Home: Day 29 of 30 days of Thanksgiving

Image source: http://www.nantsprimitives.com/shop/images/uploads/home_sign.JPG

"And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."        Joshua 24:15 (NKJV) 

Today I'm thankful for our home. It's nice to have a comfortable, warm and relatively safe place to live. I'm especially thankful to share my home with my dear husband and two cat friends. Please join me in prayer for those who don't have a home, who are in need of shelter and who are in harm's way. May God bless them and may He bless you, too!

Sources:
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=josh%2024:15&version=NKJV
http://www.nantsprimitives.com/shop/signs/in-this-home-sign/prod_139.html

Disclaimer:
I have no material connection to any of the sources or products mentioned or pictured in this post. However, the owner of Nant's primatives is a family member.

Hugs & Affection: Day 27 of 30 Days of Thanksgiving

Image by phaewilk

"Greet one another with a kiss of love.

Peace be to you all who are in Christ."

1 Peter 5:14 (NASB)

Today I'm especially thankful for the abundance of affection in my life and visible around me. I'd been debating between three different topics for today's post. Now that the month is drawing to a close it's getting harder to decide. I could have gone with a list but I wanted this month's blog post series to be a spontaneous exercise in joyful thanksgiving.

Here's what decided it for today. As my husband and I were leaving whole foods this young dad spontaneously gave his toddler son a huge hug and kiss. The little boy received it with great joy and it was clear that this was an interaction that happened frequently as his chubby little arms wrapped even tighter around his dad's neck and his happy giggles were flowing freely. I always want to take photos of such wonderful moments but am hesitant to 1) interrupt said moment and 2) ask strangers to take pictures of their kids. If you're a photographer how do you handle this? Anyway, even though I didn't get a photo it warmed my heart and made me think about how blessed I am in the affection department.

I'm so thankful to be married to Ben and that he gives me ample hugs and affection. When I get to see my family, I know we'll exchange lots of hugs and even just the knowledge of that is comforting, even if it's a decade or more between seeing certain people. My PWOC (Protestant Women of the Chapel) friends tend to be great huggers and I know that when I attend I'll be able to cheer others with hugs and enjoy being hugged as well. I hope that your life is filled with hugs, love and affection! If that's not the case I encourage you to find someone who is lonely and open to hugs and give them the blessing of your affection. May God encourage and bless every lonely person and may He bless you and those you love too!

Encouraging Words: Day 26 of 30 Days of Thanksgiving

Today, I'm focusing on being thankful for encouraging words. Whether written or spoken, they lift my spirit and bring me joy. God's Word, the Bible, is a daily source of encouragement to me and I'm extremely thankful to be able to read it freely and easily access many different translations electronically.

My husband's love notes are a set of encouraging words I treasure them. I'm thankful for his love and our mutual commitment to speak each others' love languages.

Yesterday, a dear friend's encouraging words made a huge positive difference in my mood and almost every day a friend or family member emails, calls or shares something encouraging on Facebook. I'm thankful for all of your encouraging words!

I'm thankful for my dear readers' encouraging words too. Each time you take precious minutes from your day to comment on one of my blog posts is like a big hug and I am honored and thankful for you.

Here is a little haiku poem of thanks to everyone who has encouraged me with their words. You are a blessing to me!

 Your kind words bless me

Encouraging heart and soul

Thank you for your gift

May the God of all peace encourage your heart today and always!

Sources:
http://www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/bible-verses-for-encouragement-20-great-scripture-quotes/
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Zephaniah%203:17&version=NIV

Rest: Day 25 of 30 Days of Thanksgiving

Photo by AuntLaya

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28 (NASB)

Today, I'm focusing on being thankful for rest, especially for knowing that I can rest all of my cares on God, who cares for you and me and holds the whole world in His mighty hands. I hope you're having a restful and rejuvenating day and pray that God will bless you!

Companion Animals (Pets): Day 24 of 30 Days of Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Harvest Cat

 "A righteous man has regard for the life of his animal." Proverbs 12:10a (NASB)

Today I'm focusing on being thankful for the domestic animals/companion animals (aka pets) that have enriched my life. Right now I have two black "rescue" cats and they are such a blessing to me. This morning my little cat, Baby, rested her head against mine as I was holding her and she purred right into my ear. So sweet! Moose (pictured above), while wearing what appears to be a perpetual scowl, is actually a very sweet cat who lets us put costumes on her, loves to sit on my husband's lap and entertains us with her unique personality.

Halloween Witch Cat

When treated humanely, most companion animals offer such amazing love, acceptance and friendship that it's hard for me to understand how it's possible for so many pets to be euthanized (this morning I read somewhere that it's estimated that 3-4 million shelter pets are killed each year!). If you're thinking about getting a pet I strongly encourage you to consider a shelter or other rescue pet. If you don't have the funds to care for a pet you could still enrich your life and help some kind hearted animals by volunteering at a local shelter. Most can use more volunteers.

Princess cat

My cats are little like dogs in that they greet me at the door, follow me around and appreciate attention all the time (a lot of cats only want affection on their own timeline). We've had fetching cats (so fun!) and even a psychotic cat (poor thing was super sweet when her brain was balanced and we couldn't afford the anti-psychosis medicines she needed so we eventually found her a loving owner who could afford them and he said she was "the best cat ever" once she'd adjusted) but they've all enriched our lives.

Butterfly Cat in Costume

Growing up we had cats and dogs inside and out as well as the occasional sets of chickens and rabbits. Animals were a big and happy part of my childhood. Of all the cats I've ever had, though, my little Baby (current cat) is my favorite. She was feral born and is really only domesticated to me but she loves me as if I were her mama and she brightens every day. May God bless you and your pets!

What do you love most about your pet? What was the best pet you ever had?

Abundance: Day 23 of 30 Days of Thanksgiving

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." James 1:17

Today I'm focusing on appreciating the abundance God has blessed me with. I skipped the traditional Black Friday early morning shopping. I used to do a whole detailed and organized (almost like a military campaign) shopping spree on Black Friday. Yes, it was crowded and crazy, but it was kind of fun and I got some great "deals." But, it seems, the more time I spend being thankful, the less stuff I apparently need, which is great because I'm also on a decluttering and simplifying mission.

I'm blessed with abundant grace (from God, including eternal life, forgiveness of sins, and adoption into His family), love (from my husband, family, friends and cats), food, books, makeup (it's fun!), flowers (fresh and faux; surprisingly, hubby managed to find two fresh roses in our garden today), clothes and more. In addition to being thankful for my abundance, I'm praying for those in need. Please join me in praying for the starving and hungry, the homeless, those without adequate clothing or protection, the lonely and suffering. May God provide for their needs, bless them and may He bless you too!

Everything!: Day 22 of 30 Days of Thanksgiving

Today I'm thankful for everything. Eternal life, family, friends, love, joy, peace, holidays, harmony, good food, beauty, our cats, an abundance of blessings and this very moment. I pray that you are also filled with thanksgiving on this holiday of gratitude. God is good! Life is good! May God bless you and keep you!

Music and Pleasant Sounds: Day 20 of 30 Days of Thanksgiving

Image by taliesin

 

“Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.” Psalm 95:1-2 NIV

Today I'm focusing on being thankful for music and the beautiful sounds of our world. Music can be used to comfort, energize, uplift, inspire each other and worship God. 

It can be easy to focus on the unpleasantness  around us but life is better when we focus on the good and that includes sound. I encourage you to take a minute today to appreciate the positive sounds in  your life. Here are a few that I've noticed this morning: my husband's voice, hearing the words "I love you", purring cats, beautiful music, a light breeze blowing leaves around, birds singing and calling to one another, laughter, children playing happily together and my brother's voice. I'm sure that the list will grow throughout the day and I'm thankful for each of these blessings of sound. May God bless you!

What are your favorite sounds? 

Zoos and a Baby Gazelle: Day 16 of 30 Days of Thanksgiving

"Ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you. Which of these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind." Job 12:7-10

Today I'm thankful for our zoos and for the amazing animals within. We live close enough to visit the National Zoo regularly and it's always a joyful experience. Today was our first sighting of their newest baby dama gazelle. According to the zoo's press release, "The Smithsonian’s National Zoo is proud to announce the birth of a female dama gazelle calf Sunday, Nov. 2, between 6:45 a.m. and 8 a.m., to 2-year-old female Adara and an unnamed 1-year-old male. The calf weighed 4.6 kilograms (10 pounds) at birth." As you can see in the pictures above and below, she's a cutie.

I am thankful that our zoo works on saving endangered species, rescuing and providing homes for injured animals and educating us about God's amazing creation (even though they don't mention God, His handiwork is evident in everything He's made). I am thankful to have such a fun place to go that both my husband and I enjoy so much that it also serves as a marriage building adventure. I'm thankful for the zoo's breeding program and am hoping to see some baby Sumatran tigers in the next year or so.

Today the cheetah cubs weren't out but we did get to see an adult cheetah, the lions, a tiger, a tentacled snake, a whole bunch of reptiles, a super cute otter huddle, a red panda, two giant pandas, lemurs, American wolves, sea lions and more.

 Here the cute baby gazelle stretches her neck.

 Baby dama gazelle eating hay.

 I took this photo so you could see how small the baby gazelle (on the right) is compared to an adult (on the left).

 Close up photo of the baby dama gazelle. I love how huge her eyes look in this shot.

Relaxing baby gazelle. Happy 2 week birthday, little one!

What are your favorite zoo or wild animals? What is your favorite zoo?

May God bless you!

America: Day 12 of 30 Days of Thanksgiving

Photo by kconnors

Today I'm focusing on being thankful for my country, the United States of America, and for being born an American. I'm thankful for freedom, the right to vote, the ability to worship God freely, access to excellent health care and abundant food. I'm thankful for our Constitution, Bill of Rights and democracy. I'm thankful for my fellow Americans who look out for their fellow citizens and does their best to make our country a better place. I'm thankful for our emergency workers, police officers, fire fighters, military members, volunteers and everyone who dutifully makes our world a better place by using their talents and skills for the greater good. May God bless America and may He bless you too!

What are you thankful for today? What do you love about your country?

Veterans: Day 11 of 30 Days of Thanksgiving

"Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13 (NASB)

Today, I'm focusing on being thankful for our veterans. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for serving our great country. Thank you for the countless sacrifices you've made in your personal and professional lives. Freedom truly isn't free, and we wouldn't have it without our veterans. May God bless you, dear veterans, and may He bless America.

Seasons: Day 10 of 30 Days of Thanksgiving

 "For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven." ~ Ecc. 3:1

Today, I'm focusing on being thankful for the seasons. Here in Maryland (surprisingly, considering the winds we had from hurricane Sandy), we still have some trees with lovely autumn color and it's a beautiful fall day. Spring is still my favorite season, but I'm learning to appreciate all of our seasons. Each has its own special beauty and opportunities.

I must admit that I loved living on the central California coast, where the seasons are much more subtle. It was nice to grow flowers all year round and never really get hot or cold. But it's also nice to experience the four seasons more fully. Wherever you are today, I hope you'll take time to appreciate the beauty around you. May God be glorified in this and every season of our lives and may He bless you, dear reader!

Books (Including a Free one!): Day 9 of 30 Days of Thanksgiving

Image source

Today, I'm focusing on being thankful for books. As a Christian, the Bible (available free on the internet through Bible Gateway and other websites) is my number one most favorite book but I like all kinds of books and am an avid reader. Books bring such inspiration, joy, knowledge, adventure and fun to life that I can't imagine a world without them.

What are you reading these days? Please comment below if you feel comfortable sharing. Do you read one at a time or more? I tend to read several books (ok, many, really) at a time. Usually one fiction book and a bunch of nonfiction books. At the moment I'm reading a bunch of books from my 2012 reading goal list, plus some others, including the Bible, Outlive Your Life, The China Study, Super Immunity, Everyday Prayers, The Chicks with Sticks' Guide to Crochet, Soul Space and The 8 Minute Organizer. To save money, I make good use of my local library system (for which I am also thankful).

An author acquaintance of mine is also celebrating gratitude and thanksgiving this month and I'm thrilled to be able to share a free Kindle edition book, titled Minimize to Maximize by Annie Jean Brewer with you today. You can download it for free for four days (now through November 12, 2012). You don't even need to have a Kindle. Amazon provides a free online Kindle reader to its account holders (that's what I use to read the ebooks I get from Amazon). For folks who cannot use embedded links here is the full link for her free book: http://annienygma.com/2012/11/thank-you-2/.

Happy reading and may God bless you!

Electricity: Day 8 of 30 Days of Thanksgiving

Photograph by dpawatts

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!" Philippians 4:4

Today, I'm focusing on being thankful for electricity, heat, running water and all such modern conveniences. They feel like essentials and I sorely miss them when not present. They certainly make life easier and more pleasant. For people needing power operated medical equipment or whose medical conditions can be worsened in extreme temperatures, electricity can be necessary for life.

Please join me in prayer for those who are not fortunate enough to have these treasures as part of their daily lives and for those who are currently experiencing outages due to the Northeaster that just hit the east coast USA. May God bless them, encourage them, provide for them and may they feel His loving presence in their lives today. May the shelters have room for all who need them and may their volunteers be encouraged and strengthened. May God bless the emergency workers and keep them safe while they labor to restore power. May God bless the charities who provide emergency relief and spiritual comfort. May God bless you, dear reader.

Flowers: Day 7 of 30 Days of Thanksgiving

Today I'm giving thanks to the Lord for creating flowers. I love flowers and am thankful for them. Anyone who's visited our house probably knows this (there are flowers everywhere). Today I clipped what's likely to be the last of our roses, echinacea (coneflowers) and chrysantheum for the calendar year from our garden. I am thankful to be able to grow flowers outdoors here for about nine months out of the year. The above photo is one of our Angelique tulips from this spring and the photos below are our last garden flowers for 2012 (clipped and photographed today). I've read that just viewing flowers makes people more productive and happier so that's a wonderful excuse to keep fresh flowers around. 

 Our last big (but admittedly, scraggly) purple coneflower (echinacea).

I'm thankful I was able to salvage some yellow and a hot pink rose. The yellow ones smell like lemony honey.

Scraggly chrysanthemum. Our bright yellow ones have already passed peak.

 I'm hoping this yellow rose bud will open nicely.

This tiny yellow rose is propped up in a recycled (tiny) pepper shaker. Hope you enjoyed my last garden flowers of 2012 photos! What are you thankful today? Whatever it may be, I pray that God will bless you!

The Right To Vote: Day 6 of 30 Days of Thanksgiving

 "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord" ~ Psalm 33:12

Today I'm thankful for the privilege, freedom and right to vote for my country, state and county's elected officials. There are so many around the world that don't have the opportunity. I encourage you to pray before you vote. Personally, I like Billy Graham's message about voting. Like the Biblical David, I think he is a man after God's heart.

However you vote, and however the election turns out, please remember that "The Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will." Daniel 4:25. That doesn't mean we shouldn't vote! But I think it means we should not waste time complaining or disparaging whoever does win. Instead we should pray for our leaders (and all those in authority over us) and do our best to live lives that please and honor our Creator God.

"I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior." 1 Timothy 2:1-3

Prayer: Day 5 of 30 Days of Thanksgiving

"The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,
To all who call upon Him in truth." Psalm 145:18

Today I'm focusing on being thankful for prayer. How amazing is it that we can talk directly with the One High God? The God of all creation cares about you and me! He wants to hear about all of our cares and concerns (1 Peter 5:8) and, when our wills are aligned with His, he longs to give us the desires of our heart (Luke 11:19). God hears prayer and He longs for us to seek His will through prayer. Here's a little prayer of thanksgiving that I pray blesses you.

Dear Heavenly Father, 

Thank you for loving me. I praise you for you are the one true, living God, almighty, holy, yet filled with grace and love towards us. Thank you for the abundant blessings you've given me, most especially for eternal life through Jesus Christ,  but also for your Word, the Bible, abundant and nutritious food, the freedom of being an American, modern technology and medicine, music, flowers, sunshine and family pets. Everything good and wonderful comes from you and I thank you and love you. Please help me to love you more. 

In Jesus' precious name, Amen.

May God bless you and your prayer time, dear reader!

Related posts:

http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/04/isaiah-4031-prayer-for-you.html 

http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/07/prayer-for-freedom-from-limiting.html 

http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/04/easter-good-news-how-to-become-born.html 

http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2011/12/new-years-prayer-haikus.html

http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/search?q=12+great+books

Family: Day 4 of 30 Days of Thanksgiving

"I thank my God every time I remember you." Phil. 1:3 

Today I'm focusing on being thankful for my family. We wouldn't even exist but for our parents and the grace of God. I'm blessed with parents, brothers, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws and some very close friends who feel like family. I'm so thankful for and love each and every one of my family members!

This post would be crazy long if I gushed about each one individually so I'll just say a bit about each of my core family members (the ones I grew up with, below) and suffice it to say that I love every member of my family and my family's love means so much more than I could ever put into words. Thank you all for loving me.

What a blessing it is to know they love me no matter what I've done, how weird I've been or how differing our viewpoints may be. There's so much to admire about these wonderful, strong, amazingly (yet differently) talented people!

• Dad - thank you for all you sacrificed to raise us; thank you for your wise advice that led me to chose Ben as my husband and informed other major life changing decisions; and thank you for still letting me call you anytime with questions and for your support with my health challenges.
• Mom - thank you for being an amazing example of Christian love, truly living what you believe, and answering God's calls to service that have led you all around the world; thank you for your constant prayer support; and thank you for all you sacrificed to raise us.
• John - thank you for being my best friend when we were little; thank you for teaching me how to have fun (I'd surely be even more boring without your influence!); and thank you for being so good to our parents (especially helping Mom with middle of the night car break downs).
• Joshua - thank you for my first marriage proposal (what a special memory!); thank you for being such a wonderful man of God (you were the most well behaved child I ever knew!); and thank you for your prayer support and willingness to let me call you anytime. 

One family member even has a birthday today so that makes it even more special to focus on being thankful for family today. May God bless every member of my family, and may He bless you and yours!

Ben, My Wonderful Husband: Day 3 of 30 Days of Thanksgiving

At Acadia National Park: Photo by Joshua Otte

 "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her." Eph. 5:25

God certainly smiled on me when he gave me Ben Wheeler for a husband. He's brilliant, funny, hard working, kind and he loves me beyond measure. Right now he's getting the raw end of the "in sickness and in health" part of our wedding vows but he doesn't complain and he does all kinds of nice things to care for me. Just today, he showered me with affection, squeezed me fresh orange juice, ran errands, bought a new humidifier and he'll be making an allergy friendly dinner for me tonight. My brain's focused on breathing right now (because of asthma challenges) but my heart is full because I'm blessed with such a fabulous husband. I love you Ben!

30 Days of Thanksgiving: Happy November!

With November comes Thanksgiving and I'm going to follow the lead of some dear friends (thank you Marian, Barbara and MaryLee!) and post something for which I'm thankful for each day this month. Today, I'm thankful for my friends and readers! Thank you for beings such great people that encourage me, pray for me, make me laugh and let me into your precious lives. I hope you'll join me in this gratitude challenge and focus on being thankful for something each day this month. May God bless you during this month of Thanksgiving and always ♥