Thankful List

Today, I am feeling a little bit of this, and a little bit of that. If you have never experienced it, it is hard to explain. With the excitement of the holidays, the hustle and bustle and busyness that comes with it, I often struggle. A cloud sort of descends on me this time of year. I don't know why, but it has been an unwelcome guest many, many times. In order to not give in, me and the Lord are moving on through this. Today I will choose to focus on the abundance of blessings that I have. The enemy will not get this girl! So here goes!

Thankful thoughts for today:
1. It's looking like rain! We need it badly.
2. My daughter, husband and Judah are on their way to see MiMi. This means lots of hugs and kisses are on the way!

3. My boy will be on his way, soon I hope.

4. My Mom and Dad will be joining us for Thanksgiving tomorrow.

5. The remodel process has begun. It is slow go, but I know I am going to love it.

6. A good smelling candle that crackles like a fire.

7. God's Word and His saving grace.

8. A quiet morning to pray and listen.

9. A warm cup of coffee.

10. Beautiful fall colors everywhere!

How about you? What's on your list today? I'm off to get a head start in the kitchen.

Our pre-Thanksgiving meal is going to be Black Bean Soup and Chicken Enchiladas.

I will be away until Monday, but have a blessed Thanksgiving!

"With my mouth I will give thanks abundantly to the Lord, and in the midst of many I will praise Him." Psalm 109:30

Blooming Beauties

"Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings

turn routine jobs into joy,

and change ordinary opportunities into blessings."

                                                                                                       William Arthur Ward

Here are my Christmas cactus' that are loaded with blooms.

a little closer look

I just recently stuck these cuttings in this little pot and they have even put on blooms.

Last year the cold almost got all of them. I will be making room for them inside soon.

                                                                                                  

Randomness

Today's post will be a little bit of this and that. Along with pictures of a couple of things that I am thankful for

today.

Here is a shot, pre-yard sale that we had  the first weekend of November. It was hard to get a good shot of all the stuff, and believe me there was a lot!! Yes, it was dark and we had a customer at 6:30 who wanted everything for a quarter! It was the coldest Saturday so far this fall, so we froze, but we got rid of a bunch of stuff for which I am very thankful, and took the rest to the Salvation Army Thrift Store when we were done. I stuck with it, and it didn't go back in the house. Believe it or not as we paint and re-do a few things I will continue to clean things out, for another sale.

Few more piles of stuff!

We were finally able to get started on the laundry room. Now if I can just find someone to spray the cabinet doors for me.  The cabinet man called as I was preparing the post, and the price is reasonable so we will be getting the doors to him this week. Yet another thing that I am thankful for!It looks very different now, but not quite ready for an after shot. This is what we have done so far:

Insides of Cabinets painted

Walls painted

Outside of cabinets primed

Molding painted

Still waiting for new counter top and sink, cabinet doors need to be primed and painted, new door to arrive and paint, window trim to be painted. It is slow go. I don't know how so many seems to get things done so fast! I am just slow I guess.

It rained today!!!! It has been very dry here, and we have needed rain . Even these birds were enjoying the shower. Thanksgiving is just around the corner, so what have you been thankful for this week?

Be Thankful

Be Thankful

Be thankful that you don't already have everything you desire,

If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don't know something

For it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times.

During those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations

Because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge

Because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes

They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you're tired and weary

Because it means you've made a difference

It is easy to be thankful for the good things.

A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are

also thankful for the setbacks.

GRATITUDE can turn a negative into a positive

Find a way to be thankful for your troubles and they can become  your blessings.

Author Unknown

Thankful Thursday

Here I am catching up with all of those things I planned to share each day during the month of November.
It has been an eye-opener to see that my attitude of gratitude could change so quickly to, one of frustration and aggravation. Little circumstances that are not what I wanted them to be!  I got so frustrated over them! I started having problems loading pictures to blogger and I am told that it is a problem with my camera and conflicting software. Why all of a sudden, I do not know.

I am now making an adjustment, and for lack of time I may have a few posts without pictures. I am realizing that I cannot become so wrapped up in this blog that it causes me frustration. I do not want to allow the little things that frustrate me overshadow the many, many blessing that I have, so here goes.

My Husband- He is the best! There are days I don't know how he puts up with me, but he loves me and shows me daily. I am blessed more than I deserve.

My Family- I have an adorable new grandson who is a total joy, wonderful daughter, son-in-law, and son. I am so blessed that they all know the Lord, and desire to live for Him.

My Home- My home is nothing fancy, but then again, I am not a fancy girl, but God has blessed me with all that I need, plus so much more.

A Successful Yard Sale- We sold a ton of stuff, the weather was the coldest it had been, we froze, but many, many people came to buy all of our excess stuff.

My Sunday School Class- I have recently joined a ladies class at our church after being in other areas of ministry. We have a wonderful teacher who is knowledgeable, prepared and loves to teach. We have such a variety of ladies I have been blessed to be a part.

Answered Prayer- Several weeks ago I had something that I gave to the Lord. Only He would be able to do what needed to be done. He answered immediately. Does He always work this way? No, but this time his answer was immediate.

Friendships- I am blessed with some wonderful friends who love me, in spite of me, and for that I am so very thankful.

I have so many, many things to be thankful for and couldn't waste the opportunity to share. How about you, what are you reminded of to be thankful for today?

Thirty Days of Thanksgiving-Day 3, Roadside Finds

Yes, I am thankful for a few roadside finds!

I spotted these on the way home from picking up my car.

 

To the untrained eye, this might look like a pile of dead plants that have been pulled up, but you see, I know better. These flowers will provide many more blooms in the seasons to come, and I have the perfect empty flower bed for them. I purchased some similar mums a little earlier in the season to give as a gift, and the cost was around $10.00. At 10.00 a pot, this is $100 worth of plants. Even at 5.00 a plant, that's $50.00. Do you see what I mean. I am so thankful for the little things that put a smile on my face.

What little things put a smile on your face?

Giving Thanks for Friends

I have a special friend that makes me feel like this...

so I decided that Thanksgiving was a great opportunity to tell her how blessed I am to have her for a friend.

So tomorrow I will be delivering her a little basket that lets her know I am very Thankful for her.

I have surprised myself that I can join Kimba's DIY Day. Head on over and see a multitude of wonderful ideas! Have a blessed Thanksgiving! Jackie

Thoughts

He is

In Genesis, He's the Breath of Life

In Exodus, He is the Passover Lamb

In Leviticus, He's our High Priest

In Numbers, the Fire by Night

Deuteronomy, He's Israel's Guide

Joshuea, He's Salvation's Choice

Judges, He's Israel's Guard

In Ruth, the Kinsmen's Redeemer

1st and 2nd Samuel, our Trusted Prophet

In Kings and Chronicles, He is Sovereign

In Ezra, He's the True and Faithful Scribe

Nehemiah, the Re-builder of Broken Lives

In Esther, He's Mordecai's Courage

In Job, the Timeless Redeemer

In Psalms, He's Our Morning Song

In Proverbs, He is our Wisdom

Ecclesiastes, He's the Time and Season

Song of Solomon, He is the Lover's Dream

In Isaiah, He is the Prince of Peace

In Jeremiah, the Weeping Prophet

Lamentations, the Cry for Israel

Ezekiel, the Call from Sin

Daniel, the Stranger in the Fire

Hosea, the Forever Faithful

Joel, the Spirit's Power

Amos, the Strong Arms That Carry

Obadiah, the Lord Our Savior

Jonah, the Great Missionary

Micah, the Promise of Peace

Nahum, our Strength and Shield

In Habakkuk and Zephaniah, He brings revival

In Haggai, He restores that which was lost

In Zachariah, He's our fountain

And in Malachi, He's the Son of Righteousness, rising with Healing in His Wings

AND THAT'S JUST THE OLD TESTAMENT...
In Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, He is God and Messiah

In the Spirit-filled book of Acts, He is the Reigning Fire from Heaven

In Romans, He is the Grace of God

Corinthians, the Power of Love

Galatians, Freedom from the curse of sin

Ephesians, Our Glorious Treasure

Philippians, the Servant's Heart

Colossians, He's God and the Trinity

Thessalonians, Our Calling King

In Timothy, Titus and Philemon, He's our Mediator and our Faithful Pastor

In Hebrews, the Everlasting Courage

In James, the One Who Heals the Sick

In 1st and 2nd Peter, our Faithful Shepherd

In John and Jude, He's the Lover Coming for His Bride

And in the Revelation, in the very end, when it's over, said and done, whe time is NO

MORE, He is and will always be the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Prince of Peace,

Son of Man, Lamb of God, The Great I Am, Alpha and Omega, God and Savior

HE IS JESUS CHRIST THE LORD AND IS EVERYTHING YOU NEED!

From Priscilla Shirer's Discerning the Voice of God Bible study.

As I enter this Thanksgiving week, and the Christmas season ahead, I want to daily focus on
WHO HE IS. Will you join me?
Have a blessed and wonderful Thanksgiving, remembering and thanking Him for all He Is, and all He has blessed us with. Jackie

What I Didn't Want for Christmas

We spent a wonderful Thanksgiving with our daughter and son-in-law. My son was with us also and we had a wonderful family weekend! Ours was blessed with family and friends, and I hope yours was too!

We had so many PUMPKIN desserts! Pumpkin bars, pumpkin cheesecake,a pumpkin roll, and a pumpkin caramel pie!

Now on to what I didn't want for Christmas......We returned home with lots of dirty clothes. I immediately started washing. I was checking a load in the dryer, when I detected a slight smell, and then when pushing the button to restart, NOTHING. Time for my handyman husband to step in. He checks everything with his little checking tool and everything is checking out OK. This just can't be! How can a 20 year old dryer be conking out now? We try again and it starts, so I am convinced the praying did the trick, only to open it, and have it happen again. A little further checking has led to the conclusion that the motor is truly dying. He says it will work for now, but I had better start looking. FAST! Not exactly the purchase I would like to be making, but hey it can't run forever. So there you have it.....what I didn't want for Christmas! I am still blessed and thankful! This week I hope to share about some of my Christmas preparations, and what I am checking off my list each day to insure an unstressed and blessed Christmas celebration! Have a blessed week. Jackie

A Thanksgiving and Christmas Story in One

This little boy.............

.....is now this young man!

I am so thankful for the wonderful children that God has given me. They are as different as night and day, and have their own unique and special talents. I am thankful for the adults that they are becoming, and their desire to walk with the Lord in all they do.

Now for my story. My boy came in last night and we were talking, and out of the blue he says." I was thinking about giving away the sofa and chair at my house." To which I replied, "what are you thinking, absolutely not!" Now keep in mind we have gone to great lengths to furnish his place on a budget, but these are two nice pieces that were given to us in like new condition, from friends. We won't happen upon a bargain like this again. Then I asked,"What would possess you to just give away your sofa and chair leaving you with no furniture in your living room?" Then he says,"Our church is getting together things to help a family this Christmas. A grandmother raising four grandchildren and they have nothing. They need my sofa and chair much worse than I do." Still thinking there are surely other things we can give besides the sofa and chair, I said we needed to think about this a while. I had definitely burst his bubble. After I settled down and went to read a while before going to bed, the Lord quietly spoke to me and said do you think it is too hard for me to provide you with another sofa and chair? I am then thinking to myself, O ME of little faith! I have been blessed to raise a child with a heart to give to others and I am discouraging this opportunity. When my husband came in this AM and I told him about it, he said " let him give it". He reminded me, that we have plenty of other things that we can give too. Would I dare miss this opportunity to truly be a blessing to someone else? I think not.

We will be calling this afternoon to see what items on the list we can provide, and I am excited about being able to have this opportunity to bless someone this Christmas season. After all God gave His most precious possession for me, His Son. I do not deserve to be so blessed with a wonderful son, material possessions, good health and so much more!!!!! A chair and a sofa is a small thing to give!

"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

Matthew 6:33

Just a note.. I had things underlined in my Bible and the note I had written was ...things we need to live.

Have a wonderful, safe and blessed Thanksgiving. Jackie

Gratitude

I have actually had this post prepared for several days, and intended to post last week, but lets just say life happened. I subbed every day except Wednesday, which is church night. I got busy trying to get everything caught up, and in order for my sweet husband's return home. Remember he has been gone for a month!! He is back now, and I am resting better. As you can see from the picture, this was an occasion for me to buy some fresh flowers. Nothing really feels totally normal when he is gone. This is the first time I have been without at least one of my kids while he is gone, so it was just me and the dogs.

I may be away for a couple of days this week because my sweet daughter will be here tonight or in the morning. I have not seen her for about a month and a half, and that was just briefly to pick up the dog(we met half way). I had already committed to sub on Tuesday, but we have plans to get some Christmas gifts in the works. Hopefully I will be posting some of those pictures. Now on to what I had prepared earlier.

I have been thinking and wanted to share some thoughts on "An Attitude of Gratitude". A couple of weeks ago I received a Gratitude journal from my Thanksgiving swap partner. This challenged me to really begin focusing on all that I have to be thankful for. I have begun to make a conscious effort to remember these things daily, and what I have found is that I am sensing a change in my attitude daily.

One night I was walking the dog, there was a slight breeze blowing, stars shining, and almost full moon. I suddenly found myself thinking how blessed I am to even be out walking around my neighborhood, I have good health, a loving family and an amazing and awesome God who love ME! This is a season for Thanksgiving and I am feeling truly overcome by "An Attitude of Gratitude". I encourage you to give it a try. Start that journal , focus those thoughts on how blessed you are and see what happens. Have a blessed evening. Jackie

"The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart exults, and with my song I shall thank Him." Psalm 28:7