Thankful Challenge - November 5th

Psalms 30:12 "To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever."

Thankful Challenge -November 5th (if you're not sure exactly what this post is all about, click here to find out)

Lauren - I'm thankful for my salvation and how the Lord has changed me, and continues to change me to become more like Him. (2 Cor. 5:17)

Page - I'm thankful for answered prayer to unspoken requests. Even when we don't know how exactly to pray, the Lord knows our heart and makes intercession with the Father on our behalf. (Rom. 8:26)

Let us know what YOU are thankful for! Join us in this "Thankful Challenge" each day until Thanksgiving. Let's count our many blessings, naming them one by one.

~Lauren & Page

"Be Ye Thankful"

Colossians 3:15b "...be ye thankful."

Being thankful... Sometimes this is not always so easy...

At times, I feel overwhelmed and busy... tired or lazy... ungrateful because things aren't going the way I want... frustrated over silly things (even though they may not seem silly at the time)... complaining because of this or that... Ugh.

But, if I stop to think about what is going on in my life, even when things aren't "perfect"--do I really have any reason not to be thankful? Salvation and God's words to me... my husband, my son... my house, my health... my new business... losing weight (tee-hee!)... hmmm... good food, great friends....

Wow! And I'm just getting started! This list could continue on for sure!

Now, why was I feeling so "Not Thankful"?!?!?!?!!???!?

I don't want this post to seem generic--I just wanted to hopefully get everyone to thinkin'...

Don't complain today... Be ye thankful!

Tell the Lord how thankful you are for all He has done. Tell your spouse how thankful you are for them. Tell your children how thankful you are for them. Call your mom and tell her how thankful you are for her!! : )

And most definitely, drop a note here on our blog and let us know why you are thankful today! I can't wait to hear from you!

~Page

Lord, Thank You.

John 3:16-17 "For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved."

Have you ever stopped to think about what the Lord has done for us? For you?

1 Peter 2:24 "Who his own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed."

He suffered greatly so that we could be saved... So that we could have eternal life in heaven with Him! His sacrifice was the ultimate--His perfect life, for our sinful one.

Hebrews 12:2 "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."

Seek Him. He is not far away.

Acts 17:27-28a "That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after Him, and find Him, though He be not far from every one of us: For in Him we live, and move, and have our being"

Call unto Him.

Romans 10:10-13 "For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

He will save you. You can have eternal life with Him.

John 5:24 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My Word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life."

We are free! Saved by Him from death and the punishment of sins!

Romans 6:17-18 "But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness."

It's a forever thing.

John 10:28 "And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand."

Thank you, Lord!

1 Corinthians 15:57 "But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

We have the victory! Celebrate! Thank God for it!

2 Corinthians 9:15 "Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift."

I am so thankful for my salvation! Don't ever miss or forget what was done on the cross for you!

~Page

Thank you, Jes!

Proverbs 17:17 "A friend loveth at all times..."

So, these past few weeks have been CRAZY busy... One reason being that my good friend, Jes, traveled all the way down from Nebraska just to see me. (Ha ha!) Ok, maybe it wasn't just to see me--but we did get to spend lots of time together, and it was a blast!

Jes and I have known each other since middle school... And let me tell you, she is one of THE MOST TALENTED PEOPLE I KNOW!!! It's ridiculous. : ) This girl has done all sorts of crazy and amazing crafts.

Jes and her Hunny Bunny, Sam.

A funny pic of us way back when... (She married her high school sweetie! Cute!)

Right now, Jes has her own home business, "The D.O.D. and Me", mainly making purses for army wives. They. Rock. : )

Ok, ok... Back to Thankful Thurs...

When she found out she was going to get to come down to Tennessee, we decided to hit the crafts (which for us mainly consisted of the sewing machine this time). We had so much fun and accomplished quite a bit.

Here is just a tiny sample of some of the things we did:

A way cute baby blanket and matching booties.

Mind you, this is just a sample. Some things I can't post, as they are still a secret to those who will be receiving them! : ) But, we will start having some fun and thrifty tutorials on how to make these items and much more! Yeah!

We had so much fun. I can't wait to get together again!

Thank you, Jes, so incredibly much. I learned so much from you and look forward to learning much more!

Your friend,

~Page

Thankful Thursday: My Little Red Head

Psalm 127:3 "Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is His reward."

This Thankful Thursday, I just had to post about our family trip to Dollywood, and watching a little boy's "dream come true". : )

There is nothing like having a child, and watching them grow. Our son, Little Red, is such a cool kid. Hilarious, smart, inquisitive, and busy are just a few of the words that best describe him (and did I mention hilarious?!??!) Every day is an adventure, every day there is something new.

This particular post zeros in on one of his favorite things: Trains!

Just look at him, so tiny, by that huge train. He studies it, listens to it, and then runs straight for his daddy to show him his new discovery. "Daddy, look!", he exclaims... several times. We just smile and laugh.

He takes off to go get on the train so we can ride, even though it doesn't leave for another 15 minutes. That doesn't matter--he's on the train!

A quick snack makes the time go by a little easier and quicker. It's extremely hot and humid. And I'm trying to get him to drink as much water as possible, but he can't hardly focus on water, because the train whistle is blowing! Eyes brighten, "Choo choo! Choo choo!" This is a very big deal.

We put his sun glasses on, because it's way bright. Then, I see just how much he looks like his daddy. I love that he is so much like his daddy.

The train finally pulls away and we go on a 20 minute ride up the hill and back. Little Red is totally enthralled, particularly when the whistle blows.

I enjoy this train ride, more than any other I have ever been on. This enjoyment doubles and triples for me through my son. I'm happy because he is so happy! : )

I truly do feel "the fruit of the womb is His reward." Children are a blessing. I am very thankful for my son!

2 Corinthians 9:15 "Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift."!!!!

~Page

Blessing No. 98943090238412094 : )

Psalm 30:12 "To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever."

"God is good! God is so good! God is so good; He's so good to me!" Such a sweet song! It's ringing very true to me right now!

The background: This past week--our lawn mower decided to move on to greener pastures. : )

Scott and I talked about purchasing another push mower, for a really good price of around $150, at Lowe's. After much discussion, we decided to give it to The Lord. He has blessed us continually in our lives, even in the smallest details. Why not the same with our lawn mower? We knew if it took very long, we would have to pull out the bush hog (so goes the country life). So we began praying. : )

THE VERY NEXT DAY, a man at Scott's work came up to him and offered him his old push mower, which was in very good shape and had been seldom used, for $10!!! Yes!!! JUST $10!!!!!!!!!! It works like a dream! I know, I used it myself last night! (My first ever experience mowing! I didn't want to miss out on this gift. And it turns out, I really enjoy mowing! Will be doing this much more!! )

I just had to share with everyone how great God is, how much He cares, even in the smallest things to the VERY BIGGEST things.

Philippians 4:19 "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus."

God has supplied all of our needs. Even if we hadn't have received this mower, we still would have had all our needs. This is just an example of how God cares for our wants as well. Give Him a chance to meet the needs in your life and to fulfill the desires of your heart.

Psalm 118:21 "I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation."

God is my salvation! He has saved me! Praise Him! How about you? Are you a partaker in His wonderful gift to us?

What a BIG and Wonderful God we serve!!!

Thank you, Father!

~Page

In EVERYTHING, give thanks!

1 Thessalonians. 5:18 "In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

Do you suffer from Complaineritis? ;-) Do you give thanks to God even when you don't "feel" like it?

To say that my husband and I have had a busy week, would be putting it very lightly. Hence, my lack of blogging. However, as I was sitting in church yesterday morning, and listening to one of my favorite preachers (my Father in law), the Lord spoke to my heart.

The verse above was mentioned and my Father-in-law preached about how we are to give thanks in every situation, no matter what. Are you the type of person who complains at the drop of a hat, or do you see the "good" in every situation and remember to give thanks? I was convicted of this, because while I strive to be thankful, I had been guilty of being a complainer. This past week I have been traveling, going non-stop, not getting much sleep, etc. Instead of praising God for safe travels, time spent with my wonderful husband, the opportunity to be a blessing to others, etc. I chose to have a couple of complaining moments (ok, more than a couple).

Can I just take a commercial break and say that we as Americans are so spoiled, we have no idea what it is to truly have need of anything! We complain about the most insignificant things, that it's almost humorous....almost.

Ok, back to the Monday Meditation....;-)

The verse above commands Christians to give thanks, in EVERYTHING. I was convicted of my complaining spirit and confessed it to the Lord! My desire is to be someone that reflects Christ and sees His blessings in every situation, no matter how tired and weary I may be. It's no excuse!

The verse above doesn't say "In everything give thanks, except when you're tired." It also doesn't say "In everything give thanks, except when you really don't feel like it." Why then, do we live in such a way that you'd think it's what the verse says?
As I reflect on the busy week my husband and I had, I am now looking at it with a totally different mindset. I am thanking the Lord for his protection, the time spent with my husband, time spent with family and friends, the many laughs, and the opportunity to meet new people.

The next time you are having a "bad day", start counting your many blessings aloud and you will really be surprised at how quickly your outlook will change!
We as Christians are to live in such a way that we reflect the joy of the Lord to those around us, counting our blessings and giving thanks in EVERYTHING is key!

Have a thankful Monday, everyone!!

~Lauren