On being thankful

Something I've been pondering for awhile is related to the matter of being thankful. The Scriptures are full of reminders about always being thankful. A couple verses in the New Testament have slightly different slants. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says "give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. "
Ephesians 5:20 says it a little differently, " always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

These verses are different in that the first mentions being thankful in every circumstance, and the second talks about giving thanks for everything...there is a difference! I'd like to take things to the greatest degree and learn how to give thanks for everything.

I recently came across an old pamphlet that I received many years ago, while looking through the Bible I got from Tom before we were married. It talks about accepting every situation we encounter with praise and thanksgiving, knowing that God is using everything that happens to "refine our gold and consume our dross". This is making sense to me, and now I'm trying to put into practice, thanking God for everything. Sometimes it's not easy, but it does bring about a sense of peace, believing that everything that crosses my path has a purpose and has first been filtered though God's loving fingers. Therefore it is something that I can thank God for, because He, indeed, is always present within me, teaching me, guiding me, refining me, and working on consuming my dross.

"Please bless John and Linda"

I worked a 12-hr shift which began at 7pm tonight. That meant I wasn't able to
have my regular devotional time. I am taking my break at work right now and doing my Bible reading online. The readings are from Isaiah 40 and 41 in the Old Testament and Ephesians 1 in the New Testament. There are many rich verses found in these portions. I'm thinking of John and Linda right now in this difficult time they're in. "Lord, please assure them of Your love, Your Presence, Your power at work within them giving them the strength they need to carry on."

I've included some wonderful verses from my reading.

Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out like an army, one after another, calling each by its name. Because of his great power and incomparable strength, not a single one is missing. How can you say the Lord does not see your troubles? Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.

Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

For I hold you by your right hand— I, the Lord your God. And I say to you, ‘Don’t be afraid. I am here to help you.

I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.

"Serve one another in love..."

I was reading from Galations 5 a couple nights ago. Very clearly the mandate was given...

"use your freedom to serve one another in love. For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself."

I am now at work and there are lots of opportunities to put this into practice.

"Lord, please help me to serve others in love. Help me love the residents and co-workers as myself, and to be more like you."

Pennsylvania

Tom and I had a wonderful trip to Pennsylvania last weekend. The purpose of our trip was to visit our good friends, John and Linda. Since we were in the area, we arranged to have supper with Vern and Meredith Bosserman. Vern had been our pastor for several years when we were all much younger...so we met at the Olive Garden in Harrisburg for supper. Their second daughter, Laura and her almost 2 year old, Abby, joined us for supper.

Vern wanted to show us the church they recently built for their congregation of 3-400 on the outskirts of Harrisburg. It is lovely, and it so amazing that this congregation was built up "from scratch". They have 15 acres there and are happy with the opportunities that owning land brings to a congregation. The church is called New Hope and is Brethren in Christ. http://www.anewhope.org/Default.aspx

Then we moved on to Carlisle where Linda and John live. John is continuing to fight the enemy he is up against, that being ALS. We were amazed to witness the courage he demonstrates so clearly. He engages in conversation with his special keyboard, with which he spells words which are then spoken by the machine. He indeed is a man of quick wit and it was great to interact with him although he is no longer able to speak. I enjoyed spending time with Linda, with whom I have been friends since our teen years. We met at NCC, went through Nurses' Training, dated our husbands together, raised our children together, went to church together, and after Linda branched out into a new career, Pastoring, they moved away to Carlisle. It was so good to be together and to share deeply as we have done so many times throughout the years. She is Pastor of Congregational Care at the Brethren in Christ Church in Carlisle, so yes we were at another church. It is a thriving congregation with over 1000 attending 5 different services and they have begun the first phase of a building program which will take them over the next 20 years. The church has been very supportive and helpful to John and Linda during these challenging times. http://carlislebic.org/

Like I said, it was good to get away. It is good to be in connection with long-time friends. They are all very special.

September 10, 1921 Darjeeling, India

September 10 is my mother's 86th birthday. A little more than 86 years ago, her mother, Ruth Brechbill Heise, who was living with her husband doing missionary work in the hot plains of Bihar, India, was nearing the end of her first pregnancy. She boarded a train, and travelled up through the beautiful wooded Himalayan mountains past tea gardens, tea factories and forests, through terrain which was treacherous by times, until she reached a place of more comfortable climate -the town of Darjeeling. There she found her way to a rest home called Gloven, where she would wait until the time of the birth. There on September 10, 1921, Naomi Ruth entered the world. I can only imagine the dark brown eyes, the wisps of black hair, and the little turned up nose that greeted her mother upon her arrival.

Little Naomi Ruth, her younger brother Clarence and their parents sailed home to North America, when she was 5 years old, on a ship, which on one occasion, got weighted down dangerously to one side, when the passengers moved over to look up to see what was then a new phenomenon, an airplane, flying overhead.

They went to her mother's home in Indiana for a time. After that they moved to the Toronto area in Ontario, and then moved to the Niagara area where they spent most of their lives. Mom became a Registered Nurse, a career which she loved and excelled in, and worked as a nurse until her retirement at age 65. Before her nurses' training, she had already met the man she fell in love with, who she married and with whom she raised the four children they had together. After 59 years of marriage he still brings a smile to her face and causes her heart to skip a beat, when she hears his voice and his footsteps on the threshold of her room in the Long Term Facility where she is presently a resident. The ravages of a condition known as Progressive Supranuclear Palsy have now taken their toll, causing her to be wheelchair bound, and to have difficulty with her speech and with swallowing.

Mom, you've come a long way in your 86 years. I just want to give you the recognition you are deserving of at this time and tell you that I love you.

A rather new daily practice...

I was challenged several months ago when I heard Becky Tirabassi on the radio. She promoted the idea of writing one's prayers down in a journal and doing it daily. After thinking about how, in my busy life this could be possible, I devised a plan and a schedule. Now after several months of working at this, I am finding this to be a wonderful experience. Having some time on a daily basis, to read Scripture, meditate, pray, and write my prayers, brings me much peace and helps me to process my thoughts, reflect on my life, and hear what God is saying to me. My desire at this time in my life is that I would know Jesus Christ more deeply and be able to reflect Him in my thoughts, words and actions. I believe practicing this discipline is one way of bringing this desire to pass.

Powerful...

Tonight Tom and I were watching the day's news on CNN, when an interesting item caught my attention. They had an interview with Brian "Head" Welch, former lead guitarist with the rock band, KORN. He turned his life to Jesus Christ 2 years ago, was delivered from his meth drug addiction, and walked away from the band. His book "Save Me From Myself" was released in July of this year, and tells his story.

I'm excited tonight to hear about this amazing transformation. I know these things can happen, but it is amazing to be aware of this man being totally transformed, delivered from his drug addiction, and choosing to now become a dedicated follower of Jesus.

Whatever challenge you may be facing, be assured that God is able "to do more than all we ask or imagine..."

Connie