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

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!

Hope: Day 21 of 30 Days of Thanksgiving

Today I'm thankful for hope. Eternal hope and daily hope in this present life. I have the sure hope of eternity with the Lord; the romantic hope of a true to-death-do-us-part marriage with my beloved husband, Ben; the tenuous hope of better health through excellent nutrition; and the determined hope of living a godly life that encourages and inspires others. This month's daily focus on gratitude has reminded me how very blessed I am and is opening my heart further to the pain and suffering of others. I wish every human being on earth could be filled with hope, peace, love and joy! But that's not to be, at least on this side of heaven. So I rejoice in the Lord, give thanks for my blessings and pray for the suffering.

A dear sister in Christ, MaryLee Heller, shared the following post (pasted below) about hope on her Facebook page this morning and it's been on my heart all day. She's a great example of hope's triumph. If you're feeling hopeless, hang in there! There's truth to the old saying "When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on." I'm praying for you! Peace With God has a fantastic website with Christians available 24/7 if you would like to learn more about eternal hope.

If you're feeling suicidal please go immediately to your nearest emergency room, visit the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255). People care about you! If you're feeling hopeful, please join me in prayer for those who are suffering, depressed, suicidal and lonely this holiday season. May God lift their spirits, soothe their souls and fill them with hope.

"What I'm thankful for today: I never gave up. I walked thru the pain and yet I never despaired. I can now look forward to a holiday ♥

Most of you know that I was abused when I was young--in every possible way. Did you know that the worst of it happened around holidays? Year after year. Mom was in manic mode before the holiday as she painted and prepped and made and created and shopped. By the time you got up on the holiday you new the other extreme would come as she was let down by unmet, unrealistic, expectations. Dad would celebrate by drinking. The two combined to create pain of all sorts. Even as an adult I would get so anxious over holidays that I would get sick, or even worse... I'd consider the unthinkable ultimate act that I could do to myself to escape it all.

BUT GOD...

Oh, y'all. If you are hurting thru the holidays, I understand how you feel. I do! You are on my heart and in my prayers. I ache for your pain. I want to hold you. I want to cry *with* you and for you. I am so sorry that you are hurt--whether your hurt is avoidable or not. So, why am I still here? Because though I hurt and I was sad and I grieved, the one thing I never did was despair. I believed. I believed (however little I could believe) that there IS goodness of the Lord in the land of the living & that He just might let me see it. I tell you, now, that there is goodness. It hard to see it right now or feel that hope thru the pain, I know, but please, please, please don't let despair steal that from you. You are loved, my friend. Hold on and believe--however little, just believe ♥

I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living. Ps 27:13" ~ quoted text in dark purple/brown by MaryLee Heller.

"I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living." Psalm 27:13 (NASB)

May the God of all peace fill you with His eternal hope today and always!

Sources:

http://www.biblegateway.com/

http://peacewithgod.jesus.net/

http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ 

Meaningful Work: Day 19 of 30 Days of Thanksgiving

^"Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve."            Col. 3:23-24 (NASB)

Today I'm focusing on being thankful for meaningful work. It's my aim to follow the verse above, working as for the Lord, whether facilitating a Bible study, coaching a client or even doing housework. I'm thankful for all of these opportunities. All work is meaningful when done for the Lord.  

Please join me in prayer for the jobless and for those who are unhappy in their jobs. May they find meaningful work that uses their God-given talents and abilities or find a volunteer opportunity to use as an outlet for their heart's desires. May God bless them and may He bless you too!

 

The Bible: Day 18 of 30 Days of Thanksgiving

"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Today, I'm focusing on being thankful for the Bible, the inspired word of God. God's word inspires, encourages, teaches and disciplines me. It helps me focus my priorities and grow closer to the Lord. Reading the Bible and praying are my highest priorities each day because loving God is my number one priority in life and these are precious ways to spend time with Him.

Here are a few free Bible related resources for you. Bible Gateway offers free online Bibles in many translations and languages as well as reading plans, devotionals and more. Wesley Mission provides this nice list of inspirational Bible verses for different situations. RBC Ministries provides this free article on why we should read our Bibles.

I'm also thankful to live in a country where I can freely read the Bible, worship and pray. Please join me in prayer for those who are persecuted for their faith, for those who must hide their Bibles or face death or imprisonment and for those who long to have a Bible but don't have the funds or means to obtain one. Let's also pray for those brave Christians who smuggle Bibles into areas of Christian persecution and for the Christian Bible distribution chains. May God bless them, strengthen them, provide for them, encourage them and keep them and may He bless you too.

"For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart." Hebrews 4:12 

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

Note/Disclaimer: I have no material connection with any of the resources mentioned or linked to in this post except as a donor/reader and the opinions are my own. 

Gardens & Conservatories: Day 17 of 30 Days of Thanksgiving

"The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail." ~ Isaiah 58: 11 (NIV)

Today, I am thankful for our beautiful gardens and conservatories. My husband took the day off and we went on a fun day trip up to Longwood Gardens, Pennsylvania for the second to last day of their annual autumn and thousand bloom chrysanthemum displays. I thought we'd miss out on this year's event so was thrilled to be able to enjoy it today. The above photo shows the official thousand bloom chrysanthemum for 2012 but the photo doesn't do it justice. It's really amazing in person. I'll post some more photos from our trip below.

If you regularly visit my blog you know I love gardens and gardening. We're frequent visitors to the National Arboretum and other local gardens and we enjoy gardening in our own yard too. It's a great way to connect with God's creation and get out in nature. What gardens do you enjoy?

Longwood Gardens' conservatory gardens entrance was lovely. As you can see, it was filled with red lanterns and flanked by neat yellow spiral chrysanthemum topiaries and the official thousand bloom chrysanthemum is visible through the doors in the distance.

Daisy like chrysanthemum topiaries surrounded by lush tropical foliage and giant yellow chrysanthemums line part of the walkway of the old part of the Longwood Gardens conservatory.

The center aisle of the old part of Longwood Gardens' conservatory is flanked with two white spiral chrysanthemum topiaries and a variety of bright yellow chrysanthemums.

I'm not sure what Longwood Gardens calls this section but we think of it as the Greenhouse. There were some neat chrysanthemum and bonsai displays there (bonsai not pictured as they were on the other side of the chrysanthemums).

What are you thankful for today? May the God of all peace bless you and keep you!

If you enjoyed today's post you'll likely enjoy these related thanksgiving posts: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/search?q=thanksgiving

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!

Salvation: Day 2 of 30 Days of Thanksgiving

Today, I'm most thankful for Jesus Christ's love and the sure hope of eternal life (salvation)! God loves us more that we could ever imagine (John 3:16). Like most people, there's a lot going on in my life right now and it happens that I'm not feeling well today but this discomfort is temporary and it's comforting to know that in heaven there will be no more pain. Only joy and God's goodness. If you don't already know Christ as your personal savior I invite you to visit this great website or email me personally at lovejoypeas.gmail.com. There's nothing greater than being secure in God's love. May God bless you, dear readers.

Related posts:
http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/04/easter-good-news-how-to-become-born.html
http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/11/30-days-of-thanksgiving-happy-november.html 
http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/01/two-christian-living-haikus.html

Note: Full link for those who can't use embedded links: http://peacewithgod.jesus.net/