What are you thankful for this year? Has the Lord revealed Himself to you in a special way and comforted you? Has He blessed your family with peace and joy? Has He taken you through a particular trial but strengthened your faith in the process?
Here is one of the things I’m thankful for this year.
Post your thoughts in a comment here, and tomorrow or Friday I’ll pick one to win this prize:
I am thankful that the Lord has given my husband a vision to start a home-based business. We are just in the early stages of piecing all of it together, and it is a little scary, but I trust that God will bless his desire to work from home.
I am grateful that no matter what is going on around us, no matter what the world may shout, no matter what the circumstances seem to say, that God is still God and that we can always count on Him. His word is true, His promices never fail us, He will never leave us.
I am thankful that we were able to meet the Bluedorns this year and for all I have learned through the Christian Logic. 🙂
During this past year the Lord has blessed our family with many unique learning experiences through traveling and conferences.
He has also blessed us with many new friends.
He has blessed us with trials and difficulties, teaching us lessons that never would have been learned otherwise. (Rom. 8:28)
I am so very thankful for the loss of my husband’s job, and subsequent financial turmoil which lasted for 3 or so years… I know that sounds weird, but during that time I witnessed the Lord do an awesome work in my husband’s life- the strengthening of his faith, not to mention a spiritual maturity that otherwise would not have happened… On my end, about 1 1/2 to 2 years into our financial woes, I began to struggle against becoming bitter and angry with God for our not having any financial relief, and so I confessed to God ‘that if being in constant heartache was what it meant to be close to you (God), I don’t want it.’ That was the beginning of an awful desert experience, yet I’m thankful for it. A few months ago, I began fervently seeking God… seeking Him in His Word, in prayer, seeking a revived heart and renewed mind, and renewed relationship with Him. All Praise and Glory go to God! He is so faithful! He has answered all my prayers for this renewal of relationship… I am soooo thankful for such a loving and faithful Father, and thankful that He allowed me to go through that desert experience, for now He has blessed me with much wisdom- I never want to forget that time of my life so that when the tough times come again, I will remember and cling to Him even more. Not only has this affected me and my relationship with Jesus, but I have seen how the Lord has blessed my children and husband as a result as well… my two boys (6 & 4) love listening to their audio Bible, which spurs them on to have me read more with them and my husband has also experienced a renewed passion for the Lord as well.
The thing that I am most thankful for and always will be thankful for is my family. I am thankful for my two loving parents, and my five other siblings with the sixth due in February.
I am thankful for a place where I can always feel safe and secure.
I am thankful to the Lord for ging me such a wonderful gift.
I’m thankful for God’s leading, even when it doesn’t seem to make sense. Early Aug, my husband lost his job and the housing provided with it. We had been increasingly disatisfied with the situation, but felt we couldn’t find anything similar in pay with housing for 11 people. A month later he found a new job, at less pay, but more time home with family. We couldn’t find a rental we could afford, so looked at buying. We had to redo our budget, and I was concerned (and worried, at times), that if something broke down, we would be in trouble. After we closed on the house and moved in, my husband’s new employer gave him a good raise and more hours with overtime pay. I am so thankful for God’s faithfulness, even when we can’t always see it. He takes care of us!
I am thankful for God and all that He has revealed of His plan in the Bible so that we are not lost in a frantic search for happiness. I am thankful that even though I was poorly educated by the public school system, God’s Word gives me focus as a homeschooling Mom on what is most important to teach and a brain still capable of being educated, along with my children, to all I missed in school. I am grateful for each new day to live in obedience and respct of these precious gifts.
I am thankful for the opportunity to be pregnant with our 7th child. We have had 5 previous c/sections, which have caused havoc to my motherly parts 🙂 I am thankful that we did not make any plans to stop this pregnancy from happening. I am thankful once again to feel a baby moving within, knowing that the Almighty Weaver has fashioned this child to be what He intends him or her to be. I am thankful that God can and will do a great healing within and that He has given us a great faith to KNOW that all will be well and we will have no complications. I am thankful that I can trust Him to protect this child, hold everything together, and that I will come home to my family after delivering this sweet baby.
Ah, yes, so much to be thankful for.
Amanda
I am thankful for a beautiful litter of nine perfectly made puppies that God gave me to raise up and enjoy this fall.
I am also thankful for my family for being so patient with me and encouraging me in all my animal endeavors!
This year my heart is bursting with thanksgiving! Looking back on the past years they all pale in comparison to this one. I am thankful for all the regular things that God has blessed us with, but, this year there is so much more that I am thankful for, because it has been an such an amazing year for my husband, three children, and I, for the reason that God has revealed Himself to us in such an incredibly awesome way! Both my husband and I grew up in Christian homes, and we both felt like we knew the Bible and God’s truths very well. But this year, by God’s amazing Grace and through reading the Bible for ourselves like never before, the Lord has opened our eyes and showed us that we were sorely lacking in our understanding of the Scriptures and of Him. This revelation has caused many changes in our lives. Some have been good and some have been painful. But we are thankful for them all! I am not sure if we had not been home schooling that we would have taken the time to dig into the Bible like we have been able to.
Here are some of the things that have come to our attention this year that we are thankful for. To some they will seem so simple but to us they have been breathtaking! God’s Grace, Justification by faith, Christ righteousness, Imputation, God’s sovereignty, and much, much more!
We have learned that Salvation is a free gift, not of works least any man should boast. We are saved by Grace alone, through Faith alone, in Christ Jesus alone, through the scriptures alone, for His Glory alone! We have learned that our purpose here on earth is to bring God Glory! (Read Eph 1:4-14) We have learned that God is sovereign and does not need our approval or understanding to do whatever He wants or chooses to do, to bring Himself Glory! We have learned that God does not promise that if we believe in Him, we will have a perfect life and all things will be good and rosy, but what He does promise is that He will work all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to his purpose. (Read Rom 8:28-31) And that sometimes what is good for us or what brings him glory is not always fun or easy. We have found that it is ok for us to ask questions. How else can we learn? (We learned this from home schooling.) We have learned that we must really read and study the Bible for ourselves to make sure that what we are being taught is really and truly what the Bible teaches, and not just take someone else’s word for it as the truth. We have also learned that God’s love and grace is so much richer, deeper, and fuller than we could have ever hoped or imagined!
I am thankful for the reconciliation we have to God through the finished work of His Son, our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ!
Because He has forgiven us, we can forgive others. Because He has reconciled us unto Himself, there can be reconciliation between His children. Because He has loved us, we can love others. The Lord is ever present. All praise and thankgsiving to the One True Triune God!
2 Corinthians 5:16-21
16 Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. 21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
NKJV
I am thankful for my family, and all the other blessings that God has given me. I am thankful for the lessons God teaches me every day, some are taught through sorrow and some are taught through joy, but each one is a blessing in its own way. I am thankful for God’s everlasting patience and love that He has showed me and still continues to show even though I am not deserving. I am thankful for yet another blessing God has shown me by giving me another sibling still to be born. My new un-born brother. He will be the youngest of seven children. I am thankful that my mother’s pregnancy has been healthy so far. I am thankful for my father that has been my best friend and supporter as long as I have remembered. He is very encouraging when I am struggling and when I talk to him I always seem to come away knowing that I am not alone in my struggles. I am thankful for my mother, a hard-working mother of six, soon to be seven children. I thank God for putting me into such a wonderful family. There are so many more things I could right down, telling of all the wonderful things God has given me, and all I did not deserve. He has given me more than I could ever deserve.
I am grateful that my husband has been able to take a leap of faith and start his own business full-time, and that I have been able to be his help meet through the times of good and bad.
God blessed us with a beautiful baby boy through adoption. Almost 3 months ago we got a phone call from our adoption agency notifying us that a baby boy had been born the previous day. A few hours later we drove to the hospital to see our little Benjamin. I was frightened in so many ways as a new mom, but the Lord has been gracious in answering so many of our prayers both big and small. I am learning (slowly) that God is sovereign over everything. To please and honor Him means, in part, not to fear circumstances or man, but rather to put my hope in trust in a trustworthy God. Recently, our son has been undergoing some health problems and I am having to learn, all over again, these lessons!
What a precious, precious picture! Are there more pictures of the wedding somewhere?
I am thankful for the mercies of the Lord that endure forever, for my husband of 25 years, for my children, for the freedom to homeschool and raise my children in the ways of the Lord.
Happy Thanksgiving!
I am completely amazed and so thankful for how the Lord provided for our family during the past year. First, apart for our Great God and the Salavation He gives through Jesus Christ, I’m thankful for my husband of 12 years and our soon to be 11 little ones. I’m thankful the Lord called my husband to preach the gospel to the many lost souls here in Mexico.
Last Thanksgiving, I woke up in our little travel trailer we made our home when we moved to this new town to start a church. I remember as I stepped over sleeping little ones cuddled together on the floor, I thanked the Lord for my family and asked Him to someday provide us with a home with a bit more room as my 8 month pregnant belly reminded me we’d soon have to another little blessing who would need a place to sleep.
Today, I stand in a 3 bedroom furnished home that the Lord so graciously provided for us~ From a small lot of dirt to a full house in only 5 months!
When Daniel and I got married, I never dreamed the Lord would bless us with a new baby every year, but He has~ and He’s provided for all our needs. We came to Mexico with so little, yet we’ve never lacked. What a wonderful and faithful God.
I am thankful to God for take me back to the right path to homeschooling my son, It has beeing a big blessing for my whole family.
By the way, that wedding picture is great, How many more pictures do you have save?
HAPPY THANKSGIVING, BLUEDORNS!!!
Reading all of these entries just reinforces how very good, so good, our Lord is, in all things big and small.
Let us all thank and praise Him, because He is LORD of all.
These are all so beautiful, Laurie, how will you ever choose just one???
I thank God that we are part of his heavenly battle against satan. We can have victories for God like Job when we don’t curse God during trials. He can use us for His glory even when we are afflicted and His answer to our prayer is My grace is sufficient for you.
I am thankful to be within my family.
I am thankful that one year ago yesterday a little eight week old baby boy was delivered to our front door. Thirty days later we took custody of his twenty-two month old sister. A Thanksgiving and a Christmas blessing.
On Sept. twelve we finalized the adoption.
We are very grateful for the Lord’s bountiful blessing through every trial it took to get to this point as well as making the adoption happen quicker than is normally possible.
My family is thankful for the wonderful and often strange family the Lord has blessed us in fellowship with. They have taught us many things and have been very patient with us in doing so.
We Looooooooooooooooove You very much! 🙂
I am thankful for the way God continues to bring blessed new friendships into our lives.
This has been a crazy year for our family….my husband had pneumonia, Great-Grandma’s 90th birthday celebration, morning sickness, major illnesses with both in-laws, bathroom remodeling, financial stress. But through it all, we will come out of this year with a new baby girl (due Dec. 14th!- our 5th baby), a month-long visit with my parents, kids who are learning how to sacrifice their wants for their brothers and sisters, mom and dad.
God gave us Himself to keep our eyes on during all the craziness of the year and because of that, we are all still sane and in awe of all He does for our family.
I am very thankful that we have accepted God’s leading to pull out of competitive sports and the public school system. This is our first year to be homeschooling all four of the precious children that God has lent us for a season. We’ve already seen so many blessings from following God’s plan for our family. I am also thankful for a wonderful husband that truly takes the lead and treats me like a lady in front of his (our) four daughters.