May 11. 2009
Today I woke up feeling very grateful. Yesterday was an a wonderful day! We had a good crowd in church & an awesome Mother's Day celebration. We gave out flowers and chocolate to all our women.
One new visitor who was a Mom of two young children came up to me afterwards and was overwhelmed with gratitude. She said she had come to church feeling pretty down that day. Her husband had not helped the kids to give her anything for Mother's Day. He also refused to go to church with the family. She felt very let down on what should have been her special day!
But she decided to visit our church for the first time anyway. When we had the kids pass out flowers and chocolate, and her own little children proudly handed it to her, she broke down in tears. She said she felt like God had given her a Mother's Day present and that is exactly what He did! BHCC is His church and I believe it was His idea for us to do this!
What a blessing it is for us to be such an incredible blessing to someone else, especially a young, struggling Mom!
Church was awesome, God showed up in a big way and I am so grateful. I am grateful for my family as well. John and Jen had us over to their house after church and John (with Jen's assistance) cooked Chicken French for me! It was totally delicous and who knew my son could cook? I felt very blessed indeed! This is my first Mother's day to have a daughter-in-law and I couldn't love her more! I am so grateful.
I am still very grateful to have had a wonderful week in Florida recently with my Mom. John and I had some alone time for the first time in a long time and it was refreshing. God was truly with us and blessed every part of it. What an incredible giver our God is! I wish more people could kow the joy of having Christ in the center of their lives. When we make Him Lord of our lives, He blesses us beyond our imagination!
Seeing my Mom looking so healthy, happy and well is truly an amazing miracle! The last time I was in Florida was almost two years ago when she had stage 4 lung cancer, hospice was coming in 3 times a week and everyone thought she had only days to live. But we prayed and God healed and now she is completely cancer free. What an amazing miracle and I am so grateful. We celebrated her 77th birthday with her when we were down there!
God is GOOD and I am soo grateful! The enemy is always trying to get me to focus on the negative, but I refuse! In life, there will always be negative stuff and things we can whine and complain about. There are always problems to solve. But there are always blessings from God to count as well. I want to cultivate a grateful heart for LIFE! It is something we have to work hard at, it's not easy, but all things are possible with God in the center of our lives!
How many blessings can you count?
Read the lyrics of this old hymn written by Johnson Oatman Jr. in 1897:
COUNT YOUR MANY BLESSINGS
When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.
Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,
And you will keep singing as the days go by.
When you look at others with their lands and gold,
Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold;
Count your many blessings. Wealth can never buy
Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high.
So, amid the conflict whether great or small,
Do not be disheartened, God is over all;
Count your many blessings, angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.
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