Thankful Thursday

Thankful List, for this Thursday...

I just want to mention again that... every attempt at making this list is just another addendum to the ongoing list,.  I know I will never be able to put into words all that I have been blessed with and all that I have become aware of being thankful for...

My God chose to send His Son into the world that He has made, to save us... to redeem us from all of the unrighteousness we represent, and to cover us with the righteousness of His Son, that we might have a real relationship with Him, through Jesus Christ's sacrifice on the cross.  Today, I am so thankful for the Bible, for it's timelessness and for the way God has protected it over the years in such a way that now any of us (yes even I) may have a copy of my own to hold in my hands, and to read with my own eyes the marvelous works of our Creator and of our Redeemer. 

"I rejoice at your word

like one who finds great spoil."

Psalm 119:162   ESV

Stomach virus hits our house...

The stomach bug hit our house this weekend - with great force. Some of us are just making it today, and others are doing better already, although in small measure. Being sick while caring for a special needs family member is a special kind of challenge. And I know I'm blessed to have a hubby who can and will fill in when I need him to.

In the worst of my illness, I was reminded that God cares for me and what I'm going through, even down to when I'm ill and what sort of illness I have, and the challenges my special child brings into this situation. I'm so thankful for having memorized scripture that God brings to my memory at just the right moment, as he did for me on Monday...



"But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows."
(Luke 12:7)

Thankful Thursday

As always I feel overwhelmed by the task of listing a "peek through the window" view of what I'm truly thankful for. This week's list is short aside from the MOST important thing I'm thankful for: God... and all that He is!

The only other thing on my thankful list this week is:

• the way that God chooses to and does use people (that we know or don't know... closest of friends or the ones we try so hard not to like)... He uses people to speak truths into my life, grabbing my attention and pointing me back to Him where I get a directional change for my day, my thoughts, my LIFE!

"Your ears will hear a word behind you,
"This is the way, walk in it,"
whenever you turn to the right or to the left."

Isaiah 30:21   NASB

Thankful Thursday

I'm so thankful for God's provision for me, for my Savior's love for me, and for the encouragement of the Holy Spirit. Our God is so gracious to me.

This week I am also thankful for:

• people with medical training
• people with patience
• people who pray purposely
• people who smile broadly
• sunshine
• chocolate

"Honor all people,
love the brotherhood,
fear God,
honor the king."

I Peter 2:17 NASB

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The WORD for Wednesday

We're having some of life's ups and downs at our house this week... but no matter what comes, no matter what goes... my heart is fixed on God.

"My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed:
I will sing and give praise."

~Psalm 57:7

Thankful Thursday

I'm forever thankful for the grace of God's love for me, Jesus coming to save me, and the Holy Spirit guiding me.

I'm also thankful today for...

1. Awareness of God's presence
2. Sunshine peeking out from behind clouds
3. The privilege of voting in public elections for government representatives
4. An abundance of opportunities
5. Caregiving situations for our son
6. Freedom to share about God
7. God's promise to provide for me always
8. Prayerful friends
9. Skype conversations with my grandchildren
10. Paved roads between Alabama and Texas! : )

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Restfulness is not laziness...

Sometimes in today's world, we walk a fine line... or think we may. We say we know of the value of a day of rest, but we fear that we are teetering towards laziness if we take more than a few hours "off". Most parents find there is no time to spare or waste, and we as parents of children and adults with special needs find it particularly true. Our experience is that the world has been rewarding hard work and focus while penalizing laziness (or sloth) for a very long time. We may fear that our restfulness is to be treated as slothfulness, and find ourselves juggling responsible work with the need of rest.

I ran across this from Dr. James D. Hegedus, and find it helps put things into perspective...

"Sloth is not restfulness…There is a difference between laziness and restfulness. In the world in which we live restfulness or what the Bible calls “sabbath” is a very healthy necessity. Sloth is not lingering long over lunch with a friend, or strolling aimlessly through the woods with the person we love, or spending a day doing nothing because the demands of your job are about to do you in, or moving through a weekend without the fret of hurry, purpose, or chore, or spending an hour watching a sunset or listening to the sounds of nature, or spending whatever time alone in silence to quiet your spirit and get back in tune with God."

So let's try to remember...

Sloth is laziness...
restfulness is not.

My prayer today is that you find time to spend in rest and silence... to quiet your spirit and get back in tune with God.

"For he that is entered into his rest,
he also hath ceased
from his own works,
as God [did] from his."

Hbr 4:10

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Thankful Thursday

Though I'll never be able to list all the things I am or have become thankful for, I'm listing a few again today. No amount of thankfulness nor any of the items on my list would exist without the presence of our holy God. So I'm thankful, first of all, that He exists and has made Himself known to men - and particularly to this woman.

Furthermore, I am thankful for:

• a reliable vehicle
• the ability to taste and differentiate between flavors
• variety as opposed to continual samenesss
• lunch break with my hubby
• that my toe problem of last year is now past history
• books
• friends
• and family

"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good.
His love endures forever"
.
Psalm 136:1

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Tuesday's To Do List...

Today is a day in which I need to get lots of things done. That sometimes seems true for everyday at our house, but for some reason especially today. I'm tempted to just write about those things which could be identified as tasks related to the special needs in the family, but the truth is - I have those tasks plus all the regular or normal or "typical" things to get done as well.

Admitting that my "to do" list is considerably shorter than those parents who are also working in "paying jobs", here it is:

• assist young adult son in getting ready for and physically getting to his day program at UCP LINCPoint - he cannot do either without me
• order refills for the prescription drugs that give my son (and myself) a better life
• call the case worker assigned to my adult son's services through the state's Department of Health, and Department of MHMR which assists those with developmental challenges like my son's - we need her help to resolve a problem we have encountered in "the system"
• call and make a payment on special pharmaceutical drugs that are delivered to our home monthly
• call a friend of mine whom I've been neglecting to call, being sidetracked with life's challenges
• spend time cleaning at least one room of this house
• finish folding the laundry that came out of the dryer yesterday
• call a repairman for the electrical problem that we are having
• call a repairman for the appliance problem that we are having
• plot the appointment dates onto the family calendar - includes MY appointments as well as our son's appointments. I want to see where we can fit in our next trip to see our grandchildren in TX!
• call to cancel the appointment made "automatically" by the medical center's clinic, and reiterate, once again, that we cannot attend appointments on Wednesdays
• pick up the refills of prescription drugs and sort them into several containers that are dated and divided by time of day - so that in our haste we do not forget a dose of one of my son's required medications
• call a brother who is having disturbing vision problems
• pick up my young adult son and come home, an adventure of about an hour and a half
• work a few minutes on the project of getting the filed papers in our home organized - steadily making progress!
• do afternoon skin care routine for our young adult son, and other such required things
• okay, and brush my teeth, take MY vitamins, EAT something, 30-walk on treadmill, and 15 minutes outside for "fresh" air
• oh! THINK OF SOMETHING FOR SUPPER, and go ASAP to purchase the ingredients that I can't find in the pantry

That's quite a list, and it's not everything - since I won't be writing here about a lot of what we do for our son .

I cannot face days like these or any day, alone. I must go now and prepare myself for the day, by reading passages in the Bible and by talking personally with the Lord in prayer. It would be foolish to start any other way!

"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed,
do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through him."

Colossians 3:17 NIV

Sunday Rest...

There is a place of quiet rest... near to the heart of God.

Near to the Heart of God

There is a place of quiet rest,
Near to the heart of God.
A place where sin cannot molest,
Near to the heart of God.

O Jesus, blest Redeemer,
Sent from the heart of God,
Hold us who wait before Thee
Near to the heart of God.

There is a place of comfort sweet,
Near to the heart of God.
A place where we our Savior meet,
Near to the heart of God.

O Jesus, blest Redeemer,
Sent from the heart of God,
Hold us who wait before Thee
Near to the heart of God.

There is a place of full release,
Near to the heart of God.
A place where all is joy and peace,
Near to the heart of God.

O Jesus, blest Redeemer,
Sent from the heart of God,
Hold us who wait before Thee
Near to the heart of God.

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My Hiding Place...

The LORD God is... my hiding place.

...

"You are a hiding place for me;
you preserve me from trouble;
you surround me with shouts of deliverance. "

Psalm 32:7 (ESV)

...

"You have been a refuge for the poor,
a refuge for the needy in his distress,
a shelter from the storm
and a shade from the heat."


Isaiah 25:4 (NIV)

Thankful Thursday

In continuing to add to my Thankful List, I must always begin by restating my thankfulness for the love of God, and the gift of His Son Christ Jesus - His free gift of salvation. In addition, I am so thankful for the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, as Comforter and Encourager, and more.

This week, I am thankful for opportunities:
1) to visit with our sons and their families in TX
2) to freely worship God in a church of our choosing
3) to live in this country, the USA
4) to share life with my spouse
5) to access the written word, without regulation
6) to know and have friendships with other Christians around me
7) to bring my needs, and those of others, to the Lord in prayer
8) to know the one, true God

I realize I am extremely blessed, and plan to share these blessings - not hoard them.

" I will praise the name of God with song
And magnify Him with thanksgiving."

PSALM 69:30

Free time, and freedom...

Monday night I went to a meeting that I wanted to attend. You may think this statement "odd" - especially if you don't know much about families with special needs. But to families like mine, it's understandable. Our ability to freely make plans (and our ability to follow through on those plans!) is somewhat restricted by the responsibility we have for our family members who have special needs.

My husband raced home from work Monday in order that I might leave our home in time for that meeting. We make these adjustments frequently and so do other parents of children with special needs. Of course, all families make adjustments in their lives while the children are young, and even continue making adjustments until the children are grown and have lives of their own. But, for some children with special needs - the growing up process and the moving out process are not automatic, and their parents face a much greater responsibility. I am so thankful that my husband and I face this responsibility together.

I did get to attend that meeting on Monday night, and was greatly blessed by going. My "free time" was especially fulfilling. And yet I was greatly blessed in my homecoming as well, for my husband was there with our son... waiting for me. There's a lot to be said for "family". Even with all of our different personalities, our individual quirkiness, and our special needs - we are a family, held together by love.

It's like that in God's family too! This body of Christian believers, varied though we may be, make up the family of God and are united by our love. We must remember to:

"Be good friends who love deeply;
practice playing second fiddle."

Romans 12:10 ... THE MESSAGE

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Thankful Thursday

I can't start a paragraph about thankfulness without sharing my thankfulness for the Lord God Almighty. I am forever thankful for my God and His immeasurable love, for His Son Jesus and His substitutionary sacrifice for the lives of sinners like me, and for the Holy Spirit and His direction in my daily life.

The past few weeks I have been continuing to learn to be thankful - even though trials persist. This week, I am thankful ...

1) my husband and I have a reliable vehicle and money for the fuel for a 12+ hour "road trip" to TX to meet our newborn grandchildren in two TX cities!
2) that we have tools for helping us cope with the struggle of being in that vehicle for so many hours.
3) our son with special needs is a terrific traveler and patient passenger, actually enjoying such lengthy trips.
4) our older sons' wives are so welcoming and accommodating of "Uncle David".
5) the time spent with our grown children is such a blessing!
6) that long-distance grand-parenting is going to be possible, and made even more accessible through the marvel of technology... online photo albums and video phone calls!
7) that our newborn grandchildren are in God's hands!
8) that Austin and Megan (our grandchildren) are in the hands of loving parents.
9) that both Megan and Austin will, occasionally, be in the hands of loving grandparents - either in TX, or in Alabama!
10) that both grandchildren will have loving church families that will supplement the prayer and care of their parents and grandparents.

"I will give thanks to You,
for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well."

PSALM 139:14 ~NASB

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The WORD, for Wednesday

"So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed,
not as in my presence only,
but now much more in my absence,

work out your salvation with fear and trembling;
for it is God who is at work in you,
both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

Do all things without grumbling or disputing;
so that you will prove yourselves to be
blameless and innocent, children of God
above reproach in the midst
of a crooked and perverse generation,
among whom you appear as lights in the world,
holding fast the word of life,
so that in the day of Christ
I will have reason to glory
because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain.

But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering
upon the sacrifice and service of your faith,
I rejoice and share my joy with you all.
You too, I urge you,
rejoice in the same way
and share your joy with me."

Philippians 2:12-18 NASB

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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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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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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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