Giving Thanks...

Since I won't be here next week, I'm gonna steal the email I got today from Max Lucado and use that as my Thanksgiving post.

Two Fathers, Two Feasts
by Max Lucado
The following is an excerpt from In the Eye of the Storm.Download Chapter 12 of In the Eye of the Storm to read even more.

I drove the family to Grandma’s last night for Thanksgiving. Three hours into the six-hour trip, I realized that I was in a theology lab.
A day with a car full of kids will teach you a lot about God. Transporting a family from one city to another is closely akin to God transporting us from our home to his.
A journey is a journey, whether the destination be the Thanksgiving table or the heavenly one. The fact that my pilgrims were all under the age of seven only enriched my learning experience.
As minutes rolled into hours and our car rolled through the hills, I began to realize that what I was saying to my kids had a familiar ring. I had heard it before—from God. All of a sudden, the car became a classroom. I realized that I was doing for a few hours what God has done for centuries: encouraging travelers who’d rather rest than ride.
I shared the idea with Denalyn. We began to discover similarities between the two journeys. Here are a few we noted.
In order to reach the destination, we have to say no to some requests.
Children have no concept of minutes or miles.
Children can’t envision the reward.
It’s worth it.
As we sat around the table today, no one spoke of the long trip to get here. Yesterday’s challenges were lost in today’s joy.
That’s what Paul meant. God never said that the journey would be easy, but he did say that the arrival would be worthwhile.

Remember this: God may not do what you want, but he will do what is right … and best. He’s the Father of forward motion. Trust him. He will get you home. And the trials of the trip will be lost in the joys of the feast.

Surrender...

I got a bunch of CDs from a friend of mine a couple of months ago and they are all Christian. I have a five player CD player in my car so every single slot is loaded with these CDs and I and the boys listen to them when we drive. Morgan and Matthew have their favorites and it switches from week to week but there is nothing better than hearing Morgan sing, "from the cross to the grave, from the grave to the sky, Lord I life your name on high!" It makes me teary eyed just thinking about it! (And to all my Church of Christ relatives...yes, it has music!! But I figure we aren't in worship so it's okay!!)

Anyway...

I was bouncing around yesterday from track to track and I came upon this one by Stuart Townend called Jesus, Lover of My Soul. I can't find the words to it online because I guess it's another version of the original but the opening goes like this,

It's all about you Jesus

And all this is for you

For your glory and your faith

It's not about me

As if you should do things my way

You alone are God

And I surrender to your ways.

The first couple of times I heard that, I could feel myself start to well up and I wasn't even really listening, I just kept hearing this chorus over and over. This really just explains it all doesn't it? I mean, the hardest part of becoming a Christian or even staying a Christian is realizing that it's all about Jesus and who are we to make it about us? These words just keep reverberating in my heart every single time I read them or hear them. Just giving every single thing I am to God because he is God. But for those of who may not understand the fullness of this, once we give our whole self to God, guess what we become?

Take your pick...

Child of the King

Heir to the Kingdom

Bride of Christ

Saved for eternity

Not a bad exchange is it?

My thought for the day...

I was writing a post about marriage on a board that I belong to and this was the verse I used,
"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."
Ephesians 4:29

The post was about arguing with your husband and the challenge was to remember this verse the next time you found yourself in an argument. And I got to thinking about all the people that I interact with and I realized that I've always done this (usually) and didn't even realize it. Part of me always kind of thought that I was playing people when I did this. But I've always tried to build people up according to their needs. When you think about it, different people in your life are treated differently by you. There are some who can take everything you say because they understand you and understand where you are coming from and how you mean what you've said. There are some where you have to temper what you say because they may find some sort of implication somewhere even if there was none intended. You get the idea. I've gotten really involved in Internet groups over the past three years and I've learned that there are certain people who join groups just to hear encouragement, they don't want to hear solutions to their problems, they just want a willing ear and a pat, "You're okay, you'll get over this." and that's all. Some people have to try to fix them and that's fine but just think about what the verse says, according to their needs. Not ours but theirs. Why is that? I mean, wouldn't their life be better off if I gave them solutions and they followed my advice? I do it because I care, it's really good advice, sometimes!! Or should we really try to get to know the person so we can give them that same advice but do it according to their needs so that it actually will be listened to and followed.

Just another quick observation because Matthew really wants on Nickjr!!

I've noticed that people deal with other people either on their level or the other's person's level. Do you listen to people and understand what they mean because of who that person is or do you listen and assume stuff because of what your mind is telling you?

Just something to think about!

Troublesome times...

I need to step away from political debates, I need to not watch our news, I need a whole new attitude check on my country. I'm sick and tired of everything in our society right now. The lack of responsibility, the sick, sick people who think it's okay to abuse four day old children. The gang bangers who get smacked in the face by a cop because he's reaching for their gun and cries abuse. I'm just sick of it. I have this sinking feeling in my stomach and I can't make it go away. I have no pride in my country right now and I hate that. It's not a matter of Republican/Democrats or anything like that, I'm just scared that if it's like this now, what is it gonna be like in 20 years when my kids get to be in it?

I was talking to Carol the other day and we had this same talk and I talked about how the only thing that really matters is family and what goes on in my four walls. But I just hurt for all the other people who are hurting out there and I don't know what to do. I'm a fixer and I can't see anyway to fix this problem.

What I need to do is just turn to God and realize that this place is not my home. I can only pray about the horrors I see and give them to God. I can only be responsible for my actions and I can teach my children to be responsible for theirs. I can only hope that there are more people out there who are teaching their children this same thing.

Say a prayer for our troops and their families this weekend. I know they signed up for war but it hurts just as bad when they pass. I don't agree with why they are there but I am still tremendously proud of the men and women who do sign up to protect our country and others. Stay safe. Give your loved ones a hug and try to make a difference somewhere.