HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Psalm 100 :4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.


Thanksgiving Day will be here in a couple of days, and my heart and home are almost ready. I have been going about my preparations ~ cleaning and making my shopping list ~ while dwelling on all I have to be thankful for.

Psalm 26:7 That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all Your wondrous works.

This has been a year FULL of incredible change and tremendous blessings. God is so good to me. I owe Him everything. In the midst of all the challenges, He has remained as always ever faithful, and saw me through each and every trial and change. When I was diagnosed in May with breast cancer I honestly had no idea rather or not I would ever be able to walk the road that lay ahead of me. My emotions were of course all over the place, and the enemy went right to work trying his best to fill my heart with fear and defeat. But through the doctor’s visits and decisions my God held me tightly close to Him, and I felt His peace and strength in a very real and tangible way. I do feel soo blessed that when all was said and done, my cancer was caught so early all I needed to do was have a double mastectomy. This was not easy of course, or in any way not a life changing event, it just seemed so little when others face that and follow it with radiation and/or chemo. I feel I got off easy. How I have praised God for this. But I know that even if that would have happened, He would have remained firmly by my side and walked me step by step through the whole thing. I have watched in such admiration for their courage both Elaine from peace for the journey and Stacy from His way... Not mine as they have traveled this very road. I have the seen the power of God work in their lives in such a tremendous way I feel I will never be the same. What an inspiration they have been to me and to everyone who is privileged enough to share this journey with them in any way at all. I have prayed diligently for both of these precious gals every since I heard their stories, and I will continue to until their road towards renewed health is over. I would be remiss if I didn’t add my thanks to my husband who has loved me unconditionally for 35 years, and who stood by my side a pillar of strength to lean on whenever I needed him. And not just with the cancer ordeal, but every day since the moment we became man and wife. I will admit that I can be high maintence at times, haha, and how he has put up with me is a testimony to his great love of God and his desire to serve. I am also so thankful for my kids and my sisters. Their love for me was never as obvious as those days following my surgery when I found myself so weak and emotional I am not sure if I could have ever managed without them. And they all did so tirelessly and unselfishly. How grateful I am.

This year also brought us the joy of a new home. It is just perfect for us in every way, and my gratitude for this can’t really be expressed fully. I just love it. This move took place just a couple of weeks after my surgery so I was pretty much useless when it came to all the work that needed to be done. But yet again, my family stepped in and took care of things for me. I won’t be forgetting the giving of their time and effort ~ EVER ~ I am quite sure.

This year also brought a stroke for my mother, and I will be forever thankful that He spared her life and has brought her so far in her recovery that you would hardly ever notice that it happened. Every minute that we have got to spend together since that day has been a gift and one I won’t be taking for granted.

I’ve watched all my grandchildren grow and be healthy and show such promise for their futures. My children are all doing well and bless me everyday just by their existence. How I love them all. And finally, my grateful heart looks to all of you. The world of blogging is something that must be experienced to be fully understood I think. It has been so much more than I ever imagined it might be. The support I felt during my cancer ordeal was something I leaned on and counted on more than you could know. I loved knowing how many of you were praying for me. I “felt” those prayers, honestly I did. The friendships I’ve made have been both fulfilling and just what I needed in this season of my life. I wish I could mention each and every one of you that have added so much to my life in this last year, but I won’t even try. Just know that I appreciate you all for the unique gift that you each bring to my life. You have brought me joy, laughter, tears and knowledge of a mighty God who holds us all in His very hands and makes us all The Way We Are.

Psalm 50:14 Offer to God thanksgiving, And pay your vows to the Most High.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO YOU ALL! Enjoy this time with your family and friends and may we all remember to fill our hearts with gratitude to the One whom we all owe everything to.

1 CH 16:34 Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.