Thanking & Praising

As I was thinking about what to write today, the words of the Apostle Paul came to mind.

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:3-6

This weekend was such a good weekend. Jonathan returned from camp exhausted and thrilled. I see a joy in him that I haven't seen in quite some time. I thank each and every one of you for praying for him. I know that God rekindled a flame in his heart this weekend and my heart is just overjoyed. I just can't help but praise the wonderful name of Jesus!

• When we seek Him, we definitely find Him.
• When we call upon His name, He hears us and always answers.
• When we give our children into His hands, He loves on them and returns them changed.

This afternoon, Randy had his trial spinal cord stimulator implanted. We have been waiting for this day for such a long time. The procedure went well and the stimulator is doing its thing. Now we just have to wait and see if he can tolerate the stimulation, if his pain is reduced by at least 50%, and if he is able to increase his mobility. Once again, it is in God's hands.

Once again I would like to ask that you join me in praying for him. As we seek God, call upon His name, I am trusting Him into God's hands. There is definitely no better place for any of us to be.

I have come to love each of you and thank God for your friendship and support. May He bless each of your homes and families! We serve an amazing, loving, kind, compassionate, joy-giving God!

Cardboard Testimonies

I watched a video this afternoon that has totally rocked my world. By the end I had tears in my eyes. Not tears of sorrow but tears of gratitude to a wonderful, loving, grace giving Savior who has changed my life and my eternity.

I hope each of us will be challenged:

• Do you remember who were were before Jesus touched our life?
• Have you praised Him today for what He's done in your life since?
• Can you think of someone whose cardboard only has one side?
• Will you go and tell them the good news that they too can be forever changed?
  

Please come back tomorrow to join me for Saturday Steps of Faith

Thankful Thursday #7

Sonya is hosting Thankful Thursday again this week. Click the button above and you can see everyones list of thanksgivings.

1. My dear friend Debbie was taken to the hospital this week. She was physically in bad shape, scared to death and just a mess. She is back home today feeling so much better. God walked with her each step of the way and answered prayer after prayer. Thank You God for loving her back to health !

2. Only 8 more days until I get to go home. I am counting down the days until I get to see family and friends that I have missed to terribly. Thank You God for providing the tickets and working out all of the details. Thank You for making a way!

3. Last Sunday I enjoyed a Worship service that had a "Praise and Share" time built right into the middle. A lady shared how she had received word of a spot on her mamogram. Her mom and sister are both breast cancer survivors. Her husband prayed over her. Her Pastor and his wife prayed over her. When she went back in, the ultrasound showed nothing at all. Thank You God that you show yourself to us through miracles every day!

4. I am so thankful for friends. Friends you can call on when you need a helping hand. Friends you don't see too often, but when you do you pick right up where you left off the last time you saw them. Friends that listen and care. Friends who lift you up in prayer. Thank You God for my friends.

5. I know that I say this quite often, but I am so thankful for my job. Some days it's hard. The stress level can get high. But it provides for all of our needs and even some wants. In a day when so many are looking for work and just struggling to get by. I'm thankful for my job and God's provision through it.

A word of Thanks to all of my bloggy friends! Thank You for the encouragement you give through your blogs each day. Thank You for sharing Jesus! Without Him where would we be?

Thankful Thursday #6

I missed Thankful Thursday last week, so I'm glad to be joining Sonya once again. Here are my five for today:

1. Thank You God for giving me sight. It's something I take for granted on most days. But on a day like today where the sun is shining and the birds are singing, I just can't help but to stop and take it all in.
2. Thank You God for providing for my every need. I know I list this often but in today's economy, without God's blessings where would I be.
3. Thank You God for the small ways I see you moving in my present situation. If I stop and look at the open road before me, it can at times be daunting. And yet I see the steps that you took with me yesterday and today. I know that you will be walking with me tomorrow - leading, encouraging, carrying me if necessary. Thank you for directing my steps.
4. Thank You for keeping things running every day in our home. Our furnace, appliances, cars, day after day doing the work they were ordained to do. Thank you for keeping them in working order.
5. Thank You God that in 15 days I'll be home for the first time in over a year. So many hugs to give. So many hugs to get. Family and friends to catch up with. Joy to be shared. There's no place like home!
   
   

Happy 13th Birthday

Happy

13th

Birthday!

Thirteen years of praying. Thirteen years of waiting. Thirteen years of God teaching me that His ways are far better than I ever could have hoped or dreamed.

Thirteen years ago our faith became sight as God placed you in our arms for the very first time. Just a little over a day old when we first met; but conceived in our heart long before.

It was New Years Eve 1996 when with quiet resolve that your Dad and I knelt beside our bed and said a prayer that would forever change our lives. It went something like this, "God, whether You ever bless us with a child or not, You are our God! We lay down our wants, our wishes and desires at your feet. Above all else, may your will be done in our lives today, and forever."

No more wanting what we wanted, more than we wanted what God wanted. No more trying to bargain. No more wrestling with God. No more infertility treatments. That night, we layed it all down.

January 4th, 1996 we received a phone call that to this day still blows me away. On the phone was a lady that my husband had met a couple of times out in the community. She represented a private adoption agency not far from our home. Her question, "Would you and your wife be interested in adopting a baby?" She told Randy that she just couldn't get us off of her mind.

At the time she didn't know if we had any children or were even looking to adopt, but felt compelled by God to call and ask. Yes they had a waiting list. Yes they had many couples already approved and just waiting to be matched up with a baby. But as always, this godly lady committed the selection of parents for each baby to prayer. So she placed the call.

January 5th we met her at a local restaurant and we shared and cried together. Overwhelmed by what God was doing in all of our lives, how He was orchestrating the entire thing. To see Him working everything out, according to His plan was like nothing I had ever experienced before. And by the way, this special gift would be arriving within a matter of weeks.

So many details to work out. The home study, the adoption expenses, the attorney fees, the medical expenses. We had made no preparations. How in the world would everything be completed in time. When it's God's timing, all of the paperwork, all of the details, everything is under His control. Everything was completed without a hitch.

On a Wednesday night I came home from church to a ringing phone. A familiar voice was on the other end of the line. Her words, "Your son has been born! You can pick him up tomorrow." I sat down on the chair, no breath in my lungs, nothing would come out. Totally speechless!

We named you Jonathan which means, "God has given" or "Gift of God". In our lives, outside of Jesus, you have been the greatest gift that God has ever given to us. In giving you, He did the impossible, the improbable, the miraculous. He poured out His love for us in a tiny bundle of joy that filled our hearts greatest desires.

Thirteen years later, you continue to bring us tremendous joy. I am so proud of the young man you are growing to be. I can't wait to see where God is going to take you in the next 13 years of our lives together. I love you with all of my heart! Mom

Thankful Thursday #4

It's that time of the week again where we come together for Thankful Thursday hosted by Sonya. I was reminded today of a quote that I love. It is so very appropriate for this post:

The more inclined I am to applaud in His presence - the more inclined He is to provide an encore! -Beth Moore

Here is my standing ovation for today:

1. I thank you God that I am fearfully and wonderfully made! What You see in me may not match up to what the world sees or even I see when standing in front of the mirror..., but I am exactly who you created me to be. You are the creator who made me, formed me and I live to bring pleasure to you! Bravo God! Bravo!
2. I thank you God for being my mighty rock and my refuge. You are my fortress, my deliverer, my protector, my strength. You are my peace, my joy, my passion. All that I am, all that I ever hope to be is in You! Bravo God! Bravo!
3. I thank you God for every good and perfect gift that you have brought into my life. Words cannot adequately express how good you have been to me. You've never given me what I deserved, because of your love, because of your grace. But instead you have given me your best - your perfect Son Jesus, salvation, forgiveness, life everlasting, hope now and for eternity. Bravo God! Bravo!
4. I thank you God for "working all things together for my good". Oh, when I've been walking the hard road I didn't always see it at that time. But upon reflection, Your hand prints have been all over my life - from birth until now. All things have been for my good. They have molded me into the woman I am today, Bravo God! Bravo!
5. I thank you for how far I have come and how far you have brought me. I thank you that as I look forward into my future, regardless of my circumstances, my future is bright because you are there! Bravo God! Bravo!

How about you?

Thankful Thursday #3

It's that time of the week again where we come together for Thankful Thursday hosted by Sonya. It's been another week of tremendous blessings, but I'm only allowed 5. So here we go:

1. After 4 months of being virtually bed-ridden, Randy has had 3 days of no back pain! Words cannot adequately express the joy and thanksgiving bubbling up in my heart. We don't call Him the Great Physician for nothing! God still heals!
2. Tonight at dinner I opened up my fortune cookie and it said, "You hold the wisdom of the ages in your hands." I don't know what they were referring to..., but every time I take my Bible and open it up I am doing just that! Thank You God for the wisdom you share with me every day.
3. This week I have reconnected with friends I haven't seen or heard from in 20 years. How fun to rekindle friendships and see the different paths that God has led us down. It's a blessing to see the legacy of faith that is being passed from generation to generation. Thank You God!
4. I am so thankful for my sister (or my "much older sister" as I like to call her). Growing up we shared a room and on occasion I could be a bit of a brat. But once we were both married and out of the house, our friendship began to bloom. There is no one I respect and love more than Melani. She is the picture of a godly wife and mother and I am in awe of her.
5. I am so grateful for my job. I have worked for the same company for 21 years, the last 7 1/2 from at home in my pajamas. I always wanted to be a stay at home mom, but good health insurance was a must. God gave me the best of both worlds. He is so good to us!

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Colossians 3:15

Blessings - Lisa

Thankful Thursday #2

It's time for Thankful Thursday again. Thank You Sonya for hosting. It's amazing when I sit down and start thinking about what my 5 will be this week, my heart begins to overflow. Here goes:

1. I am thankful for the snow this week (yes you heard this California girl right). Tuesday night we received about 8" of fresh snow. Though I often complain about the cold weather, I thoroughly enjoyed being outside as we dug out the driveway. When everything around you is white and fresh and clean, it's just so peaceful. It's as if there is a stillness in the air and you can just take in the beauty of the moment. It was definitely a God Stop for me this week
2. I am thankful that after working all day and cooking dinner, I don't have to think about the mess in the kitchen and the dirty dishes. It really makes me feel appreciated and loved by my family when my guys say, "Go sit down, we'll take care of this." Thank you both!
3. I am thankful for the new Christian sisters & siestas I meet each day online. You challenge and encourage me as I read what God is showing you, teaching you and just how much He loves you. Thank you for the comments you leave on this blog that make me smile.
4. I am thankful for songs that at just the right moment draw my heart straight into worship.
5. I am thankful for the safety of those I love. So many accidents on the slippery roads. Thank you God for your protection.

I know your hearts must be busting at the seams with Thanksgiving. Feel free to leave at least leave one thing you're thankful for in the comments.

Blessings - Lisa