Thirty Days of Thanksgiving

November is here... the time of year when every Facebook post and Twitter tweet is about what we are - or should be - thankful for. And it's already the THIRD, which means I'm late - again. Punctuality is obviously not a virtue that I was blessed with at birth. It takes a lot of effort so, sad to say, I reserve being punctual for church, family functions, and work (of course). Ah-hem, enough about my innate flaws and back to being thankful.

#1 - First of all, I'm thankful to God for giving me life (and, uh, my parents who helped a little). Every day I wake up - even though I really, really, dislike early mornings - means that God has a plan for me, my day, and my family.

#2 - My husband. He is my best friend. He is by my side every morning I wake up and every evening when I close my eyes to sleep. Always honest, faithful, and the best father I could dream up for my children.

#3 - My children. Parenthood is a constant challenge and just when you think you have it under control, something happens to make you wonder how on Earth these two small humanoid aliens are even related to you... regardless, I love them with all my heart and all my soul. I'm thankful that God has blessed me with these two precious gifts, I simply cannot imagine life without them.

There you have it - three things that I'm thankful for and now I'm caught up! Ta-da!

"Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!" (2 Cor 9:15) 

James 2:17, 21-22, 24

17 So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. 
 

21 Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete.  

24 So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone.

Do good deeds. This devotional reading makes me wonder if I do enough for others? Can they see Jesus living through me? Would I do something for a complete stranger that I would do for my own family? Most importantly, am I a good Christian example for my children to follow?


I often pray for God to open my heart and give me the courage to live and love others like Jesus loved us.

Praying & Believing

Genesis 22:1-14
Samuel 1:7-20

 Sometimes it's hard to trust God's plan for us. As humans we want to believe that we can control everything but that is just not the case. When you want one thing to happen and God pushes you in the other direction it is hard to follow him without question.

Abraham's faith is amazing. Can you imagine what he must have been feeling and thinking all the way up that mountain? It brings to heart the saying, "You can never really know a man unless you walk a mile in his shoes."

 Do we pray like Hannah? Do we bring everything to God? More than that, do we leave everything at the altar?

As I read these passages I realize that faith is work.

1. A constant effort to follow God's lead even if it's not down the path we choose for ourselves. 
2. A constant effort to pray earnestly and meaningfully and purposely... 
3. And then to leave it in God's hands and not carry it around as needless baggage as we try to live our lives. 

 I pray for courage to follow God's lead and strength to overcome my need to feel in control of this journey...