Thanks for Everything, Even the Bad Stuff....

Happy Thanksgiving!

Oops, I am a little bit late, aren't I?

Anyway... I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving! We did. The Bug and Boo behaved (that almost sounds like a tongue twister), and no one ate so much that they got sick. Anytime it does not involve a trip to the emergency room, it is a good day.

What did YOU have to be thankful for this year?

We have many things in my family to be thankful for: people that needed jobs now have them, cancer has been fought, specialists for other ailments have been sought out, we have a loving family and church family that are very supportive of us, and our children are in good health.

But...

Come on, you knew there would be a big "but" coming sooner or later...

Sometimes it is hard for us to see and focus on the positive aspects of our lives, especially when there are still negative things going on. It is kind of like that old saying "the squeaky wheel gets the grease". In our lives sometimes negative things seem to far out squeak the positive, and what we focus on becomes our outlook and attitude.

But listen to this, I am not telling you to focus on the positive instead of the negative, although I do firmly believe sometimes that helps immensely. In fact, I am telling you to praise God and thank him through everything, including the dark times.

Let us turn to exhibit A, um, I think I have been watching too many cop shows on TV lately. Or you can just listen to "Blessed be your name" by Matt Redman, or Bug's favorite, Veggietales.

Job 1:21  "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart.   The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away, may the name of the LORD be praised."

In case you do not know the back story, Job had just been told over a matter of minutes that he had lost all of his animals (his lively hood, his source of income), his servants, and the last one, all of his children. At the same time.

After hearing all of this, Job had the courage and strength of character in that although he was grieving immensely, he was able to praise and thank God for what he had and the time he had it.

Do we possess this character? Let us put it all into perspective. I am not saying that we are not allowed to be sad or grieve, I just do not want us to take our eyes off of the eternal. God gives us everything. And sometimes, for whatever reasons, he takes them away.

Blessed be the name of the Lord.

My Bright Side

"Thank you Lord, for the day you have given us today. For all of the gifts you have given us, not the least of which is the life we have on this earth, and the eternal life we will have with you when this earthly life is over. Thank you for all of your blessings, for taking care of us, and for working all things out for Your glory. Amen."

Ah, but life should be so easy.

I say that prayer almost every day. And I mean it, I mean it with all that is inside of me. But sometimes it is much easier to say than others. Right now for instance- my husband has no job, I work part time, and we are almost 3 hours away from our family.

But God wants us to dwell on what we have, not what we do not have. The things he provides for us, sometimes even in spite of ourselves, because there can be no way we deserve it.

Here is my bright side: so far, all of our health is good, we managed to save some money over the last few months to cushion this blow, I DO have a part time job (much better than none!), the wonderful friends that I have made at work, and I have my loving family, not to mention my loving God. No matter how bad things are, we have a roof over our head, food to eat, and clothes to wear. Shelter, food, transportation, and the hope of an eternity with God. When I can focus on these, what trivial earthly matters can bother me?

Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.