I am a Christian, a retired teacher, a mother and a grandmother. I love to read and I love the Lord Jesus Christ! Unless otherwise specified ,all visual illustrations are from the YOU VERSION APP of the Bible.
I am so thankful to be home again! I got home yesterday afternoon, got most of my things unpacked and just relaxed in the environment that I am used to. The last ten days had been stressful but I survived and one of the main reasons that I was able to hold it together was my dependence on the Lord and my attitude of gratitude. It’s hard to be grumpy when you are grateful! And I am so grateful for family, friends, health, God’s provision…the list goes on and on. So, today is a day to praise. Is everything going well in my world? No, I have family in the hurricane in Florida, but both have assured me that they are okay. I even heard from my brother early this morning. They are on the backside of the storm and expecting possible tornadoes after the hurricane passes later today. But I am thankful that God is watching over both of them and confident that He will take care of them as He sees fit. He is God and there in none other!
Have a blessed day of gratitude to the Lord for all He has done, but mostly for Who He is!
Who is the “them” in this verse? We, the ones the Lord has redeemed by His blood, are the ones who are to give our testimony to others. This is a sacred responsibility that we should not take lightly. We are able to be thankful because He already showed us His love that never fails and does wonderful things for us daily.
Who is this foe that God has redeemed us from? Sin and its consequences, death. Telling our story may plant a seed so another person can be redeemed by God, set free from sin and ready to receive His love and forgiveness.
So, today and every day is a day to be thankful, a day to lift up the name of God and to bless His name before others. No matter what our current circumstances are, there is always something to be thankful for, not the least of which is that He has counted us among the redeemed.
This was in my devotional this morning and it goes along with my post about not boasting yesterday. If we truly realize that everything comes from God, and are thankful for it all, then we will not be boasting. I am very thankful today because we are spending the week with grandchildren and bonus! My brother is coming for a few days from Colorado. I usually only see him every couple of years, but this is an extra visit since he had to come east anyway for a memorial service for his wife’s stepfather. Be that as it may, I get to see Steve and Lee again and introduce them to our youngest grandson Nathan, the little one I took care of for a while in the fall and who turns one on Friday. So many things to be thankful for! What are you thankful for today?
Have a blessed day, counting your blessings and being thankful to God for each of them!
In my devotional this morning, there were two scripture verses that spoke to me clearly.
When the Israelites were in the wilderness, they obviously did not have GPS or even a map. They depended completely on God to lead them to where He wanted them to settle. His presence was in the form of a cloud that settled over the newly constructed tabernacle. When the cloud moved, the people got up and followed. Would that I could be so patient and not try to get ahead of God but wait for Him to tell me it’s time to move. I don’t mean physically moving, although that might be part of His instructions to me, but I mean to be so in tune with God that when He tells me to do something, I sense His presence moving before me to help me accomplish His will. I’m not there yet, but it is a goal that I strive for.
It got very warm outside the last couple of days and our home is not well insulated, so it got rather warm inside, too. Thus I found myself complaining about the condition of our house: cold in the winter and hot when it warms up, blazing hot in the summer months. Oops! Last night as I was preparing for bed, God chastised me for not being grateful for having a shelter, no matter its condition. Then this morning this was a Scripture verse in my devotional. God definitely takes complaining seriously, so I need to be careful about complaining. When I think that I am vocalizing my complaints to my husband about the state of our finances and our living conditions, I am really complaining about God’s provision. I ask for forgiveness from my Heavenly Father who knows what He is doing and has provided for me all of these years. Bless His Name for His provision! I may not have all I want, but I have always had all that I needed.
May God bless and keep you on this day, helping you to move when He moves and to remember to bless His name and not complain. Have a great Sunday! I hope you are getting ready for church so you can worship with like-minded believers.
As I have aged, I have discovered that I am not as capable of remembering things from the past as I once could. The fog of having had a stroke has not helped, so that has been my go-to excuse when someone says, “Remember when…?” Most of the time, I honestly don’t remember. But one very important thing that I want to always remember is God’s steadfast love for me and all of the miracles that He has performed in my life.
One of the ways we can recall all of God’s wonderful acts on our behalf is to testify about them, to friends, at church, in a journal. Just put the words out there so that others can share in the joy you had when you saw God working on your behalf.
Of course, the first thing that comes to mind is healing from my stroke. In January of 2015 when I had a massive stroke (the occupational therapist told me that it was a 19 out of 21 on their scale, whatever their scale was), I could not move most of my right side, could not speak without stuttering and lost my memory for speaking Spanish. The OT encouraged me that the brain is made in such a way that it would find new pathways to get around the ones that had died when I had the stroke. Well, she didn’t say it, but I did, in my mind. I am fearfully and wonderfully made and God would make a way for me to function again. I had to practice walking, telling my legs to take steps until it became natural for me again. I practiced reading, much more slowly than I had ever done before, but I could do it. And I got out old Spanish books from my high school years and practiced my Spanish. Oh, yeah, and I couldn’t write except for illegible scribbles. My physical therapist was a real gift from God. He had been my therapist after my knee surgery and my broken elbow and when he saw on the schedule that a patient was coming in who had had a stroke and saw my name, he told me he didn’t know what to expect. So, with love and patience, he worked with me in all ways possible. He brought out a whiteboard for me to practice writing on. I did OT puzzles and other exercises to build my dexterity in my hands. It amazed me that my left hand was faster than my right because my right had to be trained again. After about three months, I was able to return to teaching part-time and by five months after my stroke, I was working full-time and discharged from PT. Amazing, right? God is the God of miracles and He gave me back my speech, my ability to walk and my ability to use and teach Spanish. Some would say, “Well, of course. The OT said that your brain would find new pathways.” There is no “of course” to it! My PT said that my progress was like a miracle because I progressed so rapidly. To this day, I know to Whom to give the credit for my recovery. God gets all the kudos because not only did He make me to begin with, He healed me when I had an unimaginably scary stroke. I will admit that sometimes my brain fogs and I know that’s the sign that I need to rest, to pull away and just be quiet, whether that means napping or going to bed extra early. But I continue to be amazed each day that I awaken because I know that it is God who loves me enough to allow me to still be here on earth. Since my stroke, I have had four new grandchildren born, and I am so blessed to be able to meet them and get to know them. In fact, Penny was born only a month after my stroke and I told my PT that I needed to get better so I could go meet her. I did! I met her in March, when she was only a few weeks old. Why am I writing all of this? I’m writing my testimony for me to remember and for you to know what a miracle-working God we serve. I am thankful every day for my life that He gave back to me, and I hope that each of you is thankful for all that he has done for you.
I am so thankful! God is no respecter of persons and what He did for me, He can do for anyone.
Vickie's Book Nook and Meditation Corner 