Category: Thankful Thursdays

I am thankful that the LORD has given me life! EVERLASTING! I had written this before I saw what Iris’ Scripture was for today! That very verse has been on my mind for two days! He wants us to really KNOW how much He loves us!

In the past 73 days I have been on a deeper journey with Him. I can tell you that through this time, there have been the battles, the trials, and yes, even flesh issues that I have dealt with. I can say with all honesty though, that the LORD has given me extra strength and peace to go on. READ ON—WALK ON! FOR HIM.

I just left our ladies Bible Study group and we are involved in a Joyce Meyer study on prayer…and boy howdee is it ever POWERFUL! She shared some of the VERY things that I had been reading this week 🙂 Isn’t that like GOD!

One thing that came to my mind as I was listening to her speak and thinking in the back of my mind—circumstances that so many are facing—we need to move our focus on what the enemy is trying to do in our lives—distracting us from the FATHER and the goal of our lives—and we need to FOCUS on what GOD is doing in our lives! Girls, the best way I can say this…”SUIT UP AND DEAL WITH IT!” By that I mean put on the WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD! Partial clothing is not going to cut it!

I am thankful that Grandbuddy’s procedure went well this week and his blood pressure is DOWN!

I am thankful for all He is teaching me! I am thankful He is patient! I am thankful for YOU! I am thankful for the Bible Study on the Sisters of Faith site! If you haven’t been reading along, you have missed a blessing! My baby sister Aimee has been blessing my heart and life with every tap of her keys! I am thankful for my family!

Girls, if I haven’t told you, I love and appreciate you! God’s love is real and it is for you and for me! If you don’t have anything else to pray about on Thursday, I would TOTALLY APPRECIATE YOUR PRAYERS! I will be speaking at Carmel A/G at the Women’s Ministry Tea Thursday night. PRAY SISTERS PRAY!!! I cannot do anything without the anointing of Jesus Christ! I don’t plan to go without HIM!

Go on over to Grace Alone for many more thankful hearts!

Hey everybody~ my friend Heather…from Swallowing a Moose has created a special Thanksgiving Blog…just for TESTIMONIES! I think it is awesome! It’s called Giving Thanks on Thanksgiving!

It is a culmination of all our Thankful Thursdays (sort of)!

Iris of Grace Alone began Thankful Thursdays and it is growing and glorifying Christ in the heart of every single visitor! WE are encouraged to look up! To be thankful! To lift the chin of another! Which is exactly what the LORD wants us to be doing! While it is yet day!

But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. Hebrews 3:13 NIV

I am so thankful for shared sunsets! The beauty of the evening sky was captured by us amateur photographers on our Sisters of Faith Retreat! The palette of colors used by God is so magnificent, it is not found in any box of Crayola’s!

I am thankful for the beauty that He shines into our lives when we take the time to look! (This was one thing touched on Wednesday night during Bible Study.)

I am thankful for healing of my Aunt Evielean and my dear friend Susan! I am believing God to complete His perfect work in their lives and bodies!

I am thankful for the opportunity to meet Julie on our trip and help her celebrate her birthday…no we didn’t discuss numbers! That’s not important! Since my coming birthday will mean forty-sssssseeeeeevvvvvveeeeeennnnn years of blessings….we don’t go there.

I am thankful for friends, family and faith. I am thankful for salvation. For while I was yet a sinner, Christ had already made provision that I might have eternal life. In GLORY!

I am thankful for ALL He is teaching me as we are on this journey of dedication of time and heart with the 90 Days With the One and Only by Beth Moore. I have wept over many of the pages of words as they have penetrated my heart and soul. Christ is giving us a clear picture of ourselves—-and an even greater picture of what He desires us to be IN HIM. Through the pages of His life and journey while on this earth. So, if you have been thinking…”Angie just ain’t writing anymore”… honey, let me tell you, ask Jeff. I have had my face in the book(s) and in front of the computer every single night, along with my sister Aimee. You just have to trot over to the “Sister’s House” to find us! Sisters of Faith!

I am thankful for the dedicated hearts that have joined….as well as the lurkers, who simply read and pray along with us. (They think we don’t know they’re out there….) Thank you all!

I am thankful for YOU. For each blog I read, the Lord confirms over and over His amazing love for each heart and life. He shows me continually that each heart, touching another heart is part of His divine plan and purpose! YOU have touched my heart…just by stopping by!

Have a blessed weekend! Be sure and drop by Iris’ place for more thankful hearted testimonies of God’s goodness!

Before I get too far into this, I wanted to make sure you knew this IS Thankful Thursday. Every week we gather around and share what we are thankful for. It varies from air conditioners that work, dishwashers that have been repaired, healing for ourselves or loved ones, birthing of new babies…health, financial needs being met, jobs being secured, friends, family, but most of all, every-single-lady is thankful for salvation. For a relationship with Christ. Not religion. A true relationship.

Iris, the incredibly sweet hostess of Thankful Thursday has supplied us with the perfect verse:

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.~ 1 Peter 2:9-10 (ESV)

We are His girls. Did you know that? His. Bought with a price. Adopted into His family. Do you resemble Him?

I will start this off with a huge thankful for my dear sister Aimee. Each and every morning we have a time together on the phone. A time of fellowship with each other—and sharing the Word. Today I shared a verse from a Beth Moore daily devotional. It spoke of our “reflection of Christ”. Looking like Him. Representing Him. When I turned on my computer and went to a couple of devotional sites I found similar messages. They had no clue that I had just shared this same thought line with Aimee. Both of the sites shared about our reflection of Christ. The fact that we, as His daughters—should look like—His Son. Do we? I thought about this all day long.

I want the Father to see the reflection of His Son in my life. I want to resemble Christ so much that when others look at me—there is no doubt that I am His. Have you ever heard someone say of an adopted child, “she looks just like you”, or of a married couple of long years, “you’ve been together so long, you resemble one another”. That’s what I want of my life and spirit. I want my actions and attitude to resemble Christ.

That is hard to do sometimes. I mean, get real here. Think about how you feel when someone cuts in front of you on the highway—and you are in a hurry—going 70 miles per hour. Does Christ likeness flood your vehicle? Hmmm. Well, like I said. This is hard. For me anyway. It is something I am working on. Daily.

I want a relationship with Jesus that is real and EVIDENT. One that others— “want what I’ve got”. Don’t you want to be a traffic director? No, not the officer that stands in the road waving you forward or putting up his hand for you to stop. But the one that directs others—that are seeking the Way—to the Way. You point them, even take them, to the Way, the Truth and the Life.

A true relationship will be sought after. Anyone can “get religion”—but to develop a relationship—you have to stay in contact—constant communication with that Person. That’s what I want. How about you?

So—I am thankful for my family—my sweet man—who prays over me—for me and with me. I am thankful for my daughters and their families. I am thankful for my job and my co-workers. I am thankful for my church family, my health, my dishwasher, my washer/dryer, my AIRCONDITIONER, but most of all…..I am thankful for the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ in my life on a daily basis. I am thankful for my relationship….with God, my Father–His Son—and the Holy Spirit. Daily.

What are you thankful for….Run on over to Iris‘ place….see what others are saying!

Sometimes….okay, most all the time, the Lord completely blows me away with His goodness and love. It shouldn’t. I mean the Bible says He loves us….why do we forget?

Take this for instance: I was sick this week—yucky down in the bed–bathroom—sick. And my dear sweet man brought me drink (sprite), my Mama Doodle brought me better drink (ginger ale), and then my sweet man brought his lunch in from the “camp cafeteria”….are you gettin’ the picture…or should I say, are you smellin’ the smell??? To a sick person—this was –this was—okay, right now, the worse word for this can’t come to my brain, very possibly because it has left me! But it was bad. Trust me.

But what does the Lord do? He reminds me of the fact that I have Vick’s Vapor ointment—put it on a Q-Tip —and you get the picture. Even better than that—when my Mama Doodle brought me the drink, she brought a sweet gift from her sweet girl (who is far away in a distant land teaching children)….a softly scented candle—lightly scented of chocolate and vanilla. I knew that as soon as I was well, this candle would possibly be eaten. But right now, I just needed it to take the smell of cafeteria spaghetti from my nose!

And so it was. I took the lid off, set it on my bedside table and let the aroma fill my room. Of course, even the sweet smell could only be tolerated for a short period of time. After my next trip to the bathroom, the lid went back on. But it served the purpose. Smell obliterated.

BUT then today, as I was finishing the “getting ready” for work process…my sweet man, came to give me my morning hug…and he obliterated the smell of cafeteria spaghetti once again, when he held me close and prayed to our Father in heaven for strength to return to my body and protection over my day, and he blessed my day—-then wrapped it up with a sweet “I love you”. Girls, the make-up had to be “touched-up” because I became a puddle and you KNOW that is better than ANY present on this earth. And I told him so.

Thank you LORD for the kindness of others. For Your infinite love and mercy—for YOUR healing power—for I KNOW there were those precious ones praying! Thank You for forgiveness—for showing me DAILY that YOU love me always—and are always here for me.

For more thankfuls—random hearts—visit IRIS!