an awesome thankful thursday

If you haven't joined GREG before for Thankful Thursday, take a minute and join him this week. It is a wonderful to way to share our thanks for the goodness of God in our diaiy lives. Thanks, Greg!

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1. I am so thankful for honeydew melon. Oh, yes I am! It is sweet and delicious and I am thankful that God created it so I can enjoy it!

"And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good" (Genesis 1:12)

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2. I am thankful for the gift of music.  God saw fit to give me the ability to play the flute and I am so thankful that even now, at 48 years of age, I can still play for Him during our praise and worship service and bring Him glory through song. Thank you, Lord for bestowing the gift of music upon me.

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3. I am thankful for this little guy named Silas. God has blessed my precious grandson and he is doing so great!  At 7 weeks of age he is  healthy and happy and  is weighing in at 10 lbs 8 oz. He has been such a blessing to us all. Thank you, Lord for the life of little Silas.

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above...." (James 1:17)

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4. I am thankful that Mercie is so in love with her little brother. She loves to hold Silas and thinks that she can really take care of him. She loves her little rainboots as well and wanted to wear them for the picture! Thank you, Lord for big sister Mercie.

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5. I am thankful for God's Word. There is so much powerful stuff hidden deep in the Word of God and we can never get to the end of it. There is always more to learn. More to know. More to seek and devour. I love His Word! Oh, thank you, Lord for your Word!

"Nobody ever outgrows scripture. The book widens and deepens

with our years"  (C.H. Spurgeon)

He showed up....

Don't you just love it when God moves in our midst? When He just shows up and shows out and you feel His presence on your skin like fire? Oh, yeah. There is nothing better than a face-to-face, all-consuming, glorious encounter with our Lord. Nothing.

Last night at church we had THE most awesome worship service. My husband felt God leading him in a new direction and so last night after our song service, he told the church that we were going to worship a little differently that night. He said that we were all going to have a few minutes of silent meditation and then we were to let God lead us into worship, however that may be.

We had several minutes of just silence. Amazing, loud silence. The kind of silence that just speaks. I, then headed straight to the altar and got face down. I just felt God calling me there and I have grown to love my time at the altar. I think I could sleep there and be completely at peace.

One by one, our people began to worship. Someone stood and read a passage of scripture. Someone else stood up and gave a short testimony. Another person recited their favorite memory verse. It was peaceful. It was so reverent. It was a Holy moment in time.

You could hear pages turning in bibles, as people were letting God speak through His Word. You could hear the muted sobs of His people feeling His spectacular power moving about the sanctuary.

A sweet voice began to sing, "I love you Lord. And I lift my voice..." One by one the whole church joined in and we sang in unity and love to our God.

Over the next hour, many scriptures were read. Many praises given to our Lord. Testimonies were shared. Numerous choruses rang out from our lips. Hearts were opened and love was poured out. The Holy Spirit was all over the place! His Presence was abounding in each crack and crevice. The air was so thick with with the sweet aroma of Christ,  it was hard to breathe.

Slowly the voices grew quiet. The pages in the bibles became still. Our spirits were once again silent as we enjoyed the peace that overflowed from our time of communion with Him.

We had met with Jesus. He had shown up and He had shown out. We surely encountered our Lord in the sanctuary and we walked out of the church different than when we walked in.

We had been in the mighty presence of the sovereign King and His glory was beheld by all.

Oh, yes. We had church last night. And it was good..

"Glory ye in His holy name; let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD.

Seek the LORD, and His strength: seek His face evermore."

(Psalm 105:3,4)

face down at the altar

Months had passed and our prayer time that had taken place in the late night hours at the church, had slowly dwindled down to nothing. That which God had called us to do for 8 months, somehow had gotten lost in the dailyness of things that we think life dictates as necessary.

Gone were the quiet and intimate times sitting in the darkened sanctuary with friends who shared a burden. A burden for our church. The lost. The hurting. A burden for that which satan tries to destroy.

Gone were the nights where minutes ever so fleetingly turned to hours as we feverishly searched the scriptures, desiring for God to speak through the powerful, Holy Word. 

Gone was the feeling of unparalleled peace that came at the close of each prayer time, as we knew that we had surely met with God. We knew that when we walked out those doors we had been in His glorious presence.

Gone was that intense time of communion with our Lord that ended with us flat on our faces at the altar, crying out to the Giver of Life. The Keeper of Eternity. The One true God.

As the months passed and that which was ordained by God fell by the wayside, we unwittingly gave the enemy a foothold. Not a very big one, but it doesn't take much. When you are dealing with the devil, any amount is too much.

And once again, God began drawing us to His sanctuary.

Beckoning our hearts to come commune with Him.

Filling our spirits with a deep longing for intimate fellowship and prayer.

As I opened the doors to the sanctuary, the winds of the Holy Spirit blew upon me and I was consumed with a reverent love for an awesome God. As I slowly walked down the aisle, I breathed in His fragrance and I was overwhelmed with His presence. Astounded by His love. Surrounded by His glory. Unspeakable peace filtered through any hinderances and settled like a soft blanket on my soul.

I approached the altar with a lump in a my throat. I was filled with immense gratitude at the sweet mercy and grace He has had on my life. His hands enveloped me and I felt oneness with God.

For whatever reason it took so long to come back to this Holy place for our nights spent snuggled up  to our Savior, it was worth it. I could already feel that unquenchable thirst for more of these serence moments with him. More of this face-to-face worship with our Lord. More of Him.

As I knelt at His feet and prayed, an immense satisfaction drenched my spirit. God's voice had beckoned me to come close and my spirit had yielded to the call. He had bid me come and I was home.

Praise you, Jesus for drawing me near and giving me ears to hear your voice. 

thankful for His goodness

Many times I stand in awe at the goodness of God. I marvel at the wonderful things He bestows upon me daily. He has blessed me in ways that I never thought possible. He has been so gracious to me and my cup truly overflows with unfathomable treasures of life. Thank you, Lord for the abundant mercy and grace that you have chosen to dole out to me. So undeserved. So unmerited. But so appreciated...


I watch Sawyer and Bryton run and jump and play and my heart is filled with thankfulness at the health my precious Lord has given them. I am thankful for their strong legs and their active bodies. I am thankful that I can put my arms around them and get some awesome hugs and love from these sweet boys. Thank you, Lord for allowing me the joy of watching them grow.

Help me to be thankful even when they won't cooperate for pictures.....

I see my oldest 2 grandchildren learning more about Jesus everyday and it just thrills my soul. As I listen to Mikaela read her bible to me, I am thankful that she loves the Lord. When Eli's eyes light up as he tells me what he is learning in church, I whisper my thanks to my precious Savior. I am so thankful that for whatever reason, they love their Nana so much! I am thankful that they still get excited when I walk through their door, even if it's the 3rd time that week. I am so thankful that I have the chance to spend so much time with my grandbabies and that I am able to develop close relationships with them.

When my sweet Mercie tells me that she loves me and ends her sentence with 'dude', I am thankful. Thankful that she makes me laugh with her extreme southern drawl. She turns a one syllable word into one with at least 2 or possibly 3. Thank you, Lord for the gift of our sweet Mercie. Have mercy, indeed.

When I see my favorite preacher holding our little Mercie girl and really rockin' his cowboy hat, I am thankful that he loves our grandchildren so deeply.

Oh, my. I am so thankful for the miracle of new life. The amazing, wonderful, precious miracle of a newborn baby. Silas has given me 6 weeks of snuggles, love, smiles and even a laugh or two. When he smiles, he has the cutest 2 dimples just like big sister Mikaela. When I nestle that precious cheek next to mine, I am so thankful that God has allowed me to part of his little life. I am thankful that He has blessed me with another grandbaby to share my amazing love of God with. Thank you, Lord for this little creation that you breathed the breath of life into.

"Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift"

(2 Corinthians 9:15)

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thank you Greg for hosting Thankful Thursday, yet one more time!

crosses, corn and a message from God

At this time of the year, I just love living deep in the heart of farm country. Our house is surrounded by acres of fields filled with a variety of crops. And each time I get a glimpse of the fruit of a farmers labor, I get a distinct glimpse of God and His goodness.

Each field at this point in the season, is bountiful with the beauty of the harvest. Rich, dark green soybeans cover the ground like a blanket, as well as the bright green blades that hold grains of rice deep within. The tall, majestic stalks of corn waving gently in the breeze are just about ready to be cut and harvested.

As my husband and I were traveling the highway home a few days ago, we passed acres and acres of corn. We pass this way several times a week, but this particular time as we approached these 3 crosses that stand just off the highway, I  felt compelled to stop. The crosses stood in sharp contrast to the stalks of corn standing tall behind them. The crosses caught me eye, but it was the corn stalks that beckoned to me. It was almost as if they cried out to me with a message to deliver.

For all intents and purposes, the corn appears to be ruined. To someone that is not from this area, it would seem like the corn was just burned up and dead and not good for anything. But in this part of the country, corn is grown to be ground into feed and things like that, so the corn that is seemingly dead is actually just now ripe for harvest. That which appears to be ruined is perfect.

God gently spoke to my heart as I stood by my car and took pictures of the crosses and the corn. He lovingly reminded me that we, too, need to be like that corn. Dead so we can be alive. Dying to self so we can be living for Him. Imperfect in ourselves, yet perfected in Him.

Once we have essentially died to ourselves and sacrificed the very part of our flesh that cries out to be glorified, God can then begin working in us to mold us into a vessel to be used of Him and for His Kingdom. And then and only then, can He be glorified through us. 

God showed me that day that there is still lots of 'me' that is alive and kickin' that needs to be dead and dyin'. I still have things to learn. I still have areas of my life that need God's mighty touch. I still have things I need to turn over to Him.

I desire to be all that I can be for Him. I want my life to bring Him glory and honor. I want to fully place my life in His hands and be strong in my faith. I want God to be my everything.

I want to be ripe for the harvest. A harvest of spiritual growth. A harvest of a deeper relationship with him. A harvest of winning souls for His kingdom purpose.

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"...Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are

white already to harvest" (John 4:35)