Thanksgiving thoughts

Happy Thanksgiving to all, even if it may be “different” than any you’ve experienced before. If there’s an empty seat, fill it with happy memories, thoughts and prayers.

“What would be an adequate thanksgiving to offer God for all the joy we experience before him because of you? We do what we can, praying away, night and day, asking for the bonus of seeing your faces again and doing what we can to help when your faith falters.

May God our Father himself and our Master Jesus clear the road to you! And may the Master pour on the love so it fills your lives and splashes over on everyone around you, just as it does from us to you. May you be infused with strength and purity, filled with confidence in the presence of God our Father when our Master Jesus arrives with all his followers.” From 1 Thessalonians 3 The Message

A song and a strong prayer that you will encounter a spirit-filled day today and every day as we put our burdens aside to concentrate on the One who is all to us:

(15) All Sons & Daughters - Brokenness Aside - YouTube

"And therefore the Lord [earnestly] waits [expecting, looking, and longing] to be gracious to you; and therefore He lifts Himself up, that He may have mercy on you and show loving-kindness to you. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) are all those who [earnestly] wait for Him, who expect and look and long for Him [for His victory, His favor, His love, His peace, His joy, and His matchless, unbroken companionship]!" Isaiah 30:18 (AMP)

Double dipping: With an Al-anon slant: I heard this said recently and thought a lot of Al-Anon people could relate: We were a happy family; until we weren’t.

With the theme being gratefulness, the gift you give yourself, think on this; if your gratefulness doesn’t include yourself, it will not be complete.

They say a heart of gratitude leaves no room for complaining. As I began writing this, I was grieving with a mom, someone who lost a daughter too soon.

We had something in common, both praying for one daughter in particular. Both were the same age, 32, mine is still alive; hers is not, but she is grieving well, just as she loved well. My tears mingle with hers and I find gratitude for another day of hope. Another day to pray, try to work my program, and try to pay forward the hope of the program, also. As I was finishing this devotion this week, my 64-year-old brother died. His diagnosis and death came within twelve hours of entering the hospital. I was not prepared. How can we learn to live ready for loss?

 

David Stein-Rast said, “Grateful eyes look at whatever it be as if they had never seen it before and caress it as if they would never see it again.

Someone else said, “Beginning today treat everyone as if they were going to be dead by midnight. Extend to them all the love, care and kindness you can muster, and do it with no thought of any reward. Your life will never be the same again.” (anon)

If we have lost family members, thank God for those we have left, if we are in pain in one part of our body, thank God for the parts that don't hurt, if we don't have an abundance of provision thank God for what we do have.

God, I thank You, for placing me in my family of origin, such as it is, and my Al-Anon family. I am grateful for Al-Anon is truly the gift I give myself as I look forward to the meetings, the people and what they share. God has given many of us much favor, pain, dysfunction, yet great love and even laughter, to get us through our days.

I pray a double blessing upon all who are here today. If you are hurting, I pray that God binds Your wounds and sorrows, if you think your dreams won't come true, I pray you get a new dream, if you are missing a loved one either through death or estrangement, I pray you go back in your memories and find a good one to dwell on and thank God for that precious moment. It may be that moment you held that sweet child in your arms for the first time and thought your heart would explode with love and that the world had stood still, you were so blessed.  We never thought they might grow up to be an addict.

When I think on gratitude, I acknowledge God’s sovereignty, and I can accept with serenity that even though things in my world are out of my control, they are fully in God’s control. Today, I’m grateful to have a family, a home, and Al-anon. This program and the friends I have made through it have enhanced my life and for that I will be forever grateful.

My book review of Softly Blows the Bugle (The Amish of Weaver's Creek) Paperback

 

My book review of Softly Blows the Bugle (The Amish of Weaver's Creek) Paperback

This book by Jan Drexler will take you to another world; the world of the Amish in 1865.

Jan Drexler is a new author to me. I’d felt like I’d already read the best of Amish authors, but I was wrong. I was really drawn in to the story line, almost immediately. I liked some of the subjects it explored proving as the Bible says, there really is nothing new under the sun.

At first, I was alarmed that she seemed so gullible concerning the handsome and suave, Solomon Mast. His deceptiveness was described early in his introduction and it was hard to wait for Elizabeth to see his true character. But I was very glad the way the story continued and the way it ended. I’m definitely going to check out some of Jan’s previous books and if she does any follow-up books about the Weaver Creek Amish community.

Although I received this book free of charge from Revell Reads in exchange for my honest review; I’m so very glad to have read it.

 

When you have that dry spell.

 Last night at Word Weavers Volusia, one of our sweet members, Katelan, brought a blog titled: Dry Spell.

She talked about how hard it is to focus on the Lord when we can't "feel" Him at work within us. As far as my writing and reaching out, I feel the same right now. When that happens, I sometimes have to re-prime the pump, by reading good books and even going back and reading my own blogs. When I can't post something new, I can always repost a blog. 

You may relate to how some people in your life, some groups, such as this one, literally hold you up before the Lord. May the Lord always send a journeymate to encourage you along life's way.

The Lord has always had someone there to hold my arms up as with Moses throughout all the years of pain.
From an old blog: Words and Scriptures to hold on to today! 

Joshua obeyed Moses and went to fight the Amalekites, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held his hands up, the Israelites would win the fight, but when Moses put his hands down, the Amalekites would win. Later, when Moses' arms became tired, the men put a large rock under him, and he sat on it. Then Aaron and Hur held up Moses' hands—Aaron on one side and Hur on the other. They kept his hands steady until the sun went down. So Joshua defeated the Amalekites in this battle. Exodus 17:10-13 New Century Version (NCV)

I have been thinking about this scripture for days and wanted to share a bit about what it means to me and my hopes for the Somebody's Mother Online Prayer Support Group. It can also pertain to She Writes for Him group, I believe.

Before Somebody’s Mother prayer group for over 20 years Anita Smith, Ginny Long, Nancy Cox and the women from the Winning Women Bible study group held my hands up as they prayed with me and for my family. Many have been the trials and hard times along the way but I always knew they were praying and it was what kept me going. As we pray for one another each day, know we are helping a sister or brother win battles that they could not win alone. The battle is the Lord's my friend, and they will be won by him in His time. Never give up!

I'm inserting a paraphrase here: So, Somebody's Mother Online Prayer Support Group defeated the enemy in this battle on earth called life.

Deuteronomy 1:29-31
Then I said to you, Dread not, neither be afraid of them.
The Lord your God Who goes before you, He will fight for you just as He did for you in Egypt before your eyes,
And in the wilderness, where you have seen how the Lord your God bore you, as a man carries his son, in all the way that you went until you came to this place.

And you shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. (of the Spirit, I'm inserting here)
Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight; your enemies shall fall before you by the sword (of the Spirit and Word of faith through prayer). Leviticus 26:7-8,
These are words and Scriptures to hold on to today!

The Lord is good, even when it hurts, even when we weep. He is keeping those prayers and tears in His bowls in heaven.

Keep praying and write on!

Prayers for Prodigals: 90 Days of Prayer for Your Child by James Banks (Author)

 

Prayers for Prodigals: 90 Days of Prayer for Your Child by James Banks (Author)

 

When I finished reading Hope Lies Ahead: Encouragement for Parents of Prodigals from a Family That's Been There by James and Geoffrey Banks, I knew the next book I would be reading is the one I’m reviewing right now. In fact, I’ve read it once and am reading it again, and will probably keep it as part of my daily devotional books; it’s that beautiful. I couldn’t wait and do it a day at a time for 90 days, I consumed and savored the beauty of the words and the prayers. I could feel the pain, the sincerity and the love of these poignant scripture-filled prayers.

I do believe prayer is one of the best and most concrete things we can do for our loved ones. I loved that there were both prayers for sons and daughters, although I hated that their family, like many others have had more than one prodigal. I believe prayer is a working tool towards family recovery and this family knows it well.

I’ve taken this book with me to small group meetings where people have been blessed by the prayers within as well as to the radio station PRAYERLINE (WAPN FM, 91.5 HOLLY HILL, FL) after being given gracious permission to read as needed on the air.

This book is a Christian classic! I have to agree with Franklin Graham, his mother would’ve loved this book, just as so many of us have loved her “prodigal” book.

Donna Collins Tinsley