwell on it, if we allow that fear to take over, we will destroy ourselves.

We need to trust God. We need to understand and accept that He will take care of us. That's not to say that He's going to let you sit at home and He'll pay your bills for you. Not at all. But if we trust Him, he will bring us through.

I've noticed too that a lot of people are feeling very negative. Understandable, but not helpful. We tend to start acting the way we are thinking. Instead of being the positive, filled with joy Christians we should be, we start to preach the doom and gloom that everyone else is feeling.

It's our job to be light in darkness. To help others to see that even though things are tough and may get a bit tougher, that all is not lost. Those who are unsaved need to see the joy of the Lord shining through us regardless of the situation.

We need to remember to be thankful for what we have, not begrudge the things we don't. If you woke up this morning, then thank the Good Lord that you still have breath in your lungs! If you're eating tonight, thank the Lord that there is food on the table. Just because it's not sirloin steak, doesn't mean it won't nourish us.

I volunteer at a local Mission. Every Saturday we cook and serve a nutritious well balanced meals to the disadvantaged in our area. Some weeks we have more people there than others, but generally speaking we serve about 50 a week. I leave there thankful and joyful that I have a house to come home to, with food in my fridge to eat.

What we think always ends up showing on the outside. If we are thinking negative thoughts, we will act negatively in our lives. We need to think positive uplifting thoughts. We need to thank God for what we have. We need to ensure that we are following God's will for our lives.

We need to trust that God is caring for us. That He will keep us safe no matter what storms rage in the "real" world.

Stop grumbling about what we don't have. Stop predicting doom and gloom. Start with a smile on your face. Have a peace in your life that will make others wonder what you have that they don't. Show the love of Jesus in your life.

Trust me, you'll feel better if you do. ;)