Thankful Thursday

As always, I am thankful to God for making Himself known to me, and for the sacrifice of His own Son for my sin, the love of the Savior, and the presence of the Holy Spirit. In addition, I am thankful for…

1) the scrutiny of Scripture
2) the blessings of babies
3) transportation to Texas
4) deliberate decisions
5) friendships that last forever
6) precious promises
7) gifts granted
8) restful rewards

"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good.His love endures forever. "

Psalms 136:1

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The WORD, for Wednesday

Be joyful in hope,
patient in affliction,
faithful in prayer.

Romans 12:12

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Thankful Thursday

Continuing my Thursday goal of acknowledging a few new (or radically rediscovered) blessings from the Lord, I’m adding a few more things to my list. However, the first things I declare must always be God Himself and His great love for us, and His gift of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and for the counsel of the Holy Spirit who first drew me to Him.

Today I’m also thankful for…
1) Words spoken and understood as encouragement this week
2) Two tiny babies, awaiting their births later this month
3) The excitement of anticipation of these first two grandchildren for my husband and me
4) Packages received containing adapted devices that will allow my son to access his own choice of recorded scripture, and his favorite praise and worship songs
5) My continuing recovery from toe surgery
6) Tylenol , which actually works for me
7) JOY amidst pain
8) God’s willingness to hear us when we pray
9) Patience beyond all measure - which God has shown me
10) Patience my family has shown me
11) Art, and the pleasant calming nature of some of it
12) Changing attitudes of people greeting those of us who have family members with special needs
13) Prescription medications which help with seizure control in persons with epilepsy
14) God’s continuing presence in the circumstances of our lives
15) The very IDEA of love... and for God’s demonstration of it

"Give thanks to the LORD,
call on his name;
make known among the nations what he has done."

1 Chronicles 16:8

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The WORD, for Wednesday

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"And He has said to me,
'My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.'
Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses,
so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses,
with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake;
for when I am weak, then I am strong."

2 Corinthians 12:9,10

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Monday Musings

Sifting through medical bills, correspondence, and other related items is no fun. But it’s part of our lives, especially for those of us who have family members with special needs. For a couple of weeks, I’ve been catching up on the filing for those types of items. I’ve been preparing to make payments for the bills after comparing with insurance EOB’s. And, I’m preparing to write the report that my adult son with special needs is required to fill out annually relating to resources he receives from SSI. (his disabilities occurred before the age of 22.)

The bill paying is a standard process, one that we all do for a variety of things that we are billed for during the year. It’s not tough, the process that is. However because our son receives secondary insurance through Medicaid , it takes some extra phone calls to find out what has been paid , and therefore what the remaining balance might be. This process is standard, not really difficult or frustrating to me. But I still have to write the checks.

The record-keeping for the annual report that the government requires from my son with is more detailed and highly frustrating to me. I keep all of his receipts and create an itemized two-category list for the government: food, and "everything else"). Actually the form that makes up the annual report is relatively simple. I just transfer the totals of the columns of numbers I have created… and then sign it verifying that there are no errors, before mailing it off.

Sifting through those receipts and deciding the totals for the food and non-food frustrates me. I make separate trips (when I have enough time) for food and for those other things my son needs. But often, I end up needing to make a trip for both categories of things. Then… I’m drawn to Wal-mart, where I can pick up ALL the items on the list whether it’s food… or clothes, hygiene products, etc. When I give in to the Wal-mart temptation… I end up with a receipt that has to be sorted into the categories for the government. It takes time, and a calculator (there’s some prorating of the tax on the receipt… when splitting things out into two categories.). The frustrating part comes in the fact that it is such a DAILY process… or at least, it should be.

How do I discipline myself to get this done when the strong temptation is to put it off? Procrastination never helps anything and in this case, it really makes the matter worse! The cure for my procrastination (and my frustrations) is to add the necessary steps into my daily routine… which of course means subtracting something from it (my daily routine I mean). How does your daily routine work for you? Does it suit the needs of your life? Does it need a bit of tweaking? Are you leaving enough room for the things you are responsible for? More importantly, are you leaving enough room for the things of God?

““Then Jesus said to them,
“Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's.”
And they were amazed at him.”

Mark 12:17

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Sunday - Rest for Your Souls

There’ve been lots of times in my life when I have been overly tired. When it happens to me, there never seems to be any one thing that led up to the exhaustion and weakness. It just seems that a number of things have happened, or have piled up (things needing to happen!) and suddenly I feel overwhelmed because of “spinning my wheels” for days, achieving nothing.

Some people experience this exhaustion from their physical labor, some from jobs in which they labor with their minds. Others experience a similar exhaustion from dealing with difficult people, and still others from dealing with difficult circumstances. Some families have difficult dynamics, some careers offer unbearably demanding schedules, and some individuals have extreme challenges. No one is immune... we’ve all experienced exhaustion. And probably each of us has thought (at least once) that there was nothing we ­did to bring on the levels of exhaustion we've experienced.

The truth, however, is that there probably is something we did not do which perpetuated the tiredness that led to exhaustion. Did we rest? Did we take time off regularly from the” loads” we carry in life? Did we look for solutions, observing how others have dealt with the same things? Have we asked others questions about how they find restfulness during their rapid-fire stress-filled days? Have we sought the Lord’s way in all of this?

The tiredness we experience physically (as mentioned above) typically pales in comparison to the soul-weariness that is faced by those who haven’t learned to go to the Lord and His Word with all of their plans and their needs. Believers and unbelievers alike can face this soul-weariness. It’s a bottom-of-the-pit experience, where you can feel bound both physically and spiritually… thinking that God is so far from you, thinking that you can’t stop anything you are doing because it is “needed”, thinking that no one knows how to help you or cares to walk alongside you, thinking that you are “in it alone”, and that there is no end to the weariness - no way out.

God’s Word tells us differently. God gives us direction for our lives. And it’s there for us… if we’ll only read and contemplate His Word. Will we follow?

"This is what the LORD says:
"Stand at the crossroads and look;
ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
and you will find rest for your souls."

Jeremiah 6:16

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Friday Free Time

Free time - what’s that? Truly “free” time is something we’ve totally lost sight of, I think. Really, there seems to be little “free” time. And yet, the demands on our time ( in a family with special needs) really do seem unavoidable.

But late last year, I became aware I was repeatedly using the same comment in response to questions about whether or not I had “accomplished” certain things. I kept hearing myself say, “I don’t have enough time.” I used that phrase to reply to my husband, to my friends, and even to God while praying. It was the use of it in my prayers that created the feeling of uneasiness which later peaked when I heard an interview with Sara Groves. She is a Christian vocal artist and was discussing how her life has been changed… relating to the use of her time. She relayed this story about how she began to view the incomplete use of her life’s resources…

Sara on her Spiritual Buffalo...
“There is a scene in the movie Dances with Wolves where the Sioux are on a much anticipated buffalo hunt. As they come up over a hill, they are shocked to see a field full of buffalo carcasses. The tragedy of that moment is that where the Sioux use every piece of the buffalo—the bladder holds water, the bone makes a tool, the skin is a covering for a tent- whoever has done this has taken the best part of the buffalo for himself and has left everything else to waste. There is no way to make good use of all that is lying in this field.

I was so convicted when I went to Africa that I am not using all of my spiritual buffalo. I have developed this one side of my personal relationship with God. I go to church, I have incredible worship, and I listen to incredible speakers. I have money to buy devotionals, and leisure time to do those devotionals. I have spent a lifetime grooming a personal faith in Christ, but have I been taking the best piece of the buffalo for myself? There has been a joy in discovering the good use of my life. There is a reciprocal redemption that happens when we enter into stories of helping our neighbor—not just around the world, but in our own communities. When I came home from Africa, instead of feeling guilty for my life, I began to hear God in a very clear way say, ‘that thing carries water, that thing makes a tool, that is covering for a tent.’ There is a beauty to the good use of a life, and to the acknowledgment that everything you have and do has a Kingdom purpose."

Now, I've begun to see my own incredible waste of time, and how it was caused by my lack of focusing on priorities and not using every moment (and every gift) that I have been given. I’m not talking about the “over-scheduling” that I referred to as I began this article. I am not talking about reducing sleep and rest periods. I AM talking about “not wasting” the minutes and hours in my days… and the abilities and treasures I’ve been gifted with, the relationships and the partnerships I’ve been given an opportunity to enter into, and the knowledge I’ve been given of the Most High God.

Now, I have a goal of lessening my wastefulness… making more choices to be useful, and to be aware of the unique opportunities that I have to allow my circumstances (and my reactions to them) to bring glory to God. I don’t mean to say that I want (or could handle) a life scheduled to the maximum. Of course I couldn’t handle that! I simply want to share that I’ve been impressed that my life’s impact can be MORE than just the sum of my days.

I’ve changed my mind about wanting “free time”. I want instead to freely use and give my time and resources. I want to lessen my waste of time and other resources. I want to make a real difference by the way I use what I have been gifted with... and I pray that God will receive the glory for it.

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,"

Colossians 3:23

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Thankful Thursday

Once a week, a few friends and I have shared our limited views of what we have been blessed with in this life. They've been designated as "Thankful Thursdays", but we are thankful every day ! Well, today is Thankful Thursday, and again I find myself with more things to be thankful for than I could ever hope to list! Praise the Lord, his mercies are new every morning!!!

I’m forever thankful for God’s power and love, for Christ Jesus and the salvation He purchased for me, and for the comfort and guidance of the Holy Spirit.


I’m also thankful today for…
1) overwhelming evidence of God's intricate design
2) two "P's" : Purpose, and Place
3) the fragrance of dawn approaching
4) an abundance of help and helpers following my surgery

5) day hab for David, five days a week
6) opportunities to honor God
7) God's assurance that He is "always there"

8) food for the soul (Gods Word)
9) David's occasional huge grins
10) heart-felt praise songs, and for sharing in worship together

11) precious prayer partners

12) the concept of networking (interacting or engaging in informal communication with others for mutual assistance or support) as it relates to persons with special needs )


Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good.His love endures forever.

Psalms 107:1

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The WORD, for Wednesday

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,
who comforts us in all our affliction
so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction
with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God."

~ 2 Corinthians 1:3,4 ~
New American Standard Bible

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