THANKFUL THURSDAY!!!

 

So I know I missed posting last week for Thankful Thursday and I have to say the past two weeks have been crazy busy for good reasons! It's the holiday season and it's a time for giving back and helping others, which also something that should be on going through the whole year. At our church we have been working on Operation Christmas Child and Rob and I hosted an XTREME OCC Wrap Party for our middle school students from church so we could get as many gifts wrapped! It was so much fun serving with our students and giving back! Teaching them how to wrap presents for the first time for some of them was fun! Watching them pack boxes with so much pure love is something you certainly can't put a price on. Those kids gave up their Friday night to come hang out with us and pack boxes for needy children...I think that is pretty much AWESOME! I am thankful for those times we get to share God's love not only with our students but to those children all over the world that will see the love of Christ in those boxes! I seriously could careless if I even got a gift for Christmas this year as long as someone else that is in need has a great Christmas! I am thankful for the small things about this time of year that make me smile. A hug from an old friend or a chat from a dear friend on my way home, this makes me smile! Or the site of some simple Christmas lights up on a house as you drive home in the dark after a long day. The site of people in the grocery stores hustling around buying items to prepare lots of yummy goodies for the holidays! Just the thought of all the Christmas parties and events at this time of year makes me excited and thankful! Christmas music and singing! The smell of the season is even something I am thankful for. You know, the smell of freshly baked apple pies in the kitchen and the turkey cooking, the cinnamon sticks and Christmas candles burning. The smell of Christmas trees in the air. It's these simple things that I love and take in each day and appreciate because some day when I am old and grey I may not be able to take them in any longer. I am thankful for this time in my life when I take it all in, not get caught up in all the hustle and bustle so much and slow down the pace and experience every precious moment and take it all in.

 

 

Dear Lord- Thank you for this beautiful time of year and for all the sweet things that go along with it. Thank you for allowing me to discover new ways to glorify you in these times and thank you for allowing me to not get caught up in the hub bub of it all sometimes. Thank you for the friends that call and are able to share this time of year with me. Thank you for the extra time and money you have blessed us with to be able to serve and give back this year through Operation Christmas Child and Samartians Purse Lord. This organization is truly wonderful and we are honored to be a small part of something so huge. Thank you for the sweet moments that I cherish so much during this time of year from the smallest ones to the greatest ones alike. Thank you for all that you have blessed my life with, it is truly rich in so many ways. Lord I pray for the hurt, the broken, desperate, the ones that need you more than ever Lord. Lord I pray so hard that those people get to experience what I have been blessed with, for I am certainly undeserving of any of it. I pray that those that need to be healed be healed if it is your will and I pray that if it is not that your will that you can shed some more light on those situations Lord so that those hurting can see the light at the end of what may seem like a very dark tunnel. I pray that your light will shine down on those today and everyday. I thank you for all that you continue to bless me with more than words can express. I am thankful for you! -Amen

Wednesday Website!!!

So have you ever contracted someone to do work at your house and they didn't meet up to your standards...or worse it was a total disaster? Have you ever wanted a good referral for something but just couldn't get one? Have you ever been new in a town and needed a referral for a dentist or doctor and didn't know anyone yet to ask but didn't want to just try out any random doc in the box? Well this website is designed for you to go on there and look at honest reviews from other people who have had first-hand experience with the contractors, dentists, doctors, etc that are listed on the site and see how they measure up. And there are thousands!

 

http://www.angieslist.com

 

the following information is taken directly from the website!

 

"Certified data
Before they're posted, all reviews are checked in order to guard against providers and companies that try to report on themselves or their competitors. This process was reviewed and approved during a 2009 audit by BPA Worldwide.

 Angie's List is better than free review sites:

No anonymous reviews.

Certified data collection process prevents companies and providers from reporting on themselves or their competitors.

Our Complaint Resolution Team will intercede if a home repair or health experience goes bad.

Companies and providers respond to reports, so you get the whole story. What you get:

• Access to great local reviews on AngiesList.com.
  
• Live support through our call center.
  
• Award-winning Angie’s List magazine.
  
• Access to our Complaint Resolution Team.
  
• Discounts from highly rated service companies."

 

So check it out and see how much this valuable site could benefit you! It could save you many headaches in the future!

 

Thought Provoking Raw Emotional Scriptures!!! I LOVE this!!!

 So today in my reading for my Discipleship Journal Reading Plan one of the books I am currently reading in this month is Job. These scriptures were actually meant for reading on November 7th and 8th ironically enough. But I am just now getting to read them today because I got a little behind in my reading. Hey it does happen from time to time.

 

So after reading these two chapters in Job today I was deeply moved by the raw emotions that pour out of ALL the verses in these two chapters. It's amazing when you read these to think about the feelings of Job that he poured out to God in chapter 7. And then in chapter 8 the rebuttal if you will of Bildad to Job and his feelings towards God. Do you ever feel the feelings that Job has poured out to God in chapter 7? Have you ever expressed them in such a raw way before the Lord? It says in the scriptures that we are to come to the Lord with all our feelings and thoughts and concerns no matter how raw and harsh they may be at times. God is waiting for us and willing to help us sort those all out. We just have to allow Him to be there for us and know that He is there waiting and wanting us to talk to Him. In the following verses in chapter seven it clearly shows how deceitful Satan can exploit our thoughts though, in efforts to get us to forsake God. We must be careful not to sin as a result of our suffering. We must always be aware that while Satan may exploit our thoughts that God is the way the truth and the light and He is there waiting to help us get through the valley with open arms. I hope these verses move your spirit as they have mine. I hope they will open your eyes and hearts and allow God to speak to you through scripture.

Job 7

 ¹ "Does not man have hard service on earth?
       Are not his days like those of a hired man?

 ² Like a slave longing for the evening shadows,
       or a hired man waiting eagerly for his wages,

 ³ so I have been allotted months of futility,
       and nights of misery have been assigned to me.

 ⁴ When I lie down I think, 'How long before I get up?'
       The night drags on, and I toss till dawn.

 ⁵ My body is clothed with worms and scabs,
       my skin is broken and festering.

 ⁶ "My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle,
       and they come to an end without hope.

 ⁷ Remember, O God, that my life is but a breath;
       my eyes will never see happiness again.

 ⁸ The eye that now sees me will see me no longer;
       you will look for me, but I will be no more.

 ⁹ As a cloud vanishes and is gone,
       so he who goes down to the grave does not return.

 ¹⁰ He will never come to his house again;
       his place will know him no more.

 ¹¹ "Therefore I will not keep silent;
       I will speak out in the anguish of my spirit,
       I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.

 ¹² Am I the sea, or the monster of the deep,
       that you put me under guard?

 ¹³ When I think my bed will comfort me
       and my couch will ease my complaint,

 ¹⁴ even then you frighten me with dreams
       and terrify me with visions,

 ¹⁵ so that I prefer strangling and death,
       rather than this body of mine.

 ¹⁶ I despise my life; I would not live forever.
       Let me alone; my days have no meaning.

 ¹⁷ "What is man that you make so much of him,
       that you give him so much attention,

 ¹⁸ that you examine him every morning
       and test him every moment?

 ¹⁹ Will you never look away from me,
       or let me alone even for an instant?

 ²⁰ If I have sinned, what have I done to you,
       O watcher of men?
       Why have you made me your target?
       Have I become a burden to you?

 ²¹ Why do you not pardon my offenses
       and forgive my sins?
       For I will soon lie down in the dust;
       you will search for me, but I will be no more."

Job 8

Bildad

 ¹ Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:

 ² "How long will you say such things?
       Your words are a blustering wind.

 ³ Does God pervert justice?
       Does the Almighty pervert what is right?

 ⁴ When your children sinned against him,
       he gave them over to the penalty of their sin.

 ⁵ But if you will look to God
       and plead with the Almighty,

 ⁶ if you are pure and upright,
       even now he will rouse himself on your behalf
       and restore you to your rightful place.

 ⁷ Your beginnings will seem humble,
       so prosperous will your future be.

 ⁸ "Ask the former generations
       and find out what their fathers learned,

 ⁹ for we were born only yesterday and know nothing,
       and our days on earth are but a shadow.

 ¹⁰ Will they not instruct you and tell you?
       Will they not bring forth words from their understanding?

 ¹¹ Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh?
       Can reeds thrive without water?

 ¹² While still growing and uncut,
       they wither more quickly than grass.

 ¹³ Such is the destiny of all who forget God;
       so perishes the hope of the godless.

 ¹⁴ What he trusts in is fragile;
       what he relies on is a spider's web.

 ¹⁵ He leans on his web, but it gives way;
       he clings to it, but it does not hold.

 ¹⁶ He is like a well-watered plant in the sunshine,
       spreading its shoots over the garden;

 ¹⁷ it entwines its roots around a pile of rocks
       and looks for a place among the stones.

 ¹⁸ But when it is torn from its spot,
       that place disowns it and says, 'I never saw you.'

 ¹⁹ Surely its life withers away,
       and from the soil other plants grow.

 ²⁰ "Surely God does not reject a blameless man
       or strengthen the hands of evildoers.

 ²¹ He will yet fill your mouth with laughter
       and your lips with shouts of joy.

 ²² Your enemies will be clothed in shame,
       and the tents of the wicked will be no more."

Wednesday Website!!!

This site will be great for the holiday season! Have family and friends that live out of town and you still want to send them a Christmas gift? Of course don't we all have family and friends out of town these days? Why not shop online for gift cards AND in the process earn cash back on all our gift card purchases and get FREE shipping?! Sounds good to me! In fact I love gift cards so much that if anyone ever asks what I want that's what I always say. So these could even make great gifts for in town friends and family too! Just a thought! This way each person can get exactly what they want and not have to wait in the long return lines after Christmas returning/exchanging unwanted or un-needed items. Let me know what you think about this site!!! Hope this helps with those holiday shopping blues. Sometimes it's just not fun fighting all those crowds of rude customers and ill cashiers! Tis the season!

 

http://www.chaseit.com/

Silly Cartoons!

Here are some silly cartoons I ran across today. Sometimes they are kind of lame but they still make me laugh. I guess sometimes it really doesn't take much for me some days!

 

 

 

 

THANKFUL THURSDAY!!!

 Where do I begin with all the things I am continually thankful for!?! I mean seriously?! There are so many things and so little time that I am often overwhelmed. I all too often look at my life and think, "WOW this is really my life! This is REALLY how blessed I am! This is really how far God has brought me! These are really my friends?! This is really my life!" It's exciting to look over your whole life and really deep down think about how far you've come and how far God has brought you through so much. I am thankful today though for one specific thing though...WORK!!!! That's right I am thankful for WORK! I am thankful for the place I work! I am thankful for the people I work with! I am thankful for the attitude that has changed within me about work and about what I do thanks to God and the awesome sermon at church last week. I am thankful to be making money and helping out my family in order to bring in extra so we in turn are able to give that extra back to others in need. I am thankful for the ways that God is continuing to use me through my simple job to help others. My job at hand on a day to day basis may not be life changing BUT it is in a way because it does provide us with the extra money we need to help out our church and other charities throughout the year. It helps us in ways that I never really thought about. It has changed my view of work. I work with all my heart as if this simple job I am doing were directly for the Lord because truthfully it is. I work with all my heart in hopes that people can see the work of God in my life. I want my work ethic to reflect the image of Christ. I want to make Jesus proud of me as I work at my job each day and know that what I am doing and how I am acting is upright. I am thankful for a place where I can work and read my Bible during the same day which a lot of people can't say. I am thankful that I am appreciated at work even though some days it doesn't always feel that way. I am thankful for the appreciative compliments I have received today from the owner of the company I work for and from one of the appraisers I work with. I am thankful for WORK today! And if you have a job...ANY job, even jobs that don't pay anything you should also be thankful for WORK! God created us for work and for that we should be forever grateful!

 

Dear Lord- I thank you today for work. Not only for the money that it provides my family but for the ways it shapes my character and life. I am thankful for the place where you have brought me to work and the environment in which I work in. Sure it's not perfect all the time but no work ever is. I thank you for allowing me to be able to work day in and day out, to contribute to society. I thank you for the chance that you have given me to utilize my skills and my knowledge that you have blessed me with to the best of my ability. I thank you for the powerful sermon last Sunday that has changed my way of thinking about work and helped me have a better more positive outlook on what I do. I thank you for what lies ahead, the things that you only know and with those unknown things I wholeheartedly trust you with those. You have brought me to this place right now and it's a pretty great place to be in so I know that whatever you have in store for me in the future will be great! I will work for you with all my heart to the best of my ability! -Amen

WEDNESDAY WEBSITE!!!

 This Wednesday's website is VERY special AND could help you unload some of that excess Halloween candy that you don't want or need!!! Check out what local dentists are doing in efforts to help our troops! It's AWESOME!!! Unload your unwanted Halloween candy and make a soldiers day all at the same time! It doesn't get much better than that! Don't waste any more time! DONATE your candy TODAY! Check out all the websites listed below for locations in your area where you can drop off your candy.

 

http://www.operationgratitude.com

 

DIRECT LINK TO INFO ON OPERATION GRATITUDE

 
http://www.halloweencandybuyback.com/

 

CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT THE YOU TUBE VIDEO FOR OPERATION GRATITUDE!!!