a heart of thanks

I am thankful for the amazing snow that we got last week. It wasn't much but it was enough to give me and my grandbabies a little bit of fun and a lot of good memories. Thank you, Lord, for creating snow in all of its beauty!

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I am thankful for 2 good books I just read by James MacDonald. I was blessed immensely with the message of each book and God has used them to speak a much needed word to my heart. Life is hard sometimes and we need to understand that God knows this. He sees us in our trial. He knows everything about us and He cares about these things. He pours out His strength to us as we need it to endure the trials, tears and uncertain times that we face.

"God allows pain in our lives hoping the pain will bring us to an awareness of His deep purposes" - James MacDonald

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I am thankful that God is my Protector and my Provider. I am so thankful that He watches over me and takes care of me each second of my life. I am thankful that He is my need-meeter and when I acknowledge my deep need with an open heart, He fills it with Himself. He alone is enough...

"I am the LORD thy God which brought thee out of

Egypt; open thy mouth wide and I will fill it"

(Psalm 81:10)

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I am thankful for grandkids and games with blocks and homemade play-doh. I am thankful that a stack of plastic plates fresh out of the dishwasher signified a great day with some precious little ones!

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I am thankful for a sobering walk through the halls of MD Anderson on Tuesday. So many people battling a dreadful disease that is no respecter of persons. When I got a glimpse of a 13 year old girl and saw her sweet bald head peaking out from under her hoodie, my heart broke. I prayed for her to be strengthened in her battle and for the Lord to reach down and touch her and minister to her and her family. I hurt for her loved ones that have to witness the struggle she is in and the feelings of helplessness they must experience. I saw a young man with a t-shirt that said "cancer sucks" and I had to agree with him. I am thankful that God allowed me this encounter and that He gave me new appreciation for my health and that of my family.

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I am thankful for my new blog look! I just love it and I thank Edie at http://richgift.blogspot.com/ for being such a precious woman of Christ. She is easy to work with and does an amazing job! Thank you, Edie!

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I am thankful for Silas' 2 new teeth.

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I am thankful for daughter's that love me unconditionally.

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I am thankful for the blessing of redemption. Thank you, Lord, for taking my sin upon yourself and for giving me the forgiveness for all them. Past, present and future. Thank you for the amazing gift of salvation and eternal life.

"For God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

(John 3:16)

from shattered to surrendered

"But He knoweth the way that I take;

when he hath tried me, I shall

come forth as gold"

(Job 23:10)

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As I take a close look at my life, I can see where God has been working. I can feel the pain of the circumcision of heart that has been and still is occurring. But I am also well aware that as this process is at times painful, I am also blessed that along with this discomfort, I have experienced  some amazing moments of grace.

Moments of grace that God so lovingly places upon my head following those agonizing revelations of soul that aren't always easy to accept.

Sweet moments of grace that take place while I'm on my face before Him, after strong conviction of heart has compelled me to go face down at my Savior's feet.

Moments of grace that accompany the acknowledgement of my failures, my shortcomings and my frailty as I get honest with my Lord. As I strive for authenticity before my Savior, He bestows sweet grace upon me time after time.

God is revealing and exposing. He is refining and purifying. Bringing my allegiance to Him to a new level. Causing me to take a closer look at the strength of my faith. My trust. My surrender.

He is shaking me to the core in some areas and taking me to higher grounds in others.  One area that He is really holding to the fire is the area of surrender.

Do I fully understand what surrender is and what it entails? Am I really willing to surrender all? To follow Him wherever He may lead? Or am I only willing to go where I am comfortable. Or am I only willing to go as long as it isn't too far from my children and grandchildren?

Have I surrendered all? With no strings attached? Surrender isn't surrender at all if it is conditional. True surrender isn't contingent on anything or anybody. It is about following God's plan for your life regardless of where He calls you or what He calls you to do. Surrender is the gospel of Christ.

Surrender begins with repentance. Repentance of things past. Repentance of the need to control. Repentance of a lack of faith. Repentance of not putting Him first.

God has shown me that once my heart gets into a repentant state, then He is able to begin the process of building up those things that are necessary for a truly surrendered life.

Love. Trust. Faith.

The deeper my love for Him, the greater my willingness to follow Him anywhere. As my love grows deeper, my trust in Him and my faith in Him broadens accordingly. And then as these things continue to grow deep within my heart and soul, the need to surrender to Him comes bursting forth.  The desire to let God be in complete and total control of my life then becomes the cry of my heart.

As He takes me from shattered to surrendered, He is also so faithful to drop those amazing moments of grace into my life. Those moments of grace that confirm all that He is doing in my life and at the same time affirm who He is to my spirit. Those precious moments of grace where He reveals Himself to me with love and patience. Those sweet moments of grace that I begin to really see.

The gospel is unconditional surrender of all that we are and all that we have to all that He is - David Platt, Radical

Thank you, Lord, for never giving up on me. Thank you for the process of refinement that is taking place in my life. May I endure the process with joy and after I have been tried, I pray that I come forth as gold.

the miracle of new life

Yesterday I got a glimpse of one of God's most amazing miracles of all time. One of the most wonderful of His creations. A glimpse of the powerful work of His hands. Through the gift of His mighty Hands and the wonder of science, I was able to see deep inside the human body and get my first look at the new life beginning there.

It never ceases to totally blow me away. These little glimpses of a tiny baby forming in the womb. A tiny miracle. Not even 2 inches in length, yet fully formed. New life.

A tiny beating heart. Little legs and arms, kicking and waving like crazy. Eyes, nose and mouth clearly visible. Only 11 weeks into his or her little life and already it is a marvelous creation of God. Fearfully and wonderfully made.

God's mercy and grace nestled snugly inside its temporary home. An amazing gift of God being nurtured by an earthly mother and cared for lovingly by a heavenly Father.

New life.

Perfection.

A tiny miracle. Wrapped up in lots of love.

I glanced at my youngest daughter lying on the table. She was intently looking at the miracle of life unfolding inside her and displayed on the screen. She looked up at me and smiled. I smiled back. A knowing smile of being amazed at God's goodness. Being overwhelmed at His love.  A smile that signifies a love already so deep for the tiniest of miracles.

This gift of life is not new to her and her husband. This is their third child. At the tender age of 21, she is a seasoned and amazing mother of 2 precious little boys.

But the awe of it never gets old. The graciousness of God and His bountiful blessings bestowed upon us is still amazing. Still overwhelming. Still astounding.

The gift of new life. Never to be taken for granted. Never to be looked at as anything less than a miracle. Always to be seen as one of the greatest gifts of our Lord. Created by Him and for Him. Created for His glory.

The miracle of life.

"... all things were created by Him, and for Him; He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together" (Colossians 1:17 NIV)

Thank you, Lord, for this amazing gift of life. Thank you for your love and your blessings. We give you all praise and glory for the wonder of this miracle.

things that bring me joy...

Things that bring me joy:

**These 2 boys bring me much joy! Bryton and Sawyer are my youngest daughter's children and they are so much fun to be around. They are as different as night and day but they are both very loving and sweet.

Bryton crawled up in his mama's lap the other day and said, "Mama, I love my whole life!" Now if that doesn't fill a person with some joy, not much will. I love it when Sawyer says, "Mama be right back", everytime Ashlie leaves the room for even a second. He hates for her to get out of his sight and that is his way of assuring himself that she is coming right back!

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**The sound of heaven's rain playing a symphony outside my window in the early hours of the morning, fills me with joy.

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**Watching my youngest grandchild pull himself to a standing position and looking so proud of himself! Silas is 7 months old and is growing up so fast!

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** Eli hugging me tight and saying, "Nana, I just love you!" That fills my heart with joy overflowing! I am such a blessed Nana and I love this fella so much! He is a sweetheart and never fails to put a smile on my face and in my heart. He also just loves the pajamas I made him for Christmas and that fills me with joy as well!

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**My husband coming home after being gone 6 long days with his dad in Houston.

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**Seeing Mercie so excited about the dress I made her for her birthday party. She will be 3 years old tomorrow. Mercie is a bundle of sweetness and is full of energy! She brings joy everywhere she goes. Happy Birthday my little princess!

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**The spiritual longing I see in Mikaela's precious heart even at the tender age of 8. I can see God working in her little life and it fills me with great joy to imagine what God is going to do through her and in her in the years to come! I know that He has wonderful things in store for her. Mikaela has such a sweet and loving nature. She has filled this Nana with MUCH joy in her 8 years!

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**The look of joy on my mom's face last week when I surprised her on her birthday by showing up at her birthday dinner. She had NO idea I was coming and it was so much fun! It was worth the 350 mile round trip to see my mom on her special day. 

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**These 3 kiddos fill me with joy when I watch them play together. I'm not really sure what they were dressed up as the other day, but they were sure having a good time doing it! I am so thankful that the cousins get to spend alot of time together.



Mercie R., Bryton H., Eli R.
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**God's Word always brings me joy. This scripture is just really speaking to me right now and so it brings me joy each time I read it.

"I love them that love me; and those

that seek me early shall find me"

(Proverbs 8:17)

I love how God's Word shows us time and time again, that if we are looking for Him, we will most assuredly find Him. He wants us to want Him! He longs for us to seek Him. We need to be seeking Him early and then we will find Him!

**My Savior brings me the most joy of all. He has loved me from the very beginning of time and sacrificed all so that I could have forgiveness of my sins and eternal life. Thank you, Lord. I love you.

Basking in joy tonight,

Beth

seeking to know His heart

"My heart says of you, "Seek His face!"

Your face, LORD, I will seek"

(Psalm 27:8)

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Seeking... searching...looking.

Desiring to know. To know my God fuller. Deeper. Higher.

Yearning for a heart connection with the Lord

unequalled by any other.

I want to be a woman after His heart. I want to know

His heart intimately. Personally. Fully.

I want to meet with Him.

I long for His presence.

The altar of my heart cries out

for a revelation of His glory.

A manifestation of His presence.

A display of His splendor.

I want to hear His voice.

Feel His embrace.

Experience His wonder.

I seek His face.

In awe.

In humility.

In fear and trembling.

In expectation.

I seek to know.

I seek to see and taste.

I seek to follow.

I seek to encounter.



Seeking... searching... looking.